Israel vanquishes Iran -- on the chess board

A Guinness representative confirmed the new record on Israeli army radio.

Alik Gershon, 30, won 86 percent of the games he played against amateurs in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. He won 454, lost 11 and drew the other 58.

He needed to win at least 80 percent to seal the record, which previously stood at 500 simultaneous games.

As he played his final move on the very last chess board at around 5:30 am (0330 GMT), Gershon shook the player's hand before raising his arms in victory as the first light of dawn broke over the square.

"This is a very exciting day," he beamed, shortly after receiving his certificate from the British Guinness official who witnessed the event.

"It was very difficult, it was a supreme effort," he said. "There were some strong players there."

Asked how he felt beating his Iranian rival, he laughed.

"It's a very sweet feeling. It's something which we prepared for a very long time," he said. "Failure wasn't an option. I am very, very happy that I made it."