Born in
Bălți on 25 December 1937, Vaisman evacuated from the
Eastern Front in
World War II with his mother, going to Central Asia. He lost his father during the war and survived a land mine explosion which killed two other children. After the war, he returned to Romania and settled in
Botoșani. He attended the
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in
Iași and thereafter became a Romanian teacher and chess player. He achieved the rank of International Master in 1975 and could subsequently play in tournaments. In 1984, Vaisman took advantage of a tournament to escape the
Nicolae Ceaușescu regime with his wife, settling in
Montpellier. He was granted political asylum and obtained French citizenship in 1986. He trained chess players such as
Sophie Milliet. He joined , which moved up to the in 1987. He left following the death of and the arrival of Sylvaine Milliet. Volodia Vaisman died on 4 December 2023, at the age of 85. ==Books==