Canadian Chess Biographies

More biographies

Index - L

• Lacau-Rodean, Iulia
• Lambert, François-Xavier
• Langer, Herb
• Large, Cyril
• Lautier, Joel
• Lavin, David
• Law, Andrew Bonar
• Lawson, Eric
• Leacock, Stephen
• LeBel, Robert
• LeDain, Dudley
• Lee, Jonah
• Lee Jr., Vicente
• Léger, Manon
• Lemelin, Roger
• Lesiège, Alexandre
• Leskowsky, Zoltan
• Léveillé, François
• Levtchouk, George
• Linskiy, Oleg
• Lipnowski, Irwin
• Littke, Adam
• Livshits, Ron
• Lougheed Freedman, Annabelle

Iulia Lacau-Rodean

Photo: copyright 2012 by Iulia Lacau-Rodean.

• 2012 Represented Canada at Women's Olympiad
• 2012 4th place team, Canadian Post-Secondary Team Championship; 1st place individual on board 4
• 2011 2nd place, Canadian Women's Championship
• 2011-12 Chess Federation of Canada Women's Coordinator
• 2011 On 1st place team, Canadian Post-Secondary Team Championship; 1st place individual on board 3
• 2010 Represented Canada at Women's Olympiad
• 2010 Gave simultaneous exhibition to raise funds for Canada's Olympiad Women's Team
• 2010 On 3rd place team, Canadian Post-Secondary Team Championship
• 2009 4th place, Canadian Women's Championship
• 2008 2nd place, Guelph Winter Pro-Am, Under 2100 Section
• 2007 4th place, Canadian Women's Championship
• 2007 On 1st place team, Ontario High School Championship; 3rd place individual result
• 2003 3rd place, Romanian Girls Under-14 Championship
• 2002 3rd place, Romanian Girls Under-14 Championship
• 2001 Represented Romania European Girls Under-14 Championship; 12th place
• 2001 2nd place, Romanian Girls Under-14 Championship
• 2000 Represented Romania European Girls Under-12 Championship
• 2000 Romanian Girls Under-12 Champion
• 1999 Represented Romania World Girls Under-12 Championship
• 1999 Represented Romania European Girls Under-12 Championship
• 1999 Tied 2nd place, Romanian Girls Under-12 Championship; Bronze Medal
• 1998 Represented Romania World Girls Under-10 Championship; 17th place
• 1998 3rd place, Romanian Girls Under-10 Championship

François-Xavier Lambert

• Canadian Champion 1884

Herb Langer

Photo: copyright 2008 by the photographer David Cohen.

• Organizer of Canada's longest-running annual small-town events since 1981, including Arnprior Open (1983-)
• Adapted the term 'Grand Prix' from auto racing to chess, taking the idea from the movie Grand Prix and applying it to his suggestion for the 1st Eastern Ontario Chess Association Grand Prix 1982-3
• 1st place, Arnprior CC RRRR 1982

Contributor (biography): Herb Langer.
Sources: Chess Canada Echecs No.59 (1983.03-04, p.62), No.60 (1983.05-06, p.20).

Cyril Large

Photo: copyright 2008 by Cyril Large.

• Lived to age 93
• At age 90 in 2004, still played one game of chess every evening with his wife, aged 95
• Organized chess on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 1960s and 1970s
• Organized annual school chess tournaments, which grew to involve 6,625 players from 162 schools by 1976
• Canadian Chess Hall of Fame 2008

Sources: Bulletin 13, 1975.11-12 and Bulletin 16, 1976.05-06, Chess Federation of Canada; Lynn Stringer (conversations 2004.07, Chess Canada Échecs 2004.04 p.16); phone interview by David Cohen with Cyril Large, 2004.07.

Contributors (photo, biography): Cyril Large, Lynn Stringer.

Joel Lautier

• Born Canada, represents France
• International Grandmaster 1990
• World Junior Champion 1988
• World Under-14 Champion 1986

David Lavin

Photo: 2009 Toronto Open Championship. Copyright 2009 by the photographer David Cohen.

• Agent, The Lavin Agency
• International Arbiter 1985
• Represented Canada at World Youth Team Championship (1978, 1981)

Here is David Lavin's choice for his best game, as well as a memorable game from the 1970s featuring a 10 move combination starting with 13. e5; and another memorable game which was the only decisive game against Cuba, thereby helping Canada gain a place in the Finals:

David Lavin - Lawrence Day
Toronto Championship, Toronto, Ontario, 1978

David Lavin - Ian Findlay
Toronto Closed Championship, Reserves Section, Toronto, Ontario

David Lavin - Reynaldo Vera
World Youth Team Championship, Mexico City, Mexico, Canada - Cuba, Board 3, Preliminaries Round 3, 1978

Contributor (game selection): David Lavin.

Andrew Bonar Law

• Born Canada; studied, worked Scotland
• Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
• Leader, Conservative Party, United Kingdom 1911-21
• United Kingdom Cabinet posts: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal
• Prime Minister, United Kingdom 1922-3
• Famous quote: "Chess is a cold bath for the mind."

Eric Lawson

Photo: 2004 Canadian Championship, Toronto. Copyright 2004 by the photographer David Cohen.

• Canadian Champion 2004
• International Master 2004
• Represented Canada at Pan-American Championship 2005

Here is the last round game on Board 1 that clinched a tie for first place:

Eric Lawson - Kevin Spraggett
Canadian Championship, Toronto, Ontario, Round 9, 2004.08.29

Stephen Leacock

Postage stamp: Canada, 1969, Scott catalog #504.

