Hermanis Matisons
Encyclopedia
Hermanis Matisons (also known as Herman Mattison), was a Latvia
n chess
player and one of world's most highly regarded chess master
s in the early 1930s. He was also a leading endgame composer
. He died of tuberculosis
at the age of 38.
In 1924, Matisons won the first Latvian Chess Championship
tournament.
Later that year he finished ahead of Euwe and Colle
to win the first World Amateur Championship
, which was organized in conjunction with the Paris Olympic Games
.
Matisons played first board for Latvia at the 1931 Chess Olympiad in Prague
and defeated Rubinstein
and Alekhine
, then the reigning World Champion
.
Sixty of Matisons' studies
were collected in the 1987 book Mattison's Chess Endgame Studies by T.G. Whitworth.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player and one of world's most highly regarded chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
s in the early 1930s. He was also a leading endgame composer
Chess composer
A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. He usually specializes in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems...
. He died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at the age of 38.
In 1924, Matisons won the first Latvian Chess Championship
Latvian Chess Championship
-History:Professional level Latvian chess players have already appeared in the nineteenth century. They participated in chess tournaments and union congresses, organized by the Riga Chess Association. After the World War I, when Latvia became an independent country, official Latvian chess...
tournament.
Later that year he finished ahead of Euwe and Colle
Edgard Colle
Edgard Colle was a Belgian chess master. He scored excellent results in major international tournaments, including first at Amsterdam 1926, ahead of Savielly Tartakower and future world champion Max Euwe; first at Meran 1926, ahead of Esteban Canal; and first at Scarborough 1930, ahead of Maróczy...
to win the first World Amateur Championship
World Amateur Chess Championship
The World Amateur Chess Championship was a tournament organized by the World Chess Federation, FIDE.FIDE intended to promote amateur chess play by holding championship tournaments linked to the Olympic Games, but only two events were held....
, which was organized in conjunction with the Paris Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
Matisons played first board for Latvia at the 1931 Chess Olympiad in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and defeated Rubinstein
Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...
and Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, then the reigning World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
.
Sixty of Matisons' studies
Endgame study
An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position—that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side...
were collected in the 1987 book Mattison's Chess Endgame Studies by T.G. Whitworth.