Ján Plachetka, a Slovak chess grandmaster, died on May 24, 2026, at the age of 81.
Born in Trenčín on February 18, 1945, he was awarded the grandmaster title in 1978. Plachetka shared first place at Polanica Zdrój in 1975, finished first in Sofia and Trnava in 1979, and shared first place at Strasbourg in 1985.
He was also a member of the Czechoslovak Chess Olympiad teams from 1980 to 1986 and continued to take part in chess tournaments later in life, including with the Slovak Senior Team.
Ján Plachetka, 81, Slovak chess grandmaster.