Robert Gijsbertus Hartoch (24 March 1947 — 28 May 2009) was a Dutch

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(1971).

Biography

Most of Robert Hartoch's successes were in junior events. In 1964, in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

he and

Jørn Sloth Jørn Sloth (born 5 September 1944 in Sjørring, Thy, Denmark) is a Danish chess player who holds the chess titles of FIDE Master and Correspondence Chess Grandmaster. He was the eighth ICCF World Champion, 1975–80. In 1964 he, together w ...

were co-winners of the

European Junior Chess Championship The first chess youth championship in Europe was the yearly European Junior Championship for under age 20. It was played from 1971–2002. FIDE officially introduced the European Junior Championship in 1970 at their Annual Congress and so the 19 ...

. In 1965, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, he finished second to Bojan Kurajica in the

World Junior Chess Championship The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The idea was the brainchild of William Rits ...

, ahead of

Robert Hübner Robert Hübner (6 November 1948 – 5 January 2025) was a German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist. He was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. Chess career At eighteen, Hübner was joint winner of t ...

and

Vladimir Tukmakov Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov (, born March 5, 1946, in Odesa) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He gained the Grandmaster title in 1972. Career His career first blossomed when he helped and then led the USSR to consecutive wins of the World St ...

. Hartoch had only middling success in chess tournaments as an adult. He played in the Dutch Chess Championship multiple times, but never finished higher than 4th place (in 1972 and 1975). In 1968, he shared 2nd-3rd place with

Anatoly Lutikov Anatoly Lutikov (5 February 1933 – 23 October 1989) was a Russian chess player. He was awarded the International Master title in 1967 and the Grandmaster title in 1974. He won the Moldovan championship six times (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, ...

in the

IBM international chess tournament The IBM international chess tournament was a series of very strong chess tournaments held in the Amsterdam, Netherlands from 1961 to 1981, and was sponsored by IBM. The list of winners of the main group includes five world champions. Parallel the ...

. In 1971, he shared 2nd-3rd place with

András Adorján András Adorján (born András Jocha; 31 March 1950 – 11 May 2023) was a Hungarian Chess Grandmaster (1973) and author. He adopted his mother's maiden name, Adorján, in 1968. Chess career In 1969–1970, Adorján secured the title of ...

in the B tournament of the '' Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee'' Chess Festival. In 1991, in

Dieren Dieren () is a town in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in Rheden, Gelderland, between Zutphen and Arnhem, on the bank of the IJssel. Dieren was a separate municipality until 1818, when it became a part of Rheden. The Gazelle bicycle fa ...

he finished 3rd in the Open Chess tournament. Robert Hartoch played for Netherlands in the

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...

s: * In 1970, at second reserve board in the

19th Chess Olympiad The 19th Chess Olympiad (), comprising an open team tournament as well as the annual Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE congress, took place between September 5–27, 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. The Soviet team with six Grandmaster ...

Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...

(+3, =5, -1), * In 1972, at first reserve board in the

20th Chess Olympiad The 20th Chess Olympiad (, ''20. Šahovska olimpijada''), organized by FIDE and comprising an open team tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 18 and October 13, 1972, in S ...

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

(+5, =7, -2). Hartoch played for Netherlands in the

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

: * In 1965, at second reserve board in the 3rd European Team Chess Championship in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(+0, =3, -3). Hartoch played for the Netherlands in the Clare Benedict Chess Cups: * In 1970, at first reserve board in the 17th Clare Benedict Chess Cup in

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...

(+0, =3, -0), * In 1972, at third board in the 19th Clare Benedict Chess Cup in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(+2, =3, -0) and won team silver and individual gold medals, * In 1973, at fourth board in the 20th Clare Benedict Chess Cup in

Gstaad Gstaad ( , ) is a town in the German language, German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society ...

(+1, =4, -1), * In 1974, at first reserve board in the 21st Clare Benedict Chess Cup in

Cala Galdana Cala Galdana (Galdana cove) is a coastal resort in Menorca, 9 km south of Ferreries. The cove was largely undeveloped until the 1960s.The Rough Guide to Mallorca & Menorca 0241276500 Rough Guides 2016 - "The bustling resort of CALA GALDANA, ...

(+0, =4, -0). In 1971, he was awarded the FIDE International Master (IM) title.

References

External links

*
Robert Hartoch
chess games at 365chess.com 1947 births 2009 deaths Chess players from Amsterdam Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century Dutch chess players 20th-century Dutch sportsmen 21st-century Dutch people {{Netherlands-chess-bio-stub