Ludek Pachman
Encyclopedia
Luděk Pachman was a Czechoslovak
-German chess
grandmaster
, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist
regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany
. He lived the remainder of his life there, and resumed his chess career with considerable success, including winning the West German Championship
in 1978 and playing in the Interzonal
in 1976.
. World Champion Alekhine
dominated the event, with Keres
taking second place. Pachman finished ninth in the nineteen-player tournament. Alekhine paid him a compliment in an article in the "Frankfurter Zeitung" and from the fifth round on, invited him every evening to analyze games and opening variations. "I don't have to tell you how a beginner from a village chess club felt at that time", Pachman wrote.
Pachman went on to become one of the world's leading players. He won fifteen international tournaments, but considered sharing second place in Havana
1963, with Mikhail Tal
and Efim Geller
, behind Viktor Korchnoi
, his best tournament result. Pachman won the Czechoslovak championship
seven times between 1946 and 1966. He became the champion of West Germany in 1978. He played in six Interzonal
tournaments between Saltsjöbaden
1948 and Manila
1976. He represented Czechoslovakia in eight consecutive Chess Olympiad
s from 1952 through 1966, usually playing first board.
The most successful year of his career was 1959. After winning the Czechoslovakian championship he went on a South American tour, winning tournaments in Mar del Plata (tied with Miguel Najdorf
), Santiago, Chile
(tied with Borislav Ivkov
) and Lima, Peru (again tied with Ivkov). On this tour he beat the 16-year-old Bobby Fischer
twice, which enraged the young grandmaster. Pachman made an even lifetime score against Fischer, +2 −2 =4.
. Upon his return to Prague, the authorities arrested, imprisoned, and tortured him for months. During this time he attempted suicide: On Christmas Eve 1969, doctors called his wife and told her that he probably would not survive the night. In 1972, Pachman was finally allowed to emigrate to West Germany. He soon became known as a strongly anti-Communist political activist, and his eloquence made him a regular guest on political talk shows.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
-German chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. He lived the remainder of his life there, and resumed his chess career with considerable success, including winning the West German Championship
German Chess Championship
The German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion.Prior to 1880 three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the Westdeutscher Schachbund , the Norddeutscher Schachbund and the Mitteldeutscher Schachbund . Each one organized its...
in 1978 and playing in the Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
in 1976.
Career
Pachman's first chess championship came in 1940, when he became champion of the nearby village of Cista (population 900). The first break in his chess career came in 1943, when he was invited to an international tournament in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. World Champion Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
dominated the event, with Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
taking second place. Pachman finished ninth in the nineteen-player tournament. Alekhine paid him a compliment in an article in the "Frankfurter Zeitung" and from the fifth round on, invited him every evening to analyze games and opening variations. "I don't have to tell you how a beginner from a village chess club felt at that time", Pachman wrote.
Pachman went on to become one of the world's leading players. He won fifteen international tournaments, but considered sharing second place in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
1963, with Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
and Efim Geller
Efim Geller
Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
, behind Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
, his best tournament result. Pachman won the Czechoslovak championship
Czechoslovak Chess Championship
The Czechoslovak National Chess Championship was the chess competition, which has determined the best Czechoslovak chess player.- History :First Czechoslovak championships were held in Prague in year 1919...
seven times between 1946 and 1966. He became the champion of West Germany in 1978. He played in six Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournaments between Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
1948 and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
1976. He represented Czechoslovakia in eight consecutive Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s from 1952 through 1966, usually playing first board.
Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....
), Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
(tied with Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov
Borislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...
) and Lima, Peru (again tied with Ivkov). On this tour he beat the 16-year-old Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
twice, which enraged the young grandmaster. Pachman made an even lifetime score against Fischer, +2 −2 =4.
Politics
Pachman was politically active throughout his life, first as a Communist and later as a staunch anti-Communist. In December 1968, he won a tournament in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Upon his return to Prague, the authorities arrested, imprisoned, and tortured him for months. During this time he attempted suicide: On Christmas Eve 1969, doctors called his wife and told her that he probably would not survive the night. In 1972, Pachman was finally allowed to emigrate to West Germany. He soon became known as a strongly anti-Communist political activist, and his eloquence made him a regular guest on political talk shows.
Author
Pachman was also a prolific author, publishing eighty books in five languages. In the 1950s, he became the world's leading opening expert with the publication of his four-volume opus, Theory of Modern Chess. Pachman considered Modern Chess Strategy, published in 1959, to be his best book. His book Checkmate in Prague recounts his treatment at the hands of the Communist authorities.Notable chess games
- Ludek Pachman vs Oleg Neikirch, Portoroz 1958, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch (D41), 1–0 Pachman attacks his opponent's castled king, offering the sacrificeSacrifice (chess)In chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....
of both bishopsBishop (chess)A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
. His opponent declines the second bishop, and could have continued the game with 25...Qh7!, but it is not easy to find such moves over the board in the limited time. Pachman was a good practical player and knew well where it pays to take a risk in the game. See also this account of a swindle by Pachman, who deliberately wasted almost an hour on his clock in order to get into time trouble and thereby lull his opponent into being swindled.
External links
- Grandmaster Ludek Pachman dies at 78
- Edward WinterEdward Winter (chess historian)Edward Winter is an English journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author about the game of chess. He writes a regular column on that subject, Chess Notes, and is also a regular columnist for ChessBase.-Chess Notes:...
, Pachman, Bohatirchuk and Politics (2003)