- Karel Opočenský
Karel Opočenský (
7 February ,1892 ,Most –16 November ,1975 ,Prague ) was a Czechchess master .Biography
He was four-time Czech Champion (1927, 1928, 1938, and 1944). In 1919, he took 2nd, behind
František Schubert , in Prague (Czechoslovak Chess Championship ). In 1925, he tied for 3rd-4th in Paris (Alexander Alekhine won). In 1927, he won in Česke Budejovice (CSR-ch). In 1928, he won in Brno (CSR-ch). In 1933, he won at Prague (the 10th Kautsky Memorial). In 1935, he took 4th in Bad Nauheim (Efim Bogoljubow won).In 1935, he took 4th in
Łódź (Savielly Tartakower won). In 1935, he won in Luhačovice. In 1936, he took 2nd, behindHenryk Friedman , in Vienna. In 1937, he took 2 nd, behindKarl Gilg , in Teplice (Teplitz Schönau). In 1938, he won in Nice. In 1938, he tied for 1st with Hermann in Prague (CSR-ch).Karel Opočenský played for Czechoslovakia four times in the
Chess Olympiads .
* In 1931, he played at fourth board in 4th Olympiad inPrague (+7 –2 =4).
* In 1933, he played at fourth board in 5th Olympiad inFolkestone (+10 –0 =3).
* In 1935, he played at second board in 6th Olympiad inWarsaw (+5 –4 =6).
* In 1939, he played at first board in 8th Olympiad inBuenos Aires (+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, Opočensky,Jan Foltys , andFrantišek Zita were playing for the Bohemia & Moravia team in Argentina. They chose to return home, whilst team-matesJiří Pelikán andKarel Skalička elected to remain in South America).In 1940, Opočensky took 2nd, behind Foltys, in Rakovnik (B&M-ch). In 1941, he drew a match with Foltys in Prague (+4 –4 =4) and took 7th in
Trenčianske Teplice (Foltys won). He also placed 13th in Munich (Europa Turnier), the event being won byGösta Stoltz . In 1942, he tied for 4-5th in Prague (Duras Memorial) behind joint winners, Alekhine andKlaus Junge . In 1943, he took 3rd in Prague (B&M-ch; Zita won). In 1944, he won in Brunn (B&M-ch).After the war, he 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 won). In 1946, he took 4th in London. In 1946, he tied for 1st withDaniel Yanofsky 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).In 1951 and 1954, he was the chief arbiter for the
World Chess Championship matches in Moscow, and also in the 10th Olympiad at Helsinki 1952, and in the 2nd Candidates Tournament at Zurich 1953.Awarded the IM title in 1950, he became an International Chess Arbiter in 1951.
References
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