{{Short description|American chess player (1935–2022)}} '''Arthur William Feuerstein''' (December 20, 1935 – February 2, 2022) was an American chess master, and winner of the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship in 1960.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=10142|title=The chess games of Arthur Feuerstein|website=chessgames.com|access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref> He represented the United States twice in FIDE Student Olympiads.

==Early life and education== In 1950, Feuerstein, then age 14, represented the USA in the first World Junior Invitational tournament, held in Birmingham, England.<ref>chessgames.com, the Arthur Feuerstein player file; the first four games from this file are from this event</ref> This evolved into the first official World Junior Championship, held the next year, and ever since. At the time, Feuerstein was a student at William Howard Taft High School (New York City) in the Bronx, and had just begun playing chess a couple of years earlier. He represented his school in city scholastic play, both team and individual, and graduated in 1953. He began his college studies at Baruch College later that same year.<ref name=":2"/>

In 1956, Feuerstein tied for second at the USA Junior Championship in Philadelphia, won by Bobby Fischer; their individual game was drawn.<ref name=":2">'Lawrence', uscf.org, 2012</ref> At age 21, Feuerstein won the U.S. Junior Blitz Championship, leaving Fischer in a close second place. The game between them ended in a draw. Feuerstein had a record of (+1−1=3) against Fischer, Feuerstein getting a win against Fischer in the 1956 Greater New York City Open.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chess.com/article/view/biography-of-bobby-fischer|title=Biography of Bobby Fischer|website=Chess.com|access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref> That same year, Feuerstein, representing Baruch, was the top scorer on board one at the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, in Philadelphia.<ref>chessgames.com, the Arthur Feuerstein player file</ref>

==Good finishes in important events== Feuerstein scored 6.5/11, for a tied 3-4th place, in the 3rd Rosenwald Trophy tournament of 1956, in New York, which was the 'de facto' U.S.A. Championship; the event was won by GM Samuel Reshevsky. Then, in 1957-58, Feuerstein scored 6.5/13, for a shared 6-8th place, in the U.S.A. Championship, in New York, won by Fischer.<ref name=":0">chessmetrics.com, the Arthur Feuerstein player file</ref>

==Represents USA in team play, Armed Forces champion== In 1957, Feuerstein was selected, along with IM William Lombardy, Edmar Mednis, Anthony Saidy, and reserve Robert Sobel, to play in the Fourth World Student Team Chess Championship in Reykjavík, where the United States team took fifth place. Feuerstein, on third board, scored (+5, =1, -5).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.olimpbase.org/1957y/1957usa.html|title=OlimpBase :: 4th World Student Team Chess Championship, Reykjavik 1957, United States|website=www.olimpbase.org|access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref> The following year, the same team was chosen to represent the U.S. again, in Varna, where they finished sixth. Feuerstein, on fourth board this time, scored (+5, =2, -2).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.olimpbase.org/1958y/1958te14.html|title=OlimpBase :: 5th World Student Team Chess Championship, Varna 1958, team results|website=olimpbase.org|access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref> He met his future wife Alice at this event.<ref name=":2" />

Feuerstein joined the United States Army in 1958, following college graduation from the City University of New York's Baruch College, in business.<ref name=":1" />

In 1960, the first United States Armed Forces Chess Championship was held at the American Legion Hall of Flags in Washington, D.C. There were 12 invited participants. Air Force Captain John Hudson and Army SP4 Feuerstein tied for first place. Hudson was a bombardier-navigator on B-52 bombers, and a former US Amateur champion. Feuerstein was stationed in Paris at this time.<ref name=":2"/>

Although Feuerstein was never awarded an international chess title, he did make two tournament scores at the New York title events, in 1956 and 1957–58, at or very near that level. His 1958 Varna result is also near that level. International chess ratings did not exist yet at the time he was making his best results, but the website chessmetrics.com, which rates historical events and players on a retrospective basis using formulae similar to those used for current calculations, assigns Feuerstein a rating of 2559 for June 1957, good for #86 in the world, and well within current IM standard.<ref name=":0" /> When FIDE ratings were introduced in 1970, Feuerstein had earned a rating in the 2350 range.<ref>fide.com, the Arthur Feuerstein profile</ref>

==Car accident, recovery, and later life== In 1973, Feuerstein was involved in a car accident that left him in a semi-coma for six weeks, unable to speak. When he awoke, he remembered how to play chess well, including his openings. He spent the next several years in intensive physical and speech therapy, but never fully recovered. He continued to play chess after the accident, and in fact was rated as one of the top 10 players in his age group in the world when he was 65 years old.<ref>{{Citation|last=Lawrence|first=Al|title=Tenacious|journal=Chess Life|pages=20–25|edition=January 2012}}</ref>

Feuerstein died in Mahwah, New Jersey on February 2, 2022, at the age of 86. He suffered from pancreatic and liver cancer prior to his death.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=McClain|first=Dylan Loeb|date=2022-02-22|title=Arthur Feuerstein, Chess Player With a Comeback Gambit, Dies at 86|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/22/us/arthur-feuerstein-dead.html|access-date=2022-02-22|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=4 February 2022|title=Arthur Feuerstein Dies At Age 86|url=https://new.uschess.org/news/arthur-feuerstein-dies-age-86|access-date=4 February 2022|work=United States Chess Federation}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Fide}} * {{chessgames player|id=10142}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feuerstein, Arthur}} Category:1935 births Category:2022 deaths Category:20th-century American Jews Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Jewish chess players Category:Chess players from New York City Category:Baruch College alumni Category:People from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:Deaths from liver cancer in New Jersey Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New Jersey