Walter G. Muir (1905 – December 29, 1999) was a

correspondence chess Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less common ...

player and former secretary of the

ICCF U.S.A. ICCF U.S.A. is the member of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) for the territory of the United States of America. The organization was formed in 1909 as Correspondence Chess League of New York but quickly expanded to become t ...

Walter Muir was also a philanthropist and benefactor, and former president of the

Roanoke Valley Chess Club The Roanoke Valley Chess Club was founded in 1947 in Roanoke, Virginia, and is the oldest continuously operating chess club in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Roanoke Valley Chess Club receives an annual grant from the Dorothy S. and Walter Muir ...

. The annual Walter Muir Chess Tournament is held in his honor. Both of Walter Muir's parents were Canadian citizens. He was married to Dorothy Saunders Muir for 65 years. He surveyed the right-of-way between Albany, New York and New York City for the New York Power and Light Company between 1931-1932. Walter Muir was a resident of

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...

and

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

for many years. He had also been an employee with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

for 46 years. He was known for wearing a white dinner jacket and bow tie during tournaments, and was very fond of the Evans Gambit with white.

Chess accomplishments

Walter Muir was a renowned international openings theoretician on many double king pawn openings. Many of his chess games between 1933 and 1987 were recorded and are still available for study and review online.

Correspondence chess

He began to play correspondence chess in 1925. Walter Muir was known as "The Grand Old Man of Correspondence Chess". "It is probably not an understatement to say that Walter Muir has been the single most influential person in the development of correspondence chess in the United States. He has been a dominant force in postal play on a national and international level for almost five decades. He fully deserves recognition as the "Dean of American Correspondence Chess." He was the founder of the United States Postal Chess Union. Awarded the rank of International Correspondence Chess Master in 1971. In a short biography published by the US Chess Federation, it said: "Nine times Canadian Correspondence Chess Association Champion (1928, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1942), twice British Overseas CC Champion, 16 time champion of the Illinois CCA, winner of nine ICCF Master Tournaments, qualified seven times for ICCF World Championship second-round play, and played on four Olympiad teams for the United States." The Walter Muir Memorial Invitational Correspondence Chess Tournament is named in his honor, and is supported by both the

and the Canadian Correspondence Chess Association. He was awarded the International Correspondence Chess Master title in 1971.

Dorothy S. and Walter Muir Memorial Fund

The Dorothy S. and Walter Muir Memorial Fund Established through the estate of Walter Muir, this fund supports the

, the Fintel Library at

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...

and the Western Virginia Foundation for the Arts and Sciences.

References

Bibliography

* Muir-Hogenauer Chess Collection. University of Louisville. University Library. The collection of chess master and correspondence chess champion Walter Muir (1905-2000). Three hundred volumes, correspondence, and artifacts, including a complete run of British Chess Magazine, the rare 1723 edition of the Italian treatise Il Giuoco Degli Scacchi, and Walter Muir's autobiography My 75 year chess career (1997). This endowed collection also includes Walter Muir's chess pieces, boards, and tabl
Muir-Hogenauer Chess Collection.
* Muir, Walter, and Jerry Hopfer. My 75 Year Chess Career: An Autobiography of My Life. Pittsburgh: HopScotch Ink, 1997. . * Thomas, Donna, Peter Thomas, Emanuel Lasker, and Walter Muir. The Chess Game. Santa Cruz, CA: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2011. "The king and queen chess pieces were modeled from the chess set of Walter G. Muir."

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muir, Walter 1905 births 1999 deaths Chess officials American chess players 20th-century chess players