"Kaarle Ojanen achieved the title of international master in 1952. For twenty years he was one of the principal Finnish chess players in all national and international tournaments. Ojanen took part in twelve chess Olympiads and won the Finnish Championship twelve times during his peak years. This earned him the nickname Charles XII, which had to be modified when he took the championship for the 13th time at the age of 64, much to the surprise of the younger competitors.
Ojanen's international career started as a 16-year-old schoolboy when he showed promise with successes in Nordic tournaments. His chess development was interrupted by the Second World War. He served in combat forces on the front in Finland’s Winter War and Continuation War for a total of five years. After the war he trained on the job for duties in production planning and rationalization in the fast-growing industrial sector.
For the longest period, over 25 years, he worked as a technical director in the clothing industry until retiring in 1979. He also wrote several professional and educational books on his field. Kaarle Ojanen died in Helsinki on January 9, 2009, just a month after his 90th birthday.
The course of Kaarle Ojanen’s life is the tale of a young Finnish man who gave his best years to the war. Contemporaneous with Finnish independence, his story reflects the country’s history and the events in world politics that have shaped the fate of our land. Kaarle Ojanen dynamically embraced the values of his time, pursuing a significant career in both chess and working life. Elite chess and the hegemony of the Soviet School formed the background to Ojanen’s career.
Due to the unusual length of his chess career, Ojanen met almost all the notable Finnish master players. His ideas still have relevance in the modern game for similar Modern Benoni and King's Indian positions." 1)
One of Ojanen's most valuable wins was against Paul Keres. 2)
Sources: Kaarle Ojanen - Life And Games (Suomen Shakkikustannus Oy) Interview of Kaarle Ojanen (Shakkinet)
"Kaarle Ojanen achieved the title of international master in 1952. For twenty years he was one of the principal Finnish chess players in all national and international tournaments. Ojanen took part in twelve chess Olympiads and won the Finnish Championship twelve times during his peak years. This earned him the nickname Charles XII, which had to be modified when he took the championship for the 13th time at the age of 64, much to the surprise of the younger competitors.
Ojanen's international career started as a 16-year-old schoolboy when he showed promise with successes in Nordic tournaments. His chess development was interrupted by the Second World War. He served in combat forces on the front in Finland’s Winter War and Continuation War for a total of five years. After the war he trained on the job for duties in production planning and rationalization in the fast-growing industrial sector.
For the longest period, over 25 years, he worked as a technical director in the clothing industry until retiring in 1979. He also wrote several professional and educational books on his field. Kaarle Ojanen died in Helsinki on January 9, 2009, just a month after his 90th birthday.
The course of Kaarle Ojanen’s life is the tale of a young Finnish man who gave his best years to the war. Contemporaneous with Finnish independence, his story reflects the country’s history and the events in world politics that have shaped the fate of our land. Kaarle Ojanen dynamically embraced the values of his time, pursuing a significant career in both chess and working life. Elite chess and the hegemony of the Soviet School formed the background to Ojanen’s career.
Due to the unusual length of his chess career, Ojanen met almost all the notable Finnish master players. His ideas still have relevance in the modern game for similar Modern Benoni and King's Indian positions." 1)
One of Ojanen's most valuable wins was against Paul Keres. 2)
Sources: Kaarle Ojanen - Life And Games (Suomen Shakkikustannus Oy)
Interview of Kaarle Ojanen (Shakkinet)