Alexander Markovich Konstantinopolsky (; 19 February 1910 – 21 September 1990) was a Soviet chess player, trainer and writer. He was a five-time champion of Kiev, and trained the world title challenger David Bronstein from a young age. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

in 1950, won the first Soviet

Correspondence Chess Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less commo ...

Championship in 1951, earned the IM title at correspondence in 1966, and earned the title of Honorary Grandmaster in 1983.

Ukrainian master

Born in

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Konstantinopolsky was nearly 20 when he learned chess. This makes him one of the oldest top players in terms of learning the moves of the game. At the beginning of his career, Konstantinopolsky won the

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

championships five consecutive times from 1932 to 1936. He played in seven Ukrainian SSR championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th in

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

(6th UKR-ch). In 1933, he took 3rd in Kharkov (7th UKR-ch). In 1936, he took 4th in Kiev (8th UKR-ch). In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Kiev (9th UKR-ch), which was won by Fedor Bohatirchuk. In 1938, he took 3rd in Kiev (10th UKR-ch), which was won by Isaac Boleslavsky. In 1939, he took 3rd in

Dnepropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

(11th UKR-ch). In 1940, he tied for 8th-9th in Kiev (12th UKR-ch). Boleslavsky also won in both 1939 and 1940. Konstantinopolsky's early games from this period are largely missing from games databases. (portrait photo from his later years at bidmonta.com under Konstantinopolsky heading) In 1936, Konstantinopolsky played in a

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Young Masters' tournament, scoring 7½/14 in a strong field which played a double round robin format. Konstantinopolsky played several times in Soviet Chess Championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th (7th URS-ch semifinal), in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1934, he tied for 11th-13th in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

(9th URS-ch sf). In April/May 1937, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Viacheslav Ragozin, behind

Grigory Levenfish Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish (; – 9 February 1961) was a Soviet chess player who scored his peak competitive results in the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion, in 1934 (jointly with Ilya Rabinovich) and 1937. In 1937 he drew a m ...

, in Tbilisi (10th URS-ch), with a score of 12/19. In 1938, he tied for 11th-12th in Kiev (URS-ch sf). In 1940, he tied for 4th-7th in Kiev (URS-ch sf), with a score of 9½/16. In September/October 1940, he tied for 13th-16th in Moscow (12th URS-ch), with a score of 8/19.

Theorist and trainer

During the late 1930s, Konstantinopolsky trained young players and amateurs in Kiev, at the Palace of Young Pioneers. He was widely regarded as a friendly and kindly man. His prize pupil was the young David Bronstein, who eventually challenged for the World Championship title in 1951, drawing the match against

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (; ; – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who held five world titles in three different reigns. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer sci ...

. Konstantinopolsky and Bronstein were close friends, and Konstantinopolsky served as Bronstein's second for the 1950 Candidates' playoff match in Moscow, against Isaac Boleslavsky, which Bronstein won by 7½-6½. He was one of the Ukrainian pioneers who developed the King's Indian Defence into prominence, along with Boleslavsky and Bronstein. The variation had been considered suspect until the mid-1930s. During this time, he played one of the earliest games in the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon Variation of the

Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. e4 c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The opening 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for Whi ...

, a line which would become very popular about 20 years later. He also defended the

Dutch Defence The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: : 1. d4 f5 Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in the middlegame on White's ; however, it also weakens Black's kingside to some extent, espec ...

with success at a time when it was rarely played by top players. Konstantinopolsky had a very wide opening repertoire with both colours, a very valuable attribute which he passed on to his prize pupil Bronstein. He was also a formidable strategist and tactician, as the games selection shows.

Grandmastership denied

He played in the tournament Leningrad / Moscow 1939, scoring an excellent 8½/17 against an exceptionally strong field. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he played in national tournaments. In 1940, he took 3rd in

Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(Lviv, Lwów, Lemberg), which was won by Abram Khavin. The war then seems to have stopped his chess activity for about three years. In February 1943, he won in Kuibyshev. In April/May 1943, he took 6th in Sverdlovsk, a very strong tournament, with 6½/14; the event was won by Botvinnik. In August/September 1943, he took 2nd, behind Boleslavsky, in Kuibyshev. In 1943, he won a match against Yakov Rokhlin (+7 –0 =1). In 1944, he won a match against Lev Aronin (+6 –1 =5). In 1944, he moved to stay in Moscow. He played in the 1945 Moscow City Championship, probably on average the strongest such event in the world, scoring 9/16. After the war, he played in several more Soviet championships. In 1945, he tied for 1st-3rd in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

(URS-ch sf), with

Alexander Kotov Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov (Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ко́тов; ( – 8 January 1981) was a Soviet chess International Grandmaster, grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet chess champion, a two-time world title Cand ...

and Iosif Rudakovsky, each scoring 10½/15. In June 1945, he tied for 4th-6th in Moscow (14th URS-ch), with 10½/18; the tournament was won by Botvinnik. In 1947, he tied for 3rd-4th in Moscow (URS-ch sf). In 1948, he tied for 6th-9th in Moscow (16th URS-ch), with 9½/17; the tournament was won jointly by Bronstein and

