Bill Goichberg

Last updated
Bill Goichberg
Country United States
Born (1942-11-11) November 11, 1942 (age 81)
Title FIDE Master
Peak rating 2530 (July 1978)

William Goichberg (born November 11, 1942) is a chess master and chess tournament organizer and director. He founded the Continental Chess Association (CCA), which runs the annual World Open and other large tournaments. He is also a former president of the United States Chess Federation (USCF).

Contents

USCF career

After graduating from New York University in 1963, Goichberg worked as USCF Rating Statistician from 1964 to 1967. He became co-editor of Chess Life with Ed Edmondson in 1966.

In 1976 he was captain of the world champion U.S. Chess Olympiad team.

Goichberg was a member of the USCF Policy Board (now called "Executive Board") in 1975–78, 1989–92 and 1996–99. From November 2003 to January 2004 he was USCF Office Manager and in 2004 became USCF Executive Director. In 2005 he was elected president, and held that office until 2008.

Continental Chess Association (CCA)

In 1964 Goichberg founded the New York City Chess Association to organize chess tournaments. In 1968 the organization's scope was widened and name was changed to Continental Chess Association. [1] The CCA has organized, by conservative estimate, several thousand tournaments in the years since it was founded.

The flagship tournament of the CCA, the World Open, first held in 1973, annually draws over 1,000 entries. [2] This figure is now regularly eclipsed by scholastic tournaments, but this may be the largest non-scholastic tournament in the world.

Several of the major scholastic tournaments now run by the U.S. Chess Federation started out as CCA tournaments: the National High School Championship (1969), [3] the National Junior High Championship (1973), [4] the National Elementary Championship (1976), [5] and the National Scholastic K-12 Grade Championship (1991). [6]

Goichberg is generally credited for introducing non-smoking tournaments in the U.S. (1973).

Other Achievements

Goichberg was co-editor of Official Rules of Chess, fourth edition (1993; ISBN   0-8129-2217-4) and authored many articles for Chess Life .

He is a USCF Life Master and FIDE Master. He is National Tournament Director and International Arbiter of FIDE (World Chess Federation).

He is the current president of the New York State Chess Association, which organizes the New York State Championship.

He was inducted to U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 2018. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIDE</span> International chess governing body

The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE, is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. FIDE was founded in Paris, France, on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, Latin for 'We are one Family'. In 1999, FIDE was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As of December 21, 2023, there are 201 member federations of FIDE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Chess Federation</span> US governing body for chess competition

The United States Chess Federation is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national rating system, awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines: Chess Life and Chess Life Kids. The USCF was founded and incorporated in Illinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its membership as of 2020 as COVID hit was 97,000; as of 2024 the membership was 112,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Truong</span> American-Cambodian chess player (born 1965)

Paul Truong is an American and Cambodian chess player, trainer, and organizer. He was born Trương Hoài Nhân in Saigon, South Vietnam. Truong holds the USCF title of National Master and the FIDE title of FIDE Master.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Benjamin</span> American chess grandmaster

Joel Lawrence Benjamin is an American chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). In 1998, he was voted "Grandmaster of the Year" by the U.S. Chess Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Finegold</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Benjamin Philip Finegold is an American chess grandmaster and YouTuber/Twitch streamer. He had previously been nicknamed the "strongest International Master in the United States" until receiving his Grandmaster (GM) title in 2009.

Michael Valvo was an International Master of chess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ivanov (chess player)</span> Soviet-American chess grandmaster (born 1956)

Alexander Vladimirovich Ivanov is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster. Born in Omsk, present-day Russia, he moved to the United States in 1988. FIDE awarded him his grandmaster title in 1991. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, fellow chess player and Woman International Master Esther Epstein.

The New York State Chess Association (NYSCA) is the oldest continuously-run chess organization in the United States, having been formed in Auburn, New York in 1878, as the "Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania Chess Association." The NYSCA name has been used since 1886. It is the official New York State affiliate of the United States Chess Federation, and its history pre-dates the establishment of USCF. It organizes a variety of State-sanctioned championship tournaments across the Empire State, including the annual New York State Chess Championship, which has been held in Albany on Labor Day weekend since 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hess (chess player)</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1991)

Robert Lee Hess is an American chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 2009. In May 2012, his FIDE rating was 2635, fifth in the United States. Hess is a commentator for Chess.com, covering events such as the World Chess Championship and Candidates Tournament. He also streams chess content on his Twitch channel GMHess, which has 73,000+ followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chess title</span> Title bestowed on a chessplayer

