He won the
Lithuanian Chess Championship on ten occasions: in 1967, 1968 (shared with
Vladas Mikėnas), 1970, 1972 (shared with
Gintautas Piešina), 1973 (shared with
Jegor Čiukajevas), 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982 and 1993. In team chess, he represented Lithuania at the
Chess Olympiads of 2000, 2004, 2006 and in the
European Team Chess Championships of 1999 and 2003. He won the
World Senior Chess Championship in 2007. In 2010, he tied for 2nd–4th with
Vitaly Tseshkovsky and
Nikolai Pushkov in the European Seniors' Rapid Championship. Butnorius was awarded the
International Master title in 1983 and the Grandmaster title in 2007, as a result of winning the
World Senior Chess Championship. Butnorius studied journalism at
Vilnius University, graduating in 1973. In 1975–1989, he hosted a chess program on
LRT televizija. He also contributed chess-related articles and
chess problems to
Jaunimo Gretos,
Kauno Tiesa,
Komunizmo Vėliava,
Lietuvos Aidas,
Kauno Diena, and
Vakarinis Kaunas. ==Notable games==