About Josefa Gurfinkel
Lived 1919 – 1997 (aged 77). Josefa Gurfinkel was a Russian chess player.
Josefa Alexandrovna Gurfinkel (; 2 May 1919 – 9 April 1997) was a Jewish Russian-born Soviet chess player who held the FIDE title of Woman International Master. Her given name is also transliterated as Yuzefa Gurfinkel participated in Moscow City Women's Chess Championship, where best result reached in 1954 when she shared 3rd-4th place. Gurfinkel participated in Women's Soviet Chess Championship nine times (1947–1968). Her best result was 2nd place in 1954 (tournament won Larissa Volpert). In 1955, Gurfinkel participated in the Women's World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament in Moscow and shared 15th-16th place with Krystyna Hołuj.
In 1941 she graduated from Rostov State University Faculty of Philology. She worked as a trainer in the Rostov city chess club, the House of Scientists and in the Palace of Pioneers. Chairman of the Women's Committee of Rostov Oblast Chess Section. In 1963, together with her husband, chess master Alexander Konstantinov (1909–1998), she moved to Volgograd and continued to work as a chess trainer. Her daughter Tatyana Moiseeva (born 1951) is chess master.
Gurfinkel was awarded the Soviet Master of Sports title in 1950. In 1954 she awarded the FIDE Woman International Master (WIM) title.
Literature Игорь Бердичевский. Шахматная еврейская энциклопедия. Москва: Русский шахматный дом, 2016 (Igor Berdichevsky. The Chess Jewish Encyclopedia. Moscow: Russian Chess House, 2016, p. 84)
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Important facts
People in Josefa Gurfinkel's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Josefa Gurfinkel's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Josefa Gurfinkel?
USSR and Russian chess player (1919–1997)
When was Josefa Gurfinkel born?
Josefa Gurfinkel was born on 2 May 1919 in Rostov-on-Don.
When did Josefa Gurfinkel die?
Josefa Gurfinkel died on 9 April 1997 in Volgograd.
What was Josefa Gurfinkel's occupation?
Josefa Gurfinkel was a chess player.
What nationality was Josefa Gurfinkel?
Josefa Gurfinkel was Russian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Josefa Gurfinkel. https://biography.guide/josefa-gurfinkel/
MLA: "Josefa Gurfinkel." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/josefa-gurfinkel/.
Chicago: "Josefa Gurfinkel." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/josefa-gurfinkel/.
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