Vladas Mikėnas (17 April 1910 – 3 November 1992) was a Lithuanian and Soviet chess player and journalist.

He was awarded the titles of International Master and Honorary Grandmaster by FIDE.

[1] Vladas Mikėnas played for Lithuania at first board in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads.

In 1931, he tied for 2nd–5th at the first Baltic Championship in Klaipėda, which was won by Isakas Vistaneckis.

In 1935, he took 10th in Łódź (Savielly Tartakower won), and drew a match with Vistaneckis (8:8).

In that game he missed a deflection tactic (see diagram) which prompted Alekhine to say: "Young man, you could have mated in three!".

[4] On 28 September 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany had changed the secret terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.

[9] Meanwhile, in 1954, he won, ahead of Ratmir Kholmov, Vistaneckis and Viacheslav Ragozin, in Vilnius (Quadrangular).

He was the arbiter of the World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in 1985.

The Mikenas Variation of the Modern Benoni, a sharp attacking line (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.e5), is named after him.