Olimpiu G. Urcan
Encyclopedia
Olimpiu G. Urcan is a Singapore-based chess
historian, author and journalist. A medievalist scholar, he contributes history-related articles to world's top chess magazines (New In Chess
, CHESS
, and Chess Life
) and has authored several biographies of forgotten chess master
s. His research is largely focused on American chess history. In particular, he focused on little-remembered chess experts with a special focus on immigrants.
A three-time winner of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA) Best Historical Article - Award, Urcan runs a monthly chess history column at the ChessCafe.com
website.
A member of Ken Whyld Association representing Singapore, he often contributes smaller items of historical interest to Edward Winter's Chess Notes.
He lives in Singapore as an expatriate.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
historian, author and journalist. A medievalist scholar, he contributes history-related articles to world's top chess magazines (New In Chess
New In Chess
New In Chess is a chess magazine that appears eight times a year with chief editors International Grandmaster Jan Timman and Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam. It contains notes by top players and chess prodigies on their own games...
, CHESS
CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine , also called CHESS and previously called CHESS Monthly, is a chess magazine published monthly in the UK by Chess and Bridge Limited. CHESS was founded by Baruch Harold Wood in 1935 in Sutton Coldfield. Wood edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press and changed...
, and Chess Life
Chess Life
Chess Life is a monthly chess magazine published in the United States. The official publication of the United States Chess Federation , it reaches more than a quarter of a million readers every month. A subscription to Chess Life is one of the benefits of Full Adult, Youth, or Life membership in...
) and has authored several biographies of forgotten chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
s. His research is largely focused on American chess history. In particular, he focused on little-remembered chess experts with a special focus on immigrants.
A three-time winner of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA) Best Historical Article - Award, Urcan runs a monthly chess history column at the ChessCafe.com
ChessCafe.com
ChessCafe.com is a website that publishes endgame studies, book reviews and other articles related to chess on a weekly basis. It was founded in 1996 by Hanon Russell, and is well known as a repository of articles about chess and its history....
website.
A member of Ken Whyld Association representing Singapore, he often contributes smaller items of historical interest to Edward Winter's Chess Notes.
He lives in Singapore as an expatriate.
Books
- Surviving Changi: E.E. Colman - A Chess Biography, Singapore Heritage Society, 2007. ISBN 9789810579227
- Adolf Albin in America: A European Chess Master's Sojourn, 1893-1895, McFarland, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7864-3010-9
- Julius Finn: A Chess Master's Life In America, 1871-1931, McFarland, 2010. ISBN 978-0-7864-4283-6
- Arthur Kaufmann: A Chess Biography, 1872-1938, McFarland, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7864-6145-5
Further reading
- W. H. K. Pollock A Chess Biography, 1859-1896 (with John Hilbert) (unpublished MS.)
- W. H. K. Pollock A History of Chess in Singapore, 1880–1980 (unpublished MS.)