Fricis Apšenieks ( Old orthography: ''Fritzis Apscheneek''; 7 April 1894 in Tetele,

Courland Governorate Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland, and known from 1795 to 1796 as the Viceroyalty of Courland, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the ...

– 25 April 1941 in

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 ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

) 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.

Biography

* In 1924, Apšenieks finished 2nd place, behind

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 ...

, 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. He also took 2nd place, behind

, and was 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 Championship, World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 ...

, and Anatol Tschepurnoff, and finished 1st place 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 southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

. He also tied for the 3rd-4th place with Karel Hromadka at Bromley (Premier–A). He also tied for the 3rd-4th place at Debrecen. * In 1926, he tied for the 3rd-4th place at Abo. He also won at Helsinki. He also took 3rd, behind

Vladimirs Petrovs Vladimirs Petrovs (; 27 September 1908 – 26 August 1943) was a Latvian Russian chess player. Biography He was born in Riga, in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia). Though he learned the game of chess relative ...

, and

Teodors Bergs Teodors Bergs (Theodore Berg) (27 July 1902, in Riga – 3 October 1966, in Riga) was a Latvian chess master. In 1926, he took 2nd, behind Vladimirs Petrovs, and shared 2nd, behind Fricis Apšenieks in Riga. He took 3rd at Riga 1930 (Movsas Feig ...

at Riga. In the same year, Apšenieks won the Latvian Championship at Riga. * In 1927, he tied for the 5th-7th place at

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

. * In 1931, he took 6th place at

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

(won by Isakas Vistaneckis). * In 1932, he tied for the 3rd-5th at the Riga Championship. * In 1934, he tied for 1st place with

at Riga. * In 1937, he tied for the 11th-13th place at

Ķemeri Ķemeri resort (originally ''Ķemeres'', also known as ''Kemmern'') is a part of Jūrmala in Latvia, 44 km from Riga. From 1928 to 1959, Ķemeri was a separate town, famous for healing mud baths and luxurious hotels. Approximately 2,200 in ...

. * In 1939, he tied for the 11th-12th place 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 place, behind

Alexander Koblencs Alexander Koblencs (, , ; 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 Champion Mikhail Tal. In 1935, he took 4th place in Rosas ( Salo ...

at Riga. Apšenieks played for Latvia at seven 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 ...

: in 1928, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937, and 1939. He also played in the unofficial Olympiad at Munich in 1936. * In July/August 1928, he played at first board at the

2nd Chess Olympiad The 2nd Chess Olympiad (), 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 July 21 and August 6, 192 ...

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

3rd Chess Olympiad The 3rd Chess Olympiad (), 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, Germany. The 2nd Women's Wo ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

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

4th Chess Olympiad The 4th Chess Olympiad (), 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 players. and (unofficial) women ...

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(+8–3=5). * In July 1933, he played at first board at the

5th Chess Olympiad The 5th Chess Olympiad, 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. and (unofficial) women's tournament, as well as several events desig ...

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal 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, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

(+1–6=7). * In August 1935, he played at second board at the

6th Chess Olympiad The 6th Chess Olympiad (), 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. and (unofficial) women's tournament, as well as several events ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

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

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

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

7th Chess Olympiad The 7th Chess Olympiad (), 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 Stock ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(+8–4=5). * In August/September 1939, he played at second board at the

8th Chess Olympiad The 8th Chess Olympiad (), 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 between August 21 and September 19, 1939, in ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

(+5–6=8).OlimpBase :: the encyclopaedia of team chess
/ref> In his final years, he was struggling with health issues. During the first Soviet occupation of Latvia, he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

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 Dobele county Chess Olympiad competitors Latvian chess players Soviet chess players Tuberculosis deaths in Latvia Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis