List of FIDE federation player transfers

This is an incomplete list of chess players who have represented more than one nation in FIDE-sanctioned tournaments. These players underwent a change in national federation affiliation but may not necessarily changed their citizenship in the process but may have to satisfy residency requirements. This excludes players which did not compete in any FIDE-sanctioned event for their previous federation.


To countries in the Americas[edit]

Name Previous federation New federation Year Ref.
Albert Becker  Germany  Argentina
Francisco Benkö  Germany  Argentina
Erich Eliskases  Germany  Argentina
Nicolas Engalicev  Latvia/ Italy  Canada
Movsas Feigins  Latvia  Argentina
Paulino Frydman  Poland  Argentina
Sonja Graf  Germany  Argentina
 United States
Aristide Gromer  France  Argentina
Zelman Kleinstein  Palestine  Argentina
Markas Luckis  Lithuania  Argentina
Paul Michel  Germany  Argentina
Miguel Najdorf  Poland  Argentina
Jiri Pelikan  Czechoslovakia  Argentina
Hermann Pilnik  Germany  Argentina
Meir Rauch  Palestine
 Poland
 Argentina
 Israel
Ilmar Raud  Estonia  Argentina
Heinrich Reinhardt  Germany  Argentina
Chris de Ronde  Netherlands  Argentina
Paulette Schwartzmann  France  Argentina
Adolf Seitz  Germany  Argentina
 Switzerland
Karel Skalička  Czechoslovakia  Argentina
Maxim Sorokin  Russia  Argentina
Gideon Ståhlberg  Sweden  Argentina
 Sweden
Franciszek Sulik  Poland  Argentina
 Australia
Victor Winz  Germany
 Palestine
 Argentina
Paul Baender  Germany  Bolivia
Ludwig Engels  Germany  Brazil
Jacob Ascher  England  Canada
Evgeny Bareev  Russia  Canada
Fedir Bohatyrchuk  Soviet Union  Canada
Géza Füster  Hungary  Canada
Leonid Gerzhoy  Israel  Canada
Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov  Soviet Union  Canada
 United States
Carlos Jauregui  Chile  Canada
Miervaldis Jurševskis  Latvia  Canada
Natalia Khoudgarian  Russia  Canada
Anton Kovalyov  Argentina  Canada
Stanislav Kriventsov  Russia
 United States
 Canada
Roman Pelts  Soviet Union  Canada
William H. K. Pollock  England/ Ireland  Canada
Edward Porper  Israel
 Soviet Union
 Canada
Alexander Rabinovich  Israel  Canada
Bator Sambuev  Russia  Canada
Artiom Samsonkin  Belarus  Canada
Zoltan Sarosy  Hungary  Canada
Stephen Francis Smith  United Kingdom  Canada
Yan Teplitsky  Israel
 Russia
 Canada
Dimitri Tyomkin  Israel  Canada
Povilas Vaitonis  Lithuania  Canada
Zvonko Vranesic  Yugoslavia  Canada
Yang Kaiqi  China  Canada
Qiyu Zhou  Finland  Canada
Alexis Cabrera  Cuba  Colombia
 Spain
Neuris Delgado Ramírez  Cuba  Colombia
 Paraguay
Daniel Tapia  United States  Colombia
Gerardo Budowski  Germany
 Venezuela
 Costa Rica
Francisco Perez  Spain  Cuba
Nelson Pinal Borges  Cuba  Dominican Republic
Lisandro Fernandez Reyes  Cuba  Ecuador
Paul Klein  Germany  Ecuador
Bruno Moritz  Germany  Ecuador
Lemnys Arias  Honduras  El Salvador 2001 [1]
Alvaro Blanco Fernandez  Cuba  Mexico
Juan Carlos González Zamora  Cuba  Mexico
Neuris Delgado Ramírez  Colombia
 Cuba
 Paraguay
Tatev Abrahamyan  Armenia  United States
Anna Akhsharumova  Soviet Union  United States
Varuzhan Akobian  Armenia  United States
Lev Alburt  Soviet Union  United States
Babakuli Annakov  Turkmenistan  United States
Camilla Baginskaite  Lithuania  United States
Batchimeg Tuvshintugs  Mongolia  United States
Mikhail Baturyn  Belarus  United States
Julio Becerra Rivero  Cuba  United States
Anjelina Belakovskaia  Ukraine  United States
Pal Benko  Hungary  United States
Horace Bigelow  England  United States
Boris Blumin  Canada  United States
Walter Browne  Australia  United States
Lázaro Bruzón  Cuba  United States
Oscar Chajes  Austria-Hungary  United States
Akshat Chandra  India  United States
Fidel Corrales Jimenez  Cuba  United States
Dorsa Derakhshani  Iran  United States
Leinier Domínguez  Cuba  United States
Elena Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya  Soviet Union  United States
Leonids Dreibergs  Latvia  United States
Roman Dzindzichashvili  Israel
 Soviet Union
 United States
