Description

Ludek Pachman was both one of the world's strongest chess grandmasters and one of the world's greatest writers and teachers of the game. He led a remarkable and amazing but somewhat tragic life. Although one of the world's strongest players who won 15 international tournaments, he never quite made it to the top elite. He won four zonal tournaments and played in six Interzonal tournaments, possibly a record, but he missed qualifying to the World Champion Candidates Tournament by a half-point twice. He played in Interzonals at Saltsjöbaden 1948, Saltsjöbaden 1952, Gothemburg 1955, Portoroz 1958, Amsterdam 1964 and Manila 1976. Pachman played eight tournament games against Bobby Fischer, finishing with an even score. His most famous game is his win over Bobby Fischer in Chile in 1959. This game is amazing because Fischer launched a ferocious attack. It seemed that Pachman was getting mated and there was no hope of survival. Yet, Pachman's king kept slipping away. Fischer finally had to resign when he reached a lost endgame.