Vytautas "Vito" Vitkauskas 1959-2020

Vytautas ("Vito") Vitkauskas passed away on January 20th, of this year.  He was 60.  Vito, who has been living in North Carolina, had been visiting family in the Chicago area, had fallen ill and was hospitalized.  His condition failed to improve and we lost him on January 20th.

Vito was born on February 26th, 1959.  He had been a U.S. Navy Journalist, then worked as a customer service and call center specialist and, for the last ten years, as a travel consultant for Rail Europe. He was single, although he most recently lived with his girlfriend in North Carolina.

Vito Vitkauskas was a staple in the Chicago area chess scene for many years.  He owned one of the old "Fischer era" USCF ID numbers (that began with "1034"), and was a Senior Tournament Director with USCF, and a FIDE Arbiter.  Vito had a FIDE rating and a USCF rating in the 1700s (peaking several times in the 1800s), and a USCF correspondence rating in the 1800s.

Vito played on several league chess teams, such as the SSCC Pawns, and most recently, the Rogue Squadron.

My own recollections on Vito was that he seemed to be a well-balanced personality with a quiet demeanor and a strong intellect.  I was not aware of him having any disputes with others in the 15 years I knew him.  He seemed to enjoy public speaking, dancing, music, photography, and travel, in addition to chess. 

As a chess player, Vito seemed to have good judgement at the board and an amazing ability to remain calm and level-headed in time scrambles and blitz, and I always wondered why he didn't achieve greater heights in his chess results.

Vito had a deadpan sense of humor, and could give his punchlines without ever changing the poker expression on his face.  Of course, if you didn't know him well enough, you might not realize he was making a joke.

In company of larger social groups, Vito had that rare ability to listen more than he spoke.  This was a true measure of discipline, because Vito was a skilled public speaker and I recall him mentioning that he enjoyed participating in Toastmasters events, and encouraging others to join in as well.

An example of Vito's sense of the humor was given on the SSCC Facebook page, when this photo of him was posted, from the Chicago Open in 2011.  Vito commented on the page:

Vito Vitkauskas: Rubbing my good luck molar with my tongue so the gods of chess look kindly upon my play.

South Suburban Chess Club: And did they??

Vito Vitkauskas: I was blessed with the result I deserved.

It turned out Vito had lost that game!

Vito was active in several Unitarian churches and communities.  Vito had been a regular at several Chicago area chess clubs, including the South Suburban Chess Club, Powell's Book Store, and Emmit's Pub, and most recently the Lincoln Square Chess Club.  He spent much of his life living on the South Side of Chicago, and was a respected citizen of the Lithuanian-American community.

Vito’s memorial service will be on March 7, 3pm at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, 1330 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL. All are welcome.