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21 Facts About Nathan Divinsky

1.

Nathan Joseph Harry Divinsky was a Canadian mathematician, university professor, chess master, writer, and politician.

2.

Nathan Divinsky was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1925, and was a contemporary and friend of Canadian Grandmaster and lawyer Daniel Yanofsky.

3.

Nathan Divinsky received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Manitoba in 1946.

4.

Nathan Divinsky then moved to Vancouver where he served as a mathematics professor, and as an assistant dean of science, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he spent the remainder of his professional career.

5.

Nathan Divinsky was featured in many segments relating to mathematics and chess on the Discovery Channel Canada program @discovery.

6.

Nathan Divinsky was a Vancouver School Board trustee from 1974 to 1980, and was the Chair from 1978 to 1980.

7.

Nathan Divinsky served as an alderman on Vancouver's city council from 1981 to 1982.

8.

Nathan Divinsky learned his early chess as a teenager at the Winnipeg Jewish Chess Club, along with Yanofsky.

9.

Nathan Divinsky won the Manitoba Championship in both 1946 and 1952, and finished runner-up in 1945.

10.

Nathan Divinsky tied for first place in the 1959 Manitoba Open.

11.

Nathan Divinsky represented Canada twice at the Chess Olympiads, in 1954 at Amsterdam, and in 1966 at Havana.

12.

Nathan Divinsky served as playing captain for both teams, and was the non-playing captain for the 1988 Canadian Olympiad team.

13.

Nathan Divinsky attained the playing level of National Master in Canada, and received through the Commonwealth Chess Association the honorary title of International Master.

14.

Nathan Divinsky served for 15 years, from 1959 to 1974, as editor of the magazine Canadian Chess Chat, and contributed occasionally to other Canadian chess magazines.

15.

Nathan Divinsky played an important role in chess organization in Canada from the 1950s.

16.

Nathan Divinsky first served as Canada's representative to FIDE, from 1987 to 1994, and served again in this post in 2007.

17.

Nathan Divinsky is a member of the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame, served as President of the Chess Federation of Canada in 1954, and was a Life Governor of the CFC.

18.

Nathan Divinsky had three daughters from his first marriage: Judy, Pamela, and Mimi.

19.

Nathan Divinsky met Kim Campbell, 22 years younger, while she was an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia in the late 1960s.

20.

Nathan Divinsky was a strong influence in interesting Campbell in political activity.

21.

Nathan Divinsky died, aged 86, in Vancouver, survived by his third wife Marilyn Goldstone.