Bruce Pandolfini: Difference between revisions

| caption = Bruce Pandolfini in 2000

'''Bruce Pandolfini''' (born September 17, 1947) is an American [[chess]] author, teacher, and coach. A [[United States Chess Federation|USCF]] [[national master]], he is generally considered to be America's most experienced chess teacher.<ref>[http://www.worldchesschampionship2013.com/2013/11/legendary-chess-teacher-bruce.html "Legendary Chess Teacher Bruce Pandolfini: Clearly Most-Exciting Chess Event Since Fischer-Spassky!"], World Chess Championship 2013 website. (Nov. 6, 2013).</ref><ref>[http://chess.about.com/od/famouschessplayers/fl/Bruce-Pandolfini.htm "Famous Players: Bruce Pandolfini,"] About.com. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907031020/http://chess.about.com/od/famouschessplayers/fl/Bruce-Pandolfini.htm |date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref><ref>Thompson, Megan. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/it-s-a-black-and-white-issue/article_2ba6beca-a402-5b04-ace0-2b3021a988ed.html "It's a black and white issue,"] ''Tulsa World'' (Jul 26, 2002).</ref>

In 1983, Pandolfini was the chess consultant to author [[Walter Tevis]] for the novel ''[[The Queen's Gambit (novel)|The Queen's Gambit]]'', for which Pandolfini had also suggested the title. Decades later, Pandolfini returned as consultant for the 2020 [[Netflix]] [[The Queen's Gambit (miniseries)|miniseries of the same name]].{{cn|date=June 2024}}

As a coach and trainer, Pandolfini has possibly conducted more chess sessions than anyone in the world. By the summer of 2015 he had given an estimated 25,000 private and group lessons.{{cn|date=February 2021}} Pandolfini's list of successful students<ref>Bondy, Filip. [http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high-school/robert-hess-15-year-old-chess-prodigy-plays-football-article-1.243420 "Robert Hess is a 15-year-old chess prodigy & plays football,"] ''Daily News'' (Sept. 04, 2007).</ref> includes [[Fabiano Caruana]],<ref>Barron, James. [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/nyregion/an-american-chess-master-age-23-awaits-his-turn-on-a-bigger-stage.html?emc=edit_tnt_20151111&nlid=13406605&tntemail0=y&_r=1 "An American Chess Master, Age 23, Awaits His Turn on a Bigger Stage,"] ''New York Times'' (Nov. 11, 2015).</ref><ref>CBSNews.com staff. [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hes-no-pawn-in-the-game/ "He's No Pawn In The Game,"] CBS News (Jan. 5, 2001).</ref> one of the highest ranked chess players in history; [[Josh Waitzkin]],<ref>[http://www.joshwaitzkin.com/josh/ "About Josh,"] JoshWaitzkin.com. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2021.</ref> subject of the film ''[[Searching for Bobby Fischer]]''); [[Rachel Crotto]], two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion; and [[Jeff Sarwer]], the 1988 Under-10 World Chess Champion and now professional poker player.{{cn|date=February 2021}} Other notable players receiving lessons as children from Pandolfini include grandmasters [[Joel Benjamin]], three-time U.S. Chess Champion; and [[Max Dlugy]], 1985 World Junior Chess Champion.{{cn|date=February 2021}} On the September 2015 USCF rating list, several of his students continue to be among the nation’s top ranked scholastic players.{{cn|date=February 2021}}

Pandolfini was born in [[Lakewood, New Jersey]], and grew up in [[Brooklyn, New York]]. His interest in chess was first realized when he was not quite fourteenthirteen. He was browsing in a public library, when he came upon the chess section. There were more than thirty books on the shelf, and they all seemed fascinating to him. The library permitted an individual to take out a certain number of books at a time. Pandolfini took out an initial batch of six books and then went back enough times that day to clear out the entire section. Then he skipped school for a month, instead immersing himself in the withdrawn chess books.{{cn|date=FebruaryJune 20212024}}

=== Chess player ===

In the summer of 1972, while still working at the [[Strand Bookstore]] in [[Greenwich Village]], Pandolfini became an analyst for the [[PBS]] coverage of the "Match of the Century" when [[Bobby Fischer]] won the [[World Chess Championship 1972|World Chess Championship]] from [[Boris Spassky]] in [[Reykjavik, Iceland]]. Pandolfini served as an assistant to [[Shelby Lyman]], the show's moderator, and at the time, America's top chess teacher. It was Lyman who encouraged Pandolfini to pursue chess teaching as a career.{{cn|date=FebruaryJune 20212024}}

Another aspect to Pandolfini's teaching is his reliance on short, pithy, often counterintuitive statements to seize the student's attention and stimulate imagination:<ref>Grierson, Bruce. [http://brucegrierson.com/the-best-habit-of-all-self-correction "The Best Habit of All: Self-Correction,"] BruceGrierson.com (Oct. 29, 2013).</ref><ref>[http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/bruce-pandolfinis-64-commandments-of-chess "Bruce Pandolfini's 64 Commandments of Chess,"] Chess.com. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310170720/https://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/bruce-pandolfinis-64-commandments-of-chess |date=March 10, 2016 }}</ref>

Pandolfini has written a monthly column for the magazine ''[[Chess Life]]'' titled ''The ABC's of Chess'' since 1979.<ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 0671619829|title = ABC's of Chess|last1 = Pandolfini|first1 = Bruce|date = April 24, 1986|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/abcsofchessinval00pand}}</ref> This column once featured endgame lessons, then monthly tutorials on openings, but since the early 1990s has evolved into ''Solitaire Chess'', an instructional column inviting readers to guess the moves played in a single chess game. Pandolfini also has written regular features for [[ChessCafe.com]] (''The Q & A Way'') and [[Chess.com]], both of which offer online services. But it is as an author of chess books that his writings are perhaps best known. Pandolfini has to his credit more than thirty titles on the game of chess.<ref>Pandolfini, Bruce. [https://articleswww.latimes.com/2002archives/la-xpm-2002-jul/-14/books/-bk-pandolfini14-story.html "Too Good to be True,"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (July 14, 2002).</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theisozone.com/downloads/playstation/ps2-isos/chessmaster-usa/ |title=ChessMaster review |publisher=The ISO Zone |access-date=November 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818061927/http://www.theisozone.com/downloads/playstation/ps2-isos/chessmaster-usa/ |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some of Bruce Pandolfini's output has been criticized for its inaccuracy and lack of sources.<ref>[https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/pandolfini.html “Bruce Pandolfini” by Edward Winter]</ref>

=== Books ===

* ''Pandolfini's Mate in One'' (eXQuisite Software, 2012)  — [[Application software|App]]

== Quotes by Bruce Pandolfini ==

{{cquote|"The two most important forms of intelligence are the ability to read other people and the ability to understand oneself."<br />— [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] Interview}}