Israeli Chess Fest
In a whirlwind affair, 30 year-old Israeli grandmaster Alik Gershon broke a world record Thursday when he played 523 people simultaneously. The display took place in Rabin Square in Tel-Aviv and lasted over 19 hours.
According to the New York Times, Gershon needed to beat at least 80 percent of his opponents and easily topped that, beating 458, drawing with 58 and losing to 11 for a 92 percent winning record. To add to his impressive feat, Natan Sharansky was reported to be one of Gershon’s opponents. The previous record was set last year by Iranian grandmaster Morteza Mahjoob, who played 500 people. Gershon was happy to have beaten a record held by Iran but added, “Hopefully this is the only war we are going to have with this enemy, ever.”
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
