Byrne's dear friend Anthony Saidy says, "Robert Byrne was a pillar of American chess. I would add that uniquely, in mid-career, Robert Byrne switched from the Queen Pawn to the King Pawn, tantamount to a Ford driver taking on a race car, or an internist learning brain surgery. It took him close to the summit of world chess. R.I.P. a great American player and a friend whose example taught me much."
Byrne represented the United States nine times in Chess Olympiads from 1952 to 1976 and won seven medals. He was the chess columnist from 1972 to 2006 for the New York Times, which ran his final column (a recounting of his 1952 victory over David Bronstein) on November 12, 2006. Byrne worked as a university professor for many years, before becoming a chess professional in the early 1970s. Read the complete Wikipedia entry on this great American chess player here. (Report via US #1 www.chessblog.com)
Posted in: anthony saidy,roberty byrne,ursula byrne
