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Karel Opočenský (7 February 1892 – 16 November 1975) was a Czechoslovak
chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...
.


Chess career

Opočenský was four-time Czech Champion (1927, 1928, 1938, and 1944). In 1919, he took 2nd, behind František Schubert, in Prague (
Czechoslovak Chess Championship The Czechoslovak National Chess Championship was a chess competition to determine the best Czechoslovak chess player. History The first Czechoslovak championships were held in Prague in 1919. After a break caused by World War II, the championsh ...
). In 1925, he tied for 3rd–4th in Paris (
Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...
won). In 1927, he won in Česke Budějovice (CSR-ch). In 1928, he won in Brno (CSR-ch). In 1933, he won at Prague (the 10th Václav Kautský Memorial). In 1935, he took 4th in Bad Nauheim (
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 ...
won). In 1935, Opočenský took fourth place in
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
(
Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (chess), Internatio ...
won). In 1935, he won in
Luhačovice Luhačovice (; ) is a spa town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,000 inhabitants. It is known for the largest spa in Moravia and for architecturally valuable buildings designed by the architect Dušan Jurko ...
. In 1936, he took second place, behind Henryk Friedman, in Vienna. In 1937, he took second, behind
Karl Gilg Karl Gilg (20 January 1901, in Mankovice (Mankendorf), Austrian Silesia – 4 December 1981, in Kolbermoor, Bavaria) was a German chess International Master from Czechoslovakia. Biography Gilg played for Czechoslovakia in several Chess Olympiads. ...
, in
Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...
. In 1938, he won in Nice. In 1938, he tied for first with Hermann in Prague (CSR-ch). Opočenský played for Czechoslovakia four times in the
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 1931, he played at fourth board in
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 ...
in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
(+7−2=4). * In 1933, he played at fourth board in
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 ...
in
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 ...
(+10−0=3). * In 1935, he played at second board in
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 ...
in
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 ...
(+5−4=6). * In 1939, he played at first board in
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 ...
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 ...
(+8−5=4). He won individual gold and team silver medals at Folkestone 1933 and at Prague 1931, team bronze. When World War II broke out, Opočenský, Jan Foltys, and František Zíta were playing for the
Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially- annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the German occupation of the Czech lands. The protectorate's population was mostly ethnic Czechs. After the ...
team in 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 ...
in Argentina. They chose to return home, whilst teammates Jiří Pelikán and
Karel Skalička Karel Skalička (Spanish: Carlos Skalicka) (1 November 1896, in Prague – 30 December 1979, in Buenos Aires) was a Czech-Argentine chess master. In 1924, he won a team gold medal for Czechoslovakia (Hromádka, Schulz, Vaněk, Skalička) in the 1s ...
elected to remain in South America. In 1940, Opočenský took second, behind Foltys, in Rakovnik ( Bohemia and Moravia-ch). In 1941, he drew a match with Foltys in Prague (+4−4=4) and took 7th in
Trenčianske Teplice Trenčianske Teplice (; ) is a health resort and small spa town in western Slovakia, in the valley of the river Teplička, at the foothills of the Strážovské vrchy mountains, a few kilometres away from the city of Trenčín. Characteristics ...
(Foltys won). He also placed 13th in the Munich 1941 chess tournament (''Europa Turnier''), the event being won by
Gösta Stoltz Gösta Stoltz (May 9, 1904 – July 25, 1963) was a Swedish chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. Stoltz won the Swedish championships at Halmstad 1951, Hålland 1952, and Örebro 1953. He was awarded the International Master title in 1950, and t ...
. In 1942, he tied for 4–5th in Prague (Duras Jubileé) behind joint winners, Alekhine and
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 ...
. In 1943, he took 3rd in Prague (B&M-ch; Zita won). In 1944, he won in Brunn (B&M-ch). After the war, Opočenský played in several international and local (Czechoslovakia) tournaments. In 1945, he tied for 2nd–3rd, behind Emil Richter, in Prague. In 1946, he took 4th in Ostrava (CSR-ch;
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 i ...
won). In 1946, he took 4th in London. In 1946, he tied for 1st with
Daniel Yanofsky Daniel Abraham "Abe" Yanofsky (March 25, 1925 – March 5, 2000) was a Canadian chess player, chess arbiter, writer, lawyer, and politician. An eight-time Canadian chess champion, Yanofsky was Canada's first grandmaster and the first grandmaste ...
and Pachman, in Arbon. In 1947, he took 4th in Vienna. In 1949, he tied for 3rd–6th in Vienna. In 1949, he tied for 4–5th in Arbon. In 1956, he took 3rd in Poděbrady (CSR-ch, Ladislav Alster won). Opočenský was 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 1950, and became an
International Arbiter In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter ...
in 1951. In 1951 and 1954, he was the chief arbiter for the
World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Gukesh Dommaraju, who defeated the previous champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship 2024, 2024 World Chess Championship. ...
matches in Moscow, and also in the 10th
Olympiad An olympiad (, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the Ancient Olympic Games, ancient and Olympic Games, modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Archaic Greece, Greece ...
at Helsinki 1952, and in the second
Candidates Tournament The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The win ...
at Zurich 1953.


Legacy

Opočenský is also known as a theoretician. There are three opening variations named after him: the Opocensky Variation in the
Grünfeld Defence The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 :3. Nc3 d5 Black offers White the possibility of 4.cxd5, which may be followed by 4...Nxd5 and 5.e4, giving White an imposing duo. If White does not ...
(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Bd2), the Opocensky Variation in the Najdorf Variation of the
Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. e4 c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The opening 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for Whi ...
(1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2), and the Opočenský Opening, also known as the Trompowsky Opening (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5).


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opocensky, Karel 1892 births 1975 deaths Sportspeople from Most (city) People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors Chess theoreticians Chess arbiters