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Donald Byrne
D Byrne 
 

Number of games in database: 305
Years covered: 1944 to 1973
Overall record: +109 -82 =112 (54.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 2 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 English (51) 
    A15 A10 A16 A14 A12
 English, 1 c4 c5 (22) 
    A36 A38 A37 A33
 English, 1 c4 e5 (17) 
    A21 A20 A26 A22 A25
 Uncommon Opening (11) 
    A00
 King's Indian (9) 
    E60 E97 E61 E62 E66
 Nimzo Indian (7) 
    E46 E42 E29 E26 E24
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (58) 
    B77 B27 B72 B76 B71
 Sicilian Dragon (38) 
    B77 B72 B76 B71 B70
 Grunfeld (32) 
    D91 D94 D82 D78 D85
 King's Indian (14) 
    E60 E64 E80 E66 E94
 English (9) 
    A16 A15
 King's Indian Attack (6) 
    A07
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Najdorf vs D Byrne, 1962 0-1
   R Byrne vs D Byrne, 1958 0-1
   D Byrne vs Myagmarsuren, 1962 1-0
   D Byrne vs R Pitschak, 1953 1-0
   D Byrne vs J Kaplan, 1972 1/2-1/2
   D Byrne vs Reshevsky, 1956 1-0
   D Byrne vs Reshevsky, 1954 1/2-1/2
   R Sprague vs D Byrne, 1957 0-1
   Averbakh vs D Byrne, 1954 0-1
   D Byrne vs G Kramer, 1954 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Tel Aviv Olympiad qual-4 (1964)
   56th US Open (1955)
   58th US Open (1957)
   53rd US Open (1952)
   54th US Open (1953)
   Rosenwald 1954/55 (1954)
   Third Rosenwald Trophy (1956)
   Varna Olympiad qual-2 (1962)
   Mar del Plata (1962)
   Vinkovci (1968)
   47th US Open (1946)
   San Antonio (1972)
   Kostic Memorial (1969)
   Lugano Olympiad Final-A (1968)
   Varna Olympiad Final-A (1962)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   US Championship 1958/59 by suenteus po 147
   1954-55 first Rosenwald tournament by crawfb5
   Trophy Chess by samsloan


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DONALD BYRNE
(born Jun-12-1930, died Apr-08-1976, 45 years old) United States of America

[what is this?]

Donald Byrne was born in New York, the younger brother of Robert Byrne. International Master (1962). Byrne won the 54th US Open (1953). From 1962 to 1972, Byrne played on five US Olympiad teams, but his greatest over the board success was the defeat of Yuri Averbakh (+3, =0, -1) in the 1954 USA versus USSR match in New York. A professor at Pennsylvania State University, Byrne died of lupus at age 45.

Wikipedia article: Donald Byrne

Last updated: 2025-01-21 06:14:48

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 13; games 1-25 of 305  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. D Byrne vs Kashdan  0-1251944Manhattan CC-ch 1944/45D70 Neo-Grunfeld Defense
2. A Kevitz vs D Byrne  1-0291944Manhattan CC-ch 1944/45D29 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
3. D Sibbett vs D Byrne  0-171194647th US OpenC50 Giuoco Piano
4. D Byrne vs W Grossman  1-039194647th US OpenD13 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation
5. F Yerhoff vs D Byrne  ½-½21194647th US OpenB07 Pirc
6. D Byrne vs H Seidman  1-047194647th US OpenE14 Queen's Indian
7. G Katz vs D Byrne  ½-½30194647th US OpenD82 Grunfeld, 4.Bf4
8. D Byrne vs H Steiner ½-½33194647th US OpenA51 Budapest Gambit
9. D Byrne vs K Forster  ½-½41194647th US OpenE14 Queen's Indian
10. H Fajans vs D Byrne  ½-½21194647th US OpenD83 Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit
11. Kupchik vs D Byrne  1-040194647th US OpenC41 Philidor Defense
12. D Byrne vs F Yerhoff  1-034194647th US OpenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
13. H Steiner vs D Byrne  ½-½59194647th US OpenD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
14. D Byrne vs G Katz 1-042194647th US OpenA52 Budapest Gambit
15. A Bisguier vs D Byrne 1-035194647th US OpenC71 Ruy Lopez
16. D Byrne vs H Fajans  1-040194647th US OpenD81 Grunfeld, Russian Variation
17. D Byrne vs H Seidman  ½-½34194647th US OpenD81 Grunfeld, Russian Variation
18. O Ulvestad vs D Byrne  ½-½28194647th US OpenA15 English
19. D Byrne vs W Shipman  ½-½61194647th US OpenD57 Queen's Gambit Declined, Lasker Defense
20. M Luckis vs D Byrne 1-0371947La Plata - New York Radio MatchE94 King's Indian, Orthodox
21. D Byrne vs A Bisguier  0-1401948New YorkD35 Queen's Gambit Declined
22. R Byrne vs D Byrne 1-0151949New YorkC31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit
23. C Sharp vs D Byrne  0-133195253rd US OpenD46 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
24. D Byrne vs J Piatigorsky  1-026195253rd US OpenA04 Reti Opening
25. D Fischheimer vs D Byrne 0-131195253rd US OpenD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
 page 1 of 13; games 1-25 of 305  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Byrne wins | Byrne loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jun-07-03  Ribeiro: In 1954, a USSR vs. USA match took place in NY. The final score was 20-12 (pro USSR). Nevertheless, two americans obtained very good results: Evans 2,5 - 1,5 Taimanov and D. Byrne 3 (!) - 1 Averbach.
Jun-17-04  Infohunter: The last four games listed in this Player Directory under "D. Byrne" as having been played in 1980 and 1981 cannot have been played the same individual as the Donald Byrne listed here, since the latter died in 1976. See, for example, the first link that your Google Search option turns up: http://www.chesslinks.org/hof/byrne...
Sep-07-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Benzol: Can someone tell me what Donald Byrne actually died of?
Sep-07-04  Calli: Lupus

