Elmārs Zemgalis (9 September 1923 – 8 December 2014) was a Latvian and American

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 and mathematics professor at

Highline College Highline College is a public community college in Des Moines, Washington. Highline was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County, Washington. The main campus covers . , there were approximately 17,000 students and 350,000 al ...

. He was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title in 2003.

Biography

Zemgalis started to play chess when he was eleven, eventually winning the championships of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

. After the Soviet Union invaded his native Latvia for the second time in 1944, Zemgalis fled to Germany. As a

Displaced Person Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...

after World War II, he played in twelve international tournaments. In 1946, he took second place, behind

Wolfgang Unzicker Wolfgang Unzicker (26 June 1925 – 20 April 2006) was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970. He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead. Unzicker was at times the world's strongest ama ...

, in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, with 13/16. In 1946, he took second place, behind Fedor Bohatirchuk, in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

(''

Klaus Junge Klaus Junge (1 January 1924 – 17 April 1945) was a Chilean-German chess master who was among the world's leading players during World War II. An officer in the Wehrmacht, he died during the Battle of Hamburg (1945), Battle of Welle shortly bef ...

Memorial''), with 6.5/9. In 1947, he took second place, behind Lūcijs Endzelīns in

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

(''

Hermanis Matisons Hermanis Matisons (; 1894, Riga – 1932) was a Latvian chess player and one of world's most highly regarded chess masters in the early 1930s. He was also a leading Chess composer, composer of Endgame study, endgame studies. He died of tuberculosi ...

Memorial''). In 1948, he won in Esslingen (

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

-ch), with 7/9. In 1949, he won in Rujtā (Württemberg-ch). In 1949, he tied for first place with

Efim Bogoljubow Efim Bogoljubow, also known as Efim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow (April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952), was a Russian-born German Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Early career Bogoljubow learned how to play chess at 15 years old, and dev ...

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places * Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony * Ol ...

. In 1949, he tied for first place with Leonids Dreibergs in Esslingen. In 1951, he emigrated to the United States, where he became a mathematics professor. By 1952, Zemgalis had settled in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. He was arguably the top player in the Pacific Northwest for the next fifteen years.''Elmars Zemgalis: Grandmaster without the title'', by John Donaldson, 2001, ASIN: B0006RZ3N6 In 1952, he won (3:1) a match against Olaf Ulvestad in Seattle. In 1953 and 1959, he won the

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

championships. His 9–0 win in the 1953 Championship and his 6–0 win in the 1959 Championship are the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. In 1962, he won (4.5: 3.5) a match against

Viktors Pupols Viktors Pūpols (born July 31, 1934) is an American chess master. Known by many local players as "Uncle Vik," he frequently plays at the Tacoma Chess Club. He was the Club Champion in 1955, and some of his games can be viewed online at the club' ...

. William John Donaldson wrote a book on his chess career: ''Elmars Zemgalis: Grandmaster without the title'' (2001). Zemgalis was awarded the Honorary Grandmaster title by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

in 2003.

References

External links

*
De.chessbase.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zemgalis, Elmars 1923 births 2014 deaths Latvian chess players Chess Grandmasters Chess players from Riga 20th-century American mathematicians Latvian World War II refugees Latvian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American mathematicians 20th-century American chess players