Povilas Tautvaišas (born 6 May 1916, Mogilev

Mogilev

Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...

 – died November 1980, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

) was a Lithuanian-American

Lithuanian-American

Lithuanian Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Lithuanian ancestry. According to the United States Census, there are 712,165 Americans of full or partial Lithuanian descent....

 chess master.

Biography

He played twice for the Lithuanian team in the Chess Olympiads, at eighth board (+4 –8 =2) at Munich 1936 (unofficial Olympiad), and at fourth board (+5 –9 =6) in the 8th Olympiad at Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 1939, during which World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 broke out. Tautvaisas returned to Europe, unlike many other players in that event (Najdorf

Miguel Najdorf

Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....

, Stahlberg

Gideon Ståhlberg

Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg was a Swedish chess grandmaster.He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became Nordic champion in 1929, and held it until 1939....

, Eliskases

Erich Eliskases

Erich Gottlieb Eliskases was a chess Grandmaster of the 1930s and 1940s, who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition....

, Frydman

Paulino Frydman

Paulino Frydman was a Polish chess master.-Biography:...

, et al.). He took 5th, behind Birmanas, Arlauskas

Romanas Arlauskas

Romanas Arlauskas was a Lithuanian-born Australian chess master.Arlauskas played at sixth board in an unofficial Chess Olympiad at Munich 1936...

, Abramavičius

Leonardas Abramavicius

Leonardas Abramavičius was a Lithuanian chess player.-Biography:Leonardas Abramavičius played for Lithuania in four official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads....

, and Vaitonis

Povilas Vaitonis

Povilas Vaitonis was a Lithuanian–Canadian International Master of chess. He was a five-time Lithuanian champion, and was twice Canadian champion...

, at the 1943 Lithuanian chess championship in Vilnius.

At the end of the war, Tautvaišas, along with many other Baltic players, escaped to the West, ahead of the advancing Soviet forces. There were many tournaments organized in Germany in the late 1940s, and most of these consisted of Germans and "displaced persons" - mostly from the Baltics. Tautvaišas took 3rd, behind Arlauskas and Endzelins, in the "Baltic Displaced Persons" (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) championship, which was held in Blomberg. In 1946, he tied for 3rd-4th with Sämisch

Friedrich Sämisch

Friedrich Sämisch was a German chess grandmaster .-Main results:* 2nd at Berlin 1920...

, behind Unzicker

Wolfgang Unzicker

Wolfgang Unzicker was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970.He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead....

 and Zemgalis

Elmars Zemgalis

Elmārs Zemgalis , is a Latvian-American chess master and mathematics professor. He was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title in 2003.- Biography :...

, in Augsburg. In 1947, he took 12th in Kirchheim-Teck. In 1948, he tied for 3rd-5th in Esslingen. In 1948, he won in Oldenburg.

Tautvaisas then moved to Boston in 1949, then finally to Chicago in 1950. He was many-time Chicago and Illinois champion, and his prominence in the Chicago area in the 1950s and 1960s earned him the nickname "The Old Fox". In 1956, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Arthur Bisguier

Arthur Bisguier

Arthur Bernard Bisguier is an American chess Grandmaster, chess promoter, and writer. Bisguier won two U.S. Junior Championships , three U.S. Open Chess Championship titles , and the 1954 United States Chess Championship title. He played for the United States in five chess Olympiads...

, behind Donald Byrne

Donald Byrne

Donald Byrne was one of the USA's strongest chess players during the 1950s and 1960s.Born in New York City, he won the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1953, was awarded the International Master title by FIDE in 1962, and played for or captained five U.S. Chess Olympiad teams between 1962 and 1972...

, in Detroit (Tartakower

Savielly Tartakower

Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...

 Memorial). In 1957, he tied for 3rd-5th in Milwaukee (New Western Open). In 1957, he tied for 6th-16th in Milwaukee (North-Central Open). In 1958, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Theodorovych, behind Pal Benko

Pál Benko

Pal Benko is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.- Early life :Benko was born in France but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He emigrated to the United States in 1958, after defecting following the World Student Team...

, in Milwaukee (NCO). In 1959, he took 19th in Milwaukee (Western Open).

External links