Alex Schwartzman, 56, an international checkers player who was crowned world champion three times, never imagined that a week after immigrating to Israel he would already represent the country at the World Checkers Championship.
For some time, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Alex has been planning to make aliyah and reach the Galilee landscape, a city where he has many friends, including city councillor and international checkers player, Alex Gentman (No. 7 in the world).
When Gentman learned of his friend's decision to immigrate to Israel, he decided to surprise him and enroll him in the World Checkers competition hosted in the city: "I wasn't sure he would come to Israel before the competition, but it was clear to me that with his resume and titles, he would certainly be happy to participate in the competition that is taking place for the first time in Nof HaGalil and indeed the timing turned out perfectly."
Schwartzman arrived in Israel last Tuesday happy and excited. As a Jew, he received immediate citizenship and began the absorption process. When he met with his friend Gentman, he was excited to hear about the World Checkers Championships taking place in the city: "I couldn't imagine a more royal reception than this," he said excitedly. Schwartzman is one of 11 checkers players who will represent Israel in the competition that was finalized on Monday, and tomorrow (Tuesday) the playoff stage will take place, at the end of which he will be crowned world champion in checkers.
Mayor Ronen Plott welcomed the new immigrant in a personal meeting in his office and even played checkers with him: "Nof HaGalil is proud to host the World Checkers Championship, for us this is an opportunity to show the beautiful face of the city and the State of Israel, the fact that two residents of the city are playing in the competition, Vladimir Treitlovitch, a veteran immigrant, and Alex Schwartzman, a new immigrant, expresses in an extraordinary way the fact that Nof HaGalil is a city that absorbs immigrants."
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Checkers players from 14 finalists participate in the competition: Japan, Poland, USA, France, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Moldova, Lithuania, Germany, USA, Italy, Ukraine, Canada and Israel.
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