The below is a list of events in chess in the year 1940.

Chess events in brief

* 17 January 1940 - Dawid Przepiórka, Stanisław Kohn,

Moishe Lowtzky Moishe (Mojżesz) Lowtzky (Łowcki) (1881–1940) was a Ukrainian–Polish chess master. Biography He was born into a Jewish family in Ukraine. In 1903, Lowtzky tied for 6-7th with Eugene Znosko-Borovsky in Kiev (3rd RUS-ch). The event was won b ...

Achilles Frydman Achilles Frydman (March 19, 1904, Łódź – 1940) was a Polish chess player. Biography He lived in Łódź where he took 4th place (1930, 1931, 1934) and tied for 5-6th (1933) in the city championships. In 1935, he took 5th in Warsaw at the 3rd ...

, Abkin, Młynek, Zahorski and many others were arrested at the Kwieciński Chess Café in Warsaw, and imprisoned at Daniłowiczowska Str. (they had played a prison tournament won by Lowtzky there). Later (February – March 1940) most of them (all Jewish) were killed in a mass execution by the Nazis in Palmiry,

General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...

. * 23 September 1940 - The National Chess Centre in London was destroyed by fire during The Blitz. * The famous French chess magazine '' La Stratégie'' ceases publication after 73 years. It had been established in Paris in 1867.

Tournaments

* Hastings International Chess Congress won by Frank Parr, 1939/40. * Havana won by Isaac Kashdan ahead of

Georges Koltanowski George Koltanowski (also "Georges"; 17 September 1903 – 5 February 2000) was a Belgian-born American chess player, promoter, and writer. He was informally known as "Kolty". Koltanowski set the world's blindfold record on 20 September 1937 ...

, January 1940. * Beverwijk (the 3rd ''Hoogovenschaaktoernoi'') won by Max Euwe, January 1940. * Warsaw (a prison tournament), won by

ahead of Stanisław Kohn, January/February 1940. * Budapest (''Maroczy Jubilaeum'') won by Euwe followed by Milan Vidmar, Gedeon Barcza, etc. * Amsterdam (VAS), won by Hans Kmoch followed by Adriaan de Groot,

Salo Landau Salo (Salomon) Landau (1 April 1903, Bochnia, Galicia, Austria-Hungary – March 1944,Westerbork Cartotheek NIOD Amsterdam Grodziszcze, Świdnica County, Poland) was a Dutch chess player, who died in a Nazi concentration camp. Biography Early ...

and Lodewijk Prins, etc. * Amsterdam (VVGA), won by Euwe ahead of Prins. * Baarn (''Quadrangular''), won by Landau ahead of Euwe and Kmoch, and

Haije Kramer Haije Kramer (24 November 1917, Leeuwarden – 11 July 2004) was a Dutch chess master and theoretician. He began his chess career during World War II. He took 4th at Baarn 1940 (''Quadrangular'', Salo Landau won), took 3rd at The Hague 1940 ...

. *

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

(''Quadrangular''), won by Kmoch followed by Euwe, Johannes van den Bosch, and Landau. * Leeuwarden won jointly by

Nicolaas Cortlever Nicolaas (Nico) Cortlever (14 June 1915, in Amsterdam – 5 April 1995) was a Dutch chess master. He tied for 7-8th at Rotterdam 1936 (10th Dutch Chess Championship, NED-ch, Salo Landau won); took 2nd at Amsterdam 1938 (11th NED-ch, Max Euwe won) ...

, Prins and Landau. * Rotterdam won by Euwe ahead of Vlagsma. * The Hague won by George Salto Fontein ahead of Arthur Wijnans. * Ghent (the Belgian Chess Championship), won by

Paul Devos Paul Devos (10 March 1911 – 14 June 1981) was a Belgian chess master. Devos was seven times Belgian Champion (1933, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1945, and 1948). He finished second, behind Boruch Israel Dyner, at Brussels in 1933 but won the tit ...

. * Santiago de Cuba won by Koltanowski ahead of Diez. * Santiago de Chile (the

Chilean Chess Championship The Chilean Chess Championship is the national chess championship of Chile organised by the FENACH (Federacion Nacional de Ajedrez de Chile). In 2004–2006 there was also a championship organised by the FEDAC (Federación Deportiva de Ajedrez de C ...

