|
«In Kiev our Idol was Fedor Perfenievich Bohatirchuk, the Champion of Ukraine. He played sharply, with courage, for attack...»
David Bronstein, The Nonconformist (Chess in Russia, # 8, 1996)
«I was awfully lucky to meet two chess giants during my life. The first one was Paul Keres, an extraordinary personality. The second one was Fedor Perfenievich Bohatirchuk, whom I was introduced occasionally in Canada in 1967. He has saved hundreds of people during the 2nd World War occupation of Kiev1. Keres and Bohatirchuk were chess Hullivers.»
Boris Spassky (Chess Review 64, # 6, 1997)
An attached file bohatcor.pgn represents a small selection of Bohatirchuk's correspondence chess games. Quite probably he took part in the All-Russian 100-boards correspondence chess match North - South in 1911-12 (a bit elder Bogoljubov participated in that competition, while Bohatirchuk was just champion of Kiev). The three earliest available correspondence games of late 20th were played with the known Leningrad masters by telegraph. Much later, in 50th, Bohatirchuk has played several postal games at the 1st board of friendly matches of Canada with Norway, South Africa, New Zeeland. His partner, in particular, was Ortvin Sarapu, an emigre from Estonia, who played Keres by correspondence during similar period and later was among participants of the FIDE 1967 Interzonal tournament. In 60th Bohatirchuk wins two national corrchess championships easily. In 1967 he was awarded the ICCF IM title (the very 1st for Canadian players, Duncan suttles was the 2nd next year) as a sequence of his performance at the 1st board of the ICCF 5th Olympiad. An interesting game was played with one of the strongest ever corrchess players, Dr Hans Berliner, the 5th ICCF World Champion, who is famous also due to his Hitech program (by the way, Dr Berliner has played Ukrainian Defence, which was tested by Bohatirchuk in Kiev in 30th). During this period Bohatirchuk continued his intensive scientific research at the University of Ottawa, resulting in numerous reports at the international conferences on X-ray anatomy, radiology and ageing (1954-1969) and publications in peer-reviewed journals2. Besides he was still active in anti-totalitarian politics3 and in over-the-board chess. Thus, he took part in three championships of Canada in 1949-55 and every time he finished among the winners4, just likely he had performed in the five USSR championships during 1923-19345. He was also the Canadian team member at the FIDE Olympiad in Amsterdam in 1954, just a month after his presentation at the International Congress on Radiology in London. Perhaps the strongest correspondence event of Bohatirchuk was an invitational tournament of the Dutch Correspondence Chess Union (NBC Masters, 1969-72). Bohatirchuk was almost 80, his eyesight has dropped essentially (he suffered of glaucoma since 1958), but he fight worthy with corrchess grandmasters and finished among winners for the last time. Professor Bohatirchuk has retired from the University in 1970. He continued playing postal North American and Panamerican competitions despite his age. Besides, in addition to his early issues6,7, he has published an autobiographic book8 (an initial author's title was Chess, Medicine and Politics in My Life). His last currently available game was played (and won) with Guillermo Toro Solis de Ovando (the Chilean player who is a strong ICCF GM now) in 1977. The centennial Memorial tournament9 was held by the Canadian CorrChess Association in 1989-1992 as the VII category IM-ICCF event (15 participants of 10 countries).
References
1. http://www.infoukes.com/upa/series01/sum23.html [see an excerpt below]
2. F. Bohatirchuk, The Ageing Vertebral Column (Macro- and Historadiographical Study) - The Barclay Prize Essay, 1955, The British Journal of Radiology, Vol. XXVIII, #332, pp.389-404 (and references therein) [http://www.bir.org.uk].
3. F.P. Bohatirchuk (editor-in-chief), Skhidniak (weekly enclosure of the Novoe Russkoe Slovo, New York, 1952-53); The Federalist-Democrat (semi-monthly of the Society of Ukrainian Federalist Democrats, Ukrainian Hromada Publishing, Ottawa 1953-54). [in Ukrainian]
4. http://132.206.45.67/chess/cbv/49canada.htm ; http://members.aol.com/stphwrg/1951ch.html
5. http://perso.wanadoo.fr/eric.delaire/Monde/URSS.htm
6. F.P. Bohatirchuk, Shakhy (the textbook of chess), (Knigospilka, 1926). [in Ukrainian]
7. F.P. Bohatirchuk, Struggle for the World Championship (Alekhine - Capablanca - Bogoljubov), (Shakhmatny Listok Publishing, 1929). [in Russian]
