After great drama: Ilia Smirin is the Israeli Blitz Chess Champion
The grandmaster from the Ashdod club finished with 10 points and edged out Avital Boruchovsky and Michael Klenburg only on tie-breaks at the national blitz championship held in Afula. Noga Orian is the national women's champion, and 14-year-old Avital Shilon-Rahav finished fifth and was crowned Israeli champion under 18.
At the end of a dramatic day and a close competition, which was decided only in the last round, Grandmaster Ilia Smirin was crowned Israeli Blitz Chess Champion. The 58-year-old Smirin from the Ashdod Chess Club finished the championship, which was held for the second consecutive time in Afula, in first place with 10 points after 12 rounds. It was a super-close competition and was actually decided only by tie-breaks, with Smirin ahead of Grandmaster Avital Boruchovsky (Kfar Saba Chess Club) and International Master Michael Klenburg (Be'er Sheva) - both of whom also finished with 10 points, but trailed Smirin in the overall calculation.
Smirin, who has won the Israeli Chess Championship three times in the past (1992, 2002, and 2023), is also a member of the Israeli national team that will leave in two weeks for Uzbekistan to participate in the Chess Olympiad. He and the other members of the team took time off from the training camp in Netanya to participate in this tournament as a kind of dress rehearsal for the real thing.
"First place is always nice. It wasn't simple, 12 rounds, many hours in front of the board. At the end of the day, it's always fun to lift a trophy, but my head is already with the team and I wish success to all the other chess players on the roster," Smirin smiled after winning the tournament.
The impressive surprise is the fifth place finished by Eliran Shilon-Rahav, only 14 years old, from the Chess Excellence Club in Afula. Shilon-Rahav finished with 9.5 points, exactly like Grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski from Be'er Sheva, who was ranked fourth. The fifth place also earned Shilon-Rahav the title of Israeli champion under 18. Among the women, Noga Orian (Haifa Club) won the top spot, accumulating 8.5 points after 12 rounds.
The Chess Federation is already preparing for the next big event: on September 3 and 4, the Israeli Rapid Chess Championship will be held in Holon. Dr. Tzvika Barkai, Chairman of the Israel Chess Federation, said: "This was an excellent championship, which proved once again the great momentum that Israeli chess is in. To see a record number of participants, the best chess players in Israel competing alongside young and promising players, is exactly the way we want to continue and promote the sport."