• Political economy university lecturer
• Humour author
• On Canada postage stamp 1969

"All chess players think of opening on the Queen's side but never do. Life ends too soon."

"... said ... with a deep sigh. I knew he had been thinking of something that he daren't risk. All chess is one long regret."
- "Pawn to King's Four", short story from <Happy Stories, Just To Laugh At, by Stephen Leacock, 1943

Robert LeBel

• Played Canadian Championship 1947

Dudley LeDain

Photo: 1935 Canadian Championship, Canadian Chess Championship Tournament 1935, 1935.

• Edited, published Canadian Chessner, 1934-7
• Edited Chess - Canadian Supplement, 1937-43
• Chess columnist for Montreal Gazette 1949-78
• Canadian Correspondence Champion 1947
• Montreal Champion 1924
• Canadian Chess Hall of Fame 2001

Dudley LeDain - H. Kittson
Canadian Championship, Hamilton, Ontario, Round 1, 1924

Sources: Montreal Gazette; Bulletin 29, 1978.07-08, Chess Federation of Canada, p.3; En Passant 100, 1990.02, p.19.

Jonah Lee

• Canadian Grade 4 Champion 2010
• British Columbia Under-10 Champion 2010
• British Columbia Grade 4 Champion 2010
• 6th place, World Youth Under-8 Championship 2008
• British Columbia Under-8 Champion 2008
• British Columbia Grade 2 Champion 2008
• British Columbia Grade 1 Champion 2007

Vicente Lee Jr.

• International Master 2006
• 2nd place Canadian Championship 2006
• Alberta Closed Champion 2006

Manon Léger

• Represented Canada at Women's Olympiads (1994, 1996)

Roger Lemelin

Postage stamp: Canada, 2000, Scott catalog #1829c.

• Editor, La Presse newspaper (1972-81)
• Organized, sponsored grandmaster tournament Montreal 1979
• Companion of the Order of Canada 1980
• On Canada postage stamp 2000

Alexandre Lesiège

• 2016 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 2002 3rd place Canadian Championship
• 2002 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 2001 Top rated Canadian at Year-end
• 2001 Canadian Champion
• 2000 Represented Canada at World Championship Knockout
• 2000 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 1999 Canadian Champion
• 1998 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 1998 Represented Canada at World Championship Knockout Qualifier
• 1997 International Grandmaster
• 1995 1st place, North Bay International Open
• 1994 3rd place Canadian Championship
• 1993 Represented Canada at World Championship Interzonal
• 1993 1st place New York, USA
• 1995 1st place Warwick, Bermuda
• 1993 Canadian Junior Champion
• 1992 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 1992 Canadian Champion; at age 16
• 1992 Canadian Junior Champion
• 1991 Represented Canada at World Cadet (Under-16) Championship
• 1991 Canadian Cadet (Under-16) Champion
• 1990 Represented Canada at World Junior Championship
• 1990 Canadian Junior Champion
• 1989 Represented Canada at World Under-14 Championship
• 1988 Represented Canada at World Cadet (Under-16) Championship
• 1988 Canadian Cadet (Under-16) Champion
• 1987 Represented Canada at World Cadet (Under-16) Championship
• 1987 Canadian Cadet (Under-16) Champion

Here is the game that won Alexandre Lesiège the match to decide the 2001 Canadian Championship:

Alexandre Lesiège - Kevin Spraggett
Canadian Championship match, Brantford, Ontario, Round 3, 2001.09.15

Here is one of Alexandre Lesiège's favourite games:

Alexandre Lesiège - Zdenko Kozul
Croatia Club International, Mississauga, Ontario, 1990

Zoltan Leskowsky

• Correspondence International Master 1985
• Canadian Correspondence Champion 1969

François Léveillé

• FIDE Master 1990
• Canadian Champion 1995
• Canadian Correspondence Champion 1987

George Levtchouk

• FIDE Master 1988

Oleg Linskiy

• FIDE Master

Irwin Lipnowski

• FIDE Master 1983
• Represented Canada at Olympiad 1976
• Represented Canada at Pan-American Individual Championship 1974
• 38 years between first and last appearances in Canadian Championship (1963, 2001)

Adam Littke

• FIDE Master 1997
• Tied 1st place Canadian Cadet Championship 1990
• Canadian Cadet Champion 1989
• Canadian Grade 9 Champion 1989
• Canadian Junior Blitz Champion 1991

Ron Livshits

Photo: copyright 2008 by Ron Livshits.

• 2009 Represented Canada at Pan-American Championship; drew a game on Board 1
• 2008 Captain, National Team, Olympiad
• 2007 1st place Canadian Championship
• 2006 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 1999 Pan-Am Open Champion
• 1996 Awarded International Master title
• 1996 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 1995 Canadian Champion
• 1995 Canadian Open Champion
• 1995 Ontario Open Champion
• 1994 Represented Canada at Olympiad
• 1993 Represented Canada at World Junior Championship
• 1993 Tied 1st Canadian Junior Championship
• 1993 Ontario Champion
• 1992 Ontario Champion
• 1991 Represented Canada at World Junior Championship
• 1991 Canadian Junior Champion

Contributor (photo): Ron Livshits.

Annabelle Lougheed Freedman

• Represented Canada at 8th Women's World Championship 1939
• Later married Bernard Freedman

Sources: Cross-table, 8th Women's World Chess Championship, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1939, Guinness - Chess: The Records by Ken Whyld, 1986, p.23; Obituary, Toronto Globe & Mail, 1986.04.08.