Mibelz: Elmārs Zemgalis was born on the 9th of September 1923 in Riga.At the end of WW II when the Soviets second time invaded his native Latvia, Zemgalis along with many other Baltic chess players (Arlauskas, Dreibergs, Endzelins, Jursevskis, Mednis, Ozols, Sarapu, Tautvaisas, Vaitonis, etc.) fled to Germany. In 1946 - 1951, as a D.P. (Displaced Person) after the war he played in twelve international tournaments. In 1946, he took 2nd, behind Unzicker, in Augsburg. In 1946, he took 2nd, behind Bohatirchuk, in Regensburg (Klaus Junge Memorial). In 1947, he took 2nd, behind Endzelins in Hanau (Matisons Memorial). Zemgalis won twice (1948, 1949) the Württemberg Championship. In 1949, he tied for 1st with Bogoljubow in Oldenburg. In 1949, he tied for 1st with Dreibergs in Esslingen.
In 1951, he immigrated to the United States. By 1952, Zemgalis had settled in Seattle. He was arguably the top player in the Pacific Northwest for the next fifteen years. In 1952, he won (3 : 1) a match against Olaf Ulvestad in Seattle. In 1953 and 1959, he won the Washington State championships.
Zemgalis was awarded the GMH title in 2003.
http://www.latchess.lv/lv/hall/2005...
