CHESS GRANDMASTER
America's oldest International Grandmaster of Chess, Elmārs Zemgalis, died on December 8th in Seattle at the age of 91.
Elmārs was born in Riga, Latvia on September 9, 1923, the youngest of three children. He first learned to play chess at age 11, from his older brother, Edvīns. Even in his youth, Elmārs was considered to be among the most talented chess players in Latvia. After he graduated at the top of his class from the First Municipal High School in Riga, he obtained a degree from the Institute of Teachers’ Training in Jelgava and began to pursue Medicine at the University of Riga, but he had to flee war torn Latvia in 1944. He was able to escape on a fishing boat out of Riga, and by train arrived in Germany’s northern province of Schleswig-Holstein. Elmārs did not see active duty during WWII since he was infirmed due to health concerns.
In 1946 Elmārs was able to reunite with his mother and sister in Bavaria, at a displaced person (DP) camp in Germany. His brother, a member of the Latvian Legion, fighting the communist aggressors, had died in battle. In the small village of Neunburg vorm Wald, Elmārs met his future wife, Cäcilia, while lunching on a park bench. They wed in 1948. With his knowledge of English and German, he subsequently took on the important position of employment officer with the International Refugee Organization which also ran the displaced persons camps.
In 1946 he first gained the attention of the chess world by his second place finishes at Augsburg and Regensburg, but it was his 1949 tie for first with World Championship contender Efim Bogoljubow at Oldenburg that really made him known. There he finished above players such as Unzicker, Rossolimo, Saemisch, O'Kelly, Wade, Tautvaisas, and Enevoldsen, scoring an undefeated 12 from 17. These results and other strong performances in Germany from 1946 to 1950 led to Mr. Zemgalis to being awarded the Grandmaster title from FIDE in 2003.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports writer Royal Brougham had the foresight to include a chessmaster in his program to bring displaced sportsmen from Europe to Washington state. That made it possible for Elmārs and Cäcilia Zemgalis to settle in Seattle in 1952. Their arrival was immediately celebrated with two special events. The first saw Elmārs play 50 players simultaneously at the Seattle Post Intelligencer auditorium with hundreds of spectators watching. The second was a match against the leading Washington State chess master Olaf Ulvestad who had competed in the 1946 USA-USSR match. Elmārs won convincingly 3-1. He would later win the Washington State Championship in 1953 and 1959.
With honor society ranking and degrees in mathematics from both the University of Washington (MA) and Seattle University (BS), Elmārs worked at Boeing as a research mathematician (early 1960s), prior to becoming a tenured math instructor at Highline College in Midway, Washington. He authored several textbooks for algebra and calculus, as well as contributing research articles in mathematics journals. Elmārs enjoyed teaching at Highline College until his retirement.
His love for chess, and his chess colleagues, locally and internationally, was evident throughout his retirement years. He played correspondence chess by mail, and later via internet. He often reflected on how miraculously chess had shaped his life story. Elmārs held Latvia dear, and was able to return for visits, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was a member of Seattle’s Latvian Lutheran Church and the Latvian American Association of Washington State, as well as being active with the Sister Cities Program. Liepaja, Latvia is a sister city of Bellevue, Washington. Elmārs was preceded in death by his siblings, Edvīns and Rasma, and his wife Cäcilia.
Memorial donations can be made to Seattle Chess Club, www.seattlechess.org , or the Latvian Lutheran Church.
Biography published in The Seattle Times on Jan. 4, 2015.
Further information about Mr. Zemgalis is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm%C4%81rs_Zemgalis and in records of the Seattle Latvian-Lutheran church and Seattle Latvian Center.
Mrs. Zemgalis was Catholic so Mr. Zemgalis was active in both his Latvia-speaking Lutheran Church and the Catholic St. James Cathedral of Seattle Mr. and Mrs. Zemgalis had a lovely home in Burien designed by a Latvian architect. Their home featured a custom-made plaque marking it as "the House of Chess."
More on the chess career of Mr. Elmārs Zemgalis & other grand masters born in Latvia at https://www.sahafederacija.lv/media/files/2017/04/26/lsf_20170426212351521307.pdf.
Elmārs (with long 'a' sound) is the Latvian form of Elmer.
