William Grady "Bill" Addison (November 28, 1933 in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

– October 29, 2008 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

) was an American

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(1967). He played in the U.S. Chess Championships of 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965, 1966, and 1969. He took second place with 7.5/11 behind

Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid 1930s to the late 1 ...

in the 1969 US Championship and qualified for the 1970

Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the Ca ...

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

, where he finished 18th. He represented the United States in the

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 of 1964 and 1966 (team silver medal). His last published

FIDE 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 Spor ...

Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor. The Elo system wa ...

was 2490 and his USCF rating was 2595. From 1965 to 1969 he was director of the

Mechanics' Institute Chess Club The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club is a chess club in San Francisco, California, United States. Hosted at the Mechanics' Institute, it is the oldest continuously operating chess club in the United States. History The first meeting of the Mecha ...

Notable games

William G Addison vs Donald Byrne (1963)
US Championship 1963,

King's Indian Defense The King's Indian Defence (or KID) is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves: : 1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4, d4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6, Nf6 : 2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4, c4 b:Chess Open ...

: Fianchetto Variation. Immediate Fianchetto (E60), 1-0
William G Addison vs Robert James Fischer (1965)
New York ch-US 1965,

Nimzo-Indian Defense The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4, d4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6, Nf6 :2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4, c4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4/2 ...

: Normal. Bronstein (Byrne) Variation (E45), 1/2-1/2
Robert James Fischer vs William G Addison (1966)
New York ch-US 1966,

Spanish Game The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, featuring many variations. In ...

: Open Variations (C80), 1/2-1/2

References

External links

* * 1933 births 2008 deaths Sportspeople from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century American chess players {{US-chess-bio-stub