Povilas Tautvaišas

Povilas (Paul) Tautvaišas (Tautvaisas, Tautvaisis) (born 6 May 1916 – died November 1980) was a Lithuanian-American chess master.

Biography

He had played twice for the Lithuanian team in the Chess Olympiads, at eighth board (+4 –8 =2) at Munich 1936 (unofficial Olympiad), and at fourth board (+5 –9 =6) in the 8th Olympiad at Buenos Aires 1939, when World War II broke out. [ [http://www.olimpbase.org OlimpBase :: the encyclopaedia of team chess ] ] Tautvaisas returned to Europe, unlike many other players in that event (Najdorf, Stahlberg, Eliskases, Frydman, etc.). He took 5th, behind Birmanas, Arlauskas, Abramavičius, and Vaitonis, at the 1943 Lithuanian chess championship in Vilnius. [ [http://www1.omnitel.net/margiris/istorija/ltuch43.html Lietuvos šachmatų istorija ] ]

At the end of World War II, Tautvaišas along with many other Baltic players (Arlauskas, Dreibergs, Endzelins, Jursevskis, Mednis, Ozols, Sarapu, Vaitonis, Zemgalis, etc.) escaped to the West, just before the advancing the Soviet forces arrived, to avoid deportation to Siberia or any other persecutions the Soviet occupation (e.g., those of Vladimirs Petrovs). There were many tournaments organized in Germany in the late 1940s, and most of these consisted of Germans and "Displaced Persons" - mostly from the Baltics. Tautvaišas took 3rd, behind Arlauskas and Endzelins, in the "Baltic Displaced Persons" (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) championship, which was held in Blomberg. In 1946, he tied for 3rd-4th with Sämisch, behind Unzicker and Zemgalis, in Augsburg. In 1947, he took 12th in Kirchheim-Teck. In 1948, he tied for 3rd-5th in Esslingen. In 1948, he won in Oldenburg. [http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/]

Tautvaisas then moved to Boston in 1949, then finally to Chicago in 1950. He was many-time Chicago and Illinois champion, and his prominence in the Chicago area in the 1950s and 1960's earned him the nickname "The Old Fox". In 1956, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Arthur Bisguier, behind Donald Byrne, in Detroit (Tartakower Memorial). In 1957, he tied for 3rd-5th in Milwaukee (New Western Open). In 1957, he tied for 6th-16th in Milwaukee (North-Central Open). In 1958, he tied for 2nd-3rd with Theodorovych, behind Pal Benko, in Milwaukee (NCO). In 1959, he took 19th in Milwaukee (Western Open).

References