Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham (26.03.1925 – 05.03.2000)

Canadian Grandmaster (1964) born in Poland. Was technical play, especially in the endgame.

Little Abie, as the local newspapers called him, was a child prodigy. At the age of 11, he was invited to the CNE in Toronto where he took on 22 players in a simultaneous exhibition, winning 17 and losing five. At 12, became Manitoba Champion and placed fourth in the Dominion Championship. He eventually won eight Canadian Championships. At 14, was picked to play at board 2 for the Canadian Team in the Olympiad in Buenos Aires. He was the youngest player in the event, and he achieved an 85% score, earning attention from all the great players around the world.

In Graham Burgess’ book, Chess Highlights of the 20th Century, Yanofsky’s spectacular win over Dulanto in the 1939 Olympiad is presented as a central highlight of the year.

He went on to many tournament successes over the years, including a memorable win over Mikhail Botvinnik in Groningen in 1946. During his studies in Oxford, he foundtime to win the British Championship.

In 1964, he became the first Grandmaster in the British Commonwealth. In recent years, he suffered from both cancer and heart disease.

In his professional career, he was a Queen’s Counsel. Because of his contributions to the world of chess, the Canadian government presented him with the Order of Canada. In his book, How Chess Games Are Won, Reshevsky described him thus “Dan Yanofsky is a tough opponent. His style is defensive but quite accurate. When given the slightest opportunity, he is strong enough to beat the best.”