Berkovich, Felix 1932-

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Berkovich, Felix 1932-

PERSONAL:

Born May 17, 1932, in Moscow, USSR (now Russia); immigrated to the United States, 1982, naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Max Solomon (a mechanical engineer) and Sonia Riva (a pharmacist) Berkovich; married Nora Rabinovich (a physician), February 3, 1962; children: Anna Berkovich Krasko. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Moscow Machine Tool Institute, M.S., 1955; Moscow Automobile and Highway Institute, Ph.D., 1969. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, playing chess, collecting stamps.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sharon, MA.

CAREER:

Automatic Machine Design Co., Moscow, USSR (now Russia), design engineer, 1955-60; Construction and Highway Machine Research Co., Moscow, began as mechanical engineer, became research engineer and head of hydraulic system department, 1960-82; High Pressure Equipment Co., Walpole, MA, mechanical engineer, 1983-2001.

MEMBER:

U.S. Chess Federation, Chess Journalists of America, American Philatelic Society, American Topical Association, Society of Israel Philatelists.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Vermeil Medal, Chicago Philatelic Society, 2000, Silver Medal, Philatelic World Exhibition, 2001, 2002, Vermeil Medal, California Philatelic Exhibition, 2001, and Silver Medal, American Philatelic Society Exhibition, 2002, all for Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps.

WRITINGS:

Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps, annotations by Nathan Divinsky, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2000.

Author of books in Russian on hydraulic power systems and equipment. Contributor to philatelic magazines, technical journals, and newspapers, in both Russian and English, including Boston Jewish Times, Checkers, Judaica Philatelic Journal, Chesstamp Review, Israel Philatelist, and Hydraulic and Pneumatic.

SIDELIGHTS:

Felix Berkovich once told CA: "Like many youths, I collected postage stamps in my childhood. Philately is one of the most popular and educational hobbies imaginable. The number of philatelists in the world is estimated at more than twenty-five million. Every stamp is a piece of art and a source of information about the people and/or events it commemorates. The postage stamp catalogs record about a half-million stamps from more than one hundred countries. Most philatelists limit their collection to stamps of certain countries or topics.

"For the last twenty years I have collected stamps and related material on the topics of chess and Judaica. I also have a comprehensive library on those topics. After immigration to the United States from Russia in 1982, I became a member of several philatelic organizations. More than twenty of my articles on chess and Judaica have been published in the United States, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia, and Spain. Some of those articles required extensive research and led to interesting discoveries.

"My friends often told me that I should write a book. Finally they convinced me. I combined three topics—philately, chess, and Judaica—in one book, Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps. The goal of the book is to encourage people, especially youth, to collect postage stamps and learn from their collection. It took a lot of time, because I had a family and full-time job as a mechanical engineer."