William E. Hook (May 28, 1925 – May 10, 2010), born in

New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, was a

Chess master 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 pres ...

and the Captain of the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

chess team. Starting in 1968, Hook led the Virgin Islands team, and later the British Virgin Islands team, at numerous

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...

s, mostly playing top board (the last one - he was playing at the age of 83!). At the Malta Olympiad of 1980, Hook won the gold medal on board 1 for best percentage result of any national team member. He defeated a grandmaster and several national champions along the way. To commemorate this achievement the British Virgin Islands issued multiple stamps in his honor. During the preliminary rounds of the 1970 Siegen Olympiad, the Virgin Islands were paired with the USA team and Hook faced the legendary

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...

. Playing the black pieces, Hook ventured a pet line of the

French Defence The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5. Black usually plays ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity ...

whereupon an exciting encounter developed, culminating in a stylish rook

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

by Fischer.Fischer vs. Hook
/ref> Hook authored a book as well as various magazine and newspaper articles about chess. In the art world, he is known for his one-man shows in painting and photography. He lived in Washington D.C., with his wife Mimi. He died on May 10, 2010 of congestive heart failure.

Books

*''Hooked on Chess'' by Bill Hook

References

Olimpbase - Olympiads and other Team event information

External links

* * * * ]
Bill Hook rating card at FIDE

Review of "Hooked on Chess"
1925 births 2010 deaths American chess players British Virgin Islands chess players Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York American emigrants to the British Virgin Islands 20th-century American chess players Chess Olympiad competitors Chess players from New York City {{BritishVirginIslands-bio-stub