EP.214 - GM Vlastimil Hort

Czech grandmaster Vlastimil Hort  was among the world's best players in the 1960s, '70s, and into the mid-'80s. Born in Czechoslovka, the five-time national Czech champion emigrated to West Germany in 1985  and was subsequently the 3 time West German national champ.  GM Hort has played against most World Champions of the modern era, and has memorable stories about Bobby Fischer,  Boris Spassky, Paul Keres, and countless others.  GM Hort is also the co-author of the classic instructional book, The Best Move, and his latest book,  My Chess Stories, 64 Stories From His Life Near the Top in Chesshas recently been translated to English. GM Hort reflects on a few of the standout stories in our interview, including how a bribe at a chess tournament in Tunis helped him escape Czechoslovakia in 1985.  He also gives us the details of his less-than-pleasant interactions with GM Mikhail Botvinnik. So many fun stories below, and such an honor to speak with GM Hort. Please read on for timestamps and more details.  In addition to listening via audio, a transcript is available of this podcast thanks to the efforts of Dr. Stephen Sparks. You can read the interview transcript here.  0:00- We launch in by GM Hort sharing his memories of attending Hastings 1967, a tournament for which he had no money to attend, so he ended up sleeping in a park en route to the facilities. Chess has come a long way!  Mentioned: Hastings 1967-1968   7:30- Why did GM Hort decide to emigrate from the Czechoslovakia to Germany? He tells the amazing story of bribing passport control after theTunis Interzonal in 1985.  Mentioned: Wilfried Hilgert, Tunis Interzonal 1985, GM Mikhai Suba, GM Evgenij Ermenkov    14:00- Hort tells a story involving his fellow Czech native who recently passed away, GM Lubomir Kavalek.  Mentioned: GM Anatoly Karpov, Leonid Brezhnev    16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Get Chessable’s IOS app if you haven’t already, and you can check out their latest offerings here: https://www.chessabl