René Letelier Martner (1915–2006) was a Chilean

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 ...

player with the title of

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

. His finest international tournament win was in 1954, when he took the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

tournament in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

as clear first ahead of joint Ossip Bernstein and Miguel Najdorf, beating both in their individual game.

Biography

He played in many Chilean Chess Championships. In 1932, he took 4th place ( Enrique Reed won). In 1934, he took 2nd, behind

Mariano Castillo Mariano Castillo Larenas (25 December 1905 – 23 September 1970) was a Chilean chess master. Over the period of 30 years, he won nine times Chilean Chess Championship (1924, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1934, 1940, 1947, 1949, and 1953). Castillo par ...

. Finally, Letelier was Chilean Champion in 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964, and 1973. He played for Chile in seven Chess Olympiads. * In 1939, at third board in 8th Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires (+4 –8 =1); * In 1950, at third board in 9th Chess Olympiad in Dubrovnik (+4 –5 =6); * In 1956, at second board in

12th Chess Olympiad The 12th Chess Olympiad (, ''12-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada''), organized by the FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as se ...

in Moscow (+5 –3 =9); * In 1960, at first board in

14th Chess Olympiad The 14th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 14. Schacholympiade), organized by 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 ...

in Leipzig (+7 –4 =8); * In 1964, at first board in

16th Chess Olympiad The 16th Chess Olympiad ( he, אולימפיאדת השחמט ה-16, ''Olimpiada ha-shachmat ha-16''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female ...

in Tel Aviv (+4 –7 =5); * In 1966, at first board in

17th Chess Olympiad The 17th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 17a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

in Havana (+4 –6 =7); * In 1974, at fourth board in

21st Chess Olympiad The 21st Chess Olympiad (french: La 21e Olympiade d'échecs), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

in Nice (+3 –4 =1). In tournaments, Letelier tied for 11-12th at

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

1936 (

Isaías Pleci Isaías Pleci (also Isaías Pléci) (27 October 1907 – 27 December 1979) was an Argentine 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 ...

won). In 1937, he took 2nd, behind

Rodrigo Flores Rodrigo Flores Álvarez (23 August 1913, in Santiago, Chile – 17 January 2007, in Santiago) was a Chilean engineer and chess master. Chess Flores was Chilean Champion eleven times: 1931, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1944, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1961, and ...

, in São Paulo. In 1938, he tied for 12-14th in Montevideo ( Alexander Alekhine won). In 1945, he took 5th in Viña del Mar (

Carlos Guimard Carlos Enrique Guimard (6 April 1913 – 11 September 1998) was an Argentine chess Grandmaster. He was born in Santiago del Estero. His granddaughter Isabel Leonard is a celebrated mezzo-soprano. Biography Guimard was thrice Argentine Champi ...

won). In 1945, he tied for 2nd-5th with Carlos Skalicka, Enrique Reinhardt and Moshe Czerniak in Quilmes (

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 Nor ...

won). In 1946, he tied for 1st with Skalička, followed by

Movsas Feigins Movsas Feigins or Movša Feigin (28 February 1908 – 11 August 1950) was a Latvian chess master. Biography Movsas Feigins was born in Dvinsk (then Russian Empire, now Daugavpils, Latvia). He won at Riga 1930, and was Latvian Champion in 1932 (aft ...

, Jorge Pelikán, etc., in Buenos Aires (Circulo La Regence). In 1946, he took 3rd, behind Gideon Ståhlberg and

Hermann Pilnik Hermann Pilnik (8 January 1914, Stuttgart, Germany – 12 November 1981, Caracas, Venezuela) was a German Argentine chess Grandmaster. Career In 1929, he won the championship of Stuttgart. Pilnik emigrated from Germany to Argentina in 1930. He ...

, in Paraná. In 1946, he took 11th in Mar del Plata (Miguel Najdorf won). In 1947, he took 2nd, behind Ståhlberg, in Buenos Aires (3rd Grau Memorial). In 1947, he took 4th in Buenos Aires ( Moshe Czerniak won). In 1948, he tied for 4-5th in Buenos Aires (Najdorf won). In 1949, he tied for 6-9th in Mar del Plata ( Héctor Rossetto won). In 1949, he tied for 2nd-3rd, behind Guimard, in Velez Sarsfield. In 1950, he tied for 5-7th in Venice ( Alexander Kotov won). In 1951, he took 8th in Mar del Plata/Buenos Aires (1st zonal;

