Leon Tuhan-Baranowski (22 June 1907,

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

– 27 April 1954,

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

) was a Polish-Belarusian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player and composer. Born in Saint Petersburg into a Roman Catholic family with noble roots ( Tartar and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

descent). After the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

, he moved to Stolpce (Stowbtsy) near Novogrodek, and then to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In 1925, he took 10th in Warsaw (

Stanisław Kohn Stanisław Kohn (1895–1940) was a Polish chess master. Kohn played for Poland in 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad at Paris 1924. In 1925, he won the Warsaw Championship. In 1926, he tied for 3rd-7th, behind Dawid Przepiórka and Paulin Frydman ...

won). In 1925–26, he tied for 7–8th in Warsaw (the 1st

Polish Chess Championship Individual Polish Chess Championship is the most important Polish chess tournament, aiming at selecting the best chess players in Poland. Based on the results of the tournament (mainly), the Polish Chess Federation selects the national and subsequ ...

, elimination). The event was won by

Abram Blass Moshe Aba Blass (; born 1896, Łomża, Poland - 1971, Tel-Aviv, Israel) was a Polish-Israeli chess master. Born in Łomża (then Russian Empire), he moved to the US, staying from 1911 to 1924. After returning to Poland, he lived in Warsaw. In 192 ...

and

Paulin Frydman Paulino (Paulin) Frydman (26 May 1905 in Warsaw, Poland – 2 February 1982 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a Polish chess master. Career In 1922, Paulin Frydman took 2nd place, behind Kazimierz Makarczyk in Warsaw. In 1923, he tied for 2nd ...

. In 1930s, his activity concentrated in a few areas (correspondence chess, various local and team tournaments). Among others he participated in the 2nd Polish Team Chess Championship at

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

1934. Tuhan-Baranowski was also a composer and author of chess books. His debut took place in 1924 when he published on columns of ''Deutsche Schachzeitung''. He co-operated with ''L’Echiquier'', ''

Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten Bernhard Kagan (15 August 1866, Grodno – 27 November 1932, Berlin) was a German chess player, writer, publisher, editor, and organizer. Biography Born in the Polish part of Russian Empire, Russia, Kagan lived in Berlin, where he played in loca ...

'', ''Die Schwalbe'', ''Dzień Polski'', ''Strzelec'', ''Czas'', etc. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Tuhan-Baranowski had declared Belarusian nationality and became an interpreter for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

on the Eastern Front (1941–1942). Then, in 1943–1944, he lived in

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

(occupied central Poland). He played as Lisse in several chess tournaments in GG. In December 1943, he tied for 5–6th in Krynica (the 4th GG-ch,

Josef Lokvenc Josef Lokvenc (1 May 1899, in Vienna – 2 April 1974, in Sankt Pölten) was an Austrian chess master. In 1925, he was awarded the Chess Master title in Braunau. In 1926, he took 3rd in Vienna. In 1936, he tied for 6-7th in Vienna (19th Trebits ...

won). In February 1944, he took 4th, behind

Efim Bogoljubow Efim Bogoljubow, also known as Efim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow (April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952), was a Russian-born German Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Early career Bogoljubow learned how to play chess at 15 years old, and dev ...

Fedor Bogatyrchuk Fedir Parfenovych Bohatyrchuk (also ''Bogatirchuk'', ''Bohatirchuk'', ''Bogatyrtschuk''; ; ; 27 November 1892 – 4 September 1984) was a Ukrainian–Canadian chess player, doctor of medicine (radiologist), political activist, and writer. Russ ...

, and Hans Roepstorff, in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

. In August 1944, he met a German chess player August Mund in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. At the end of the war, he escaped to West Germany ( US Zone) where he published as Wormatius.Heft 218, April 2006 – Archiv Aktuelles > Personalia
/ref> He won a prize for three-move theme (co-author A. Goldstein) in ''Revista Romana de Sah'' in 1948. He died in a car accident in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuhan-Baranowski, Leon 1907 births 1954 deaths Road incident deaths in West Germany Polish chess players Polish collaborators with Nazi Germany Belarusian collaborators with Nazi Germany Belarusian chess players German Army soldiers of World War II German chess players Chess composers Chess players from Saint Petersburg 20th-century chess players 20th-century Belarusian sportsmen