Karel Skalička (1 November 1896 – 1979) was a Czech–Argentine chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 master.

In 1924, he won a team gold medal for Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 (Hromádka, Schulz, Vaněk, Skalička) in the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

The first Team Chess Tournament had been held by coinciding the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, 12th - 20 July 1924, at Hotel Majestic. The core of the organizing committee were the Frenchmen Pierre Vincent and Alexander Alekhine. Fifty-four players representing 18 countries arrived to Paris...

 in Paris. He took 3rd in group eliminations (Anatol Tschepurnoff

Anatol Tschepurnoff

Anatol Tschepurnoff was a Russian–Finnish chess master....

 won), and tied for 21-31st in the major tournament (Karel Hromádka

Karel Hromádka

Karel Hromádka was a Czech chess player, two-time Czech champion, 1913 and 1921 ....

 won). The final tournament (Amateur World Championship) was won by Hermanis Matisons

Hermanis Matisons

Hermanis Matisons , , was a Latvian chess player and one of world's most highly regarded chess masters in the early 1930s. He was also a leading endgame composer...

.

In 1923, Skalička won in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

. In 1923, he took 6th in Berlin. In 1924, he tied for 1st-2nd with Hromádka in Prague. In 1924, he tied for 4-5th in Prague (1st Kautsky memorial; Jan Schulz

Jan Schulz

Jan Schulz was a Czech chess master.He took 2nd, behind Karel Opočenský, at Belun 1916; won at Prague 1920, tied for 6-8th at Prague 1921 , tied for 5-7th at Brno 1921 , and won at Prague 1924 .Schulz played for Czechoslovakia in 1st unofficial Chess...

 won). In 1925, he took 2nd, behind Matisons in Bromley

Bromley

Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...

. In 1925, he tied for 2nd-3rd in Prague (2nd Kautsky memorial). In 1926, he tied for 1st-3rd in Prague (3rd Kautsky memorial). In 1927, he tied for 2nd-4th in Prague (Hromádka won). In 1929, he tied for 6-8th in Prague (Salo Flohr

Salo Flohr

Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...

 won). In 1930, he took 6th in Prague (Flohr won). In 1930, he took 2nd, behind Flohr, in Prague. In 1931/32, he tied for 3rd-5th in Prague (8th Kautsky memorial; Emil Richter

Emil Richter

Emil Richter was a Czech chess master who was born and died in Prague. He won the Czech Chess Championship in 1948 and was awarded the International Master title in 1951. Richter played in the unofficial 1936 Chess Olympiad....

 won). In 1932, he took 2nd in Prague (9th Kautsky memorial; Josef Dobiáš

Josef Dobiáš

Josef Dobiáš was a Czech chess player.At the beginning of his career, he took 5th at Prague 1908 , tied for 4-5th at Pilsen 1911, tied for 5-7th at Breslau 1912 , took 6th at 1913 Jungbunzlau 1913 , and took 8th at Böhmisch Trübau...

 won). In 1934, he took 10th in Prague (11th Kautsky memorial; Karel Opočensky

Karel Opocenský

Karel Opočenský was a Czech chess master.-Biography:He was four-time Czech Champion . In 1919, he took 2nd, behind František Schubert, in Prague . In 1925, he tied for 3rd-4th in Paris . In 1927, he won in Česke Budějovice...

 won). In 1935, he took 3rd in Prague (12th Kautsky memorial; Jiří Pelikán won). In 1936, he took 16th in Poděbrady. The event was won by Flohr.

Dr. Karel Skalička played for Czechoslovakia (Bohemia&Moravia in 1939) in three Chess Olympiads.

• In 1931, at first reserve board in the 4th Chess Olympiad
  4th Chess Olympiad
  The 4th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 11 and July 26, 1931, in Prague, Czechoslovakia...
  
   in Prague (+9 –2 =3);
• In 1933, at first reserve board in the 5th Chess Olympiad
  5th Chess Olympiad
  The 5th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 12 and July 23, 1933, in Folkestone, United Kingdom...
  
   in Folkestone (+3 –2 =0);
• In 1939, at fourth board in the 8th Chess Olympiad
  8th Chess Olympiad
  The 8th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , comprised an 'open' tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest...
  
   in Buenos Aires (+3 –4 =1).

He won an individual gold medal and a team bronze medal at Prague 1931, and a team silver medal at Folkestone 1933.

Following the outbreak of the World War II Skalička, along with many other participants of the 8th Olympiad, elected to stay in Argentina.

In 1945, Carlos Skalicka tied for 2nd-5th with René Letelier

René Letelier

René Letelier Martner was a Chilean chess player with the title of International Master.-Biography:...

, Enrique Reinhardt

Heinrich Reinhardt

Heinrich Reinhardt a German–Argentine chess master.In 1932, he tied for 3rd-5th in Hamburg–Altona . In 1935, he won a match against Herbert Taube in Hamburg . In 1937, he tied for 3rd-4th in Berlin...

 and Moshe Czerniak

Moshe Czerniak

-Biography:In 1930 Moshe Czerniak took ninth at Warsaw in an event won by Paulino Frydman. In 1934 Czerniak emigrated from Poland to Palestine . In April 1935, he tied for 7th–8th in Tel Aviv . He was Palestinian Champion in 1936 and 1938. In April 1939, he played in the First Lasker Chess Club...

 in Quilmes (Gideon Stahlberg

Gideon Ståhlberg

Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg was a Swedish chess grandmaster.He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became Nordic champion in 1929, and held it until 1939....

 won). In 1945/46, he tied for 1st-2nd with Letelier, followed by Movsas Feigins

Movsas Feigins

Movsas Feigins or Movša Feigins was a Latvian chess master.-Biography:Movsas Feigins was born in Dvinsk, . He won at Riga 1930, and was Latvian Champion in 1932 . In 1932, he tied for 3rd–5th at Riga. The event was won by Vladimirs Petrovs...

, Jiří Pelikán

Jiří Pelikán

*Jiří Pelikán *Jiří Pelikán , Czechoslovakian journalist and member of parliament , then a member of the European Parliament for the Italian Socialist Party...

, etc., in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

(Círculo La Régence).

External links

• Karel Skalička at 365Chess.com