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Obituary

Obituary: Jacob Murey (1941-2025) Passes Away

Jacob Murey in 1978
Pic Source: Chessbase
The inventor of Murey gambit passed away this month. We already have an ongoing Thematic on his gambit in AIWCF ... now it will be dedicated to him

On 9th September 2025, Jacob Murey passed away in a care home in Israel at the age of 84. Born in Moscow in 1941, Murey immigrated to Israel in 1976. In 1978, he worked as Viktor Korchnoi's second in the World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. In 2001, he became the first European Senior Champion.

Jacob Isaacovich Murey was a Soviet-born Israeli chess player. He was awarded the International Master of Correspondence Chess title (ICCF) in 1970, the International Master (IM) title (FIDE) in 1980 and the GM title (FIDE) in 1987.

In a 1993 game against Jan Timman, Murey debuted a surprising novelty in the Petrov's Defence, a temporary knight sacrifice with 4...Nc6!?. Though Murey lost the game, the discovery is considered sound, and is frequently referred to in opening databases as the Murrey Variation of the Modern Attack in the Petrov's Defence, (though the correct spelling is Murey not Murrey).

Ref: Andre Schulz's article in Chessbase