Arthur Bisguier

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Arthur Bisguier, born 1929, is a US chess International Grandmaster. On March 18, 2005, the United States Chess Federation (USCF) proclaimed him "Dean of American Chess". He is believed to have played more people, of all standards, than any other grandmaster in history.

He was taught chess at the age of four by his father, a mathematician. In 1944, aged 15, he was third at the Bronx Empire Chess Club. In 1946, aged 17, he came fifth in the U.S. Open at Pittsburgh, followed by seventh place in 1948. Later that year, he took the U.S. Junior Championship and was invited to the New York 1948-49 International Tournament.

In 1949, he retained the U.S. Junior Championship and also won the Manhattan C.C. championship. In 1950, he won the first of his three U.S. Open titles.

Army service interrupted his U.S. chess career during 1951-1953, but he played in the Helsinki Olympiad in 1952, and later that year won the third annual Christmas tournament in Vienna with a 9-2 score and a 2680 performance rating.

After a poor performance in the U.S. Open in 1953, he entered the Philadelphia Candidates' Tournament for the U.S. Championship and came through with a first place finish and another over-2600 performance. His meteoric rise culminated with a winning score in the 1954 U.S. Championship. In 1956, he added the U.S. Open title to his U.S. championship. Most of his play after that was limited to U.S. events. He won National Opens in 1970 (jointly), 1974 and 1978. He won the Lone Pine tournament in 1973, tied for second place behind reigning world champion Boris Spassky in the international tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1969, and took first place in the first-ever Grand Prix in 1980. He took first place in the U.S. Senior Open in 1989, thus winning a U.S. championship at every age level of chess. He won the Senior Open again in 1997 and 1998.

For many years, Bisguier was hired to play in towns throughout the U.S. in order to give exhibitions and popularise chess and the USCF. For about 20 years, Bisguier was the representative they sent to a state for one or two days to play at a hospital or college or a prison, all so the public could get a chance to play the grandmaster and former U.S. champion. He said, "I was delighted to do it. I was very lucky to get so much out of chess. I tried to give something back."

Here is Bisguier's only win against Bobby Fischer, in their first game. Their next game was a draw, then Bobby won 13 straight (perhaps the longest unbroken winning streak between grandmasters in history). Fischer, although only 13 at the time of this game, was decidedly no pushover. He won his celebrated Game of the Century against Donald Byrne in the same tournament.

Bisguier-Fischer, Rosenwald Memorial, New York 1956 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 O-O 6.Nf3 c5 7.Be2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nc2 Bd7 10.O-O Rc8 11.Be3 Na5 12.b3 a6 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Ne8 15.Nd5 Rc6 16.Nd4 Rc8 17.Nc2 Rc6 18.Ncb4 Re6 19.Bg4 Rxe5 20.Bb6 Qc8 21.Bxd7 Qxd7 22.Bxa5 e6 23.Nd3 Rh5 24.N3f4 Rf5 25.Bb4 exd5 26.Bxf8 Bxa1 27.Qxa1 Kxf8 28.Qh8+ Ke7 29.Re1+ Kd8 30.Nxd5 Qc6 31.Qf8 Qd7 32.Rd1 Rf6 33.Qxe8+ 1-0