Lucijs Endzelins

Who was Lucijs Endzelins?

Lūcijs Endzelīns was a Latvian-Australian chess master. Son of the Latvian linguist Jānis Endzelīns.

In 1932, Endzelins tied for 3rd-5th with Fricis Apšenieks and Movsas Feigins, behind Vladimirs Petrovs, and Teodors Bergs, at the Riga championship. He played for Latvia in three Chess Olympiads; on seventh board in the unofficial Olympiad at Munich 1936, as first reserve at Stockholm 1937, and on fourth board at Buenos Aires 1939. Married to the Latvian chess master Milda Lauberte.

At the end of World War II, Endzelins, along with many other Baltic players, escaped to the west just before the advancing Soviet forces arrived. In 1946, he played in Augsburg. The event was won by Wolfgang Unzicker. In 1947, he won, ahead of Elmārs Zemgalis and Efim Bogoljubow, at the Mattison Memorial Tourney in Hanau, Germany. Lucius Endzelins migrated from Germany to Australia. He won the South Australian Championship eight times. He won the Australian championship in 1961.