Louis Eisenberg  Ukraine  United States
Arpad Elo  Hungary  United States
Jaan Ehlvest  Estonia  United States
Esther Epstein  Soviet Union  United States
Sergey Erenburg  Israel
 Soviet Union
 United States
Samuel Factor  Poland  United States
Ali Farahat  Egypt  United States
Florin Felecan  Romania  United States
Andrei-Costel Florean  Romania  United States
Sabina-Francesca Foisor  Romania  United States
Selim Franklin  England  United States
Timur Gareyev  Uzbekistan  United States
Samuel Gold  Austria-Hungary  United States
Alexander Goldin  Israel
 Soviet Union
 United States
Rusudan Goletiani  Georgia  United States 2001 [1]
Renier Gonzalez  Cuba  United States
Sonja Graf  Argentina
 Germany
 United States
Eduard Gufeld  Georgia  United States
Boris Gulko  Soviet Union  United States
Dmitry Gurevich  Soviet Union  United States
Anna Hahn  Latvia  United States
Holden Hernandez Carmenate  Cuba  United States
Ildar Ibragimov  Russia  United States
Alexander Ivanov  Soviet Union  United States
Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov  Canada
 Soviet Union
 United States
Zviad Izoria  Georgia  United States
Gregory Kaidanov  Russia  United States
Gata Kamsky  Soviet Union  United States
Albert Kapengut  Belarus  United States
Mona May Karff  Palestine  United States
Lubomir Kavalek  Czechoslovakia  United States
Hans Kmoch  Austria  United States
Boris Kogan  Soviet Union  United States
George Koltanowski  Belgium  United States
Boris Kreiman  Soviet Union  United States
Stanislav Kriventsov  Russia  Canada
 United States
Edward Lasker  Germany  United States
Emanuel Lasker  Germany
 Soviet Union
 United States
Anatoly Lein  Soviet Union  United States
Irina Levitina  Soviet Union  United States
Theodor Lichtenhein  Germany  United States
Marlo Micayabas  Philippines  United States
Nikolay Minev  Bulgaria  United States
Elshan Moradi  Iran  United States
Alejandro Moreno  Cuba  United States
Kateřina Němcová  Czech Republic  United States
Viktorija Ni  Latvia  United States
Alexander Onischuk  Ukraine  United States
Georgi Orlov  Russia  United States
Nazí Paikidze  Georgia  United States
Sam Palatnik  Soviet Union  United States
Rudolf Pitschak  Czechoslovakia  United States
Joseph Platz  Germany  United States
Susan Polgar  Hungary  United States
Stepan Popel  Ukraine/ Poland
 France
 United States
Yuniesky Quesada Perez  Cuba  United States
Alejandro Ramirez  Costa Rica  United States
Samuel Reshevsky  Poland  United States
Katerina Rohonyan  Ukraine  United States
Jacob Rosenthal  Poland
 Netherlands
 United States
Nicolas Rossolimo  France  United States
John William Schulten  Germany  United States
Gabriel Schwartzman  Romania  United States
Gregory Serper  Uzbekistan  United States
Alexander Shabalov  Latvia  United States
Leonid Shamkovich  Soviet Union
 Israel
 United States
Anna Sharevich  Belarus  United States
Miron Sher  Russia  United States
Kamran Shirazi  Iran  United States
 France
Yury Shulman  Belarus  United States
Mikhail Shur  Azerbaijan  United States
Wesley So  Philippines  United States 2014
Wilhelm Steinitz  Austrian Empire
 United Kingdom
 United States
Alexander Stripunsky  Ukraine  United States
Dariusz Świercz  Poland  United States
Povilas Tautvaišas  Lithuania  United States
Oscar Tenner  Germany  United States
Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova  Uzbekistan  United States
Myroslav Turiansky  Soviet Union
 Austria
 United States
Milan Vukcevich  Yugoslavia  United States
Aleksander Wojtkiewicz  Soviet Union
 Poland
 United States
Alex Yermolinsky  Soviet Union  United States
Anna Zatonskih  Ukraine  United States
Elmārs Zemgalis  Latvia  United States
Yaroslav Zherebukh  Ukraine  United States
Raset Ziatdinov  Uzbekistan  United States
Luis Ernesto Rodi  Argentina  Uruguay
Jaime Bograd  Romania  Venezuela
Gerardo Budowski  Germany  Venezuela
 Costa Rica
Ariel Marichal Gonzalez  Cuba  Venezuela
Antonio Medina  Spain  Venezuela
Wilson Palencia  Colombia  Venezuela
László Tapasztó  Hungary  Venezuela
Felix Ynojosa  England  Venezuela

