Vidrik "Frits" Rootare (born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

August 20, 1906 – March 5, 1981) was an

chess player This list of chess players includes people who are primarily known as chess players and have an article on the English Wikipedia. A * Jacob Aagaard (Denmark, Scotland, born 1973) * Manuel Aaron (India, born 1935) * Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, bor ...

. His wife,

Salme Rootare Salme Rootare (March 26, 1913, Tallinn – October 21, 1987) was an Estonian chess master. She was fifteen times Estonian Champion (1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972). Salme tied for 4- ...

, was also an Estonian chess player, 15-time Estonian Champion and a Women's

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 ...

(WIM). In 1942, in one of his best showings, he came in third in an

Estonian Chess Championship The Estonian Chess Championship is played to determine the Estonian champion in chess. The first unofficial championship in Estonia was held in 1903 and was organized by a chess club from Tallinn (then Reval, Russian Empire). After World War I, ...

behind

Johannes Türn Johannes Türn (27 May 1899, in Tartu – 8 March 1993, in Tallinn) was an Estonian chess player. Biography Türn played in numerous Estonian Chess Championship, Estonian championships. In 1923, he took 2nd, behind Paul Rinne, in Tallinn (1st ES ...

, in second place, and

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 ...

, in first. In the 1930s, he played in the Estonian Club championships. In 1930 his team won the silver medal, with

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 ...

, Nedsvedski, and Karring. Frits, as Vidrik was known—short for Friedrich, the German spelling of his name that he used prior to Estonian independence after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, was a contemporary and friend of Estonian chess players

Notable chess games

* Keres v. Rootare, Tallinn, Est ch 1942 * Rootare v. Keres, Tallinn, Est ch 1943 * Keres v. Rootare, Tallinn, Est ch 1945chessgames.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rootare, Vidrik 1906 births 1981 deaths Chess players from Tallinn People from Kreis Harrien 20th-century Estonian chess players