Vladas Mikenas
Encyclopedia
Vladas Mikėnas was a Lithuania
n International Master of chess
, an Honorary Grandmaster, and a journalist
.
s.
In 1930, he won the Estonian Championship
in Tallinn (3rd EST-ch). In 1931, he tied for 2nd-5th at the first Baltic Championship
in Klaipėda
, which was won by Isakas Vistaneckis
. In the same year, Mikenas emigrated from Estonia to Lithuania. In 1934, he won a match against Povilas Vaitonis
(6:2). In 1935, he took 10th in Łódź (Savielly Tartakower
won), and drew a match with Vistaneckis (8:8). In 1936, he won the Lithuanian Championship
. In 1937, he won a match against Vaitonis (5.5:4.5). In 1937, he took 10th in Kemeri; despite his lowly placing, he defeated Alexander Alekhine
. In 1937/38, he took 6th at Hastings (Samuel Reshevsky
won).In 1938, he won a match against Vaitonis (9:3). In 1939, he took 4th in Kemeri–Riga (Salo Flohr
won). In September 1939, he took 3rd in Rosario (Vladimirs Petrovs
won).
. They moved Lithuania into the Soviet sphere of influence. Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union on 3 August 1940.
In September/October 1940, Mikėnas tied for 13-16th in Moscow (12th USSR-ch).
In 1941, he took 3rd (off contest) in Kutaisi (4th Georgian SSR ch). In February/March 1942, he tied for 3rd-6th in Moscow. In March/April 1942, he tied for 4-7th in Sverdlovsk. In July/August 1942, he tied for 3rd-5th in Kuibyshev. In 1943/44, he took 7th in the 23rd Moscow-ch. In 1944, he won (off contest) in Tbilisi (5th Georgian SSR ch). In 1944, he won a classification match against Ljublinsky (8:6).
In 1944, he tied for 5-6th in Moscow (13th USSR-ch).
In July 1945, he won in Kaunas (13th LTU-ch). In September/October 1945, he took 7th at Tallinn (EST-ch, Paul Keres
won). In October/November 1945, he won in Riga (Baltic Chess Championship
). In June/July 1946, he took 3rd, behind Yuri Averbakh
, and Vistaneckis, in Vilnius (Baltic Rep.-ch). In 1946, he took 2nd (off contest) in Tbilisi (7th Georgian SSR ch). In 1947, he took 2nd (off contest) in Minsk (13th Belarusian Championship
). In 1948, he drew a classification match against Rashid Nezhmetdinov
(7:7).
He played several times in Lithuanian SSR championships in Vilnius. He won the 14th LTU-ch in 1947, won in 1948, took 3rd in 1949, took 6th in 1951, tied for 2nd-4th in 1952, took 6th in 1953, took 2nd in 1954, took 3rd in 1955, took 2nd in 1957, tied for 2nd-4thin 1958, took 3rd in 1959, tied for 3rd-4th in 1960, won in 1961, took 2nd in 1963, won in 1964, shared 1st in 1965, tied for 2nd-3rd in 1967, and tied for 1st-2nd in 1968.
Meanwhile, in 1954, he won, ahead of Ratmir Kholmov
, Vistaneckis and Viacheslav Ragozin
, in Vilnius (Quadrangular). In 1955, he tied for 3rd-6th in Pärnu (Keres won). In 1959, he took 2nd, behind Boris Spassky
, in Riga. In 1960, he took 10th in Pärnu (Baltic Rep. ch, Keres won), and shared 4th at Leningrad (Mark Taimanov
won). In 1964, he tied 2nd-3rd, behind Iivo Nei
, in Pärnu (Baltic Rep. ch). In 1965, he won in Palanga (Baltic Rep. ch). In 1971, he won in Lublin, Poland.
Mikenas was awarded the International Master title in 1950 (the year the title was instituted). He was awarded the Honorary Grandmaster title in 1987.
He was the arbiter of the World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov
and Garri Kasparov in 1985.
), is named after him. He also developed the Flohr-Mikenas Variation of the English Opening
; the variation runs 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n International Master of 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...
, an Honorary Grandmaster, and a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Early life
Vladas Mikėnas played for Lithuania at first board in five official and one unofficial Chess OlympiadChess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s.
- In July 1931, he played at the 4th Chess Olympiad4th Chess OlympiadThe 4th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 11 and July 26, 1931, in Prague, Czechoslovakia...
in PraguePraguePrague 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...
(+7 –5 =6). - In July 1933, he played at the 5th Chess Olympiad5th Chess OlympiadThe 5th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 12 and July 23, 1933, in Folkestone, United Kingdom...
in FolkestoneFolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
(+5 –3 =6). - In August 1935, he played at the 6th Chess Olympiad6th Chess OlympiadThe 6th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 16 and August 31, 1935, in Warsaw, Poland...
in WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
(+2 –6 =10). - In August/September 1936, he played at the unofficial Olympiad in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(+5 –7 =8). - In July/August 1937, he played at the 7th Chess Olympiad7th Chess OlympiadThe 7th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 31 and August 14, 1937, in Stockholm, Sweden]....
in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(+7 –3 =8). - In August/September 1939, he played at the 8th Chess Olympiad8th Chess OlympiadThe 8th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , comprised an 'open' tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest...
in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos 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...
(+10 –5 =4).
