William Lombardy

William James Joseph Lombardy (December 4, 1937 – October 13, 2017) was an American chess grandmaster, chess writer, teacher, and former Catholic priest. He was one of the leading American chess players during the 1950s and 1960s, and a contemporary of Bobby Fischer, whom he seconded during the World Chess Championship 1972. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1957, the only person to win that tournament with a perfect score.Kažić 1974, pp. 273–74.Lombardy 2011, p. 66. Lombardy led the U.S. Student Team to Gold in the 1960 World Student Team Championship in Leningrad.Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 43.

Formative years

Lombardy was born to an Italian-American father and Polish-American mother. Lombardy grew up at 838 Beck Street, Longwood, Bronx, New York City, in an apartment with his parents and two other families.Lombardy 2011, p. 11. "Bill recalls that his family had financial problems when he was young. His parents both worked and they all shared an apartment with his grandmother, an aunt and a cousin, until his second year in grammar school, when they moved to their own apartment."Collins 1974, p. 129. Shortly after World War II, Lombardy and his family moved to 961 Faile Street. Lombardy recalled of his new apartment:Collins 1974, pp. 129–130.I remember the winters were very tough in that apartment. My room used to sweat from the cold. The moisture used to seep through one wall. I used to have to get extra blankets to cover me at night so I wouldn't wake up with pneumonia in the morning.

It was at his new home that Lombardy became friends with an Orthodox Jewish boy named Eddie Garlerter who taught Lombardy how to play chess.Lombardy 2011, pp. 12–13. When Lombardy was about 10 he went to Lion's Square Den Park to play stronger chess players. It was there that a kind, old, Jewish man gave Lombardy a booklet "that would change [his] life."Lombardy 2011, p. 14. Lombardy elaborated on this:He took out a marble design notebook from a brown paper bag. "Here," he said, "I'm finished with it." I thanked him for the book, put it in the bag and played chess with the man. When I got home, I looked at my book. Back in those days, there were five or six newspapers that carried a chess column. Over many, many years the old man had studiously pasted some two thousand of those chess clippings into his book. I had never asked him whether he had actually played over the games in those clippings. I was about to do what he himself may not entirely have done.

Lombardy did not become a member of the Marshall Chess Club until several years later (at the age of 14), when he started to get serious about his chess playing.Chess Life, September 5, 1957, p. 3. Also available on DVD (p. 139 in "Chess Life 1957" PDF file").

After attending the City College of New York for three years, Lombardy received his B.A. in philosophy, an M.A. in ethics, and an M.Div., all from Saint Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie).Lombardy 2011, p. 150.Lombardy 2011, p. 149.Chess Champion Bronxite, Enters Jesuit Novitiate, The Catholic News, August 20, 1960 He also studied educational psychology at Saint Louis University.Lombardy 2011, p. 157.

Early career

According to Jack Collins, "Bill's chess ability developed rapidly."Collins 1974, p. 136. Lombardy won the 1954 New York State Championship with a score of 9/11 (+7−0=4),Collins 1974, p. 141. and tied for first with Larry Evans at the 1956 Canadian Open Chess Championship.Di Felice 2010, p. 46. He then played and lost a match versus grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky by the score of 3½–2½, and, in the same year, played second board for the World Student Team Championship in Uppsala, Sweden, going undefeated, and scoring 7/9.Lombardy 2011, p. 54.

In 1957, Lombardy became the first American to win the World Junior Chess Championship. He won the tournament in Toronto with a perfect score of 11–0.Lombardy 2011, p. 67. He was the first U.S. citizen since Steinitz to win an individual world chess title. Based on his performance,Sunnucks 1970, p. 292. he was automatically awarded the International Master title.Sunnucks 1970, pp. 239, and 538.

In 1958, he played in the Mar del Plata tournament and went "undefeated in second place",Lombardy 2011, p. 85. scoring 11/15.Sunnucks 1970, p. 473. In 1959, he took first place in the U.S. Log Cabin Invitational,Collins 1974, p. 127. scoring 7/10.Di Felice 2010, p. 369. In 1960, he was awarded the title of International Grandmaster.Sunnucks 1970, p. 512.

