Jan Votava is a Czech chess grandmaster, born on November 4, 1974. Votava earned his grandmaster status in 1998. He's won multiple chess championship titles including Czech Junior (1992) and Czech Rapid (2002) Championships. He has competed on an international stage several times, including representation of the Czech Republic in six Chess Olympiads and four European Team Chess Championships.
Votava started playing chess at a young age, inspired by his older cousin, Václav Bestvater, who was also a Czech chess player.
In the 2001 Polish league on Extraliga, he played for Polonia Wrocław, which turned out successful and in 2005, his team Lotniczy Klub Sportowy Pocztowiec Poznań won the championship.
Votava has also competed successfully in many international tournaments, including Leeds in 1998, Katowice in 1999, Torshavn in 2000, and Hawick in 2003.