Miervaldis (Walter) Jurševskis (November 6, 1921 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 ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

– March 15, 2014 in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

) was a Latvian-Canadian

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 a professional artist. Jurševskis learned chess from his father at the age of six, but it was not until he entered the University of Latvia, where he studied art, that he became one of the brightest chess stars in Riga. He won numerous tournaments, including the one of Jūrmala, and most of the blitz contests he entered. He fled Riga in 1944, just prior to the Soviet forces arriving. 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 took place in several chess events in Germany, including Blomberg and Lübeck (both 1945), Meerbeck (1946), and Hanau (1947). In these events, Jurševskis played with strong players from the Baltic countries—along with German and Austrian masters -— including

Efim Bogoljubov 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 ...

Friedrich Sämisch Friedrich Sämisch (20 September 1896 – 16 August 1975) was a German chess player and chess theorist. He was among the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Background Sämisch was a bookbinder ...

, Ludwig Rellstab,

Elmārs Zemgalis Elmārs Zemgalis (9 September 1923 – 8 December 2014) was a Latvian and American chess master and mathematics professor at Highline College. He was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title in 2003. Biography Zemgalis started to play chess when ...

, Lūcijs Endzelīns, Romanas Arlauskas, and

Kārlis Ozols Karlis Aleksandrs Ozols (; 9 August 1912, in Riga – 23 March 2001, in Australia) was a Latvian lieutenant in the Nazi-controlled Latvian Auxiliary Police and a member of Heinrich Himmler's SS during WW2. After later migrating to Australia, ...

. In 1948 Jurševskis emigrated to Canada where he eventually settled in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He won the British Columbia Championships six times (1949, 1950, 1954–57). He played in three Canadian Championships (1951, 1955, 1957), his best result occurring at Vancouver 1957 when he tied for third, behind Povilas Vaitonis and Géza Füster.1957 Canadian Championship
/ref> Jurševskis love to play 5-minute blitz games; he eventually wrote a 14-page booklet in Latvian "''Piecu minūšu partijas technika un taktika''" (Five Minute Game Technique and Tactics), Memmingen, 1946. By profession Jurševskis was an artist, and contributed many drawings to various chess magazines and has illustrated several chess books.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jursevskis, Miervaldis 1921 births 2014 deaths Chess players from Riga Latvian emigrants to Canada Latvian World War II refugees Latvian chess players Chess players from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian chess players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen