Aleksandras Ziselis Machtas
won his first ever
Lithuanian chess championship in 1923.
He held the championship title
for a record of 5 consecutive years.
In 1923,1924,1926,1927 and 1928.
(in 1925 there was no champion at all)

In fact he was the first player ever
to defend a championship title.
That was in 1924 when he became
the first one to win a second trophy.

In 1926 he was the first player
to become a triple champion.
The following year he became
the first one to win a forth trophy.
And of course in 1928
he won his fifth consecutive title.

After a couple of years
he was back in business so to speak.
Aleksandras Ziselis Machtas
was again the champion in 1931
and once more so in 1932.

In total winning 7 championship titles.
More than any other player
in the history of the first independent
Republic of Lithuania.

At least in terms of championships
Machtas can be regarded
as the greatest chess player
of the first Republic.

Even more amazing is the fact
that by the summer of 2009
those 7 championships titles
Machtas won many years ago
are still a record yet to be broken
in independent Lithuania of today.

for more on that click here