America's oldest International Grandmaster of Chess, Elmārs Zemgalis, died on December 8th in Seattle at the age of 91.
Elmārs was born in Riga, Latvia on September 9, 1923, the youngest of three children. He first learned to play chess at age 11, from his older brother, Edvīns. Even in his youth, Elmārs was considered to be among the most talented chess players in Latvia. After he graduated at the top of his class from the First Municipal High School in Riga, he obtained a degree from the Institute of Teachers’ Training in Jelgava and began to pursue Medicine at the University of Riga, but he had to flee war torn Latvia in 1944. He was able to escape on a fishing boat out of Riga, and by train arrived in Germany’s northern province of Schleswig-Holstein. Elmārs did not see active duty during WWII since he was infirmed due to health concerns.
In 1946 Elmārs was able to reunite with his mother and sister in Bavaria, at a displaced person (DP) camp in Germany. His brother, a member of the Latvian Legion, fighting the communist aggressors, had died in battle. In the small village of Neunburg vorm Wald, Elmārs met his future wife, Cäcilia, while lunching on a park bench. They wed in 1948. With his knowledge of English and German, he subsequently took on the important position of employment officer with the International Refugee Organization which also ran the displaced persons camps.
In 1946 he first gained the attention of the chess world by his second place finishes at Augsburg and Regensburg, but it was his 1949 tie for first with World Championship contender Efim Bogoljubow at Oldenburg that really made him known. There he finished above players such as Unzicker, Rossolimo, Saemisch, O'Kelly, Wade, Tautvaisas, and Enevoldsen, scoring an undefeated 12 from 17. These results and other strong performances in Germany from 1946 to 1950 led to Mr. Zemgalis to being awarded the Grandmaster title from FIDE in 2003.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports writer Royal Brougham had the foresight to include a chessmaster in his program to bring displaced sportsmen from Europe to Washington state. That made it possible for Elmārs and Cäcilia Zemgalis to settle in Seattle in 1952. Their arrival was immediately celebrated with two special events. The first saw Elmārs play 50 players simultaneously at the Seattle Post Intelligencer auditorium with hundreds of spectators watching. The second was a match against the leading Washington State chess master Olaf Ulvestad who had competed in the 1946 USA-USSR match. Elmārs won convincingly 3-1. He would later win the Washington State Championship in 1953 and 1959.
With honor society ranking and degrees in mathematics from both the University of Washington (MA) and Seattle University (BS), Elmārs worked at Boeing as a research mathematician (early 1960s), prior to becoming a tenured math instructor at Highline College in Midway, Washington. He authored several textbooks for algebra and calculus, as well as contributing research articles in mathematics journals. Elmārs enjoyed teaching at Highline College until his retirement.
His love for chess, and his chess colleagues, locally and internationally, was evident throughout his retirement years. He played correspondence chess by mail, and later via internet. He often reflected on how miraculously chess had shaped his life story. Elmārs held Latvia dear, and was able to return for visits, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was a member of Seattle’s Latvian Lutheran Church and the Latvian American Association of Washington State, as well as being active with the Sister Cities Program. Liepaja, Latvia is a sister city of Bellevue, Washington. Elmārs was preceded in death by his siblings, Edvīns and Rasma, and his wife Cäcilia.
Memorial donations can be made to Seattle Chess Club, www.seattlechess.org , or the Latvian Lutheran Church.
Biography published in The Seattle Times on Jan. 4, 2015.
Further information about Mr. Zemgalis is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm%C4%81rs_Zemgalis and in records of the Seattle Latvian-Lutheran church and Seattle Latvian Center.
Mrs. Zemgalis was Catholic so Mr. Zemgalis was active in both his Latvia-speaking Lutheran Church and the Catholic St. James Cathedral of Seattle Mr. and Mrs. Zemgalis had a lovely home in Burien designed by a Latvian architect. Their home featured a custom-made plaque marking it as "the House of Chess."
More on the chess career of Mr. Elmārs Zemgalis & other grand masters born in Latvia at https://www.sahafederacija.lv/media/files/2017/04/26/lsf_20170426212351521307.pdf.
Elmārs (with long 'a' sound) is the Latvian form of Elmer.
CHESS GRANDMASTER
America's oldest International Grandmaster of Chess, Elmārs Zemgalis, died on December 8th in Seattle at the age of 91.
