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Daniel Abraham “Abe” Yanofsky
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Chessmaster, lawyer, municipal official.
Born at Brody, Poland on 26 March 1925, son of Abba Yanofsky (?-1938) and Mary Yanofsky (?-?), he came to Canada at the age of one year. By the mid-1930s, he was a prodigy in the game of chess. He went on to be Canadian chess champion four times between 1941 and 1947, North American champion (1942), and later British chess champion. He beat the world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, in 1946 and became Canada’s first chess grandmaster in 1964. He was among Canada’s top players for much of his life.
After his father died in 1938, he assumed the position of family provider, working at various jobs while attending school, including St. John’s High School (1938-1941). During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Navy. After his military discharge, he attended the Manitoba Law School while working at night to help cover expenses. Called to the Manitoba Bar, he worked as a lawyer from 1951 to 1997 and was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1980.
On 8 July 1951, he married Hilda Gutnik (1931-2013) at the Hebrew Sick Benefit Hall and they went on to have a son and three daughters. He served as an alderman and Mayor of the City of West Kildonan (1961-1971), and a councillor and finance chairman of the City of Winnipeg (1971-1986). A Returning Officer for the Seven Oaks constituency in the 1958 provincial general election, he was a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1959 and 1969 provincial general elections but was defeated each time. He was President of the Manitoba Association of Urban Municipalities (1971-1972). He was a key player in the conception and development of the Seven Oaks General Hospital and the Wellness Institute. He retired from politics in 1986.
In recognition of his achievements and community service, he was inducted into the Order of Canada (1972) and he received a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977).
He died at Winnipeg on 5 March 2000 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.
“Chess master to plight troth,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 July 1951, page 3.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 March 2000.
Obituary [Hilda Yanofsky], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 May 2013.
We thank Sue Gibb for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 May 2025
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