L to R: Grandmaster Keres, World Champion Smyslov, Grandmaster Reshevsky, World Champion Euwe, World Champion Botvinnik
Samuel Reshevsky: "My strength consists of a fighting spirit, a great desire to win, and a stubborn defense whenever in trouble. I rarely become discouraged in an inferior situation, and I fear no one."
Born Szmul Rzeszewski (Samuel Herman Reshevsky) on November 26, 1911 in Ozorków (once a Russian Empire, today it is a part of Poland), he was considered the top American Grandmaster in his time. He won the U.S. Chess Championship six times (1936, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1946, and 1969). Reshevsky was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship three times (1948, 1953, and 1968).
Reshevsky was a serious contender for the World Championship from roughly the mid-1930 to the mid-1960. He was one of the five chess grandmasters to compete in the World Championship match tournament in The Hague / Moscow 1948 and finished in joint third place with Paul Keres, behind Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov.
In 1950, Reshevsky was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, on its inaugural list. He was a regular top board for the USA at the Chess Olympiads. Overall he played in eight events, helping the U.S. team to win the gold in 1937 and bronze in 1974, and winning an individual bronze medal for his performance on board one in 1950.
During his long chess career, Reshevsky defeated seven World Champions: Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, and Bobby Fischer. He passed away on April 4, 1992 in New York.
Source: Wikipedia and MonRoi
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