Marion Tinsley

Marion Franklin Tinsley (February 3, 1927 – April 3, 1995) was an American mathematician and checkers player. He is widely considered the greatest checkers player ever. Tinsley was world champion from 1955–1958 and 1975–1991 and never lost a world championship match. He lost only seven games (two to the Chinook computer program, one in a simultaneous exhibition) from 1950 until his death in 1995. He withdrew from championship play between 1958–1975, relinquishing the title during that time. Derek Oldbury, sometimes considered the second-best player of all time, thought Tinsley was "to checkers what Leonardo da Vinci was to science, what Michelangelo was to art and what Beethoven was to music."

Early life and education

Tinsley was born in Ironton, Ohio, but spent his early life in Greenup County. Tinsley was the son of a school teacher and a farmer who became a sheriff. He had a sister and "felt unloved" by his parents. To gain the affection of his parents, he competed in math and spelling bees as a child. He said of his parents' disapproval: "And as a twig is bent, it grows: As I grew up, I still kept feeling that way."

He skipped four of his first eight grades. He graduated from a Columbus high school at fifteen. Tinsley had a doctorate from Ohio State University in the mathematical discipline of combinatorial analysis. He worked as a professor of mathematics at Florida State University and Florida A&M University. Tinsley once claimed to have spent approximately 10,000 hours studying checkers while in graduate school. Tinsley also served as a lay preacher in the Disciples of Christ church.

Checkers career

After reading a book by Millard Hopper, Tinsley became interested in the game.