Lombardy William James (04.12.1937-14.10.2017)

U.S. Grandmaster (1960), World Junior Champion (1957-59), and for several years considered the equal of his main young rival in the USA, Fischer. But professional duties as a Roman Catholic priest curtailed his chess sharply after 1963.

Lombardy first gained attention with an 11-0 score in the World Junior Championship in Toronto 1957. This gave him the International Master title, which was followed by Grandmaster status in 1960. The latter year was Lombardy’s best. He led the US team to victory in the Student Olympiad in Leningrad, his personal score being +10=2, included a defeat of Boris Spassky on the first board. Also that year Lombardy drew for the second time with Mikhail Botvinnik in an Olympiad and came in second behind Robert Fischer in the U.S. Closed Championship. However, he did not take up his place in the Stockholm Interzonal in 1962. After this Lombardy came in equal fourth in Zurich 1961, lost a match to Larry Evans +2-3=5 in 1962; in 1963 Lombardy won the Swiss System US Open Championship and tied for first prize at the 1965 Open. Lombardy did not play again in the closed championship until 1968 when he came in equal fifth. A year later he was fourth. His later international results include equal third in a strong tournament in Monte Carlo 1969, with Vlastimil Hort (both scored +3=8), after Vasily Smyslov and Lajos Portisch; equal sixth in Zagreb 1969; equal fifth in Manila 1973; equal third in Torremolinos 1974; equal third in Reykjavik 1978, with Vlastimil Hort, Bent Larsen, and Friorik Olafsson, after Walter Browne and Antony Miles and equal first in Caracas 1982.

Lombardy was Fischer’s second in the World Championship match in Reykjavik 1972. He has participated in seven Olympiads from 1960 until 1978 with one gold medal, one silver and two bronze for team results.

Lombardy is now retired and lives in New York City where he is writing a chess book and sells chess lessons online.
He is the author of “Modern Chess Opening Traps” (New York, 1972), and co-author of “U.S. Championship Chess” (New York, 1974).