František Zíta (29 November 1909 – 1 October 1977) was a Czech

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

master who was born and died in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Zíta played for Czechoslovakia in

Chess Olympiad 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 an ...

s: * In 1937, at first reserve board in

7th Chess Olympiad The 7th Chess Olympiad ( sv, Den 7:e Schackolympiad), organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and (unofficial) women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 31 and August 14, 1937, ...

in Stockholm (+4 –4 =3); * In 1939, at first reserve board in

8th Chess Olympiad The 8th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 8a Olimpíada de ajedrez, link=no), 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 bet ...

in Buenos Aires (+10 –2 =4); * In 1952, at first reserve board in 10th Chess Olympiad in Helsinki (+1 –0 =2); * In 1954, at third board in

11th Chess Olympiad The 11th Chess Olympiad ( nl, De 11e Schaakolympiade), 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. team tournament, as well as several o ...

in Amsterdam (+1 –1 =8). He won the individual silver medal at Buenos Aires 1939. During World War II, he tied for 4th= in Bohemia and Moravia Championship at Rakovnik 1940 (

Jan Foltys Jan Foltys (13 October 1908, Svinov – 11 March 1952, Ostrava, Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic) was a Czech chess International Master. Biography In 1933, he tied for 8-12th in Mnichovo Hradiště (13th Czech championships). ...

won), shared 4th at Chocen 1942 ( Miroslav Katětov won), tied for 4th= at Prague 1942 (Duras Jubileé,

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

and

Klaus Junge Klaus Junge (1 January 1924 – 17 April 1945) was one of the youngest Chilean-German chess masters. In several tournaments during the 1940s he held his own among the world's leading players. An officer in the Wehrmacht, he died during the Ba ...

won), won at Prague 1943 (B&M-ch), tied for 4th= at Zlín 1943 ( Čeněk Kottnauer won). After the war, he shared 11th at Prague 1946 (Treybal Memorial,

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was ...

won), shared 1st in

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 Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) i ...

at Bratislava 1948 but lost a play-off match for the title to

Emil Richter Emil Richter (14 January 1894 – 16 March 1971) was a Czech chess master who was born and died in Prague. He won the Czech Chess Championship in 1948 and was awarded the International Master title in 1951. Richter played in the unofficial 1936 ...

, took 17th at Karlovy Vary 1948 (Foltys won), took 16th at Szczawno Zdrój 1950 (

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

won), took 3rd at Prague 1953 (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 in ...

won), shared 13th at Mariánské Lázně / Prague 1956 (

Miroslav Filip Miroslav Filip (27 October 1928 – 27 April 2009) was a Czech chess grandmaster. Filip was awarded the title of International Master in 1953, and the Grandmaster title in 1955. Filip represented Czechoslovakia in 12 consecutive Chess Olympia ...

won), took 10th at Sofia 1957 (zonal, Filip won). Zita played in the 1957 European Team Championship where the Czech team won the bronze medal. Zíta 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 ...

(IM) title in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zita, Frantisek 1909 births 1977 deaths Chess players from Prague Czech chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century chess players