vladimirs petrovs

Vladimirs Petrovs or Vladimir Petrov (1908 - 1943) was a Latvian chess player. He was born in Riga. He was joint third at Lodz 1938 behind Vasja Pirc and Saviely Tartakower, third at Margate 1938 behind Alexander Alekhine and Rudolf Spielmann, winner at Rosario 1939 ahead of Erich Eliskases and Vladas Mikenas and second at his last tournament, Sverdlovsk 1942, behind Viacheslav Ragozin. He played in the Soviet Championship in 1940, scoring 9/19. By far his best tournament result, however, was equal first with Samuel Reshevsky and Salo Flohr at Kemeri 1937, ahead of Alexander Alekhine, Paul Keres, Reuben Fine, Tartakower and others. He played in several Chess Olympiads, achieving a particularly good result at Buenos Aries 1939, drawing against Jose Raul Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine and Paul Keres and not losing a single game. The Soviet Union annexed Latvia in 1940; Petrovs was critical of their new regime. At the time the Nazi Party invaded Latvia in 1941, he was playing chess in Russia, and was unable to return to his wife and daughter at home. He therefore remained in Russia, and in 1942 was arrested by the Soviets. He died in 1943 in the prison camp at Vorkuta, a fact which only became publically known in 1989.

Vladimirs Petrovs

Further reading