Quick Facts
Biography
Shelbourne Richard Lyman (October 22, 1936 – August 11, 2019) was an American chess player and teacher known for hosting a live broadcast of the 1972 World Chess Championship for the PBS television station Channel 13 in New York. This broadcast became the highest-rated public television program ever at that time, far surpassing viewership expectations. He was also taught sociology at the City College of New York for three and a half years. Shortly after the 1972 World Championship ended, he began writing a syndicated column about chess for Newsday; at its peak, this column was published in 82 newspapers around the world. He later hosted a two-hour broadcast covering the World Chess Championship 1986. This segment was recorded at WNYE-TV in Brooklyn and aired on 120 public television stations.
Chess playing career
Lyman won the Boston Chess Championship as a teenager. When he was twenty-seven, he won the Marshall Chess Club Championship in New York City. At one point, he was the 18th-highest-ranked player in the United States.