Elmārs was born in Riga, Latvia on September 9, 1923, the youngest of three children. He first learned to play chess at age 11, from his older brother, Edvīns. Even in his youth, Elmārs was considered to be among the most talented chess players in Latvia. After he graduated at the top of his class from the First Municipal High School in Riga, he obtained a degree from the Institute of Teachers’ Training in Jelgava and began to pursue Medicine at the University of Riga, but he had to flee war torn Latvia in 1944. He was able to escape on a fishing boat out of Riga, and by train arrived in Germany’s northern province of Schleswig-Holstein. Elmārs did not see active duty during WWII since he was infirmed due to health concerns.
In 1946 Elmārs was able to reunite with his mother and sister in Bavaria, at a displaced person (DP) camp in Germany. His brother, a member of the Latvian Legion, fighting the communist aggressors, had died in battle. In the small village of Neunburg vorm Wald, Elmārs met his future wife, Cäcilia, while lunching on a park bench. They wed in 1948. With his knowledge of English and German, he subsequently took on the important position of employment officer with the International Refugee Organization which also ran the displaced persons camps.
In 1946 he first gained the attention of the chess world by his second place finishes at Augsburg and Regensburg, but it was his 1949 tie for first with World Championship contender Efim Bogoljubow at Oldenburg that really made him known. There he finished above players such as Unzicker, Rossolimo, Saemisch, O'Kelly, Wade, Tautvaisas, and Enevoldsen, scoring an undefeated 12 from 17. These results and other strong performances in Germany from 1946 to 1950 led to Mr. Zemgalis to being awarded the Grandmaster title from FIDE in 2003.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports writer Royal Brougham had the foresight to include a chessmaster in his program to bring displaced sportsmen from Europe to Washington state. That made it possible for Elmārs and Cäcilia Zemgalis to settle in Seattle in 1952. Their arrival was immediately celebrated with two special events. The first saw Elmārs play 50 players simultaneously at the Seattle Post Intelligencer auditorium with hundreds of spectators watching. The second was a match against the leading Washington State chess master Olaf Ulvestad who had competed in the 1946 USA-USSR match. Elmārs won convincingly 3-1. He would later win the Washington State Championship in 1953 and 1959.
With honor society ranking and degrees in mathematics from both the University of Washington (MA) and Seattle University (BS), Elmārs worked at Boeing as a research mathematician (early 1960s), prior to becoming a tenured math instructor at Highline College in Midway, Washington. He authored several textbooks for algebra and calculus, as well as contributing research articles in mathematics journals. Elmārs enjoyed teaching at Highline College until his retirement.
His love for chess, and his chess colleagues, locally and internationally, was evident throughout his retirement years. He played correspondence chess by mail, and later via internet. He often reflected on how miraculously chess had shaped his life story. Elmārs held Latvia dear, and was able to return for visits, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was a member of Seattle’s Latvian Lutheran Church and the Latvian American Association of Washington State, as well as being active with the Sister Cities Program. Liepaja, Latvia is a sister city of Bellevue, Washington. Elmārs was preceded in death by his siblings, Edvīns and Rasma, and his wife Cäcilia.
Memorial donations can be made to Seattle Chess Club, www.seattlechess.org , or the Latvian Lutheran Church.
Biography published in The Seattle Times on Jan. 4, 2015.
Further information about Mr. Zemgalis is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm%C4%81rs_Zemgalis and in records of the Seattle Latvian-Lutheran church and Seattle Latvian Center.
Mrs. Zemgalis was Catholic so Mr. Zemgalis was active in both his Latvia-speaking Lutheran Church and the Catholic St. James Cathedral of Seattle Mr. and Mrs. Zemgalis had a lovely home in Burien designed by a Latvian architect. Their home featured a custom-made plaque marking it as "the House of Chess."
More on the chess career of Mr. Elmārs Zemgalis & other grand masters born in Latvia at https://www.sahafederacija.lv/media/files/2017/04/26/lsf_20170426212351521307.pdf.
Elmārs (with long 'a' sound) is the Latvian form of Elmer.
America's oldest International Grandmaster of Chess, Elmārs Zemgalis, died on December 8th in Seattle at the age of 91.
