Yair Parkhov is an Israeli International Grandmaster (GM) in chess who was born on December 5, 1955. He started playing chess at the age of eleven. After winning the Asian Junior Chess Championship held in Tehran, Iran in 1976, he was awarded the title of International Master (IM). Later in his career he achieved the Grandmaster title, becoming the third Israeli to do so after Moshe Czerniak and Alon Greenfeld.

Parkhov was one of the major proponents of the King's Indian Attack opening. He secured the Israeli Championships in 1976 and 1978, and also successfully represented Israel in various team events internationally. For instance, he participated in ten Olympiad events from 1974 to 1994, winning the silver medal on two occasions in the team competition.

Aside from his professional playing career, Parkhov is also known for his contributions to chess education. He co-authored the book "Play the King's Indian" with Eduard Gufeld as well as “Bobby Fischer: The Wandering King” with Hans Böhm. He also served as a theoretician, TV commentator, and worked as the editor-in-chief of the chess magazine "64".