Czech great Vlastimil Hort dies at 82

The ranks of the great generation of post-World War II chess players lost another luminary last week with the death of Czech-born, German-based GM Vlastimil Hort at the age of 81.

A six-time national champion in his native land and a three-time German champion after emigrating to the West in 1985, the genial Hort ranked as high as sixth in the world in the mid-1970s, barely losing an epic Candidates match to former Soviet world champ Boris Spassky in 1977.

His resume includes some 80 international tournament wins and more than a dozen Olympiad performances for the former Czechoslovakia — including a team silver medal in 1982. He was one of the last surviving participants in the fabled 1970 “Match of the Century,” pitting Spassky and nine other top Soviet players against a “Rest of the World” team that included Bobby Fischer — who was a friend and big supporter of the Czech grandmaster. Hort justified Bobby’s confidence by beating Soviet star GM Lev Polugaevsky 2½-1½ in their Board 4 match.

Hort had a second career in Germany as a popular television commentator and author, whose works include the highly recommended “The Best Move.”

One can get a sense of Hort’s flexible, attractive style at the board from a 1967 game against strong Yugoslavian GM Dragoljub Minic, played just two years after the then-23-year-old Hort had been awarded the grandmaster title.

Hort as White gets the better of the opening in this Averbakh King’s Indian, as after 10. 0-0 Nbd7 11. Qc2 it’s hard to suggest a risk-free active plan for Black. Minic’s 12…e6!? 12. dxe6 Rxe6 (fxe6?! 13. e5! dxe5 14. Bd3 e4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Qf6 17. h4 gives White a powerful attacking initiative) 13. Rad1 chips away at Hort’s imposing pawn center, but opens up the game at a time when Black lags in development and his king position has been compromised.

The defense is breached on 14. Rfe1 Nxe4?! (safer was 14…b6) 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Bd3 f5 (Black makes White work to recover the pawn, but Hort actually has bigger fish to fry) 17. Nf4 Re8 18. Bxe4!, when 18…fxe4? 19. Rxd6! exf3 20. Qxg6+ Kg8 21. Nh5 Qe7 22. Re6! is just winning for White.

White’s pieces swarm the open kingside, but the final combination required some exact calculating: 20. Rxg6! Rxf4 21. Bxf4 Qxf4 22. Rxg7+! (Rg3 was also good, but White’s sacrifice rips away a critical defender and keys a winning mating attack) Kxg7 23. Qc3+ — White has only three pieces left to conduct the attack, but that proves ample with Black’s queenside still completely out of the play.

The neat finale: 23…Nf6 (Kf7 24. Qh8! Nf8 25. Ne5+ Ke6 and the king will be hunted down in lines like 26. Qg8+ Kd6 27. Qxf8+ Kc7 28. Qxc5+ Kd8 [Kb8 29. Qd6 mate] 29. Nf7+ Kd7 30. Re7 mate) 24. Re7+ Kg6 25. Ne5+ Kh5 26. Rg7 Be6 (the bishop finally deploys and Black’s rook is ready to join the defense, but it is already too late) 27. Qh3+ Qh4 (see diagram) 28. Ng6!!, a clever idea that forces immediate resignation. Minic’s king is lost on 28…Qxh3+ 29. Nf4+ Kh4 30. g3+ Qxg3+ 31. hxg3 mate.

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We included here last week a game from Virginia third-grader Lukas LeBakken, one of the two local winners from this month’s mammoth scholastic SuperNational VIII tournament in Orlando, which attracted an astonishing 4,523 entrants. This week, we cross the Potomac to celebrate Maryland Candidate Master Nitesh Cherukeri’s solo first in the hotly contested K-8 championship.

The McDonogh School middle-schooler came through with a dramatic last-round win over tournament leader FM Bryan Emming Lin to claim the title.

It’s another King’s Indian (with the increasingly popular 5. h3 for White), quickly leading to double-edged play after 9. d5 Nd4 10. 0-0-0!? (castling into Black’s preferred attacking field, and all but obliging Lin to come after him) b5 11. cxb5 a6?! (logical, but Black will regret not trading first with 11…Nxf3! 12. gxf3 a6 13. Bh6 Bxh6 14. Qxh6 axb5 15. Bxb5 Ba6, with chances for both sides) 12. Bxd4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 axb5 14. Bxb5 Ba6 — White enjoys two extra pawns, but Black has multiple attacking lanes targeting Cherukeri’s king.