8. F.P. Bohatirchuk, My Route to Vlasov and Prague Manifesto, (Globus Publishers, San Francisco, 1978). [in Russian]
9. T. Harding (editor), Mega Corr CD (Chess Mail Ltd., 1999).
*********************************************************
Liudmyla Ivchenko
THE UKRAINIAN RED CROSS IN KIEV, 1941-1942
(Summary)
In the introductory to her article, the author speaks in general about the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross in Kiev in 1941-42. She links the activity of the UChKh to the traditions of the Ukrainian state of 1918-1921. Then she provides a more detailed description of the situation in Kiev in September, 1941 when the Soviets retreated and the German army occupied the city. Kiev was in a state of wartime chaos: there were fires, mine explosions, lack of food, water, light and public communications. Through the streets, the Germans drove masses of prisoners of war and frightened women searched among them for their husbands, brothers and sons. The city did not yet have any functioning city government or local police.
In this situation of chaos and personal danger, the Ukrainian Red Cross (UChKh) began to operate in Kiev. Liudmyla Ivchenko managed to find a place to live in a half-empty building where her friend lived. In a neighboring building, No. 40 Pushkin Street, Liudmyla met Prof. Fedor Bohatyrchuk. He introduced himself as the head of the UChKh. Around him had gathered a group of people who had decided to start the UChKh in order to provide help to the needy and defend people against the chaos of war.
Several dedicated women, as well as the author, joined in the work of the UChKh. Lesia Rybachuk took charge of the social service, Olena Chekhivska headed the section of assistance to the repressed, and Liudmyla Ivchenko, the author of the memoir, took over the section of care for prisoners of war. Volunteering to help Liudmyla were several young women whose husbands were still in the Red Army. Dmytro Lepkyi became the deputy head of the UChKh.
The task of the section of assistance to the repressed was to help former political prisoners, those who had been deported and their families.
The medical section of the UChKh in Kiev acted independently and was headed by Dr. Skaletskyi.
Liudmyla Ivchenko, head of the section of care for prisoners of war, provides detailed information about work in this area. Making use of the name Red Cross, the workers made every possible effort to help Red Army prisoners of war. They did their work in very difficult and complex conditions. Among the obstacles to their charitable efforts were the brutal behavior of the Germans towards the Ukrainian population of Kiev, the lack of drugs and the great difficulty in finding food supplies. When the civilian German Nazi administration appeared in Kiev, the UChKh had to work even harder. After the Germans banned the use of the name Ukrainian Red Cross, they continued their work under the banner of the Ukrainian Assistance Committee - «Ukrainsche Hilfswerke».
Shortly after the Germans seized Nolyn, a UChKh branch was also established in Rivne, headed by a physician, Dr. M. Kormyliv. In November, 1941, representatives of the Riven UChKh, Dr. Kharytia Kononenko and Dr. A. Burko, came to Kiev. They established close cooperation with the Kiev UChKh directors.
In order to obtain at least some help for Red Army prisoners of war, the UChKh head, Prof. F. Bohatyrchuk, Liudmyla Ivchenko and Dr. Kharytia Kononenko went to the German military command in Rivne. Particularly helpful in the discussion there, as well as later with the General Government in Lublin and Krakow, was Kharytia Kononenko. who spoke perfect German. In spite of all their efforts the UChKh representatives did not achieve any positive results.
Liudmyla Ivchenko also made fruitless efforts to obtain the liberation of Ukrainian Red Army prisoners of war, While in Krakow, she learned of the arrests by the Gestapo of the UChKh directors in Kiev, including Prof. Bohatyrchuk, in February, 1942. The author, along with Kharytia Kononenko, tried to continue the work on behalf of Red Army prisoners of war in cooperation with the UTsK (Ukrainian Central Committee) in Krakow and in Lviv. However, it became evident that it was hopeless to try to do anything in the regard. Returning to Kiev, Liudmyla Ivchenko could not continue to work on behalf of the prisoners of war, because all the documents related to this matter were taken away by the Gestapo. Thus, in 1942, the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross in Kiev came to an end.
[Litopys UPA: Chronicle of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Series 1, Volume 23 (Summaries), p.51.]
ED. NOTE: Article «IM Fedor Bohatirchuk, MD. Persona non grata in Soviet chess» by Andrei Yeremenko is available at: chess-sector.odessa.ua/fb110eng.htm
|