Elmārs was born in Riga, Latvia on September 9, 1923, the youngest of three children. He first learned to play chess at age 11, from his older brother, Edvīns. Even in his youth, Elmārs was considered to be among the most talented chess players in Latvia. After he graduated at the top of his class from the First Municipal High School in Riga, he obtained a degree from the Institute of Teachers’ Training in Jelgava and began to pursue Medicine at the University of Riga, but he had to flee war torn Latvia in 1944. He was able to escape on a fishing boat out of Riga, and by train arrived in Germany’s northern province of Schleswig-Holstein. Elmārs did not see active duty during WWII since he was infirmed due to health concerns.
In 1946 Elmārs was able to reunite with his mother and sister in Bavaria, at a displaced person (DP) camp in Germany. His brother, a member of the Latvian Legion, fighting the communist aggressors, had died in battle. In the small village of Neunburg vorm Wald, Elmārs met his future wife, Cäcilia, while lunching on a park bench. They wed in 1948. With his knowledge of English and German, he subsequently took on the important position of employment officer with the International Refugee Organization which also ran the displaced persons camps.
In 1946 he first gained the attention of the chess world by his second place finishes at Augsburg and Regensburg, but it was his 1949 tie for first with World Championship contender Efim Bogoljubow at Oldenburg that really made him known. There he finished above players such as Unzicker, Rossolimo, Saemisch, O'Kelly, Wade, Tautvaisas, and Enevoldsen, scoring an undefeated 12 from 17. These results and other strong performances in Germany from 1946 to 1950 led to Mr. Zemgalis to being awarded the Grandmaster title from FIDE in 2003.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports writer Royal Brougham had the foresight to include a chessmaster in his program to bring displaced sportsmen from Europe to Washington state. That made it possible for Elmārs and Cäcilia Zemgalis to settle in Seattle in 1952. Their arrival was immediately celebrated with two special events. The first saw Elmārs play 50 players simultaneously at the Seattle Post Intelligencer auditorium with hundreds of spectators watching. The second was a match against the leading Washington State chess master Olaf Ulvestad who had competed in the 1946 USA-USSR match. Elmārs won convincingly 3-1. He would later win the Washington State Championship in 1953 and 1959.
With honor society ranking and degrees in mathematics from both the University of Washington (MA) and Seattle University (BS), Elmārs worked at Boeing as a research mathematician (early 1960s), prior to becoming a tenured math instructor at Highline College in Midway, Washington. He authored several textbooks for algebra and calculus, as well as contributing research articles in mathematics journals. Elmārs enjoyed teaching at Highline College until his retirement.
His love for chess, and his chess colleagues, locally and internationally, was evident throughout his retirement years. He played correspondence chess by mail, and later via internet. He often reflected on how miraculously chess had shaped his life story. Elmārs held Latvia dear, and was able to return for visits, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was a member of Seattle’s Latvian Lutheran Church and the Latvian American Association of Washington State, as well as being active with the Sister Cities Program. Liepaja, Latvia is a sister city of Bellevue, Washington. Elmārs was preceded in death by his siblings, Edvīns and Rasma, and his wife Cäcilia.
Memorial donations can be made to Seattle Chess Club, www.seattlechess.org , or the Latvian Lutheran Church.
Biography published in The Seattle Times on Jan. 4, 2015.
Further information about Mr. Zemgalis is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm%C4%81rs_Zemgalis and in records of the Seattle Latvian-Lutheran church and Seattle Latvian Center.
Mrs. Zemgalis was Catholic so Mr. Zemgalis was active in both his Latvia-speaking Lutheran Church and the Catholic St. James Cathedral of Seattle Mr. and Mrs. Zemgalis had a lovely home in Burien designed by a Latvian architect. Their home featured a custom-made plaque marking it as "the House of Chess."
More on the chess career of Mr. Elmārs Zemgalis & other grand masters born in Latvia at https://www.sahafederacija.lv/media/files/2017/04/26/lsf_20170426212351521307.pdf.
Elmārs (with long 'a' sound) is the Latvian form of Elmer.
Gravesite Details
Because his beloved wife was a devout Catholic, Mr. Zemgalis is buried with her in this Catholic cemetery. Most Seattle area Latvians are buried in the Latvian-Lutheran Church section of Evergreen Washelli Cemetery in Seattle.
Family Members
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