Murray Turnbull

Murray Turnbull is better known by the name "The Chessmaster" who spends his days playing chess in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University (Class of 1971 ^[1]) and later dropped out. In 1981, he achieved a certified level of a chess master. Since 1982, he has been playing chess fulltime, seven days a week, from May to October, in good weather. "The Chessmaster" is a local attraction in Harvard Square, often attracting curious bystanders watching him play. His official chess rating is better than 99% of all rated players. "The Chessmaster" will play a game with anybody for a small fee, and he also earns his income by giving private chess lessons; his most famous student was Bobby Seltzer who won the 1987 National Elementary Chess Championship, the 1987 Laura Aspis Prize for being the highest rated American under the age of 13, the 1990 U.S. Cadet Championship, and was 1990 National Junior High School Co-Champion with Joshua Waitzkin.^[2][3][4]

In 1998, Turnbull played a four-game exhibition match against the Harvard Chess Club, and was leading 2-1 before losing the last game to Harvard's captain and chess club president Shearwood McClelland III '00,^[5][6] concluding the match in a 2-2 draw. In 2001, he played a second match against Harvard, this time winning 3½ games out of 4, drawing only International Master Marc Esserman.^[7]

Notes

1. ^ Lambert, Craig (November–December 2009). "Pictures in the Square". Harvard Magazine. http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/11/photo-history-of-harvard-square. 
2. ^ "School Mates" chess magazine, Fall 1987.
3. ^ Brief Notes On the History of Chess, 1981-1999 - by Bill Wall
4. ^ Chess Life 2006 Yearbook
5. ^ Blitz match - Harvard Chess Club vs. the "Chessmaster"
6. ^ Chess Pictures - Page 2
7. ^ http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/11/castling-in-the-square.html

External links

• Jon Chase (May 10, 2001). "Murray Turnbull, chess master The Big Picture: A snapshot of the Harvard Community". Harvard Gazette. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/05.10/05-turnbull.html. Retrieved 30 December 2008. 
• Torre, Pablo; Alex McPhillips (October 4, 2006). "Road Trip: Harvard". SI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/sioncampus/10/04/roadtrip.harvard/index.html. Retrieved 30 December 2008. 
• Paul Hoffman (November–December 2002). "Castling in the Square". Harvard Magazine. http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/11/castling-in-the-square.html. Retrieved 30 December 2008. 
• The Master - a short documentary film about Murray Turnbull

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