), won by Mariano Castillo. *

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(the Uruguayan Chess Championship), won by Arturo Liebstein. * Rio de Janeiro (''Torneio Nacional de Selecao''), won by Walter Cruz, February/March 1940. * Buenos Aires (the 19th Argentine Chess Championship, ''Torneo Mayor'') won by Aristide Gromer followed by Franciszek Sulik, Carlos Guimard, etc. * Lvov (West Ukrainian championship), won by Abram Khavin, March 1940. *

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

won by Gideon Ståhlberg. *

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(unofficial Swedish Chess Championship), won by Nils Bergkvist. * Randers (the Danish Chess Championship), won by

Jens Enevoldsen Jens Evald Enevoldsen-Elsing (23 September 1907 – 23 May 1980) was a Denmark, Danish chess master born in Copenhagen. Chess career Enevoldsen won the Danish Chess Championship five times (1940, 1943, 1947, 1948, and 1960). In 1939 he shared fir ...

. * Güstrow won by Carl Ahues and Lachmann, start 20 March 1940. * London (''Easter'') won by Harry Golombek and Paul List ahead of Vera Menchik-Stevenson, March 1940. * New York City (the 3rd

U.S. Chess Championship The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the United States chess champion. Begun as a challenge match in 1845, the U.S. Championship has been decided by tournament play for most of its long history. Since 1936, i ...

), won by Samuel Reshevsky, 27 April – 19 May 1940. * Bad Elster won by Karl Gilg and Ludwig Roedl, start 14 May 1940. * Berlin won by Efim Bogoljubow ahead of Kurt Richter, start 16 June 1940. * Berlin (the

Berlin City Chess Championship The Berlin Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament in Germany. The first unofficial Berlin Chess Championship was held in 1853, and Jean Dufresne won a match against Max Lange. Since 1904, official Berlin championships have taken place. The ...

), won by

Rudolf Palme Rudolf Palme (6 March 1910, Vienna – 1 January 2005, Reutte) was an Austrian chess master. He took 14th at Vienna 1933 (the 16th Trebitsch Memorial, Ernst Grünfeld and Hans Müller won), and represented Austria in 3rd unofficial Chess Olympi ...

, June 1940. * Posen won by Ahues and Elstner, July 1940. * Nice (the French Chess Championship), won by Amédée Gibaud. * Sofia (the Bulgarian Chess Championship), won by

Oleg Neikirch Oleg Nikolaev Neikirch (Neikirh, Nejkirch, Neykirch) ( bg, Олег Николаев Нейкирх) (8 March 1914, Tbilisi, Georgia - 26 August 1985, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian chess master. He won seven times Bulgarian Chess Championship ( ...

and

Alexander Tsvetkov Alexander (Alexandar) Kristov Tsvetkov (Cwetkow) ( bg, Александър Христов Цветков) (7 October 1914 in Topolovgrad, Bulgaria – 29 May 1990) was a Bulgarian chess master. In April 1936, he won a game against Alexander A ...

. * Dublin (the

Irish Chess Championship The Irish Chess Championship is the national Championship of Ireland, currently run by the Irish Chess Union (ICU), the FIDE-recognised governing body for the game. Below is the list of champions. The first champion was J.A. Porterfield Rynd, w ...

), won by John O'Hanlon. * Montreal (the 44th Canadian Chess Championship), won by Maurice Fox. *

Ventnor City Ventnor City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,210, a decrease of 1,440 in the preceding decade.Milton Hanauer Milton Loeb Hanauer (5 August 1908 – 16 April 1988) was a public school principal, chess master and Marshall Chess Club official. Born in Harrison, New York, He is best known for running the New York school competition that became known as the Ha ...

and Sidney Bernstein. * Dallas (the 41st U.S. Open), won by Reuben Fine ahead of Herman Steiner, August 1940. * Bad Oeynhausen (the 7th German Chess Championship), won by Georg Kieninger ahead of

Paul Felix Schmidt Paul Felix Schmidt ( – 11 August 1984) was an Estonian and German chess player, writer and chemist. Biography In June 1935, Schmidt won, ahead of Paul Keres, at Tallinn. In May 1936, he drew a match against Keres (+3 –3 =1) at Pärnu. ...

, start 4 August 1940. * Rakovník (the Bohemia and Moravia Chess Championship), won by Jan Foltys, 17–31 August 1940. * Lvov won by Edward Gerstenfeld ahead of

Izaak Appel Izaak (Isaak) Appel (1905–1941) was a Polish chess master. Biography In 1926, he took 12th place in the Warsaw (1st POL-ch) competition, which was won by Dawid Przepiórka. In 1929, he took 2nd place, behind Teodor Regedziński, in the C ...

