In Memory of Janis Klovans
By Arturs Neiksans, photos by Rene Olthof
He is probably one of the best known chess grandmasters among Latvians, and
those who knew him will probably agree that he was the most beloved for his
simplicity and kindness towards everyone. Last October Janis Klovans at age
75 suddenly passed away, leaving behind a family and a lot of students who miss
him very much. Just recently, with the help of our chess star Alexei Shirov,
a tournament was organized in memory of Janis. It gathered the best players
Latvia had seen in years.
Born in 9th April 1935 in the Ruba village of Saldus district, Janis and his
family in the early childhood moved to Jelgava and later to Riga. He learned
chess only at age 14, being coached by Janis Kruzkops. There he met his friends
Mikhail Tal and Aivars Gipslis – one of them soon after became a World
Champion (three guesses who!) and the other a well respected grandmaster.
Klovans at the end of the seventies
Janis himself dedicated almost 50 years of his life to coaching the new generations
of Latvian chess players. Among his best students I should mention grandmasters
Maris Krakops, Inguna Erneste, Laura Rogule, international masters Katrina Skinke,
Viktorija Ni and many others, including myself. For Janis being a respected
chess coach wasn’t a hindrance to achieving great results individually
as well. Most notably he’s known as three times World Senior champion
and record nine (!) times Latvian champion – (1954, 1962, 1967, 1968,
1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, and 1986). I can hardly imagine anyone beating this
feat in decades!
Janis Klovans with his student Katrin Skinke in 2007
Latvian triple victory in Pardibice 2009: Katrina Skinke, Laura Rogule und Viktorija
Ni
The memorial blitz tournament (time control: 4 minutes + 3 seconds per move,
14 rounds in total), took place in the Jugla school, which is just 50 meters
from Janis’s former home. The tournament, which hopefully will become
a tradition, gathered a total of 45 players, among them five grandmasters and
six international masters, making it the strongest local tournament in a long
time.
A minute of silence for Janis Klovans at the start of the tournament
The field was led by none other than our Alexey Shirov (now playing for Spain)
and Daniel Fridman (Germany) who together dominated the tournament and easily
secured the first two spots. In third place was a very experienced Latvian,
IM Olegs Krivonosovs, who once again proved his reputation of being difficult
to beat – just one loss against Fridman and a total of seven draws and
six wins.
Janis was always very proud of his students and will remain in the hearts of
Latvian chess players forever. Thank you, Janis, for everything – we miss
you.
Final top ranking after 14 rounds
GM Daniel Fridman in front of the Riga Chess School
Alexei Shirov (right) faces Toms Kantans, a student of Klovans, in round two
Shirov said this game against Katrin Skinke was the most interesting in
the tournament
In round four Shirov had black against his former trainer Zigurs Lanka.
Result: 0-1
In round eight Shirov faced an old friend, IM Andrejs Sokolovs, who was
born in the same year and the same town as Alexei, but has never played against
him. Andrejs is now the director of a TV station in Novgorod.
Young scientist Egons Lavendelis in round ten, playing against...
Janis ("The Hat") Daudzvardis, who lost that game against Lavendelis
Spectators following one of the top games
Copyright
ChessBase