To countries in Asia[edit]

Name Previous federation New federation Year Ref.
Igors Rausis  Latvia  Bangladesh
 Czech Republic
Paul Truong  United States  Cambodia
Izak Aloni  Poland  Palestine/ Israel
Boris Alterman  Soviet Union  Israel
Boris Avrukh  Kazakhstan  Israel
Dina Belenkaya  Russia  Israel 2022 [2]
Alexander Bagrationi  Ukraine  Israel
Valeri Beim  Soviet Union  Israel
 Austria
Abram Blass  Poland  Palestine/ Israel
Angela Borsuk  Ukraine  Israel
Moshe Czerniak  Poland  Palestine/ Israel
Boruch Israel Dyner  Belgium  Israel
Roman Dzindzichashvili  Soviet Union  Israel
 United States
David Enoch  Germany  Palestine/ Israel
Sergey Erenburg  Russia  Israel
 United States
Boris Gelfand  Belarus  Israel
Leonid Gofshtein  Soviet Union  Israel
Alexander Goldin  Russia  Israel
 United States
Vitali Golod  Ukraine  Israel
Izaak Grynfeld  Poland  Israel
Andrei Gurbanov  Belarus  Israel
Lev Gutman  Soviet Union  Israel
 Germany
Alexander Huzman  Ukraine  Israel
Bella Igla  Russia  Israel
Boris Kantsler  Kyrgyzstan  Israel
Michael Klenburg  Ukraine  Israel
Alla Kushnir  Soviet Union  Israel
Vladimir Liberzon  Soviet Union  Israel
Aleksandras Machtas  Lithuania  Palestine/ Israel
Houshang Mashian  Iran  Israel
Victor Mikhalevski  Soviet Union  Israel
Vadim Milov  Russia  Israel
 Switzerland
Ariah Mohiliver  Poland  Palestine/ Israel
Jacob Murey  Soviet Union  Israel
Menachem Oren  Poland  Palestine/ Israel
Raaphi Persitz  United Kingdom  Israel
 Switzerland
Yosef Porath  Germany  Palestine/ Israel
Edward Porper  Soviet Union  Israel
 Canada
Lev Psakhis  Soviet Union  Israel
Meir Rauch  Poland  Palestine/ Israel
Salome Reischer  Austria  Palestine
Leonid Shamkovich  Russia  Israel
 United States
Yuliya Shvayger  Ukraine  Israel
Ilya Smirin  Soviet Union  Israel
Lazare Suchowolski  Poland
 Australia
 Israel
Emil Sutovsky  Soviet Union  Israel
Gedali Szapiro  Poland  Israel
Yan Teplitsky  Russia  Israel
 Canada
Mark Tseitlin  Soviet Union  Israel
Isakas Vistaneckis  Lithuania  Israel
Victor Winz  Germany  Palestine/ Israel
 Argentina
Leonid Yudasin  Russia  Israel
Tatiana Zatulovskaya  Russia  Israel
Yaacov Zilberman  Soviet Union  Israel
Domingo Ramos  Philippines  Japan
Yevgeniy Pak  Uzbekistan  Kazakhstan
Vladislav Tkachiev  Russia  Kazakhstan
 France
Eva Repková  Slovakia  Lebanon
Evgenij Ermenkov  Bulgaria  Palestine
Christian Michel Yunis  Chile  Palestine
Zhu Chen  China  Qatar
Gong Qianyun  China  Singapore
Li Ruofan  China  Singapore
Enrique Paciencia  Philippines  Singapore
Olimpiu G. Urcan  Romania  Singapore
Buenaventura Villamayor  Philippines  Singapore
Wu Shaobin  China  Singapore
Zhang Zhong  China  Singapore
Jose Camacho Collados  Spain  South Korea
Alexey Kim  Russia  South Korea
Gamil Agamaliev  Azerbaijan  Turkey
Ekaterina Atalik  Russia  Turkey
Cemil Gulbas  Belgium  Turkey
Mikhail Gurevich  Soviet Union
 Belgium
 Turkey
Alexander Ipatov  Ukraine
 Spain
 Turkey
Ergin Mollaoglu  Bulgaria  Turkey
Dragan Šolak  Serbia  Turkey
Trần Thanh Tú  Vietnam  Japan

To countries in Europe[edit]

