Former Soviet Chess Champ Arrives in West
Former Soviet chess champion Boris Gulko arrived in the West today with his wife and 7-year-old son, David, after waiting seven years to be allowed to emigrate to Israel.
Gulko, 39, did not speak to reporters on arriving at Schwechat Airport in Vienna, but his wife, Anna Akhsharumova, 38, said they were “very happy” to be in the West.
Akhsharumova, also a leading chess player, said the family hopes to leave for Israel by Sunday, but a representative of the Jewish Agency who met them said it may take longer to prepare immigration papers.
In Vienna, the usual transit point for Soviet Jews headed for Israel, most offices and embassies are closed today because of a holiday.
Gulko won the Soviet chess championship in 1977. After he applied to emigrate in 1979, he was barred from taking part in international tournaments and was allowed to play only in some domestic competitions.
He and his wife announced last month that they would stage a daily protest in Moscow, unfurling a banner saying, “Let Us Go To Israel.”
The couple were detained at least four times en route to sites of demonstrations but were twice permitted to unroll the banner and hold it up for several minutes.
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