Hans-Joachim Hecht

Who is Hans-Joachim Hecht?

Hans-Joachim Hecht is a German chess player and twice the national champion. His first name is often abbreviated to Hajo.

One of his earliest international tournaments was the Kecskemét zonal qualifier of 1964, where he finished a creditable ninth equal, behind some of the finest players of the day. At Bussum in 1968, he took a share of sixth place. There were other promising results at Bussum 1969 and the Raach zonal the same year, but it was apparent that development was slow during this phase of his career, and he was unable to challenge for first place in strong competition.

Progress was eventually forthcoming between earning his International Master title in 1969 and becoming a Grandmaster in 1973, when the quality of his play improved rapidly, and this was largely due to his decision to turn professional around 1970. As a result, he participated in a great many events and was able to register impressive victories at Bad Pyrmont 1970, Olot 1971, Málaga 1972, Montilla-Moriles 1972 and Dortmund 1973. Domestically too, he twice captured the German Chess Championship, in 1970 and 1973.