Alvis Vītoliņš (sometimes anglicised as Alvis Vitolins or Vitolinsh; 15 June 1946, in

Sigulda Sigulda (; ; Polish Zygwold) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Devonian sandstone which forms steep r ...

– 16 February 1997) was a Latvian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

master. Awarded the

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 ...

title in 1980, he was Latvian Champion in 1973 (jointly), 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983 and 1985 (jointly). His name is attached to the Vitolins Variation in the

Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation In chess, the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defence is an opening that is a line of the Open Sicilian characterised by Black setting up a "small centre" with pawns on d6 and e6. There are numerous move orders that reach the Scheveninge ...

(1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bb5+) and the Vitolins Variation of the

Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation In chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves: :1. e4 c5 :2. Nf3 d6 :3. d4 cxd4 :4. Nxd4 Nf6 :5. Nc3 g6 In the Dragon, Black's bishop is fianchettoed on g7, castling on t ...

(1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6.Bg5 Bg7 7. Bb5+). He died in 1997 at the age of 50.Republika.lv - Žurnāls domātājiem un darītājiem
/ref> The cause of death was

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

Notable games

Lev Gutman vs Alvis Vitolinsh, USSR 1979, Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation (E46), 0-1

Alvis Vitolinsh vs Igor Viksni, Riga 1985, Russian Game: Cochrane Gambit, Center Variation (C42), 1-0

References

External links

* 1946 births 1997 suicides People from Sigulda Latvian chess players Soviet chess players Chess International Masters Chess theoreticians Suicides by jumping in Latvia 1997 deaths {{Latvia-chess-bio-stub