In 1941, Garais graduated from the 1st gymnasium of the city of Riga, then entered the University of Latvia, where he studied mathematics.
During the World War II he represented the sports association Universitates sports and was considered one of the most promising young Latvian players.
In December 1943, he took part in the Latvian championship, where he finished in 8th place in strong competition.
In 1944 he fled Latvia and eventually ended up in Eastlake, Ohio, a community on the far east side of Cleveland.
After that he only made rare appearances in tournament play. In 1954 he won the Cleveland Open and in 1957 he participated in the US Open Championship where he scored 6.5-5.5 and finished in 54th place. In the process he lost to Bobby Fischer in the 7th round.
Garais actively promoted the chess life of Latvian exiles in the US and was one of the organizers of the 1959 Latvian Chess Congress,and shared first place in the 1961-1962 correspondence tournament of Latvian chess players. In later years, he devoted more time to work and family matters.
His opponent was Henry Gross (January 16, 1907 - February, 1987), a lawyer by profession, and the 1952 California State Champion. In 1928, he tied for 1st place in the State Championship, but lost the playoff to A.J. Fink. He also served as president of the California State Chess Federation. AT the time this game was played Garais' USCF rating was 2015 (Expert) and Gross' was 2122 (Expert).
Henry Gross–Igor Garais0–1B75US Open, Cleveland08.08.1957Stockfish 15.1
Sicilian Dragon 1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 g6 6.e3 g7 7.f3 c6 8.e2 0-0 9.g4 e5 9...d5 is a better way to counter white's
last move. 10.g5 e8 11.exd5 11.xd5 leads to not much of anything after xd4 12.xd4 e6 13.xg7 xg7 14.c3 11...b4 12.c4 c7 is equal. 9...xd4 10.xd4 Black has tried 1-...Bh6 and 10...35 both of which
equalize. 10.db5 e8 11.d5 e6 12.d2 xd5 A poor choice that allows
white to gain the advantage. 12...a6 13.bc3 b5 14.a3 d4 with complete
equality. 13.exd5 e7 By playing 13...Nd4 he could have kept white's
advantage at a minimum. However, practically speaking, the text is a good try..
.it sets a trap and Gross falls into it. 13...d4 14.xd4 exd4 15.xd4 xd4 16.xd4 and white is slightly better. 14.xa7 White could have
stayed on course with 14.O-O-O. Instead he makes a costly tactical error. 14.xa7 was not quite so bad, but black still comes out on top, at least
theoretically, after xa7 15.xa7 b6 16.a4 c7 17.xb6 xb6 Engines may
give white the edge here, but practically speaking things aren't so clear! The
material situation is unbalanced (R+2Ps vs. 2Ns) and over the board the
position looks quite muddled. 14...b6 15.0-0-0 c8 16.xb6 Bxb5 Bc3 16.h4 For what it was worth white should have ignored the situation on the
Q-side and launched this desperate try... c7 17.h5 xb5 18.xb5 xa7 19.b1 f6 20.g5 f4 21.d3 xd2 22.xd2 e7 23.e4 f5 24.dh2 g3 25.hxg6 xh1 26.gxh7+ h8 27.xh1 Black has a decisive advantage. 16...xb6 17.b1 c7 18.xc7 xc7 19.c4 How good will white's Ps be at making
life difficult for black? Not very as it turns out! b6 20.c1 a7 21.a3 a4 22.d1 Black finishes off the game neatly. xb2 23.xb2 e4+
White resigned. It's mate in 5...an abrupt end. 23...e4+ 24.c3 xa3+ 25.c2 a2+ No need to take the R. 25...xc3 26.xc3 a2+ 27.b2 xc4+ 28.d2 exf3 29.c3 a2+ 30.c2 xg4 mates in 11 26.c1 a1+ 27.c2 a2+ 28.b3 b8# 0–1
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