Background
He was born in a Jewish family in Rostov-on-Don in Russia.
He was born in a Jewish family in Rostov-on-Don in Russia.
Other notable results included a tie for 3rd at the 1962 Moscow Championship (behind Yuri Averbakh and Evgeny Vasiukov) and finishing third at Mariánské Lázně 1965 (behind Paul Keres and Vlastimil Horticulture). Shamkovich left the Soviet Union in 1975, moving first to Israel, then Canada, and finally the United States, where he lived the remainder of his life. He continued to play through the 1990s, and wrote several chess books
His aristocratic bearing and manner of speech earned him the nickname "Prince".
Shamkovich died of complications from Parkinson"s disease and cancer in his Brooklyn home on April 22, 2005.
His Sacrifice in Chess begins, "A real sacrifice involves a radical change in the character of a game which cannot be effected without foresight, fantasy, and the willingness to risk.".
