Fricis Apšenieks ( Old orthography: ''Fritzis Apscheneek''; 7 April 1894 in Tetele, Courland Governorate – 25 April 1941 in Riga, Latvian SSR) was a Latvian

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

master.

Biography

In 1924, Apšenieks finished 2nd, behind Hermanis Matisons, at Riga, and he won, ahead of

Frédéric Lazard Frédéric Lazard (20 February 1883, in Marseille – 18 November 1948, in Le Vésinet) was a French chess master, problemist and journalist. He lived in Paris, where he played in many local tournaments. He took twice 4th place in 1905, shared 3 ...

, at Paris. In 1924, he took 2nd, behind Hermanis Matisons, and followed by Edgar Colle, Arpad Vajda,

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

, Anatol Tschepurnoff, finished 1st at the FIDE World Amateur Championship in Paris. In 1925, he won, ahead of F.H. Terrill, at

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

. In 1925, he tied for 3rd-4th with

Karel Hromadka Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

at Bromley (Premier–A). In 1925, he tied for 3rd-4th at Debrecen. In 1926, he tied for 3rd-4th at Abo. In 1926, he won at Helsinki. In 1926, he took 3rd, behind Vladimirs Petrovs, and Teodors Bergs at Riga. In 1926, Apšenieks won the Latvian Championship at Riga. In 1927, he tied for 5th-7th at

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's th ...

. In 1931, he took 6th at

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

(won by Isakas Vistaneckis). In 1932, he tied for 3rd-5th at the Riga Championship. In 1934, he tied for 1st with Vladimirs Petrovs at Riga. In 1937, he tied for 11th-13th at

Ķemeri Ķemeri resort (originally ''Ķemeres'', also known as ''Kemmern'') JŪRMALA, Nature and Cultural Heritage, Ed. LaimaSlava, Neputns 2004, , pages 83-95 is a part of Jūrmala in Latvia, 44 km from Riga. From 1928 to 1959, Ķemeri was a separ ...

. In 1939, he tied for 11th-12th at Kemeri–Riga (

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

won). In 1941, he took 2nd, behind

Alexander Koblencs Alexander Koblencs ( lv, Aleksandrs Koblencs, russian: Александр Кобленц; 3 September 1916, Riga – 9 December 1993, Berlin) was a Latvian chess master, trainer, and writer. He is best known as the trainer of the 1960-61 World Ch ...

, at Riga. Apšenieks played for Latvia at seven official Chess Olympiads: in 1928, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937, and 1939. He also played in the unofficial Olympiad at Munich 1936. * In July/August 1928, he played at first board at the

2nd Chess Olympiad The 2nd Chess Olympiad ( nl, De 2e Schaakolympiade), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

(+8–7=1). * In July 1930, he played at first board at the

3rd Chess Olympiad The 3rd Chess Olympiad (german: Die 3. Schacholympiade), 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 13 and July 27, 1930, in Hamburg ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(+7–6=4). * In July 1931, he played at second board at the

4th Chess Olympiad The 4th Chess Olympiad ( cz, 4. Šachová olympiáda), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female playe ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

(+8–3=5). * In July 1933, he played at first board at the 5th Chess Olympiad in Folkestone (+1–6=7). * In August 1935, he played at second board at the 6th Chess Olympiad in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

(+6–5=7). * In August/September 1936, he played at second board at the unofficial Olympiad in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

(+7–5=6). * July/August 1937, he played at second board at the

7th Chess Olympiad The 7th Chess Olympiad ( sv, Den 7:e Schackolympiad), organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and (unofficial) 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 (+8–4=5). * In August/September 1939, he played at second board at the

8th Chess Olympiad The 8th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 8a Olimpíada de ajedrez, link=no), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), comprised an open tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest. The main team event took place bet ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(+5–6=8).OlimpBase :: the encyclopaedia of team chess
/ref> During the first Soviet occupation of Latvia, he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

at the age of 47.

Notable chess games

Fricis Apšenieks vs Max Euwe (NED), Paris 1924, (ol) f-A, Four Knights, C49, 1-0 Fricis Apšenieks vs Arthur William Dake (USA), Prague 1931, 4th Olympiad, Caro-Kann, Exchange Variation, B13, 1-0Gideon Stahlberg (SWE) vs Fricis Apšenieks, Folkestone 1933, 5th Olympiad, Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav, D11, 0-1Frank James Marshall (USA) vs Fricis Apšenieks, Warsaw 1935, 6th Olympiad, Queen's Gambit Accepted, D20, 0-1 Fricis Apšenieks vs Salo Landau (NED), Kemeri 1937, Slav Defense, D12, 1-0Fricis Apšenieks vs Reuben Fine (USA), Stockholm 1937, 7th Olympiad, Four Knights, C49, 1-0

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apsenieks, Fricis 1894 births 1941 deaths People from Jelgava Municipality People from Courland Governorate Chess Olympiad competitors Latvian chess players Soviet chess players 20th-century chess players Tuberculosis deaths in Latvia Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis