Ludek Pachman, 78; International Chess Grandmaster, Author

Ludek Pachman, 78, an international chess grandmaster and author of dozens of chess textbooks, died Thursday in Passau, Germany, a Czech news agency reported Monday. The cause of death was not reported.

Pachman, an internationally known seven-time Czechoslovak chess master and a devoted communist until the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion that crushed democratic reforms known as the Prague Spring, emigrated to Germany in 1972.

He returned to Prague after the demise of communism in late 1989, but in 1998 moved to Germany again.

Pachman took part in many international chess tournaments. He was also the author of a number of chess textbooks, such as “Modern Chess Strategy” and “Decisive Games in Chess History.”