Shelbourne Richard Lyman (October 22, 1936 – August 11, 2019) was an American chess player and teacher known for hosting a live broadcast of the 1972 World Chess Championship for the PBS television station Channel 13 in New York. This broadcast became the highest-rated public television program ever at that time, far surpassing viewership expectations.
| Shelby Lyman | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Shelbourne Richard Lyman |
| Country | United States |
| Born | October 22, 1936 Brooklyn Jewish Hospital Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | August 11, 2019 (aged 82) Johnson City, New York |
Shelby Lyman was born in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of the Boston Latin School and Harvard University who after graduation taught sociology at the City College of New York for three and a half years.[1]
Shortly after the 1972 World Championship ended, he began writing a syndicated column about chess for Newsday; at its peak, this column was published in 82 newspapers around the world.[2]
He later hosted a two-hour broadcast covering the World Chess Championship 1986. This segment was recorded at WNYE-TV in Brooklyn and aired on 120 public television stations.[3]
Shelby Lyman's uncle, Harry Lyman, was a chess master in New England.
Chess playing career edit
Lyman won the Boston Chess Championship as a teenager.[4] When he was twenty-seven, he won the Marshall Chess Club Championship in New York City.[1] At one point, he was the 18th-highest-ranked player in the United States.[3]
References edit
- ^ a b McClain, Dylan Loeb (2019-08-20). "Shelby Lyman, 82, Dies; Unlikely Star of a Fischer-Spassky Broadcast". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
- ^ Dollar, Megan. "Shelby Lyman, chess master and columnist, dies". Newsday. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
- ^ a b Brower, Montgomery (1986-10-06). "Knightly Newsman Shelby Lyman Makes Chess a TV Spectator Sport". People. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
- ^ Nicholas, Peter (2002-10-02). "Chess commentator reminisces about his 15 minutes of fame". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
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