Jiří (Jorge) Pelikán (Častolovice,[1][2][3] 23 April 1906 – Chacabuco,[4] July[4] 1984)[5] was a Czech-Argentine chess master.
He played for Czechoslovakia (known as the Protectorate of Bohemia & Moravia in 1939) in three Chess Olympiads:[6] He won the individual silver medal at Warsaw 1935 for his 70% score.
Following the outbreak of World War II, Pelikán, along with many other participants of the 8th Olympiad (Miguel Najdorf, Erich Eliskases et al.) decided to stay permanently in Argentina.
In 1944, he tied for 7-8th in Mar del Plata (Hermann Pilnik and Najdorf won).
In 1945/46, he took 4th, behind René Letelier, Carlos Skalicka, and Movsas Feigins, in Buenos Aires (Círculo La Régence).
The event was won by Henrique Mecking, Julio Bolbochán, Oscar Panno and Alberto Foguelman.
[4] The Lasker–Pelikan Variation of the Sicilian Defence (ECO code B33) is named after him and German Grandmaster Emanuel Lasker.