Sergey Belavenets was a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 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....

, theoretician

Chess theory

The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...

, and chess journalist of Belarusian descent.

Early life

Belavenets was born in Smolensk

Smolensk

Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...

 to a noble family. He and Mikhail Yudovich

Mikhail Yudovich

Mikhail Yudovich was a Russian chess master, journalist and writer.Mikhail Mikhailovich Yudovich and Sergey Belavenets, known as the Smolensk twins, had been close friends since meeting in a school match in 1925...

, known as the Smolensk twins, had been close friends since meeting in a school match in 1925. Over the next few years they studied with Belavenets's uncle, Konstantin Vygodchikov

Konstantin Vygodchikov

Konstantin Vygodchikov was a Belarusian chess master.He won in the 3rd Belarusian Championship in 1926, and shared 1st with Abram Model and Vladislav Silich in the 4th BLR-ch in 1928....

.

Chess career

He took 4th in the 2nd Belarusian Championship

Belarusian Chess Championship

The 65th Belarusian Chess Championship was held 18–28 February 1999.GM Viacheslav Dydyshko won the 12-player, single round-robin tournament , earning his tenth championship in 26 attempts.-References:**...

 in 1925 (Solomon Rozental

Solomon Rozental

Solomon Konradovich Rosenthal was a Lithuanian–Belarusian chess master....

 won), tied for 5-9th in the 11th Championship of Moscow

Moscow City Chess Championship

-References: ****** from chessbase.com...

 in 1930, tied for 1st-3rd in the 13th Championship of Moscow in 1932, took 4th in the 14th Championship of Moscow in 1933/34, won at Moscow 1934 (the 4th Russian Championship

Russian Chess Championship

-Imperial Russia:In 1874, Emanuel Schiffers defeated Andrey Chardin in a match held in St. Petersburg with five wins and four losses. Schiffers was considered the first Russian champion until his student, Mikhail Chigorin, defeated him in a match held in St. Petersburg in 1879...

), took 3rd in the 15th Championship of Moscow in 1935, tied for 3rd-5th in the 16th Championship of Moscow in 1936, shared 1st in the 17th Championship of Moscow 1937. He tied for 1st-2nd with Vasily Smyslov

Vasily Smyslov

Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...

 in the 18th Championship of Moscow in 1938, tied for 6-7th in the 19th Championship of Moscow in 1939/40, and took 2nd in the 20th Championship of Moscow in 1941.

Death

While fighting in the Soviet Army

Soviet Army

The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...

 during the Second World War

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...

, Belavanets was killed in an action at Staraya Russa

Staraya Russa

Staraya Russa is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located south of Veliky Novgorod. It is a wharf on the Polist River in the Lake Ilmen basin. It serves as the administrative center of Starorussky District, although administratively it is not a part of it...

 in 1942.

Since 1984, international chess competitions "In Memoriam of S.V.Belavenets" have been held in Smolensk.

His daughter Liudmila

Liudmila Belavenets

Liudmila Belavenets is a Russian woman International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster, the fourth ICCF Women's World Champion in correspondence chess . Moreover she is a Woman International Master in the over the board chess...

 held the title of women's world correspondence chess

Correspondence chess

Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...

champion from 1984 to 1992.