Leonīds Dreibergs (also Leonid Dreiberg, 27 October 1908,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

– 6 April 1969,

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

) was a Latvian–American

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 ...

master. Dreibergs took sixth place at Riga 1930 (

Vladimirs Petrovs Vladimirs Petrovs (; 27 September 1908 – 26 August 1943) was a Latvian Russian chess player. Biography He was born in Riga, in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia). Though he learned the game of chess relative ...

won), took ninth at Ķemeri 1939 (

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

won), and took fifth at Riga 1941 (

Alexander Koblencs Alexander Koblencs (, , ; 3 September 1916, Riga – 9 December 1993, Berlin) was a Latvian chess master, trainer, and writer. He is best known as the trainer of the 1960-61 World Champion Mikhail Tal. In 1935, he took 4th place in Rosas ( Salo ...

won). At the end of World War II, joining the westward exodus in 1944/45, he — along with many other Baltic players, e.g.

Romanas Arlauskas Romanas Arlauskas (11 June 1917 – 22 September 2009) was an Australian chess player of Lithuanian origin who held the ICCF title of Correspondence Chess Grandmaster. Arlauskas played at sixth board (+4 –7 =7) in an unofficial Chess Olympia ...

, Lūcijs Endzelīns,

Miervaldis Jurševskis Miervaldis (Walter) Jurševskis (November 6, 1921 in Riga, Latvia – March 15, 2014 in Burnaby, British Columbia) was a Latvian-Canadian chess master, and a professional artist. Jurševskis learned chess from his father at the age of six, but it ...

Leho Laurine Leho Laurine (Leo Laurentius) (28 August 1904 in St. Petersburg – 31 January 1998 in Stockholm) was an Estonian chess master. He was Estonian Champion in 1932 (4th EST-ch), and took 3rd in 1935, behind Paul Keres, and Gunnar Friedemann (7th E ...

, Edmārs Mednis,

Kārlis Ozols Karlis Aleksandrs Ozols (; 9 August 1912, in Riga – 23 March 2001, in Australia) was a Latvian lieutenant in the Nazi-controlled Latvian Auxiliary Police and a member of Heinrich Himmler's SS during WW2. After later migrating to Australia, ...

Ortvin Sarapu Ortvin Sarapu (born Ortvin Sarapuu; 22 January 1924 – 13 April 1999), known in New Zealand as "Mr Chess", was an Estonian-born chess player who emigrated to New Zealand and won or shared the New Zealand Chess Championship 20 times from 1 ...

Povilas Tautvaišas Povilas Tautvaišas () (6 May 1916 in Mogilev – November 1980 in Chicago) was a Lithuanian-American chess master. Biography He played twice for the Lithuanian team in the Chess Olympiads, at eighth board (+4 –8 =2) at Munich 1936 (unofficial Ol ...

Povilas Vaitonis Povilas (Paul) Vaitonis (1911-1983) was a Lithuanian–Canadian chess master. He was a five-time Lithuanian champion and was twice Canadian champion. He also represented Lithuania and later Canada at Chess Olympiads. Chess career Vaitonis pl ...

Elmārs Zemgalis Elmārs Zemgalis (9 September 1923 – 8 December 2014) was a Latvian and American chess master and mathematics professor at Highline College. He was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title in 2003. Biography Zemgalis started to play chess when ...

, etc., and Ukrainian players, e.g. Fedor Bohatyrchuk,

Stepan Popel Stepan Mykhailovych Popel (August 15, 1909 – December 27, 1987) was a multiple chess champion of Lviv, Paris, and eventually of the Ukrainians in North America (USA and Canada).

, Myroslav Turiansky, etc. — moved to the West. After the war, while living as a D.P. (

Displaced Person Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...

) in post-war Germany, Dreibergs tied for 12-13th at Augsburg 1946 (

Wolfgang Unzicker Wolfgang Unzicker (26 June 1925 – 20 April 2006) was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970. He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead. Unzicker was at times the world's strongest ama ...

won), and shared first with Zemgalis at Esslingen 1949. Afterwards he emigrated to the United States. Dreibergs won the Michigan Championship twice (1954 and 1955). He also played in the Correspondence Chess League of America (CCLA).CCLA's North American Class Champions

References

External links

* 1908 births 1969 deaths Latvian chess players Latvian World War II refugees Chess players from Riga University of Latvia alumni 20th-century American chess players Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Latvian emigrants to the United States {{US-chess-bio-stub