In 1930, he won the Estonian Championship
Estonian Chess Championship
The first unofficial Estonian Chess Championship was held in 1903, organized by a chess club formed in Reval in 1903 and named for the famous Russian master Mikhail Chigorin. After the World War I, when Estonia became an independent country, official Estonian championships started...
in Tallinn (3rd EST-ch). In 1931, he tied for 2nd-5th at the first Baltic Championship
Baltic Chess Championship
The first Baltic Chess Congress took place in Riga, Latvia , in 1899. The winner was Robert Behting, the elder brother of Karl Behting, who won a play-off game with Karl Wilhelm Rosenkrantz. The second Baltic Chess Congress was played in Dorpat, Estonia , in 1901...
in Klaipėda
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
, which was won by Isakas Vistaneckis
Isakas Vistaneckis
Isakas Vistaneckis , a Jewish chess master from Lithuania.-Biography:...
. In the same year, Mikenas emigrated from Estonia to Lithuania. In 1934, he won a match against Povilas 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...
(6:2). In 1935, he took 10th in Łódź (Savielly 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...
won), and drew a match with Vistaneckis (8:8). In 1936, he won the Lithuanian Championship
Lithuanian Chess Championship
First unofficial Lithuanian championship was held in Kaunas in 1921. The Champion's title was granted after victorious or drawn match between previous champion and challenger, mostly a winner of Championship of Kaunas in the period from 1922 to World War II. The first official Lithuanian...
. In 1937, he won a match against Vaitonis (5.5:4.5). In 1937, he took 10th in Kemeri; despite his lowly placing, he defeated Alexander 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...
. In 1937/38, he took 6th at Hastings (Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
won).In 1938, he won a match against Vaitonis (9:3). In 1939, he took 4th in Kemeri–Riga (Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
won). In September 1939, he took 3rd in Rosario (Vladimirs Petrovs
Vladimirs Petrovs
Vladimirs Petrovs or Vladimir Petrov was a Latvian chess master.He was born in Riga, Latvia. Though he learned the game of chess relatively late, at age thirteen, Petrovs made rapid progress. By 1926, at age 19, he won the Riga Championship and finish third in the national championship...
won).
Soviet citizen
On 28 September 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany had changed the secret terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop PactMolotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
. They moved Lithuania into the Soviet sphere of influence. Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union on 3 August 1940.
In September/October 1940, Mikėnas tied for 13-16th in Moscow (12th USSR-ch).
In 1941, he took 3rd (off contest) in Kutaisi (4th Georgian SSR ch). In February/March 1942, he tied for 3rd-6th in Moscow. In March/April 1942, he tied for 4-7th in Sverdlovsk. In July/August 1942, he tied for 3rd-5th in Kuibyshev. In 1943/44, he took 7th in the 23rd Moscow-ch. In 1944, he won (off contest) in Tbilisi (5th Georgian SSR ch). In 1944, he won a classification match against Ljublinsky (8:6).
In 1944, he tied for 5-6th in Moscow (13th USSR-ch).
In July 1945, he won in Kaunas (13th LTU-ch). In September/October 1945, he took 7th at Tallinn (EST-ch, Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
won). In October/November 1945, he won in Riga (Baltic Chess Championship
Baltic Chess Championship
The first Baltic Chess Congress took place in Riga, Latvia , in 1899. The winner was Robert Behting, the elder brother of Karl Behting, who won a play-off game with Karl Wilhelm Rosenkrantz. The second Baltic Chess Congress was played in Dorpat, Estonia , in 1901...
). In June/July 1946, he took 3rd, behind Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
, and Vistaneckis, in Vilnius (Baltic Rep.-ch). In 1946, he took 2nd (off contest) in Tbilisi (7th Georgian SSR ch). In 1947, he took 2nd (off contest) in Minsk (13th 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 1948, he drew a classification match against Rashid Nezhmetdinov
Rashid Nezhmetdinov
Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov was an eminent Soviet chess player, chess writer, and Checkers player.-Early life:Nezhmetdinov was born in Aktubinsk, Russian Empire, in what is now Aqtöbe, Kazakhstan, of Tatar ethnicity. His parents died when he was very young, leaving him and two other siblings...
(7:7).
He played several times in Lithuanian SSR championships in Vilnius. He won the 14th LTU-ch in 1947, won in 1948, took 3rd in 1949, took 6th in 1951, tied for 2nd-4th in 1952, took 6th in 1953, took 2nd in 1954, took 3rd in 1955, took 2nd in 1957, tied for 2nd-4thin 1958, took 3rd in 1959, tied for 3rd-4th in 1960, won in 1961, took 2nd in 1963, won in 1964, shared 1st in 1965, tied for 2nd-3rd in 1967, and tied for 1st-2nd in 1968.
Meanwhile, in 1954, he won, ahead of Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...
, Vistaneckis and Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. He was also a chess writer and editor.- Biography :...
, in Vilnius (Quadrangular). In 1955, he tied for 3rd-6th in Pärnu (Keres won). In 1959, he took 2nd, behind Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, in Riga. In 1960, he took 10th in Pärnu (Baltic Rep. ch, Keres won), and shared 4th at Leningrad (Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
won). In 1964, he tied 2nd-3rd, behind Iivo Nei
Iivo Nei
Iivo Nei is an Estonian chess master.In 1947, at the beginning of his career, Nei took 3rd in Leningrad at the sixth USSR championships. The event was won by Viktor Korchnoi. In 1948, he tied for first with Korchnoi in Tallinn...
, in Pärnu (Baltic Rep. ch). In 1965, he won in Palanga (Baltic Rep. ch). In 1971, he won in Lublin, Poland.
Mikenas was awarded the International Master title in 1950 (the year the title was instituted). He was awarded the Honorary Grandmaster title in 1987.
He was the arbiter of the World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
and Garri Kasparov in 1985.
Contributions
The Mikenas Variation of the Modern Benoni, a sharp attacking line (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.e5 in algebraic notationAlgebraic chess notation
Algebraic notation is a method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. It is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers...
), is named after him. He also developed the Flohr-Mikenas Variation of the English Opening
English Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
; the variation runs 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4.