. In 1950, he tied for 2nd-4th in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

(URS-ch sf), with a score of 10/15. In 1950, he tied for 5th-6th in Moscow (18th URS-ch), with 7½/14; the tournament was won by

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

. In 1952, he took 16th in Moscow (20th URS-ch), with 7/19; the tournament was won jointly by Botvinnik and Mark Taimanov. He played in the Soviet Team Championship,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

1954, scoring 5½/10; this was his last really strong performance. His over-the-board play seems to have largely stopped about 1955, as he concentrated more on correspondence chess and on his job as a trainer and coach. He did play occasionally over-the-board in later years. The website Chessmetrics.com, which provides retroactive ratings for older players, ranks him as 11th in the world in 1945. So, his best results in the Soviet national championships, which during that period were the strongest tournaments in the world, were four times in the top six (1937, 1945, 1948, 1950). In any virtually other nation in the world during that period, he would have been its national champion, and an almost certain Grandmaster. Because the Soviet chess talent was so deep, he never earned the highest chess title. His best games show he could hold his own with anyone in the USSR, with victories over Botvinnik, Keres, Kotov, Boleslavsky,

, Vasily Smyslov, Salo Flohr, Alexander Tolush, Viacheslav Ragozin, Andor Lilienthal,

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (, ; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Bor ...

, Yuri Averbakh,

Ratmir Kholmov Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov ( Russian: Ратмир Дмитриевич Холмов) (13 May 1925 in Shenkursk – 18 February 2006 in Moscow) was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his ...

, Boris Verlinsky, and others.

Later years

In 1948–1951, Konstantinopolsky won the 1st Soviet

Championship. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) in 1950, that of International Master of

correspondence chess Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less commo ...

(IMC) in 1966, and that of Honorary Grandmaster (HGM) in 1983. According to his game files, he only had one chance to play over-the-board in an international tournament outside the Soviet Union, the 'B' section of

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1966, when he was well past his prime at age 56. Even so, he scored a creditable 5/9. He continued to work as one of the Soviet Union's most respected trainers well into his 70s. He introduced an opening which is named for him as the Konstantinopolsky Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3), against Viacheslav Ragozin at Moscow 1956. He published two chess books after age 70. Konstantinopolsky died in Moscow on September 21, 1990, at age 80.

Notable chess games

Mikhail Botvinnik vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship semi-final, Moscow 1931, Dutch Defence (A90), 0-1
Konstantinopolsky defeats that year's Soviet champion.
Ilia Kan vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Young Masters tournament, Leningrad 1936, Dutch Defence, Stonewall Variation (A95), 0-1
Another Dutch game shows a definite flair for this sharp defence.
Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Viacheslav Ragozin, USSR Young Masters tournament, Leningrad 1936, King's Indian Attack / Reversed Grunfeld (A07), 1-0
Black goes for complications and gets outcombined.
Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Alexander Tolush, Moscow 1936, Queen's Pawn Game (A47), 1-0
Tolush gets too greedy, grabs material with his King in the centre, and gets demolished.
Vladimir Alatortsev vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1937, Dutch Defence, Stonewall Variation (A91), 0-1
Konstantinopolsky again shows his virtuosity with the Dutch.
Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Ilia Kan, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1937, Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack (B76), 1-0
One of the first games with this dangerous plan of long

castling Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king (chess), king two squares toward a rook (chess), rook on the same and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king ...

by White.
Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Samuel Reshevsky, Leningrad / Moscow 1939, Neo-Grunfeld Defence (D78), 1-0
Reshevsky was one of the very top players outside the USSR; this was one of the few games where Konstantinopolsky got the chance to meet a non-Soviet player.
Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs Salo Flohr, USSR Championship, Moscow 1945, Caro-Kann Defence, Two Knights' Variation (B10), 1-0
Flohr was a guru with the Caro-Kann, but meets his match here.
Boris Verlinsky vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Moscow Championship 1945, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E67), 0-1
One of the influential games using the King's Indian Defence from this period, as the line was rising in popularity.
Grigory Levenfish vs Alexander Konstantinopolsky, Leningrad 1947, Caro-Kann Defence, Bronstein-Larsen Variation (B16), 0-1
An exchange

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

References

Writings and further reading

*''The Caro-Kann Defence'' by Alexander Konstantinopolsky and Aron Weiz, Heidelberg (Schmaus 1982), ISBN .......... (in German) *''Vienna Game'', by Alexander Konstantinopolsky, London (Batsford 1986), *''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' by David Bronstein and Tom Furstenberg, London (Cadogan 1995),

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantinopolsky, Alexander 1910 births 1990 deaths Sportspeople from Zhytomyr People from Volhynian Governorate 20th-century Ukrainian Jews Soviet chess players Jewish chess players Soviet writers Soviet chess writers Soviet male writers Chess Grandmasters Chess theoreticians Chess coaches