Robert Eugene Byrne was born on April 20, 1928, was a grandmaster, author and long-time New York Times chess columnist from 1972 to 2006. He won the US Chess Champion in 1972 and represented the United States nine times in Chess Olympiads from 1952 to 1976, winning seven medals. He was a World Chess Championship Candidate in 1974. Byrne worked as a university professor for many years, before becoming a chess professional in the early 1970s.
Robert Byrne and his younger brother Donald grew up in New York City and were among the "Collins Kids", promising young players who benefited from the instruction and encouragement of John W. Collins. Both ultimately became college professors and among the leading chess players in the country. They were part of a talented new generation of young American masters, which also included Larry Evans, Arthur Bisguier, and George Kramer.
In Chess Notes 8033 historian Edward Winter published the above picture of the Byrne brothers. It is a scan of an early photograph published on page 5 of the February 1945 Chess Review. There are other pictures and documents to be found in Mr Winter's eulogy.
Byrne became an International Master based on his results at the 1952 Chess Olympiad at Helsinki (bronze medal on third board). In that same year he graduated from Yale University. He went on to become a professor of philosophy at Indiana University, and his academic career left him little time for chess. He did represent the U.S. in team matches against the Soviet Union at New York 1954 (losing 1.5–2.5 to Alexander Kotov), and Moscow 1955 (losing 0.5–3.5 to Paul Keres). In 1965 Byrne defeated Bobby Fischer in the US Chess Championship (Fischer of course went on to win the championship). Finally, in 1972, Byrne earned the championship himself, tying with two other players, Samuel Reshevsky and Lubomir Kavalek, and then winning a playoff. Lubos Kavalek will be writing a separate eulogy on Monday.
Robert Byrne died on April 12, 2013 at 84 years old after a long battle with Parkinson's. A memorial service will be on Sat., April 20, at 1 PM at Dorsey Funeral Home, 15 M Wilton Place, Ossining, NY 10562. Attendees are welcome. RSVP to ursula1732@aol.com. You can also send a message to be read aloud.
Read the New York Times article here
Our Icelandic friend Einar S. Einarsson sent us some photos of GM Robert Byrne, who participated in five Reykjavik tournaments between 1968 and 1986, apart from covering the Fischer vs. Spassky Match in 1972. "He will always be remembered for his most decourous and academic attitude and fine play," writes Einarsson. "The chess world has lost a lot." Here are the pictures:
Robert Byrne covering the 1972 Spassky-Fischer match for the New York Times
At the Eleventh Reykjavik International in 1984
At the 22nd Chess Olympiad in Haifa, 1976
