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

by Vlastimil Hort
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".

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The Chess Café U Nováků

The chess café U Nováků in Prague used to be a very popular gathering place for chess players from all over the world. What is not as widely known is the fact that the Chess Olympiad of 1931, sponsored by Tomáš Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslowakia, was held there as well. Even Alexander Alekhine, reigning world champion at the time, was present. He played for France on board one.

Alexander Alekhine playing Stahlberg at the Chess Olympiad 1931

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Qd6 7.e3 Ne4 8.Bf4 Qe7 9.Bd3 f5 10.Nge2 0-0 11.0-0 c6 12.f3 ! Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.e4 g6 ! 16.e5 ? 16.g3 !? 'with the idea' 17 Nf4, 18. Rae1 16...Qe7 17.f4 Nd7 18.a4 18.g4 ! fxg4 19.f5 18...Nb6 19.Qb3 Be6 20.Rfb1 Rf7 ! 21.Qb4 Qe8 22.Ng3 Rg7 ! 23.Nf1 23.Rf1 Qf7 24.Qb1 23...g5 ! 24.fxg5 Qh5 ! 25.Qb2 Qxg5 26.Qf2 Kh8 27.Nd2 Rag8 $41 28.Bf1 f4 29.Nf3 Qh5 30.Rb2 Nc4 31.Rba2 Ne3 32.Ne1 Ng4 ! 33.Qxf4 Rf7 33...Rf7 34.Qg3 Rxf1+ 35.Kxf1 Nxh2+-+ 0–1
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Stahlberg,G-Alekhine,A-0–11931E35Olympiad-042

The bohemian society of Prague used to meet at the café U Nováků to play chess, cards and billiards.

The floor below housed a well-known cabaret, which some of the guests liked to visit after they were done playing their games.

U Nováků on an old postcard

After the Velvet Revolution of 1990, the cabaret became privately owned. The beautiful historical chess tables of the U Nováků were sadly replaced by slot machines and roulette tables. For the chess players, this meant GAME OVER. They had to pack their bags and make way for the realities of capitalism. A pity!

As a student, I'd rather spend my time playing blitz games in this café than actually studying. It was not uncommon for these games to last until late into the night. I also regularly met the first Czechoslowakian professional Karel Opočenský there, who had played the final and most crucial game of the Chess Olympiad. His opponent in this game was Hans Kmoch (Austria) and it decided which medal would be assigned to whom. Later, Opo never liked to show this game - after all, he lost despite being two pawns up!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 c5 5.0-0 Be7 6.b3 Bb7 7.Nbd2 cxd4 8.exd4 Nd5 9.c4 Nf4 10.Ne4 Nxd3 11.Qxd3 d5 12.Neg5 Nd7 13.Re1 Nf6 14.Ne5 0-0 15.Qh3 Bb4 16.Rd1 h6 17.Ngf3 Ne4 18.Rd3 Re8 19.Ng4 Bf8 20.Bf4 f5 21.Nge5 g5 22.Qh5 Qf6 23.Nd7 Qg7 24.Nxf8 gxf4 25.Ng6 Nf6 26.Qh4 Qxg6 27.Ne5 Qg5 28.Qh3 Qh5 29.Qxh5 Nxh5 30.Rh3 Ng7 31.Rxh6 dxc4 32.bxc4 Red8 33.Rd1 Rac8 34.Rd3 f3 35.gxf3 f4 36.Rh4 Rf8 37.Ra3 a5 38.Rb3 Ba6 39.Rxb6 Bxc4 40.Rb7 Ba6 41.Rb1 Rb8 42.Re1 Rf5 43.Rg4 Kh7 44.Kh1 Bb7 45.Kg2 Bd5 46.Rc1 Rb7 47.Rc5 a4 48.Ra5 Bxa2 49.Rxa4 Bd5 50.Ra3 Nh5 51.Rc3 Rg7 52.Kf1 Rf8 53.Kg2 Rxg4+ 54.Nxg4 Rf7 55.Kh3 Nf6 56.Kh4 Ng8 57.Ne5 Rg7 58.Kh3 Ne7 59.Rc7 Nf5 60.Rxg7+ Kxg7 61.Kg4 Nxd4 62.Kxf4 Kf6 63.Ng4+ Kg6 64.Ne5+ Kh6 65.Nd7 Ba2 66.Ke5 Nxf3+ 67.Kf6 Nd4 68.Nc5 Kh5 69.h4 Kxh4 70.f4 Bc4 71.Ke5 ½–½
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Kmoch,H-Opocensky,K-½–½1931A47Olympiad-0419

"A good dove will always find its way back home." The strong Czech player Karel Skalička, who had decided to never return to his home country after the Olympiad of 1939 in Buenos Aires, visited Prague shortly before his death.

