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Prague (dpa / lnw) - The American chess grandmaster of Czech origin, Lubomir Kavalek, is dead. The newspaper "Lidove noviny" reported from Prague on Tuesday, citing his wife.

Kavalek died on Monday at the age of 77 after a short illness in Reston in the US state of Virginia.

At the age of only 19 he won the Czechoslovak chess championship in 1968.

Three years later he became International Grandmaster in Helsinki.

In 1968 Kavalek took advantage of participating in a tournament in Poland and fled to the West.

After a stopover in Germany, he settled in the USA as a professional chess player and coach.

He also remained closely associated with the Solingen chess society.

With the traditional club, he repeatedly won the German team championships in the 1970s and 80s.

The trained journalist wrote a chess column for the Washington Post for decades.

According to experts, his game was characterized by tactics and ingenuity.

But he also had a variety of other interests.

One episode became legendary: At a tournament in the Netherlands, he is said to have agreed on a draw with ex-world champion Boris Spasski in order to find time for a game of tennis together.

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Report of the newspaper "Lidove noviny", in Czech