Movsas Feigins or Movša Feigin (28 February 1908 – 11 August 1950) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

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 disti ...

master.

Biography

Movsas Feigins was born in

Dvinsk Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...

(then

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, now Daugavpils,

). He won at Riga 1930, and was Latvian Champion in 1932 (after a play-off). In 1932, he tied for 3rd–5th at Riga. The event was won by

Vladimirs Petrovs Vladimirs Petrovs (russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Петро́в, translit=Vladimir Mikhailovich Petrov; 27 September 1907 – 26 August 1943) was a Latvian Russian chess player. He was born in Riga, in the Governorate of L ...

. In 1936/37, he tied for 4th–5th at Hastings. The event was won by

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

. In 1937, he tied for 15th–16th in the Kemeri 1937 chess tournament (

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 ...

, Petrovs and

Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960 ...

won); took 2nd in Brussels (''Quadrangular'', Alberic O'Kelly de Galway won); took 3rd, behind Petrovs and

Fricis Apšenieks Fricis Apšenieks ( Old orthography: ''Fritzis Apscheneek''; 7 April 1894 in Tetele, Courland Governorate – 25 April 1941 in Riga, Latvian SSR) was a Latvian chess master. Biography In 1924, Apšenieks finished 2nd, behind Hermanis Matison ...

, in Riga (7th LAT-ch, Triangular), and took 2nd in Riga (''Quadrangular'',

Paul List Pawel M. List ( he, פאול ליסט, russian: Павел Лист; Odessa, 9 September 1887 – London? 1954) was a Russian Jewish chess player, who emigrated to Britain in 1937 but never took British citizenship. He was born in Odessa, Uk ...

won). In March 1939, he took 6th at Kemeri–Riga (Flohr won). Feigins played for Latvia in five official

Chess Olympiads The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...

. He also played at the 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad at Munich 1936. * In July 1930, he played at third board at 3rd Chess Olympiad in

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

(+6 –5 =6). * In July 1931, he played at fourth board at 4th Chess Olympiad in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(+8 –5 =2). * In July 1933, he played at third board at 5th Chess Olympiad in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

(+6 –2 =6). * In August 1935, he played at third board at 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 ...

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

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(+12 –2 =5). * In August/September 1939, he played at third board at 8th Olympiad in

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 ...

(+10 –4 =5). He won two individual medals: bronze in 1933 and silver in 1936. In September 1939, when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out, Feigins, along with many other participants of 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 betwe ...

decided to stay permanently in Argentina. In March 1941, Feigins tied for 6th–8th in the

Mar del Plata 1941 chess tournament The fourth Mar del Plata chess tournament was held in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina, in March 1941. The first three Mar del Plata international tournaments (1928, 1934, 1936) were regarded as the third, fourth, and sixth South American Che ...

(

Gideon Ståhlberg Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg (26 January 1908 – 26 May 1967) was a Swedish chess player. He was among the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became N ...

won). He was 4th in Asunción 1944 and remained in Paraguay until 1946 when took 3rd at Buenos Aires (Círculo "La Regence"). He died in povertyFrancisco Benkö
in Buenos Aires.

Notable games

Einar Thorvaldsson (ISL) vs Movsas Feigins, Folkestone 1933, 5th Olympiad, King's Indian, E90, 0-1Movsas Feigins vs Endre Steiner (HUN), Munich (ol) 1936, Nimzo-Indian, Classical, E38, 1-0Milan Vidmar vs Movsas Feigins, Hastings 1936/37, Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, Classical, D68, 0-1Karlis Ozols vs Movsas Feigins, Kemeri 1937, English Opening, A13, 0–1Movsas Feigins vs László Szabó, Kemeri–Riga 1939, Grünfeld Defense, Russian Variation, D97, 1-0Movsas Feigins vs Markas Luckis (LTU), Buenos Aires 1939, 8th Olympiad, Nimzo-Indian, Classical, E33, 1-0Movsas Feigins vs Erich Eliskases, Mar del Plata 1941, Nimzo-Indian, Classical, E33, 1/2-1/2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feigins, Movsas 1908 births 1950 deaths Sportspeople from Daugavpils Latvian Jews Latvian chess players Argentine chess players Jewish chess players Chess Olympiad competitors Argentine Jews Latvian emigrants to Argentina 20th-century chess players