Mike Goodall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth Michael Goodall, better known as Mike Goodall, (b. January 13, 1946 in Denver, Colorado) is the most active chess tournament organizer in Northern California. He organized and directed the US Chess Championship in 1975, 1984 and 1986, the US Junior Chess Open Championship in 1985, and the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in 1984 and 1986. Most of these events were held on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Goodall also organizes memorial tournaments at the San Francisco Mechanics Institute, such as the Stamer Memorial and the Capps Memorial. He has also held USCF rated King's Gambit tournaments. The biggest tournament he ever ran was the First Golden Gate Open in 1976 with 468 players.
Goodall is an International Arbiter, recognized and certified by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. He is also a National Tournament Director for the USCF. Goodall is also a tournament chess player and for many years was a rated chess expert. He once defeated Grandmaster Nick de Firmian.
Goodall was the person charged with transmitting the moves from Iceland to the New York PBS TV Station during the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. This led to a permanent job as Assistant Director of Broadcast Operations for PBS.
Goodall has held various positions in the California Chess Association and in the United States Chess Federation. He has been President of the California Chess Association and Regional Vice-President of the USCF. He has also been a member of the Tournament Directors Qualification Committee. He is regularly a Northern California delegate to the United States Chess Federation.
Goodall is known for his annual Christmas party, which is a gala event to which top chess players are invited.
Goodall has been a scientific data analyst for the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley.
Goodall lived for many years in Berkeley, California, where he did accounting work in the publishing industry. Goodall is now retired and lives in San Rafael, California, where he has become a chess philanthropist, contributing to many chess related causes.
