Karl Robatsch was an Austrian chess International Grandmaster who was born on 15 March 1929 and died on 19 September 2000. Besides being a prominent chess player, he also worked as a botanist and taught at the University of Graz. His notable victories in the field of chess include winning the Austrian Championship in 1960 and 1970, and the Vienna Championship in 1961. He also participated in several Chess Olympiads, achieving notable results for the Austrian team.
Robatsch also gave his name to the Robatsch (or Modern) Defence, a hypermodern chess opening where Black allows White to occupy the centre of the board with pawns on d4 and e4, then aims to challenge and undermine White's central stronghold.
As a botanist, Robatsch was a specialist in the field of phytogeography (plant distribution) and floristics (study of plants in a particular region). He authored several botanical publications and contributed his knowledge to the academic community. His unique combination of expertise in both botany and chess gave him a distinguished role in each field.