Vlastimil Hort

Vlastimil Hort was born January 12, 1944, in Kladno, Czechoslovakia. In the 1970s he was one of the world's best players and a World Championship candidate. In 1979 he moved to West Germany where he still lives. Hort is an excellent blindfold player, a prolific author and a popular chess commentator.

Recent news

Meeting Don Miguel

3/10/2021 – Miguel Najdorf (April 15, 1910 – July, 4 1997) is one of the great chess players who never became World Champion. Born in Poland, Najdorf stayed in South America after the Chess Olympiad 1939 in Buenos Aires and became an Argentinean and a successful businessman. Vlastimil Hort had the pleasure of meeting "Don Miguel" in person and shares memories of these meetings.

Congratulations! Vlastimil Hort celebrates his 77th birthday!

1/12/2021 – Today, January 12, Vlastimil Hort celebrates his 77th birthday. Congratulations! To mark the anniversary, the former World Championship candidate and great chess connoisseur gives the chess community another - albeit somewhat macabre - story.

Hort stories: Don't worry, be happy!

12/25/2020 – It has been a tough year for everyone. But one can always look at the glass half full, like our columnist Vlastimil Hort, who wrote this piece two years ago. Enjoy! | How to recover after a loss? What to do when things do not go your way — in life and in chess? Vlastimil Hort has an answer to this question: "Don't worry, be happy!" And he shares some anecdotes to show how this works in practice.

Vlastimil Hort: Memories of Prague's chess café U Nováků

11/16/2020 – For decades, the chess café at the U Nováků shopping mall had been the center of Prague's chess community. This is where the bohemian society used to meet to play billiards, cards and chess, and it is also where the career of more than one world famous player began. Vlastimil Hort reminisces about the "golden age".

Free falling with Wolfgang Uhlmann

9/1/2020 – Vlastimil Hort and Wolfgang Uhlmann played together in many tournaments and shared numerous experiences. In memory of the world-class grandmaster who sadly passed away last week, Vlastimil Hort recalls a memorable episode of their lives.

Vlastimil Hort: Memories of Rovinj/Zagreb

4/27/2020 – Bobby Fischer won the 2. Tournament of Peace in Rovinj/Zagreb 1970 convincingly with a two point margin. Vlastimil Hort shared second place but felt that he and the other players "were more or less reduced to the role of spectators".

Vlastimil Hort: A strange encounter at night

4/11/2020 – In 1970 Vlastimil Hort played several tournaments in Yugoslavia. Between these tournaments he also found time for a simul in the town of Ogulin. But when driving to Ogulin at night he had a strange encounter in the forests that surround the city.

The Match of the Century: Vlastimil Hort with impressions from Belgrade

3/31/2020 – The first round of the match between the USSR and the "Rest of the World" is over and the USSR leads with 5.5:4.5. A detailed report with analyses of key games will follow shortly but Vlastimil Hort was ready to share first impressions about the mood in his team, the atmosphere in Belgrade, and the difficulties to find the best line-up. | Picture: Hort's telegram to the German editors

Hort stories: Wrong place wrong time

2/6/2020 – Amid memories of Tony Miles, Vlastimil Hort shares an unpleasant memory: "To avoid provoking an unwelcome fellow passenger on the escalator I carefully left my hands in my pockets. And then I finally saw what he had in his hand and was pressing against my body… a bayonet! Dear God..." Plus, Tony Miles in an unusual position (pictured) in Tilburg 1985. | Photo: Persbureau van Eindhoven

Hort stories: Remembering Tony Miles

2/5/2020 – Tony Miles was the first English Grandmaster and in the 1980s one of the best players from the West. In 1980, at a tournament in Skara, he tried 1.e4 a6!? against Anatoly Karpov and defeated the World Champion in a famous game. Vlastimil Hort shares memories of his former teammate, which forces him to recall an frightening incident with "Tom".

Fyodor Duz-Khotimirsky: the man who beat Lasker and Rubinstein

12/16/2019 – Fyodor Duz-Khotimirsky is a chess legend. After all, at the great international tournament in St. Petersburg 1909 he won against both winners, Emanuel Lasker and Akiba Rubinstein. This success later helped him in a rather precarious situation. VLASTIMIL HORT knows more.

Hort stories: A lost letter from Bobby Fischer

9/12/2019 – Bobby Fischer is a legend, so much so that even people who knew him sometimes find it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction when they hear stories about Fischer. Vlastimil Hort knew Fischer and played against him. Recently, Hort rediscovered a letter Fischer had sent him and this letter evoked memories of the controversial chess genius. | Photos: Wolfgang Betzen (Schachclub Wangen)

Hort stories: Leonid Stein

5/30/2019 – During his peak the Ukrainian born Soviet Grandmaster Leonid Stein (November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973) was one of the best players of the world. He had a fantastic flair for the attack and was famous for his ability to demolish his opponents quickly. But fortune did not smile on him. Vlastimil Hort knew Stein well and shares memories. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Hort stories: "Pricao mi Gliga..."

4/28/2019 – During the 1950s and 1960s Svetozar Gligoric was one of the world's best players and the Yugoslavian number one. Gligoric was also happily married, a successful journalist and writer, and had fought for the Yugoslavian partisans during World War II. Vlastimil Hort often met Gligoric and now shares his memories.

Hort stories — Don't worry, be happy!

11/22/2018 – How to recover after a loss? What to do when things do not go your way — in life and in chess? Vlastimil Hort has an answer to this question: "Don't worry, be happy!" And he shares some anecdotes to show how this works in practice.

Hort Stories: "My David Ionovich"

10/11/2018 – David Bronstein was certainly one of the most creative players in the history of chess. In 1951 he drew a World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik who thus narrowly defended the title. Vlastimil Hort remembers encounters with "my David Ionovich", including how a promise to play the King's Gambit in 1970 came back to haunt him 24 years later!

Hort stories: Impressions of a new senior (II)

8/21/2018 – In the second part of his comments on the Senior World Team Championships, New-Senior Vlastimil Hort deals with some incidents on the chess board and has picked out and commented on some critical games and positions.

Hort stories: Impressions of a new senior (I)

7/24/2018 – The World Senior Team Championships was on Jon Speelman's mind recently, and now it's Vlastimil Hort's turn. Hort was born in 1944 and initially wanted to wait until he reached his eighties before starting to play in senior tournaments. However, friends convinced him to try it earlier and he took part in Radebeul. He enjoyed the time and was happy to meet a lot of old colleagues and friends. | Photos in the report: Karsten Wieland
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