, August 1940. * Danzig won by

Walter John Walter John (January 1879 – December 1940) was a German chess master. John was born at Thorn (Toruń), German Empire. He took 2nd, behind Curt von Bardeleben in ''Café Kerkau'', and took 4th (Ossip Bernstein won) at Berlin 1902. He won at ...

ahead of Gustav Rogmann, September 1940. * Leningrad (''Quadrangular''), won by Viacheslav Ragozin. * Leningrad (the 15th Leningrad City Chess Championship) won by Ilya Rabinovich. *

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

(USSR championship, semi-final), won by Gerstenfeld and Stolberg. * Moscow (the 12th USSR Chess Championship), won jointly by Igor Bondarevsky and Andor Lilienthal, followed by Vasily Smyslov, Paul Keres, Isaac Boleslavsky and

Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinnik ...

, etc., 5 September – 3 October 1940. *

(the 12th Ukrainian Chess Championship), won by Boleslavsky ahead of David Bronstein. * Krakow/ Krynica/ Warsaw (the 1st General Government Chess Championship), won by Bogoljubow and Anton Kohler, 3–17 November 1940. * Posen (''Quadrangular''), won by Rogmann. * Prague (the Kautsky Memorial), won by Josef Dobiáš. * Melbourne (the Pietzcker Christmas Tournament), won by Lazare Suchowolski, December 1940. *

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(the New South Wales championship), won by

Lajos Steiner Lajos Steiner (14 June 1903, in Nagyvárad ( Oradea) – 22 April 1975, in Sydney) was a Hungarian–born Australian chess master. Steiner was one of four children of Bernat Steiner, a mathematics teacher, and his wife Cecilia,(née Schwarz) ...

followed by

Gary Koshnitsky Gregory (Gary) Koshnitsky (6 October 1907, Kishinev – 17 September 1999, Australia) was an Australian chess master. Born in Kishinev, in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Moldova), he emigrated in his youth to Aust ...

Cecil Purdy Cecil John Seddon Purdy (27 March 1906 – 6 November 1979), often referred to as "C. J. S. Purdy", was an Australian chess player and writer. He was awarded the titles International Master in 1951 and Grandmaster of correspondence chess in 1 ...

, etc., 1940/41.

Matches

* Paul Keres won against Max Euwe (7.5 : 6.5) in The Netherlands (various places) in 1939/40. *

Carlos Maderna Carlos Hugo Maderna (4 August 1910 – 23 January 1976) was an Argentine chess master. Chess Career He was twice Argentine Champion; in 1940 he won a match for the title (of 1939) against Luis Piazzini (8 : 6), then lost a match to Car ...

defeated

Luis Piazzini Luis Roberto (Ruben) Piazzini (11 May 1905 – 4 March 1980) was an Argentine chess master. He participated many times in Argentine championships, and was an Argentine Champion in 1933 winning ARG-ch ''Torneo Mayor'' and a match for the tit ...

(8 : 6), Buenos Aires, Argentina (the 18th ARG-ch). * Walter Cruz beat

Octavio Trompowsky Octavio is a Spanish language masculine given name. In the Portuguese language the given name Octavio or Octávio is also found, but in Portuguese the normal spelling is Otávio. It is also used as a surname in the Philippines. Individuals * Octav ...

(5.5 : 1.5), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. * Georg Kieninger defeated Wilhelm Ernst (6 : 4), Cologne, Germany. * Georg Kieninger defeated Wilhelm Ernst (5.5 : 4.5), Gelsenkirchen, Germany. * Georg Kieninger beat Immo Engert (7.5 : 2.5), Düsseldorf, Germany. *

beat Viacheslav Ragozin (8.5 : 3.5), Leningrad, Russia. * Grigory Levenfish won against Vladimir Alatortsev (8.5 : 5.5), Russia.

Births

* 8 February – Boris Kogan, Russian/American IM * 15 May – Carlos Bielicki, Argentine IM, 1959 World Junior Champion * 2 June – István Csom in Satoraljaujhely, Hungarian GM * 7 June –

Liudmila Belavenets Liudmila Sergeyevna Belavenets (russian: Людмила Сергеевна Белавенец; also transliterated Lyudmila Sergeevna Belavenets; 7 June 1940 – 7 November 2021) was a Russian chess player. Biography Born in Moscow, she was th ...

in Moscow, Russian ICCGM and Women's World Correspondence Champion 1984–1992 * 2 August –

Adrian Hollis Adrian Swayne Hollis (2 August 1940 – 26 February 2013) was an English classical scholar and correspondence chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster, the title having been awarded in 1976. Early life and education Hollis was born on 2 August 1940 ...

in Bristol, English ICCGM * 8 August – Dragutin Sahovic in Kraljevo, Yugoslavian/Serbian GM * 24 September – Renato Naranja, Filipino IM * 26 September –

Vladimir Savon Vladimir Andreyevich Savon ( ua, Володи́мир Андрійович Саво́н; 26 September 1940 – 1 June 2005) was a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1973. Savon shared the Ukrainian C ...

in Chernihiv, Soviet/Ukrainian GM, USSR Champion in 1971 * 7 October –

Liu Wenzhe Liu Wenzhe (; October 7, 1940 – September 20, 2011) was an International Master chess player. He was one of China's top chess trainers. Liu Wenzhe played for Guangdong chess club in the China Chess League (CCL). Chess career He was th ...