The complexity of the position and the stakes of the game tell on both players: 17. Qe3 (the engines prefer 17. Nxe7+ Kh8 18. Nc6 Nc5 19. Kc2, believing White can defend) Ne5 18. Kb1?! (moving toward the danger when flight was a safer option) Nxc6 19. Bxc6 Bb7? (Rfb8 20. Rc1 Bb7 21. Bb5 Qa5 keeps the pressure on) 20. Nb5! Qb8 21. Qb3 Bxc6 22. dxc6 Q6 23. Rc1!, rightly recognizing that the advanced c-pawn is now White’s most valuable asset.

Lin misses a last opportunity to hold the line and the passed pawn costs Black a full rook: 25. Na7! Bxb2 (25…Qxe4+ might offer more practical chances, but White remains on top after 26. Qc2 Qxc2+ 27. Rxc2 Rxa7 28. c8=Q Rxc8 29. Rxc8+ Bf8 30. Rhc1) 26. Qc2! Qf3 (Qxc2+ 27. Rxc2 Rxa7 28. c8=Q Rxc8 28. Rxc8+ Kg7 30. Kxb2 and wins)  27. Kxb2 Rxa7 28. c8=Q Rxc8 29. Qxc8+ Kg7 30. Qc3+!, and White not only has consolidated his material advantage but also forces a queen trade.

Lin tries to make something of his connected passed pawns, but the material deficit is too great, with Cherukeri’s h-pawn proving a critical asset. After 56. Rf7 f1=N 57. Rxf1, Black finally resigns from a hopeless position.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Hort-Minic, Zonal Tournament, Halle, East Germany, March 1967

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 h6 8.Be3 Kh7 9.Nf3 Re8 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Qc2 e6 12.dxe6 Rxe6 13.Rad1 Qe7 14.Rfe1 Nxe4 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Bd3 f5 17.Nf4 Re8 18.Bxe4 Rxe4 19.Rxd6 Qc7 20.Rxg6 Rxf4 21.Bxf4 Qxf4 22.Rxg7+ Kxg7 23.Qc3+ Nf6 24.Re7+ Kg6 25.Ne5+ Kh5 26.Rg7 Be6 27.Qh3+ Qh4 28.Ng6 Black resigns.

Cherukeri-Lin, K-8 Tournament, SuperNationals VIII, Orlando, Florida, May 2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. Nf3 Qa5 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. d5 Nd4 10. O-O-O b5 11. cxb5 a6 12. Bxd4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 axb5 14. Bxb5 Ba6 15. Nc6 Qc7 16. a4 Nd7 17. Qe3 Ne5 18. Kb1 Nxc6 19. Bxc6 Bb7 20. Nb5 Qb8 21. Qb3 Bxc6 22. dxc6 Qb6 23. Rc1 Qxf2 24. c7 Qxg2 25. Na7 Bxb2 26. Qc2 Qf3 27. Kxb2 Rxa7 28. c8=Q Rxc8 29. Qxc8+ Kg7 30. Qc3+ Qxc3+ 31. Kxc3 Rxa4 32. Kd3 f5 33. exf5 gxf5 34. Rc4 Ra3+ 35. Ke2 Ra2+ 36. Kf3 Ra3+ 37. Kf2 Ra2+ 38. Kg3 Kf6 39. Rc7 Ra3+ 40. Kh4 Rd3 41. Re1 e5 42. Rxh7 f4 43. Rh5 Ke6 44. Rg5 Kf6 45. Reg1 Ke6 46. Kg4 Kd5 47. h4 Rd2 48. Rh1 Ke4 49. h5 Rg2+ 50. Kh4 Rc2 51. h6 Rc8 52. h7 Rh8 53. Kg4 f3 54. Rg8 Rxh7 55. Rxh7 f2 56. Rf7 f1=N 57. Rxf1 Black resigns.