Bruce Pandolfini

Bruce Pandolfini (born September 17, 1947) is an American chess author, teacher, and coach.

A USCF national master, he is generally considered to be America's most experienced chess teacher.

Pandolfini's playing career ended in 1970 after a loss to Grandmaster Larry Evans at the National Open in Las Vegas in 1970.

After his final tournament game, his official USCF rating was 2241.

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 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.

Pandolfini's teaching career began immediately after the Championship.

Starting with private instruction and small seminars, Pandolfini, with George Kane and Frank Thornally, formed U. S. Chess Masters, Inc., an educational organization that structured systematized programs to a wide range of players.

In 1973 the same group began teaching chess classes for credit at the New School for Social Research, the first such courses ever offered in America.

In the 1980s Pandolfini's career took different turns.

From 1980 to 1981 he was a spokesman for Mattel Electronics, with his picture appearing on the box of Mattel's initial version of a computer chess game.

During those same years Pandolfini became the director of the Chess Institute at the Marshall Chess Club, heading a staff of 23 teachers and masters.

In 1983, Pandolfini was the chess consultant to author Walter Tevis for the novel The Queen's Gambit, for which Pandolfini had also suggested the title.

At about the same time, Pandolfini developed his longtime relationship with Simon & Schuster, creating the Fireside Chess Library in 1983.

In addition to his Simon & Schuster involvement, Pandolfini published a number of books with Random House and several other publishers.

In 1984, Pandolfini became the executive director of the Manhattan Chess Club, then at Carnegie Hall, a position he retained until 1987.

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.

It was from the platform of the Manhattan Chess Club that Pandolfini and Faneuil Adams co-founded in 1986 the Manhattan Chess Club School, which was later renamed as Chess-in-the-Schools, an organization that since its formation has provided free chess instruction to thousands of New York City school children.

Pandolfini's list of successful students includes Fabiano Caruana, one of the highest ranked chess players in history; Josh Waitzkin, 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.

Several years later, Pandolfini was featured in Fred Waitzkin's book Searching for Bobby Fischer (1988), a perceptive narrative on his talented son Josh and Josh's successes in the world of children's chess.

In 1990, Pandolfini was the chief commentator at the New York half of the Garry Kasparov–Anatoly Karpov World Chess Championship Match.

Later that same year, he was the head coach of the American delegation to the World Youth Chess Championship in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Pandolfini remained on the faculty of the New School until 1991.

Through the years, and while maintaining an active private practice, Pandolfini also taught chess and lectured on the game in many different schools and clubs, including the Shelby Lyman Chess Institute, Stuyvesant High School, Lehman College, New York University, Hunter College, the Harvard Club, the University of Alabama, the New York Athletic Club, and the Rockefeller Institute.

The book later (in 1992) became a Paramount Pictures film of the same title, in which Pandolfini, Josh’s real-life teacher, was portrayed by award-winning actor Ben Kingsley.

Pandolfini was the film’s chief chess consultant, training the actors and creating the scenario chess positions.

Subsequent films Pandolfini consulted on were Fresh and Point of No Return.

By the summer of 2015 he had given an estimated 25,000 private and group lessons.

On the September 2015 USCF rating list, several of his students continue to be among the nation’s top ranked scholastic players.

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 fourteen.

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.

Although Pandolfini hadn't played in many tournaments, he reached chess master strength by his late teens.

Decades later, Pandolfini returned as consultant for the 2020 Netflix miniseries of the same name.

As a coach and trainer, Pandolfini has possibly conducted more chess sessions than anyone in the world.