Benita Vēja

Benita Vēja (née Vilerte, born January 15, 1948, in Kuldīga) is a Latvian chess master who won the Latvian Chess Championship for women in 1966.

Chess career[]

Benita Vēja started to play chess in early childhood and won the Latvian Girl championship in 1961 but in 1963 she won Soviet Girl championship.^[1] Rīga women chess championship she won twice: 1972 and 1975. She won the Latvian Chess Championship for women in 1966 (after match victory over the sixties Latvian women chess leader Astra Klovāne – 2,5:1,5), was the runner-up in 1963, and 1972 and won the third prize in 1964, 1967, and 1969. Benita Vēja played for Latvia in Soviet team chess championship in 1967 and 1972^[2] and for team "Daugava" in Soviet team chess cup in 1964, 1966, 1968, and 1971.^[3] In Soviet team chess championship in 1967 she won second place at girl board,^[4] but in Soviet team chess cup in 1971 she won third place at first women board.^[5]

Personal life[]

By profession Benita Vēja is an engineer mathematician. Her brother Jānis Vilerts (1943–2001) was director at the Kuldiga Chess School but her sister Tamāra Vilerte is a Woman Grandmaster.

References[]

• Žuravļevs, N.; Dulbergs, I.; Kuzmičovs, G. (1980), Latvijas šahistu jaunrade, Rīga, Avots., pp. 107 – 108 (in Latvian).

External links[]

• Benita Vilerte player profile and games at Chessgames.com
• Benita Vilerte chess games at 365Chess.com