Ilya Maizelis

Ilya Lvovich Maizelis (Russian: Илья Львович Майзелис; 28 December, 1894 in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, today in Ukraine – 23 December, 1978 in Moscow) was a Soviet chess player, writer, and theoretician.

Maizelis was better known as a writer than as a player. He played in several Moscow city championships during the 1920s and 1930s, his best result being 4th place in 1932.^[1] Under the Soviet system he was ranked as a "first category" player,^[2] the next rank below Master. In modern terms, this is equivalent to an Elo rating in the 2200s.^[3]

He was on the editorial board of 64 from 1925 to 1930, and was executive secretary of the English-language Soviet Chess Chronicle from 1943 to 1946. He was the author of a number of instructional works on chess, including Shakhmat' (1949, English version: "Soviet Chess Primer"), and theoretical works on the endgame. Pawn Endings was published by Batsford in English in 1974. He also translated a number of German language chess books into Russian, including Aron Nimzowitsch's My System and Emanuel Lasker's Manual of Chess.