George Koltanowski, a chess grandmaster who credited the game with saving him from the Holocaust, died at 96. Koltanowski, whose daily column ran in the San Francisco Chronicle for 52 years without interruption, was in Central America on a chess tour when the Nazis overran his native Belgium. He was a master of blindfold chess, in which a player does not look at the board but hears an opponent’s move aloud.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
