Photo: Jack de Nijs for Anefo — CC0Source
Jens Enevoldsen
- September 23, 1907
- May 23, 1980
- 72 years
About Jens Enevoldsen
Jens Enevoldsen, 72, Danish chess player.
Explore other notable deaths in 1980 or deaths in May 1980.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know Jens Enevoldsen?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Full Biography
|Jens Evald Enevoldsen-Elsing (23 September 1907 – 23 May 1980) was a Danish chess master born in Copenhagen.
Chess career
Enevoldsen won the Danish Chess Championship five times (1940, 1943, 1947, 1948, and 1960). In 1939 he shared first but lost a playoff, and in 1950 he again shared first but lost a lottery.
He took 4th place at the Helsinki 1947 zonal tournament; Eero Böök and Gösta Stoltz shared first place.
Enevoldsen played for Denmark ten times in Chess Olympiads (1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1966, 1970, and 1972).
He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1950 and was made an International Arbiter (IA) in 1960.
Notable game
In a 1933 tournament in Copenhagen, the little known Enevoldsen defeats Aron Nimzowitsch, one of the world's leading players, with an overwhelming king's side attack featuring a rare double knight sacrifice.
Enevoldsen–Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1933
Queen's Pawn Opening (ECO A46)
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Be7 6. O-O b6 7. a3 O-O 8. e4 d5 9. e5 Nd7 10. Qe2 Re8 11. Bf4 a5 12. Nbd2 c4 13. Bc2 b5 14. Ne4 Nf8 15. Ng3 Bd7 16. h3 Ra7 17. Nh2 b4 18. axb4 axb4 19. Rxa7 Nxa7 20. Ra1 Nb5 21. Bd2 Qb6 22. Ng4 bxc3 23. bxc3 Na3 24. Rxa3! Bxa3 25. Nh5 Ng6 26. Ngf6+ Kh8 27. Nxg7! Rg8 28. Nxh7! (diagram) Kxg7 29. Qh5 f5 30. exf6+ Kf7 31. Ng5+ Kxf6 32. Qf3+ Ke7 33. Qf7+ Kd8 34. Qxg8+ Nf8 35. Nh7 Qb2 36. Nxf8 Qxc2 37. Nxe6+ Ke7 38. Bg5+ Kd6 39. Qf8+ Kc6 40. Qxa3 1-0
Enevoldsen relates that he and Nimzowitsch subsequently became good friends, Nimzowitsch describing him as "the hope of Danish chess". At his request, Enevoldsen was buried alongside Nimzowitsch in Bispebjerg cemetery, Copenhagen.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Jens Enevoldsen on Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Enevoldsen
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- View record
- October 21, 2026
- Sep 26, 2026
Explore the archive
People who died on May 23
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for Jens Enevoldsen →