Name Previous federation New federation Year Ref.
Vangjel Buli  Italy  Albania
Robert Aloma Vidal  Spain  Andorra
Oscar de la Riva Aguado  Spain  Andorra
Juan Mellado Triviño  Spain  Andorra
David Norwood  England  Andorra
Josep Oms Pallise  Spain  Andorra
Maria Kursova  Russia  Armenia
Sergei Movsesian  Georgia
 Czech Republic
 Slovakia
 Armenia
Arsen Yegiazarian  Russia  Armenia
Valery Atlas  Soviet Union
 Liechtenstein
 Austria
Valeri Beim  Soviet Union
 Israel
 Austria
Ivo Donev  Bulgaria  Austria
Alexander Halprin  Russia  Austria
Tunç Hamarat  Turkey  Austria
Stefan Kindermann  Germany  Austria
Julius Perlis  Poland  Austria
Davit Shengelia  Georgia  Austria
Regina Theissl Pokorna  Slovakia  Austria
Gadir Guseinov  Russia  Azerbaijan
Zaur Mammadov  Russia  Azerbaijan
Arkadij Naiditsch  Latvia
 Germany
 Azerbaijan
Stefan Beukema  Netherlands  Belgium
Vladimir Chuchelov  Russia  Belgium
Alexander Dgebuadze  Georgia  Belgium
Andrija Fuderer  Yugoslavia  Belgium
Mikhail Gurevich  Soviet Union  Belgium
 Turkey
Mher Hovhannisyan  Armenia  Belgium
Vadim Malakhatko  Ukraine  Belgium
Ulvi Sadikhov  Azerbaijan  Belgium
Victor Soultanbeieff  Ukraine  Belgium
Anna Zozulia  Ukraine  Belgium
Inna Dubinka  Ukraine  Belarus 2001 [1]
Suat Atalık  Turkey  Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Serbia
Ivan Galić  Croatia  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Borki Predojević  Serbia and Montenegro  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dalibor Stojanović  Serbia and Montenegro  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tatjana Lematschko  Soviet Union  Bulgaria
 Switzerland
Emir Dizdarević  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia
Valentina Golubenko  Estonia  Croatia
Esad Gorić  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia
Zdenko Kožul  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia
Bojan Kurajica  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia
Iván Morovic  Chile  Croatia
Drazen Muše  Germany  Croatia
Mladen Muše  Germany  Croatia
Dragan Novaković  Serbia and Montenegro  Croatia
Miroslav Pucovski  Serbia  Croatia
Dražen Sermek  Slovenia  Croatia
Vasilios Kotronias  Greece  Cyprus
Thomas Hinks-Edwards  England  Czech Republic
Alexey Kislinsky  Ukraine  Czech Republic
Epaminondas Kourousis  Greece  Czech Republic
Peter Michalik  Slovakia  Czech Republic
Sergei Movsesian  Georgia  Czech Republic
 Slovakia
 Armenia
Vitezslav Priehoda  Slovakia  Czech Republic
Igors Rausis  Latvia
 Bangladesh
 Czech Republic
Oleg Spirin  Russia  Czech Republic
Joanna Worek  Poland  Czech Republic
Kassa Korley  United States  Denmark
Aron Nimzowitsch  Russian Empire  Denmark
Jana Bellin  Czechoslovakia  England
Murray Chandler  New Zealand  England
Dagnė Čiukšytė  Lithuania  England
Anya Corke  Hong Kong  England
Daniel Howard Fernandez  Singapore  England
David Friedgood  South Africa  England
Bogdan Lalić  Croatia  England
Sue Maroroa  New Zealand  England
Michael Rahal  Spain  England
Mihai Suba  Romania  England
Robert Wade  New Zealand  England
Alexander Alekhine  Soviet Union  France
Silvia Aleksieva  Bulgaria  France
Amir Bagheri  Iran  France
Abraham Baratz  Romania  France
Ossip Bernstein  Russian Empire  France
Josef Cukierman  Poland  France
Josif Dorfman  Soviet Union  France
Alireza Firouzja  Iran  France 2021 [3]
Tigran Gharamian  Armenia  France
François Godart  Belgium  France
Hichem Hamdouchi  Morocco  France
Borya Ider  Mongolia  France
Andrei Istrățescu  Romania  France
Victor Kahn  Russia  France
Lionel Kieseritzky Flag of Livonia Livonia  France
Anthony Kosten  England  France
Bachar Kouatly  Lebanon  France
Vladimir Lazarev  Russia  France
Nikolay Legky  Ukraine  France
Nino Maisuradze  Georgia  France
Léon Monosson  Soviet Union  France
Catalin Navrotescu  Romania  France
Vladimir Okhotnik  Ukraine  France
Stepan Popel  Poland/ Ukraine  France
 United States
Anda Šafranska  Latvia  France
Andrei Shchekachev  Russia  France
Kamran Shirazi  Iran
 United States
 France
Almira Skripchenko  Moldova  France
Andrei Sokolov  Russia