Semi-retirement and priesthood

Lombardy finished second in the 1960–61 U.S. Championship behind Bobby Fischer and ahead of Raymond Weinstein in a star-studded field.Di Felice 2013a, p. 4. With this result, Lombardy qualified to compete in the Interzonal tournament to be held in Stockholm for the right to advance to a match for the world championship. However, Lombardy decided to retire from tournament competition and enter formation to become a Catholic priest."His decision to enter the priesthood in 1963 necessarily limited his chess ambition..." Hooper & Whyld 1992, pp. 232–33."(one could hardly believe that the witty and vivacious Lombardy was preparing to be ordained a Catholic priest)." Plisetsky & Voronkov 2005, p. 26. Before retiring, he lost a match to Larry Evans by the score of 5½–4½.Di Felice 2013a, p. 242. At the 1961 Zurich Chess Tournament, Lombardy tied for fourth place with Svetozar Gligorić, scoring 6½/11.Di Felice 2013a, p. 124.

In 1962, Lombardy tied for second at the U.S. Open,Di Felice 2013a, p. 214. then won the New England Championship,Di Felice 2013a, p. 200. and, shortly thereafter, gave a lecture at the Manhattan Chess Club in which he analyzed the game: Lombardy–Lyman, New England Championship, Haverhill, September 1962 Ruy Lopez [C93](1–0).Lombardy 2011, pp. 141–42.

In 1963, Lombardy won the U.S. Open Chess Championship, along with Robert Byrne, scoring 11/13.Di Felice 2013a, p. 301. Lombardy also became U.S. Speed champion. In 1965, Lombardy tied with Byrne for first at the Western Open in St. Louis,Di Felice 2013b, p. 178. and shared first place with Pal Benko at the USA Open Championship in Puerto Rico.Di Felice 2013b, p. 176.Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 232. In 1966, Lombardy took clear first at the Southern Open in Atlanta,Di Felice 2013b, p. 229. and tied with Borislav Ivkov for second at the Canadian Open.Di Felice 2013b, p. 260.

Lombardy was ordained as a Catholic priest in June 1967.

In 1969, Lombardy tied for second with Vlastimil Hort, going undefeated at Monte Carlo,Di Felice 2013c, p. 178. scoring 7/11."With three wins and 8 draws (out of 11 rounds) I shared third behind Smyslov and Portisch." Lombardy 2011, p. 197. In the same year, Lombardy tied for second with Benko and Mato Damjanović at Netanya, Israel.Di Felice 2013c, p. 181.

Team competitions Lombardy played first board for the U.S. Team that won the 1960 World Student Team Championship in Leningrad, USSR. Lombardy defeated future world champion Boris Spassky in their individual game. Lombardy won a gold medal for best result on first board in that event with a score of 12–1,Lombardy 2011, p. 116. and led the team to a Student Team winning percentage of 78.8, the highest winning percentage in the history of the World Student Team Championships.

His seven times representing the US at the World Student Team Championship is an American record.olimpbase.org, the U.S.A. results files

In 1976, Lombardy was on the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the 22nd Chess Olympiad in Haifa.Lombardy 2011, p. 240.

In total, Lombardy won three individual gold medals, between the Men's Chess Olympiads and the World Student Team Tournament (Under 26-Years-Old):

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;" |- !Men's Olympiad !Board No. !Individual result !percentage !U.S. team result !percentage |- |Munich 1958 || 2 || 11/17 (Seventh) || 64.7% || Fourth,Di Felice 2010, p. 282. || 61.8% |- |Leipzig 1960 || 2 || 11½/17 (Fifth) || 67.6% || Silver,Di Felice 2010, p. 485. || 72.5% |- |Lugano 1968 || reserve || 7½/11 (Silver) || 68.2% || Fourth || 61.8% |- |Siegen 1970 || reserve || 11/14 (Gold) || 78.6% || Fourth,Brady 1973, p. 172. || 67.8% |- |Nice 1974 || reserve || 11/16 (Silver) || 68.8% || Bronze, || 68.2% |- |Haifa 1976 || reserve || 7/9 (Silver) || 77.8% || Gold || 71.2% |- |Buenos Aires 1978 || 2nd res. || 4/7 (Sixteenth) || 57.1% || Bronze || 62.5%

