Born in Russia in 1907, Gregor 'Garry' Koshnitsky emigrated to Australia in 1926. Already a skilled chess player, Koshnitsky won state titles in Queensland before moving to New South Wales where he remained until 1961, when he and second wife Evelyn relocated to Adelaide. He won the national chess championship in 1933 and 1939.

A jeweller by trade, Koshnitsky, and Evelyn, dedicated their lives to chess education, promotion and administration. (Evelyn continues to be a supporter of Australian chess, and an advocate for women in the game.) The pair were heavily involved in developing junior chess in Australia, including programs to teach chess in schools. In his 1999 obituary, journalist Stewart Cockburn quotes Koshnitsky as saying 'The benefits of chess for children in character-building and in the development of their mental processes are universally recognised by educators.'

As part of his efforts in the field of education, Koshnitsky co-wrote the instructional pamphlet, Chess made easy, with friend and rival Cecil Purdy. First published in 1942 the pamphlet has sold over 600,000 copies in Australia alone, and is still in print. He wrote chess columns for the Advertiser, the Sydney Sun and the Sun Herald - a contribution spanning over 60 years.

In his role as a chess administrator he served as the president of the Australian Chess Federation, as well as holding various representative positions in the World Chess Federation. In recognition of their service, he and Evelyn were both awarded Honorary Membership of the Federation in 1993. In Australia, the Koshnitsky Medal has been awarded annually since 1982, to acknowledge service to Chess Administration.

Koshnitsky began donating chess publications to the State Library in the early 1970s. The Annual Report of the Libraries Board, 1971-72 reports that 'Mr. G. Koshnitsky, a leading chess player and chess administrator, of Malvern, made a generous gift to the Board of his library of chess books, periodicals and newspapers.' (p. 10)

With further contributions in the proceeding years, today the Koshnitsky collection contains over 400 books and periodicals, in fifteen different languages. It is part of the Koshnitskys' ongoing legacy to the community of South Australia, and the greater chess community.

Permission to use this item for any purpose, including publishing, is not required from the State Library under these conditions of use.

Buy a high resolution copy.