Erich Eliskases Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (15 February 1913 – 2 February 1997) was a chess player who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition. In the late 1930s he was considered a potential contender for the World Championship. ...

and

Julio Bolbochán Julio Bolbochán (Buenos Aires, 20 March 1920 – Caracas, 28 June 1996) was the Argentine chess champion in 1946 and 1948. He learned the game from his older brother, Jacobo Bolbochán, later an International Master. He represented Argentina ...

won). In 1951/52, he took 3rd in San Rafael (Eliskases won). In 1952, he tied for 11-13th in Mar del Plata (Bolbochán and Rossetto won). In 1953, he tied for 6-7th in Mar del Plata ( Svetozar Gligorić won). In 1954, he won, ahead of joint runners-up Ossip Bernstein and Miguel Najdorf, at the Gran Torneio Internacional Unesco in Montevideo (18 players). This was Letelier's finest tournament win. Letelier beat both grandmasters in the field, Najdorf and Bernstein! In 1955, he took 12th in Mar del Plata ( Boris Ivkov won). In 1957, he tied for 7-8th in Rio de Janeiro (3rd zonal;

Oscar Panno Oscar Roberto Panno (born 17 March 1935 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine chess Grandmaster. Panno was the first top world chess player born in South America. Panno won the 2nd World Junior Chess Championship in 1953, ahead of such future stron ...

won). In 1958, he tied for 11-12th in Mar del Plata ( Bent Larsen won). In 1959, he took 7th in Lima (Ivkov and

Luděk Pachman Luděk Pachman (German: Ludek Pachmann, May 11, 1924 – March 6, 2003) was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in ...

won). In 1959, he tied for 9-10th in Santiago (Ivkov and Pachman won). In 1959, he took 5th in Mar del Plata (Najdorf and Pachman won). In 1960, he took 4th in Asunción (Gligorić and László Szabó won). In 1960, he tied for 8-10th in São Paulo (4th zonal; Julio Bolbochán won). In 1960, he took 7th in Mar del Plata (

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...

and

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

won). In 1961, he took 6th in Santa Fe ( Robert Byrne won). In 1961, he took 6th in Mar del Plata (Najdorf won). In 1962, he tied for 15-16th in Mar del Plata ( Lev Polugaevsky won). In 1963, he tied for 3rd-5th in Havana (Pan-American;

Eleazar Jiménez Eleazar Jiménez Zerquera (25 June 1928 – 6 May 2000) was a Cuban chess master. Jiménez won the Cuban Championship five times, in 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965, and 1967. He won the Pan American Chess Championship three times, in 1963, 1966 and 1970. ...

won). In 1963, he took 13th in Havana (2nd Capablanca Memorial;

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...

won). In 1964, he took 17th in Buenos Aires ( Tigran Petrosian and Paul Keres won). In 1964, he tied for 17-18th in Havana (3rd Capablanca Memorial; Vasily Smyslov and Wolfgang Uhlmann won). In 1964, he took 5th in Jerusalem. In 1965, he took 9th in Santiago (Smyslov won). In 1966, he tied for 10-11th in Havana (Pan-American; Jimenez won). In 1967, he took 15th in Havana (5th Capablanca Memorial; Larsen won). In 1969, Letelier won the 2nd edition of the annually played international Mar del Plata Open. In 1971, he took 15th in Havana (8th Capablanca Memorial;

Vlastimil Hort Vlastimil Hort (born 12 January 1944) is a German chess Grandmaster. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest players and reached the 1977–78 Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship, but never qualified f ...

won). In 1972, he tied for 6-9th in La Serena (

Vladimir Savon Vladimir Andreyevich Savon ( ua, Володи́мир Андрійович Саво́н; 26 September 1940 – 1 June 2005) was a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1973. Savon shared the Ukrainian C ...

won). In 1975, he tied for 8-11th in Buenos Aires ( Samuel Schweber won). Letelier was awarded the

(IM) title in 1960.

Notable chess games

René Letelier vs Jacobo Bolbochán, Mar del Plata 1936, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav, D46, 1-0

René Letelier vs Miguel Najdorf, Montevideo 1954, King's Indian, Sämisch Variation, E80, 1-0Robert James Fischer vs René Letelier Martner, Mar del Plata 1959, Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, C97, 0-1

References

External links

René Letelier at 365Chess.comVisa with photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letelier, Rene 1915 births 2006 deaths People from Maipo Province Chilean people of French descent Chilean chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors Chilean people of German descent 20th-century chess players