Yakov Estrin

Yakov Estrin

Yakov Borisovich Estrin (April 21, 1923 – February 2, 1987) was a Russian chess International Master, theoretician, and writer.

After a brief foray into "over-the-board" play, he turned to correspondence chess in the early 1960s with immediate success (joint first place in the U.S.S.R. Correspondence Championship in 1962.) He became an ICCGM (International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster) in 1966, and would go on to compete in the final of the World Correspondence Championship five times. He is best known for being the seventh International Correspondence Chess Federation world champion between 1972 and 1976.

For over-the-board play, he was awarded the International Master title in 1975.

Estrin wrote several chess books and was an authority on the Two Knights Defense. His game with Hans Berliner in which Berliner played the Two Knights Defense and defeated Estrin is one of the most famous and important games in correspondence chess.