Marion Tinsley
| Marion Tinsley | |
|---|---|
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| Full name | Marion Franklin Tinsley |
| Country | United States |
| Born |
February 3, 1927 Ironton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 3, 1995 (aged 68) Humble, Texas, U.S. |
| World Champion | 1955–1958 1975–1991 |
Marion Franklin Tinsley (February 3, 1927 – April 3, 1995) was an American mathematician and checkers player. He is considered to be the greatest checkers player who ever lived. He was world champion from 1955–1958 and 1975–1991. Tinsley never lost a World Championship match, and lost only seven games (two of them to the Chinook computer program) in his entire 45-year career. He withdrew from championship play during the years 1958–1975, relinquishing the title during that time.
Tinsley was born in Ironton, Ohio, and was the son of a school teacher and a farmer who became a sheriff. He skipped four of his first eight grades.
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.
Tinsley retired from championship play in 1991. In August 1992, he defeated the Chinook computer program 4–2 (with 33 draws) in a match. Chinook had placed second at the U.S. Nationals in 1990, which usually qualifies one to compete for a national title. However, the American Checkers Federation and the English Draughts Association refused to allow a computer to play for the title. Unable to appeal their decision, Tinsley resigned his title as World Champion and immediately indicated his desire to play against Chinook. The unofficial yet highly publicized match was quickly organized, and was won by Tinsley.
In one game, Chinook, playing with white pieces, made a mistake on the tenth move. Tinsley remarked, "You're going to regret that." Chinook resigned after move 36, fully 26 moves later. The lead programmer Jonathan Schaeffer looked back into the database and discovered that Tinsley picked the only strategy that could have defeated Chinook from that point and Tinsley was able to see the win 64 moves into the future.
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