A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most prestigious of which is Grandmaster; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master". More broadly, the term "master" can refer to any highly skilled chess player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship</span>

The Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship is the foremost intercollegiate team chess championship in the Americas. Hosted in part by the United States Chess Federation, the Pan-Am Intercollegiate is open to any team comprising four players and up to two alternates from the same post-secondary school in North America, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean. The Pan-Am began as such in 1946, and is held annually, usually December 27–30. It has usually been held in the United States, but was hosted in Canada four times. The current format is a six-round fixed-roster team Swiss-system tournament scored by team points. Sometimes the Pan Am Intercollegiate is held as part of a larger event called the Pan American Chess Championship comprising the Pan-Am Intercollegiate, Pan-Am Scholastic Team Championship, and Pan-Am Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Polgar</span> Hungarian chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess grandmaster. Polgár was Women's World Chess Champion from 1996 to 1999. On FIDE's Elo rating system list of July 1984, at the age of 15, she became the top-ranked female chess player in the world. In 1991, she became the third woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE. She won eleven medals at the Women's Chess Olympiad.

The Dallas Chess Club (DCC) is one of the major chess organizations in the United States and a gold affiliate of the United States Chess Federation. The club has approximately 300 members, including a number of FIDE titled players such as: Grandmaster Alejandro Ramírez, GM Amon Simutowe, IM Jacek Stopa, IM Marko Zivanic, IM John Bartholomew, IM Robert Sanchez, IM Keaton Kiewra, FM Keith Hayward, GM Darwin Yang, FM Tommy He, and WIM Sarah Chiang. There are also a number of US Chess masters such as: Dion Su, Mihail Bantic, Austen Green, Jimmy Heiserman, Adarsh Jayakumar, Nelson Lopez, Jarod Pamatmat, and Abhishek Mallela. International Master (IM) Stopa is the club's most prominent member, as he tied for first place at the US Open in Indianapolis in August, 2009. James T. Campion directed the club for many years from old East Dallas. Historically, the club's most famous member was Ken Smith for whom the Smith-Morra Gambit is co-named, and the DCC hosts an annual tournament in his honor. In 2010, DCC hosted the state chess tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinsaku Uesugi</span> Japanese chess player

Shinsaku Uesugi is a Japanese chess player who holds the title of FIDE master. He won the 40th Japanese Chess Championship in May 2007 and became the youngest ever national champion. He also played for Japan at the 38th Chess Olympiad in November 2008 and became co-champion of the U.S. National High School Championship in April 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William John Donaldson</span> American chess player (born 1958)

William John Donaldson, known as John Donaldson, is an American chess player, author, journalist and chess official. Like many of his contemporaries, he began playing in the aftermath of the World Chess Championship 1972 between Fischer and Spassky. He joined the Tacoma Chess Club in September 1972, and is still involved with the game almost 50 years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awonder Liang</span> American chess grandmaster (born 2003)

Awonder Liang is an American chess Grandmaster. A chess prodigy in his youth, he was the third-youngest American to qualify for the title of Grandmaster, at the age of 14. Liang was twice world champion in his age category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Rensch</span> American chess player (born 1985)

Daniel Michael "Danny" Rensch is an American chess International Master, event organizer, lecturer and commentator. He holds the Arizona state record for youngest national master, at the age of 14. He is the president of American Chess Events LLC and Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akshat Chandra</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1999)

Akshat Chandra is an American chess player. He started playing Chess during a visit to India in 2009 when he was nine years old. In 2015, he won the US National K-12 Championship and was also the US Junior Champion, the first time both titles were held by the same person in a single year. He earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Bonin</span> American chess player

Jay Richard Bonin is an American International Master in chess, chess teacher, author and lecturer. He is known as the "Iron Man of Chess" and is among the most active tournament players in the US, having played over 25,000 tournament games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunil Weeramantry</span> Sri Lankan-American chess player, trainer, and chess author

Sunil Weeramantry is a Sri Lankan-born American chess player, trainer and chess author known for being the trainer of his stepson Hikaru Nakamura.

References

  1. "About Continental Chess Association" . Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  2. "Rated Event Search". uschess.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. Chess Life , June 1969, p. 241.
  4. Chess Life , August 1973, p. 447.
  5. Chess Life , July 1976, p. 377.
  6. Chess Life , February 1992, p. 30.
  7. "Bill Goichberg". 20 February 2018.