Born in Zhytomir, Ukraine (then Russian Empire), Konstantinopolsky was nearly 20 when he learned the game. This makes him one of the oldest top players in terms of learning the moves of the game. At the beginning of his career, Konstantinopolsky won the Kiev championships five consecutive times from 1932 to 1936. He played in seven Ukrainian SSR championships. In 1931, he tied for 3rd-5th in Kharkov (6th UKR-ch). In 1933, he took 3rd in Kharkov (7th UKR-ch). In 1936, he took 4th in Kiev (8th UKR-ch). In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Kiev (9th UKR-ch), which was won by Fedor Bohatirchuk. In 1938, he took 3rd in Kiev (10th UKR-ch), which was won by Isaac Boleslavsky. In 1939, he took 3rd in Dnepropetrovsk (11th UKR-ch). In 1940, he tied for 8th-9th in Kiev (12th UKR-ch). Boleslavsky also won in both 1939 and 1940. Konstantinopolsky's early games from this period are largely missing from games databases. (portrait photo from his later years at bidmonta.com under Konstantinopolsky heading)