Horace Ransom Bigelow (6 March 1898 – 18 April 1980) was an American chess master and organizer.

Biography

He learned chess at age ten in Lucerne, Switzerland. Several years later, he played chess with Count

Antonio Sacconi Antonio Sacconi (5 October 1895 – 22 December 1968) was an Italian chess master. Born into a noble family in Rome, he won ''torneo del Caffè Balbo'' after play-off match against Bernheimer (+3 −0 =1) in 1917, drew a match with Stefano Rossel ...

in a Jesuit boarding school at Villa Mondragone, Frascati, a few miles outside of Rome, and became an Oxford University Champion. He took 3rd, behind Edward Guthlac Sergeant and

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...

, at Bromley 1920 (Section B), and took 3rd at Malvern 1921 (the 14th BFC Congress, Minor Tournament). Then he moved to the United States. He divided the third prize with Jacob Bernstein,

Dawid Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish-born French chess player. The Janowski variations of the Old Indian Defense and of the Queen's Gambit Declined are named after him. Biography B ...

, and ten-year-old

Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-196 ...

at New York 1922 (the first prize was won by

Edward Lasker Edward Lasker (born Eduard Lasker) (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author of ...

, and the second prize by

Charles Jaffe Charles Jaffé (Jaffe) (circa 1879, Dubroŭna, Russian Empire – 12 July 1941, Brooklyn, USA) was a Russian Empire born master and chess writer. Early years, moves to U.S. Jaffé was born in a small town, Dubroŭna (now in Vitsebsk Voblast) ...

), tied for 13-14th at Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey 1923 (the 9th

American Chess Congress The American Chess Congress was a series of chess tournaments held in the United States, a predecessor to the current U.S. Chess Championship. It had nine editions, the first played in October 1857 and the last in August 1923. First American Ches ...

, Frank Marshall and

Abraham Kupchik Abraham Kupchik (25 March 1892 – 26 November 1970) was an American chess master. Abraham Kupchik was born into a Jewish family in Brest (then Russian Empire, now Belarus) to parents Pinchas Kupchik and Bessie Kupchik née Perlmutter. His fam ...

won), took 6th at New York 1924 (The Dimock Theme Tournament, Marshall won ahead of Carlos Torre), took 10th at Bradley Beach 1929 (

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

won), and tied for 6-8th at New York 1929 (

Sidney Norman Bernstein Sidney Norman Bernstein (13 July 1911, in New York City – 30 January 1992, in New York City) was an American chess master. He tied for 2nd-4th in Marshall Chess Club Championship at New York 1930/31 (Arthur Dake won), tied for 6-7th in New York ...

and Smirka won). He was, as a prominent member of the

Manhattan Chess Club The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States (next to the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club in San Francisco) before it closed. The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen men, eventually ...

, one of organizers of the

New York 1924 chess tournament New York 1924 was an elite chess tournament held in the Alamac Hotel in New York City from March 16 to April 18, 1924. It was organized by the Manhattan Chess Club. The competitors included world champion José Raúl Capablanca and his predecesso ...

won by

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Cham ...

ahead of

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capabl ...

.Super Tournaments :: New York 1889 and 1924
He edited a chess column in the ''New York Evening Post'', and the ''Liberty'' magazine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigelow, Horace 1898 births 1980 deaths American chess players 20th-century chess players American expatriates in Switzerland