Czech Grandmaster Petr Neuman Passes Away At 47

The Czech chess community is mourning the sudden loss of GM Petr Neuman, who passed away this week at the age of only 47.

The grandmaster was found dead in his Prague apartment on Monday, the Czech Chess Federation announced on its website on Wednesday. No cause of death has yet been given.

Neuman played every game for Bad Mergentheim in this season's German Bundesliga and had just returned from playing the last rounds this weekend, scoring a draw and a loss. He scored 4.5/14 for the team including draws against strong GMs such as Sergei Movsesian and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, but could not help the club stave off relegation.

Neuman became an international master in 2002 and achieved the grandmaster title in 2013.  His latest rating of 2393 (his peak rating of 2522 was from June 2013), meant that Neuman was far from being among the strongest players in the country. However, he became renowned for being one of the most active grandmasters in the world. According to the FIDE database, he had more than 3,300 rated games, playing all sorts of formats, whether classical, rapid, or blitz.

Before competing in Germany last weekend, he had finished fourth in the Dublin Easter Norm event in Ireland that ran April 17-21. He won a number of tournaments throughout his career, most recently the Pilsen Open rapid as the top seed in March. 

Beyond the 64 squares, Neuman was known as a respected educator. He was a teacher by profession, and taught mathematics and geography at a secondary school in Prague. Until recently, he was also a member of the Coaching Commission of the Czech Chess Federation.

His passing has come as a shock to friends and colleagues in the country. Czech number-one GM David Navara said in an email to Chess.com that he is shocked and saddened by the death. "On Friday and Saturday we met during the final rounds of German Bundesliga and nothing indicated that his health would betray him so soon afterwards."

Navara shared their long history together, which began when he was a rising talent and Neuman was already a national champion: "We knew each other for many, many years. We played a long series of blitz games in Plzeň (Pilsen) back in 1996 or 1997, when Petr was around 18 years old and I was 7 years younger," Navara said.

"He was constantly a few points ahead, but it was not a one-sided match. Many of his peers would be less willing to play against a talented child. A decade later we were teammates in the German team of Bindlach for several seasons, in the Bundesliga and then in the second league. We always had nice friendly talks in our “Czech car.” 

“I remember how Petr commented on the team's lineup after I left the team: ‘Petr plays on the first board (GM Martin Petr), that's me. Neuman on the second, that's me again. And Cech (meaning Czech) on the third, that's me too!’”

Navara, who has been ranked as high as 13th in the world with a peak ranking of 2751, noted how he was happy to make draws against Neuman even when he was rated above 2600 and 2700. "Petr was close to winning two of these games. Only later, I started winning."

He also added: "He was not only a strong player, but also a friendly person with a sense of humour. We will miss him. Rest in peace," Navara said.

Petr was not only a strong player, but also a friendly person with a sense of humor. We will miss him.

—David Navara on Petr Neuman

Another moving tribute came from fellow Czech GM Robert Cvek: “It’s hard to start an article like this,” he wrote on Czech chess site NSS. “Petr was here not long ago, a smiling and easy-going friend, and now he’s gone.”

Cvek said he had recently spoken with Neuman during the final rounds of the Czech Extraliga. "I asked him if he wanted to play in the GM tournament in Prague in May. He smiled and said he didn’t have time because of teaching—but maybe during the holidays.” Cvek never imagined that would be their last conversation.

Reflecting on their long history together, Cvek highlighted Neuman’s character and chess skill: "Petr was an incredibly easy-going guy. When I remember him, it's with that typical smile, even a laugh with a shrug of the shoulders. He laughed very often. He had a characteristic laugh and voice. The interesting thing is that I don't remember and I don't recall ever seeing him angry or upset."

He also noted how calmly he dealt with losses. "He would shrug his shoulders and smile. That fascinated me once, when I saw him lose a better position to a much worse player. No angry gestures, nothing like that."

Cvek described Neuman as a skilled theoretician and admired his theoretical overview. "He could play very well after both 1.e4 and 1.d4. He skillfully handled the bishop pair. I had an unpleasant memory of that from 2002, when he outplayed me quite a bit positionally," he said about their encounter back then.

Cvek ended his tribute with a note of reflection. “For my generation, this is all the more painful. Petr was a good friend, we’ve been through a lot. The scythe is already starting to mow down our ranks."