Moshe Aba Blass (born 1896,

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship ...

, Poland - 1971, Tel-Aviv, Israel) was a Polish-Israeli

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

master. Born in

(then Russian Empire), he moved to the US, staying from 1911 to 1924. After returning to Poland, he lived in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. In 1924/25, Blass tied for 3rd-5th in Warsaw (

Stanisław Kohn Stanisław Kohn (1895–1940) was a Polish chess master. Kohn played for Poland in 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad at Paris 1924. In 1925, he won the Warsaw Championship. In 1926, he tied for 3rd-7th, behind Dawid Przepiórka and Paulin Frydman ...

won). In 1926, he tied for 1st with Paulin Frydman in Warsaw. In 1926, he tied for 8-9th with Mieczysław Chwojnik at the 1st

Polish Chess Championship Individual Polish Chess Championship is the most important Polish chess tournament, aiming at selecting the best chess players in Poland. Based on the results of the tournament (mainly), the Polish Chess Federation selects the national and subsequ ...

in Warsaw. The event was won by

Dawid Przepiórka Dawid Przepiórka (22 December 1880 – presumed April 1940) was a prominent Polish chess player of the early twentieth century. Biography Dawid Przepiórka was born 22 December 1880 in Warsaw, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire), to a ...

. In 1926/27, he took 5th in Warsaw (Kohn and

Leon Kremer Leon Kremer (1901–1941) was a Polish chess master. He played several times in the Warsaw championships, and won in 1929. He also took 6th in 1925 ( Stanisław Kohn won), took 4th in 1926 (Abram Blass and Paulin Frydman won), shared 1st with Koh ...

won). In 1927, he took 8th at the 2nd POL-ch in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

. The event was won by

Akiba Rubinstein Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title International Grandma ...

. In 1928, he won, ahead of Frydman and

Kazimierz Makarczyk Kazimierz Makarczyk (1 January 1901, Warsaw – 27 May 1972, Łódź) was a Polish chess master. In 1922, he took 3rd in Warsaw (Academic-ch). In 1926, he finished 10th in the 1st Polish chess championship played in Warsaw. The event was won by Da ...

, in Warsaw. Blass played for Poland on the reserve board (+4 –3 =5) in the

2nd Chess Olympiad The 2nd Chess Olympiad ( nl, De 2e Schaakolympiade), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

1928. He won team bronze medal there. He, along with other members of the Warsaw team (

Rafał Feinmesser Rafał Feinmesser (1895 – ?) was a Polish chess master. He was killed in the Holocaust in Warszawa. He played several times in the Warsaw championships. He tied for 5-6th in 1926 (Abram Blass and Paulino Frydman, Paulin Frydman won), tied for ...

, Frydman, Stanisław Kohn, Leon Kremer,

Karol Piltz Karol Piltz (1903–1939) was a Polish chess master. He played for Poland in the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad at Paris 1924, tied for 3rd-7th in the 1st Polish Chess Championship at Warsaw 1926 ( Dawid Przepiórka won), and tied for 17-18th at J ...

and

Henryk Pogorieły Henryk Pogorieły (1908 in Warsaw – 1943 in Warsaw) was a Polish chess master. He took 4th in the Warsaw Championship in 1928. Pogorieły, along with other members of the Warsaw team (Abram Blass, Rafał Feinmesser, Paulin Frydman, Stanisław ...

), won the gold medal in the 1st Polish Team Championship at

Królewska Huta Królewska may refer to: Villages in Poland: * Bokinka Królewska, in Gmina Tuczna, within Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship * Brzóza Królewska, in Gmina Leżajsk, within Leżajsk County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship * Brzeziny, Gmina Lubyc ...

(Königshütte) 1929; took 2nd, behind Kremer, at Warsaw 1929 and took 8th at Warsaw 1930 (P. Frydman won). In 1931, he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Palestine where he won the chess competition at the 2nd Maccabiah Games and the Palestine Championship). The next year, he took 2nd in the Tel Aviv City-ch and tied for 2nd-3rd, behind

Moshe Czerniak Moshe Czerniak (born Moizes Czerniak, also knowns as Miguel Czerniak; he, משה צ'רניאק; 3 February 1910 – 31 August 1984) was a Polish-Israeli chess player. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) by FIDE in 1952. Biog ...

, in Tel Aviv (Palestine-ch).Wolsza, Tadeusz (2007), ''Arcymistrzowie, mistrzowie, amatorzy. Słownik biograficzny szachistów polskich, tom 5''. Wydawnictwo DiG, Warszawa. He is buried in Bat Yam Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blass, Abram 1890s births 1971 deaths People from Łomża People from Łomża Governorate Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish chess players Israeli chess players Jewish chess players Chess Olympiad competitors Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Poland Competitors at the 1935 Maccabiah Games Sportspeople from Podlaskie Voivodeship Maccabiah Games medalists in chess 20th-century chess players Expatriates from the Russian Empire in the United States

See also

References

External links