He was born in Pryluky, Ukraine, then a part of the Russian Empire[1] and emigrated to the United States in 1905.

"[3] Chernev's deep love for the game is obvious to any reader of his books.

This takes 33 classic games from 1889 to 1952, played by masters such as Capablanca, Alekhine, and Tarrasch, and explains them in an instructive manner.

An algebraic notation version was published by Batsford in 1998, with minor alterations to the original text.

[3] He was survived by his wife, Selma Kulik, and their son Melvin Chernev.