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;" |- !Student Team U26 !Board No. !Individual result !percentage !U.S. team result !percentage |- |Uppsala 1956 || 2 || 7/9 (Gold) || 77.8% || Eighth || 43.8% |- |Reykjavik 1957 || 1 || 7/12 || 58.3% || Silver || 59.6% |- |Varna 1958 || 1 || 5½/10 || 55% || Silver || 55% |- |Leningrad 1960 || 1 || 12/13 (Gold) || 92.3% || GoldDi Felice 2010, p. 490. || 78.8% |- |Helsinki 1961 || 1 || 9/11 (Silver) || 81.8% || SilverDi Felice 2013a, p. 128. || 71.9% |- |Budva 1963 || 1 || 7½/11 (Fifth) || 68.2% || Fifth || 60.4% |- |Kraków 1964 || 1 || 7½/13 (Eighth) || 57.7% || Fourth || 61.6%

Later career

In 1971, Lombardy gave a simultaneous exhibition and lecture at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.Lombardy, 2011, p. 152. In 1974, Lombardy tied for second in The USA Open Championship, with 9½/12, going undefeated.Di Felice 2014a, p. 335. Lombardy tied for first with Pal Benko in The USA Open Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1975.Di Felice 2014b, p. 38. Lombardy tied for fifth–sixth place with 6/9 in The Lone Pine Open in 1977.Di Felice 2014b, p. 289.

In 1978 and 1979, Lombardy served as the lead instructor at an "all day", week-long chess camp at Michigan State University. This was perhaps the first camp of its type in the United States and attracted juniors from all over the country. In 1979 Lombardy equaled his earlier score at Lone Pine, tying for fifth–tenth,Di Felice 2014c, p. 162. and winning an upset against tournament favorite (and then World Number 2 player) Victor Korchnoi.Lombardy, 2011, pp. 260–63.

In 1980, Lombardy renounced the Catholic priesthood. In 1982, Lombardy took "equal first in Caracas", Venezuela. In 1984, Lombardy took second place in Neskaupstaður, Iceland, scoring 7/11.

By 2010, Lombardy was retired from chess and lived in the East Village of New York City, where he focused on his writing and offered chess lessons by appointment. In November 2011 Lombardy self-published his autobiographical game collection: Understanding Chess: My System, My Games, My Life.

Contributions to chess

Opening theory

In the first round of the 1957 World Junior Championship, Lombardy defeated the Soviet representative Vladimir Selimanov in a variation of the Ruy Lopez that Lombardy invented:Lombardy 2011, p. 86. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c6."This is the stem position that should bear my name. i created it quite by accident. The thought was 'What would happen if Black decided to play the c-pawn only one square forward instead of to c5 as in the Chigorin Defense?' After all, on its first turn a pawn may moves two squares forward, but it is not obliged to do so! I had given credit to Rossolimo for the idea as together we worked briefly on the strategies. But basically I am the author and the only one who has been brave enough to play the 'thing!' I also did about 95% of the homework or analysis. Grandmaster Nicholas Rossolimo and I did enjoy working together. We both eventually got too busy with life's chores to give much detailed time to chess analysis. But we did spend much time together developing some novelties. How often did I play my Ruy idea? Not very often. But not because I did not trust the idea, rather because in general I had no time to play chess." Lombardy 2011, p. 67. Lombardy essayed the move in at least nine official tournament games, scoring three wins, two losses, and four draws: Selimanov–Lombardy, Toronto 1957 (0–1) Olafsson–Lombardy, Reykjavik 1957 (½–½) Gligoric–Lombardy, Munich 1958 (1–0)