Latvia

Latvia, located in the Baltic in northeastern Europe, was controlled by the Teutonic knights in Medieval times, and then by Sweden. It was a part of the Russian Empire for about 200 years. Gaining its independence in 1918, it was occupied by Russia in 1940, the Germans in 1941, and then Russia from 1944 until 1991, when it again became independent. During that time, with most people in the country speaking Latvian, it has managed to keep its cultural identity, and some of this is reflected through its games.

In Medieval times, most of the pastimes involved military prowess, and the Teutonic knights were passionate about jousting, swordplay, and other combat sports, as well as archery. This continues to be seen through interest in fencing, and also adventure playgrounds around the country.

In 1886 the first bicycle club was established in Riga, later the capital of independent Latvia. Initially it operated purely for recreational cycling, but later it became a sports club. Because of the climate, skating, ice hockey, skiing, snowboarding, and tobogganing have also been popular, and walking and hiking also have long histories within the country, especially after native Janis Dalins won a number of international walking competitions, transforming the pastime into a sport.

The Riga Chess Society was established in 1890, followed by the Riga Chess Club in 1898. Aron Nimzowitsch (1886–1935), born in Riga, was one of the great Chess players of the 1920s but failed to win any world championship, although he remains famous for his book My System (1925), which led to a new vocabulary of Chess. However, the best-known Latvian chess grandmaster was Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal (1936–92), who was born in Latvia and became the Latvian champion at the age of 16, winning five Soviet titles and writing what are regarded as some of the wittiest books on Chess. Mention should also be made of Andreas Ascharin (1843–96), born in Estonia but a school teacher in Riga from 1879; and Lucius Endzelins (1909–81), who competed at the Chess Olympiad at Buenos Aires in 1939, and later settled in Australia. The Latvijas Saha Savieniba is the current parent body for Chess in the country. Backgammon and card games, especially Bridge, are also played by many people in Latvia, particularly in cities and towns. The Americans introduced recreational basketball into the country after World War I.

Because of the Russian occupation of the country, many Latvians fled overseas, especially to the United States, Canada, and Australia, and many were able to maintain their cultural identity. With Latvian independence in 1991, large numbers of exiles returned to Latvia, and this led to a resurgence of Latvian nationalism, including the Latvian National Song Festival of 1873, which was an important event in the country's history.

Wargaming was very popular during Russian occupation, but most of it was restricted to historic battles, such as the defeat of the Teutonic knights by Alexander Nevski at Lake Peipus, the Russo-Swedish Wars, or Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. Since independence, scenarios include the fighting in 1918 and also in 1940–5. There has also been greater interest among teenagers and young men in fantasy Wargames. Dungeons & Dragons books and Warhammer figures are sold in Riga and other cities in Latvia and are also purchased from overseas through the internet. Monopols, the Latvian version of the board game Monopoly, features important streets and train stations in Riga.

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