At the end of November and the beginning of December, the Israel Chess Federation is organizing a major international chess event in Jerusalem, the first since the massacre on October 7 and the start of the war in Gaza. The festival opens with a large rapid chess open on November 26 and 27. From November 30 to December 3, a strong invitational tournament will follow. It begins with a 12 player round robin. The top four then advance to a final knockout stage.

For the rapid invitational tournament, the Masters, ten players have already been confirmed. The two best players from the open will also qualify, bringing the Masters field to a total of 12 participants.

The prize fund for the open is 30,000 USD (5,000 USD for the winner). The Masters offers 140,000 USD in prize money, the highest amount ever awarded for a chess tournament in Israel.

The organizers of the event are the Ministry of Culture and Sport under Minister Miki Zohar, the Jerusalem Municipality under Mayor Moshe Leon, and the Israel Chess Federation. The tournament is held under the motto “Tolerance and Unity.” The open tournament will be played at the Ramada Hotel in Jerusalem, while the Masters will take place at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem.

The field for the Masters is distinguished, featuring five prominent international players, among them the former World Champion Viswanathan Anand, the two-time World Championship runner-up Ian Nepomniachtchi, and the Indian top GM Arjun Erigaisi. These international stars will be joined by five leading Israeli grandmasters. The best Israeli players will receive special prizes totaling 26,000 USD.

One name that might have been expected among the Israeli representatives is missing. Boris Gelfand, now 57 years old, a multiple World Championship candidate and the 2012 World Championship runner-up, and the country’s best player since immigrating from Belarus to Israel, is not taking part this year, just as he did not participate in the first edition last year.

Photo: World Chess

The reason is a serious and now public dispute with the Israel Chess Federation, more precisely with its representatives. As so often, it is a personal conflict, in this case between Boris Gelfand and the father of the young chess player Avital Borukhovsky, who has since also become a grandmaster. The dispute apparently began ten years ago, after Gil Borukhovsky became the CEO of the Israel Chess Federation.

In an interview for ICE-Sport, Boris Gelfand recently spoke in detail about this conflict.

According to Gelfand, Avital Borukhovsky has taken over the federation and has since placed several of his supporters in key positions, including Zvika Barkai, who has served as president since 2019.

Although there is now more money for chess in Israel, the atmosphere has become toxic, Gelfand says. The federation’s leadership, he argues, has no understanding of chess and does not support the players appropriately. Gelfand points to the placement of the Israeli team at the last Chess Olympiad, 57th behind Zimbabwe. According to him, the leadership is no longer interested in sporting success but only in power and control.

ICE-Sport subsequently published a statement by the Israeli federation in response to Gelfand’s remarks, rejecting the allegations. Gelfand’s omission, for example from the national team, is due to his financial demands, the federation claims. Gelfand denies this. Boris Gelfand’s wife Maya has also commented on the dispute on her Facebook account.

Thus, the Jerusalem Masters will once again have to take place without Israel’s best player.

Participants Masters

Rapid Open, Top 15

440 players...

Links

• Tournament page...
• Chess-results Open...
• Chess-results Masters...