Thomas Dwayne "Tom" "Murph" Murphy (born March 1957) is an African-American, formerly homeless/transient chess hustler who plays primarily in Chicago, where he also teaches, and who previously played in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. He is considered one of the top regular players in Chicago, and one of the best blitz chess players in the United States of America. He holds an Expert rating with the USCF.
Murphy grew up in North Carolina, where he played briefly in scholastic tournaments. In the 1980s, he lived with his grandmother in Philadelphia, worked for the City of Philadelphia, and hustled in the skittles room (a place for casual noncompetitive chess, see skittles as a metaphor) of major tournaments like the World Open and National Chess Congress, while during the year he would play mostly in Love Park, Clark Park, and the homes and offices of other strong area players, plus area university chess clubs. After his grandmother died in 1997, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the National Archives for a time.
In 1989, after a patron sponsored his entry into the World Open Blitz, he split matches with four-time US Champion Robert Byrne and IM Anthony Saidy, on his way to capturing the u2200 class prize of $300. He placed 15th overall in the 2005 World Blitz Chess Championship. In 1998, he won the Arlington Chess Club's annual championship, beating two International Masters in the process. [1]
Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north. Much of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the local government Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the Dupont Circle Historic District have slightly different boundaries.
Reuben C. Fine was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mid-1930s until his retirement from chess in 1951. He was granted the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, when titles were introduced.
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion, and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess at 125 games.
Searching for Bobby Fischer, released in the United Kingdom as Innocent Moves, is a 1993 American drama film written and directed by Steven Zaillian in his directorial debut. Starring Max Pomeranc in his film debut, Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, and Laurence Fishburne, it is based on the life of prodigy chess player Joshua Waitzkin, played by Pomeranc, and adapted from the book of the same name by Joshua's father, Fred Waitzkin. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography in the 66th Academy Awards.
Christopher Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess grandmaster, streamer, YouTuber, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the reigning World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is the tenth-highest-rated player in history.
Fast chess, also known as speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than classical chess time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz chess, and bullet chess. Armageddon chess is a particular variation of fast chess in which different rules apply for each of the two players.
Levon Grigori Aronian is an Armenian-American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at age 17. He is a former world rapid and blitz champion and has held the No. 2 position in the March 2014 FIDE world chess rankings with a rating of 2830, becoming the fourth highest-rated player in history.
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion.
Norman Tweed Whitaker was an American International Master of chess, a lawyer, a civil servant, and a chess author. He was convicted of several crimes, was disbarred from the practice of law, and served several terms in prison. His most infamous criminal escapade was a confidence trick involving the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932.
Joseph Patrick Murphy is a Canadian former professional hockey player who was chosen first overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Murphy won Calder Cup and NCAA championships before reaching the NHL.
Fabiano Luigi Caruana is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning four-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history.
Daniel Naroditsky often referred to as Danya, is an American chess grandmaster, author, and commentator.
Arthur William Feuerstein was an American chess master, and winner of the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship in 1960. He represented the United States twice in FIDE Student Olympiads.
Rudolph L. Sze was a Chinese chess master.
Isador (Isaac) Samuel Turover was an American chess master.
Dr. Albert Whiting Fox was an American chess master.
The World Blitz Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under blitz time controls. Since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and billed it as the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships. The current world blitz champion is the Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. Valentina Gunina from Russia is the current women's blitz world champion. Magnus Carlsen has won the event a record seven times.
Oliver Barbosa is a Filipino chess grandmaster. He earned his International Master title in 2008 and his grandmaster title in 2011. Barbosa won the 10th Parsvnath International Grandmasters Tournament in New Delhi, with 9.5/11 and an astounding Tournament Performance Rating (TPR) of 2710. By winning the said tournament, he also raised his ELO Live Rating from 2573 to 2627 as he gained 53.8 ELO rating points. He earned his first GM norm in the Asian Individual in Mashad, Iran and his second norm in the Philippines National Championships. In 2014, he tied for 1st–2nd with Francisco Vallejo Pons in the Thailand Open Chess Championship.
Tanitoluwa Emmanuel "Tani" Adewumi is a Nigerian-American chess player who currently holds the title of FIDE Master (FM). A chess prodigy, he won the 2019 K-3 New York State chess championship at the age of 8 after having played the game for only a year while living with his refugee family in a homeless shelter in Manhattan.
Hans Moke Niemann is an American chess grandmaster and Twitch streamer. He first entered the top 100 junior players list on March 1, 2019, and became a FIDE grandmaster on January 22, 2021. In July 2021, he won the World Open chess tournament in Philadelphia. He had a peak global ranking of No. 16 in September 2024.