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Roberts Skuja
  
Number of games in database: 46
Years covered: 1930 to 1971
Overall record: +12 -25 =9 (35.9%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games.

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B01 Scandinavian (4 games)
C45 Scotch Game (3 games)
C43 Petrov, Modern Attack (2 games)
E67 King's Indian, Fianchetto (2 games)
B56 Sicilian (2 games)


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ROBERTS SKUJA
(born Feb-17-1910, died Sep-18-1984, 74 years old) Latvia

[what is this?]

Born 5th (O.S)/17th(N.S)February 1910 into a peasant family, and all his life he was an agricultural worker. He learned to play chess at age 14. In 1927, he became Alūksnes (city) chess champion.

From 1930 to 1971, he participated (eighteen times) in the Latvian Chess Championship . His best result was sharing 2nd-3rd place in 1950. After the Second World War, he was the Latvian rural sports association's ("Varpa") strongest chess player. A Soviet chess player, he took second place behind Grigory Ivanovich Zhuravlev in both the 1951 and 1952 Soviet Farmworkers Championship.1 In 1954 and the 1955 he took first place on the first board in the Soviet Farm Workers Chess Team championships.

He came 15th/20 in the Minsk Zonal of 1957.

He was also a problemist.

1 [rusbase-1] ; [rusbase-2]

Wikipedia article: Roberts Skuja

Last updated: 2018-11-29 21:37:25

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 46  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Alfreds Eklons vs R Skuja  0-12519303rd Latvian congress group 1D08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit
2. R Skuja vs Petrov  0-1561935Latvian ChampionshipB72 Sicilian, Dragon
3. M Feigin vs R Skuja  1-0321935Latvian ChampionshipD16 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
4. Eriks Lazdins vs R Skuja  1-04619376th Lat. congress grp.2A04 Reti Opening
5. Vulfson vs R Skuja  0-14119376th Lat. congress grp.2B03 Alekhine's Defense
6. W Hasenfuss vs R Skuja  1-02719387th Latvian congress group AB02 Alekhine's Defense
7. M Feigin vs R Skuja  1-02519387th Latvian congress group AD33 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
8. R Skuja vs N Kampars  1-0241939Christmas Qualifying TournamentB17 Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation
9. R Skuja vs G Zhuravlev  0-1751951Ch URS (Farmers)B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical
10. G Zhuravlev vs R Skuja  1-0381952Ch URS (Farmers)E24 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
11. Tal vs R Skuja 1-0401952LAT-chE67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
12. Klovans vs R Skuja  1-0371952LAT-chB01 Scandinavian
13. I Zdanovs vs R Skuja  1-0591953Latvian ChampionshipD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
14. R Skuja vs J Mileika  ½-½541953Latvian ChampionshipB57 Sicilian
15. P Kampenuss vs R Skuja 0-1621954Latvian ChampionshipA53 Old Indian
16. R Skuja vs M Neibults  0-1361954Latvian ChampionshipC14 French, Classical
17. Klovans vs R Skuja  ½-½171954Latvian ChampionshipC43 Petrov, Modern Attack
18. R Skuja vs Tal ½-½651954Latvian ChampionshipB91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation
19. Tal vs R Skuja 1-0431955LAT-chE67 King's Indian, Fianchetto
20. G Zhuravlev vs R Skuja  0-1381955Ch URS (farming team)D04 Queen's Pawn Game
21. R Skuja vs H Luik  1-0411957URS-ch qfB56 Sicilian
22. Suetin vs R Skuja  1-0611957URS-ch qfC43 Petrov, Modern Attack
23. A Petersons vs R Skuja  1-0541957URS-ch qfA06 Reti Opening
24. Sokolsky vs R Skuja  1-0981957URS-ch qfA28 English
25. R Skuja vs J Klavins  1-0801957URS-ch qfB56 Sicilian
 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 46  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Skuja wins | Skuja loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
Sep-06-09  Jason Frost: A friend of Tal's presumably.
Jun-05-13  whiteshark: Latvian wiki bio: http://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert...
Feb-08-15  zanzibar: He was a strong player in his bracket, but I question the accuracy of the statements about him being URS Farmworker champion in 1951/52:

http://al20102007.narod.ru/ch_urs/1...

http://al20102007.narod.ru/ch_urs/1...

Could some editor please investigate?

Feb-08-15  zanzibar: <vice-champion>? Can't we just say he finished 2nd/second?
Feb-11-15  zanzibar: Thanks, editorial staff!

Now, I was wondering how strong a player he was... it's a bit of a challenge since I'm not aware of a pre-FIDE Russsian/Soviet rating system. They awarded titles, which is indicative, but I was hoping for an ELO-estimate to compare him to Harijs Skuja.

Luckily, Roberts Skuja shows up at chessmetrics:

http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/...

where his highest estimate is ELO 2411 on Aug 1958 rating list.

His best performance was 2360, in the Minsk (1957) zonal.

For the moment I don't have access to my full history of FIDE, but in 2004 (towards the end of his career), H Skuja was rated 2151.

http://ratings.fide.com/tournament_...

So, I think the two were comparable, with the edge to R Skuja.

Feb-12-15  zanzibar: Here's one of R. Skuja's compositions:

<(White to move and mate)>


click for larger view

<Skuja, Roberts

Championnat de Lettonie, 1957>

http://www.yacpdb.org/?id=23754

Jan-16-18  ughaibu: Does "vice-champion" mean 'runner up'?
Nov-29-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  jessicafischerqueen:

<Does "vice-champion" mean 'runner up'?>

<ughaibu> Yes, it does, but the fact that you had to ask illustrates <zanzibar's> point about the awkwardness of using "vice champion" in this case. This usage is uncommon in American English idiom.

I have edited the passage to read <"A Soviet chess player, he took second place behind Grigory Ivanovich Zhuravlev in both the 1951 and 1952 Soviet Farmworkers Championship,"> with thanks to <zanzibar> for providing the source for this information from Rusbase:

Nov-29-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: Vice Champion means he is a Champion of all things bad, drinking, gambling, womanizing...
Nov-29-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  jessicafischerqueen:

<Mann Bee> I wish we had emotis at this website because I want to post that one that shows a really surprised guy. You know the emoti that has the guy with a round mouth?

Aug-15-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  ventura07: Skuya was also Latvian's leading study composer and a detailed obituary was given in EG 81 (July 1985) on page 476.
Aug-15-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  ventura07: EG 81 can be found at https://arves.org/arves/images/PDF/...

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