Elmārs Zemgalis (1923-2014) was a Latvian-American chess Grandmaster who, despite his achievements, remained relatively unknown throughout his life. He was born in Riga, Latvia and started playing chess as a child. Zemgalis' success in chess began when he won the 1942 Riga Championship at the age of 18. He was later known for defeating many international chess masters during the 1940s, including World Chess Champions Mikhail Botvinnik and Vassily Smyslov.
After Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union during World War II, Zemgalis lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany, where he participated in chess competitions. His most impressive victory in this period was the 1946 championship of the Allied occupation zones of Germany and Austria.
He then moved to Seattle, US in 1951 and largely withdrew from competitive chess to focus on his work as a mathematics professor. Zemgalis continued to play in local tournaments in the Northwest and won the Washington State Championship in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963.
Although he had a distinguished career earlier, Zemgalis did not receive the title of International Grandmaster until 2003, making him possibly the player with the longest wait to be awarded the title. His unusual trajectory and later recognition has led him to be referred to as “a Grandmaster from a different era.” Zemgalis passed away aged 91 in 2014.