At the Chess Olympiad 1939, the Czechoslowakian team was first listed as Bohemia and Moravia

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 b4 7.Na2 e6 8.Bxc4 Nbd7 9.0-0 Be7 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.b3 c5 12.Bb2 0-0 13.Rac1 a5 14.dxc5 Bxc5 15.e4 Bb7 16.Bd3 e5 17.Nh4 Qb6 18.Nf5 g6 19.Ng3 Rac8 20.Bb5 Bd6 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Bxd7 Nxd7 23.Rd1 Nc5 24.Nc1 Ne6 25.Qd3 Bb8 26.Qf3 Rc2 27.Qf6 Rxb2 28.Rd7 Rxf2 29.Qxf2 Ba7 30.Qxb6 Bxb6+ 31.Kf1 Nc5 32.Rd1 Bxe4 33.Nxe4 Nxe4 34.Rd5 f6 35.Rb5 Bc7 36.Rb7 Bd6 37.Ra7 Nc5 38.Rxa5 Kf7 39.Ra7+ Ke6 40.Rxh7 e4 41.Ke2 Kd5 42.Rh8 Bf4 43.Rd8+ Ke5 44.Na2 Nxb3 45.g3 Bh6 46.Nxb4 Nd4+ 47.Kd1 e3 48.a5 e2+ 49.Ke1 Ke4 50.Rxd4+ Kxd4 51.a6 Bc1 52.Kxe2 1–0
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Skalicka,C-Feigins,M-1–01939D15Olympiad-08 Final A4

At the U Nováků, I got to witness the cordial embrace of the former team mates Opočenský and Skalička.

Salo Flohr also used to frequently spend his time in the café, long before becoming a professional player.

Salo Flohr

in 1925, he and is brother Moses had come to Czechoslowakia from the Carpathians to find work and fill their empty stomachs. Both of them barely understood the Czech language. For a time, they sold freshly pickled sauerkraut on a market to survive. Carrying the heavy barrels was too exhausting for the rather delicate Salo, which is why he switched over to the "paper business", walking from one pub to the next as a newspaper boy. In doing so, he quite literally stumbled upon his vocation at the U Nováků, where he did not only learn the game of kings, but the Czech language as well!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 Bg4 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.Nge2 Bxe2 10.Kxe2 Nf8 11.Qb3 Qe7 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Rhe1 Ne6 14.Kf1 0-0-0 15.Rec1 Kb8 16.Ne2 Bd6 17.Rxc6 Bxh2 18.g3 h5 19.Rac1 h4 20.Bf5 hxg3 21.fxg3 Ng7 22.Rc7 Qxc7 23.Rxc7 Kxc7 24.Kg2 Rdg8 25.Qxd5 Bxg3 26.Nxg3 Nh5 27.Qd7+ Kb8 28.Be4 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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Flohr,S-Opocensky,K-1–01930E35Prague-ch

Later on, during the socialist period, the café U Nováků greatly helped the security forces in performing their duties. Here, they could get an excellent overview of illegal activity, as gamblers, thieves, con men and all manner of petty criminals were laid out for them on a silver platter.

The U Nováků today

Before closing down once and for all, the café used to be open from 3.00 in the afternoon until 1.00 at night. Aside from the excellent beers, the café also served delicious and affordable meals until right before midnight. Its past guests include numerous foreign grandmasters, such as Najdorf, Hübner and Lombardy.

As mentioned above, in the time following the Velvet revolution it became impossible to afford the sky-high rent, and the chess players were scattered to the winds. Truly a pity!

When I come to Prague, I always enjoy visiting the historical rooms of the beautiful art noveau building, and to me, the old images and long forgotten faces come back to life...

Vlastimil Hort

Those who love Vlastimil Hort's memories can find countless other anecdotes in his book "Schachgeschichten" ("Chess Stories"). An English edition is to be released soon. Vlastimil Hort is currently working on a second volume.

Vlastimil Hort "Meine Schachgeschichten". 2019, page 82 ff. (Schach-Niggemann)

Translation from German by Hugo B. Janz

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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.

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