, Chinese IM and trainer * 10 November – Miodrag Todorcevic in Belgrade, Serbian/French GM and coach * 19 December – Juzefs Petkēvičs, Latvian GM *

Andrew Kalotay Andrew Kalotay (born 1941) is a Hungarian-born finance professor, Wall Street quant and chess master. He is best known as an authority on fixed income valuation and institutional debt management. He is currently the President of Andrew Kalo ...

, Hungarian-born Canadian/American chess player

Deaths

* ca. March - Dawid Przepiórka killed in a mass execution by the Nazis in Palmiry. * ca. March -

killed in a mass execution in Palmiry. * ca. March - Stanisław Kohn killed in a mass execution in Palmiry. * ca. March -

killed in a mass execution in Palmiry. * 5 May -

Willi Schlage Willi Schlage (24 December 1888 – 5 May 1940 in Berlin) was a German chess master and trainer. Active as a player during the inter-war years of the Weimar Republic and later as a trainer during the rise of the Third Reich, Schlage is remembered ...

died in Berlin, Germany. * 4 July -

Sammi Fajarowicz Sammi Fajarowicz (5 June 1908 in Möckern/Leipzig – 4 July 1940 in Leipzig) was a German chess master. Fajarowicz was born into a Jewish family with Ukrainian roots. He played several times in Leipzig championships; took 3rd in 1928, 2nd in 1929 ...

died in the Jewish Hospital in Leipzig (''Leipziger Israelische Krankenhaus'') of tuberculosis. Fajarowicz Gambit. * 18 July –

Davide Marotti Davide Marotti (1 January 1881, in Naples – 18 July 1940) was an Italian chess master. He was a professor of literature and philosophy. In 1911, he took 5th in Rome (Matteo Gladig won). In 1919, he won in Naples. In 1920, he took 2nd, behind ...

, winner of the first Italian Championship * 11 September - Peter Fyfe died in Glasgow, Scotland. Fyfe Gambit. * 30 November -

Wilhelm Hilse Wilhelm Heinrich Hilse (26 June 1878 – 30 November 1940) was a German chess master. He tied for 12/13th at Coburg 1904 ( DSB Congress, ''Hauptturnier A'', Augustin Neumann won), shared 1st at Bremen 1906 (''Quadrangular''), took 4th at Hannover ...

died in Germany. * December -

died in Berlin, Germany. * December -

František Schubert František Schubert (27 April 1894, Mladá Boleslav – 19 April 1942, Łódź) was a Czech chess master. Before World War I, he took 4th at Pilsen (Plzeň) 1911 ( Amos Pokorný and Zářecký won), played at Böhmisch Trübau (Česká Třebová) ...

died in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. * Moshe Hirschbein, Polish master, died by the Nazis. *

Max Walter Max Walter (1899–1940) was a Slovak chess master. Born in Pressburg (Pozsony, Bratislava), then Austria–Hungary, he began his chess career in Czechoslovakia, after World War I. Max Walter won Czechoslovak Chess Championship at Pardubice 1923. ...

, Slovak master, died by the Nazis. *

Arthur Kaufmann Arthur Kaufmann (4 April 1872 in Iași, Romania – 25 July 1938 in Vienna) was an Austrian attorney, philosopher and chess master. Life Kaufmann was the second son of a wealthy, Jewish merchant family in Iaşi, Romania. In early childhood, he m ...

, Austrian master, died by the Nazis. Other sources give 1938 as the year of his death. He was a philosopher and ended his chess career in 1917. No philosophical works by him or photographs of him survive. His burial site was destroyed during the bombing of WWII. *

Kalikst Morawski Kalikst von Morawski (1859 – after 17 September 1939) was a Polish chess master. Born in a village Boryszkowce (''Боришківці''), Galicia (then Austria-Hungary, next Poland, now Ukraine), he studied law in the Lviv University from 1877 ...

, Polish master, died probably in Siberia.

References

External links

1940 crosstables
{{chess 20th century in chess Chess by year