Arthur Bisguier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Arthur Bisguier
Bisguier at the National Open, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2009
Full name	Arthur Bernard Bisguier
Country	United States
Born	(1929-10-08)October 8, 1929 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	April 5, 2017(2017-04-05) (aged 87) Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Title	Grandmaster (1957)
Peak rating	2455 (January 1980)

Arthur Bernard Bisguier (born October 8, 1929 – died April 5, 2017) was a famous American chess player. He was also a chess promoter and writer. He earned the top title of Grandmaster (GM) in chess.

Bisguier won many important chess tournaments. He won the U.S. Junior Championships twice (1948, 1949). He also won the U.S. Open Chess Championship three times (1950, 1956, 1959). In 1954, he became the U.S. Chess Champion. He played for the United States team in five chess Olympiads. In 2005, the United States Chess Federation (USCF) called him the "Dean of American Chess." This means he was seen as a very important and respected figure in American chess.

Early Years in Chess

Arthur Bisguier was born in New York City. His father, a mathematician, taught him how to play chess when he was only four years old. Arthur went to the Bronx High School of Science.

When he was 15, in 1944, he placed third at the Bronx Empire Chess Club. By 1946, at age 17, he was already playing well in the U.S. Open Chess Championship in Pittsburgh. He won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1948. He kept this title in 1949. In 1950, he won his first U.S. Open title. He also won a tournament in Southsea, England, that same year. Because of his win in Southsea, he earned the International Master title in 1950.

From 1951 to 1953, Arthur served in the U.S. Army. But he still managed to play in some chess events in Europe. He played in the Helsinki Olympiad in 1952. He also won a tournament in Vienna in 1952.

Becoming a U.S. Champion and Grandmaster

Bisguier playing against Matanovic in Utrecht, 1961

After returning from the Army, Arthur quickly rose to the top. He won the 1954 United States Chess Championship in New York. This was a huge achievement! He also won the 2nd Pan American Chess Championship in Los Angeles in 1954.

In 1956, he won the U.S. Open Chess Championship again. In 1957, Arthur Bisguier earned the highest title in chess: International Grandmaster. That same year, he tied for first place with the famous Bobby Fischer at the U.S. Open in Cleveland. Bobby Fischer was given the title based on a tie-breaking rule.

Playing in the Chess Olympiads

Arthur Bisguier played for the United States team in five Chess Olympiads. The Chess Olympiad is a big team chess tournament where countries compete against each other. He played 82 games in total. He won 29 games, lost 18, and drew 35. This means he scored well for his team.

Here are his results from the Olympiads:

• Helsinki 1952: He played on board 4 and scored 7 out of 15 points.
• Munich 1958: He played on board 3 and scored 8.5 out of 17 points.
• Leipzig 1960: He played on board 4 and scored 11.5 out of 16 points. His team won a silver medal!
• Tel Aviv 1964: He played on board 4 and scored 11.5 out of 18 points.
• Skopje 1972: He played on board 4 and scored 8 out of 16 points.

More Chess Achievements

After winning the U.S. Championship in 1954, Bisguier often played in the national championship. However, he faced a new chess star, Bobby Fischer, who won many U.S. Championship tournaments.

In the 1962–1963 U.S. Championship, Bisguier and Fischer were tied for first place before their final game. Bisguier had a good position, but he made a mistake. Fischer took advantage of it and won the game and the championship. Bisguier finished in clear second place. Bisguier also helped Fischer at some international events.

Arthur Bisguier continued to win tournaments later in his career. He won the National Opens in 1970, 1974, and 1978. He also won the Lone Pine International tournament in 1973. In 1980, he won the first-ever Grand Prix chess event.

A special achievement for Bisguier was winning the U.S. Senior Open in 1989. This meant he had won a U.S. championship at every age level of chess! He won the Senior Open again in 1997 and 1998. He played chess regularly until 2014.

Promoting Chess

Arthur Bisguier did a lot to make chess more popular in the United States. For many years, he traveled to different towns. He would give chess exhibitions, where he played against many people at once. He visited hospitals, colleges, and even prisons. His goal was to let people play against a Grandmaster and a former U.S. Champion. He said he was happy to do it because he felt lucky to get so much from chess and wanted to give back.

Bisguier also wrote for Chess Life magazine. He wrote two books about his best chess games. The first, The Art of Bisguier, came out in 2003. The second, The Art of Bisguier: Selected Games 1961-2003, was released in 2008.

A Famous Game

Here is a famous game where Arthur Bisguier beat Bobby Fischer. This was their very first game against each other. Fischer was only 13 years old at the time, but he was already a very strong player.

Bisguier vs. Fischer, Rosenwald Memorial, New York 1956
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.Be2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nc2 Bd7 10.0-0 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

See Also

• List of Jewish chess players