Jaroslav Šajtar (3 December 1921 – 13 July 2003) was a Czech International Grandmaster in chess. He was born in Mníšek pod Brdy, Czechoslovakia and he also held the title of International Judge for Chess Compositions.
Šajtar was a key member of Czechoslovakia's national team from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. He participated in nine consecutive Chess Olympiads, from 1950 to 1966, earning a gold medal in 1952 and silver in 1950. He served as a non-playing captain in the Chess Olympiads later. He had an overall record of 70 games played with 37 wins, 27 draws, and 6 losses.
In individual competitions, Šajtar won the Czechoslovak Championship in 1952 and was the runner-up twice. Over the years, he had several strong tournament performances, finishing first or shared first in several international tournaments.
Some of his notable chess victories include winning against future world champions Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky.
Šajtar also contributed to the organization of international chess. He helped to establish the World Junior Chess Championship and was its first tournament director in 1951. He also held several important positions in FIDE (World Chess Federation), including Vice President from 1970 to 1978.
He died in Prague, the Czech Republic in 2003.