Czech born German chess player Vlastimil Hort was born on 12 January 1944 in Kladno. His peak World Ranking was 7th (in 3 different months between January and July 1977). According to Chessmetrics his highest rating is 2725. He was one of the best ten chess players of the world between 1976 and 1977.

He was one of the best players in the 1960s and 1970s. He qualified for the Candidates tournament of 1977-78 but he lost against Boris Spassky in a close match in the first round and did not qualify for the World Championship match.

He participated in fourteen Chess Olympiads between 1960 and 1992 competing for Czechoslovakia until 1984, and after for Germany. With the Czechoslovak team he competed eleven times and won individual bronze medal in 1962 and individual silver in 1972, and team silver in 1982. He did not win medals with the German team with which he competed on three Chess Olympiads.