Good Bio at http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/inte...

Sep-07-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Benzol: Thanks <Calli>. I've never heard of 'Lupus' before. Is it a kidney disease you can catch from 'Canines' or is it just something that happens?
Sep-07-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Chessical: <Benzol> Lupus is a disease of the immune system, the body attacks itself.
Sep-07-04  Calli: John Collins in My Seven Chess Prodigies wrote about the early years of the Byrnes in Brooklyn, but I don't know if the book is available. The seven were Fischer, Lombardy, the Byrne Bros, R. Weinstein, Sal Matera and another kid ,Lewis Cohen, who, I guess, did not pursue chess.
Sep-07-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Benzol: <Chessical> Thanks for the explanation. It's a pity because Bryne might have gone a great deal further than he did.
Feb-25-06  Knight13: Without Mr. Byrne the Game of the Century, D Byrne vs Fischer, 1956, might not have existed. (No kibizing for over a year!!??)
Jun-12-06  BIDMONFA: Donald Byrne

BYRNE, Donald
http://www.bidmonfa.com/byrne_donal...
_

Jun-12-06  RookFile: He was a good player who had a lot of clever ideas.
Aug-26-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  WTHarvey: Here are some critical positions from his games: http://www.wtharvey.com/byrd.html
Nov-18-06  GrandPatzerSCL: 1981, huh??
Nov-18-06  Caissanist: The 1980 and 1981 games are almost certainly from Robert Byrne; he played in all three of the mentioned tournaments. I have submitted this as a correction suggestion.
Nov-19-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  IMlday: Before there were World Opens the big July 1-4th tournament was the Atlantic Open in New York. In '68 D. Byrne and I shared first at 7-1 although he won our individual game. He was the US Captain for the '68 Olympiad but Fischer quit at the last minute and Donald was conscripted to play.
Jun-12-07  timhortons: donald happy birthday...chess world owes a lot to you....youre name well be etched in the chess books for generations to come
Jun-12-09  Once: It is a little cruel of fate that for most of us Donald Byrne belongs to the "Washington Generals" club of players who are more famous for losing than winning. This is a shame because he played some fine chess. Strange that he had such an aversion to 1.e4 and 2...e5 though...
Jun-12-09  WhiteRook48: a little cruel that he's only known for "The Game of the Century"
Jun-12-09  Tessie Tura: <a little cruel that he's only known for "The Game of the Century">

If you're going to suffer a famous loss in an immortal game to a kid, it might as well be Fischer.

A family member of mine had lupus and it's a terrible, debilitating disease. Flannery O'Connor had it and died at a younger age than Byrne.

Jun-12-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Didn't he die of lung cancer? Thats how I read about it years ago, he was a chain smoker at a very young age.
Oct-02-09  Caissanist: While he was in fact a heavy smoker, his obituary in Chess Life said it was Lupus. He suffered from that disease for about the last 15 years of his life.

If you look at chessmetrics he seems to have been as good as his brother, or perhaps a bit better, until he got sick.

May-02-10  wordfunph: Donald Byrne, a strong American amateur and coach of the 1950 and '60s, recommended that players always think about their ositions mentally when away from the board. In this way you often "see" a move that your mind blocked out when you last examined the position with your eyes.

(Source: The Inner Game of Chess by Andy Soltis)

Jun-12-10  talisman: happy birthday donald.
Jan-05-11  wordfunph: 1969 U.S. Chess Championship:

Donald Byrne, the gentleman chess master, played under duress; as an associate professor of English Literature at Penn State, he was seen grading papers during the tournament.

:-)

Jun-12-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  ketchuplover: RIP!!
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