View source for Danny Kopec

{{short description|American-Canadian chess player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
|birth_date  = {{birth date text|February 28, 1954}}
|birth_place = Kfar Saba, Israel
|death_date  = {{Death date and age|2016|06|12|1954|2|28|mf=yes}}
|death_place = 
|image       = Danny Kopec.jpg
|name        = Danny Kopec
|birthname   = Daniel Kopec
|alma_mater  = [[Dartmouth College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br /> [[University of Edinburgh]] ([[PhD]])
|module      = '''Chess career'''{{infobox chess player
|child      = yes
|country    = United States
|title      = [[International Master]]
|peakrating = 2493 (December 1994)
}}}}

'''Daniel Kopec''' (February 28, 1954 – June 12, 2016) was an American chess [[International Master]], author, and [[computer science]] professor at [[Brooklyn College]].

==Education==
He graduated from [[Dartmouth College]] in the class of 1975. Kopec later received a [[PhD]] in [[Artificial intelligence|Machine Intelligence]] from the [[University of Edinburgh]] in 1982 studying under [[Donald Michie]].<ref>Kopec, Danny "Human and Machine Representations of Knowledge" University of Edinburgh 1982 https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/8122/Kopec1982PhD_redact.pdf?sequence=1</ref>

==Chess==
{{chess notation|pos=secleft}}
Kopec was Greater NY High School Champion at 14, and reached master at 17.<ref name="uscfobit">Niro, Frank "International Master Danny Kopec, 1954-2016" US Chess Federation Obituary, June 22, 2016 https://new.uschess.org/news/international-master-danny-kopec-1954-2016/</ref> Kopec won the [[Scottish Chess Championship]] in 1980 while pursuing his doctorate in Edinburgh.<ref name="washtimestribute">Sands, David "In Kopec’s games, a lesson from the (international) chess master" The Washington Times June 21, 2016 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/21/in-kopecs-games-a-lesson-from-the-international-ch/</ref> He lived in Canada for two years during the 1980s, and competed there with success, including second-equal in the 1984 Canadian Chess Championship. Kopec achieved the [[Fédération Internationale des Échecs|FIDE]] [[International Master]] title in 1985 and had several top three finishes (including second place ties) in the US Open.<ref name="washtimestribute" />

He wrote numerous books on the subject of chess, produced eight chess instructional DVDs, and ran chess camps starting in 1994. Kopec also worked to promote his chess opening, the [[The Kopec System|Kopec System]] (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bd3!?).<ref name="uscfobit" /> With [[Ivan Bratko (computer scientist)|Ivan Bratko]], he was the creator of the Bratko–Kopec Test, which was one of the de facto standard testing systems for chess-playing computer programs in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Danny+Kopec|title = Chess Programming Wiki|date = |accessdate = |website = |publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>

==Computer science==
Kopec published notable academic pieces in the areas of artificial intelligence, machine error reduction, intelligent tutoring systems, and computer education.<ref>[http://www.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~kopec/kopecresume.htm Kopec's Academic Resume (Brooklyn College)]</ref>

==Death==
Kopec died on June 12, 2016, from pancreatic cancer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chesstour.com |title=DANNY KOPEC, 1954-2016 |last=Goichberg |first=Bill |date=June 12, 2016 |website=chesstour.com |publisher=Continental Chess Association |access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref>

==Partial chess bibliography==
*(1980) ''Best Games Of The Young Grandmasters'', with Craig Pritchett (non-fiction chess), publisher Bell and Howell, London
*(1985) ''Master Chess: A Course in 21 Lessons'' (non-fiction chess)
*(1997) ''Practical Middlegame Techniques'' with Rudy Blumenfeld (non-fiction chess)
*(1998) ''Test, Evaluate, and Improve your Chess'' co-author [[Hal Terrie]] (non-fiction chess)
*(2002) ''Chess World Title Contenders and Their Styles'' co-author [[Craig Pritchett]] (non-fiction chess)
*(2003) ''Mastering the Sicilian'' (non-fiction chess)
*(2004) ''Winning the Won Game'' co-author [[Ľubomír Ftáčnik]] (non-fiction chess)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223829/http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=2000679 |title=Danny Kopec rating card at FIDE}}
* {{Chessgames.com player|15580}}
* [http://www.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~kopec/ Academic Website at Brooklyn College]
* [http://www.kopecchess.com Kopec Chess Services]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopec, Danny}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian chess players]]
[[Category:Chess International Masters]]
[[Category:Canadian chess writers]]
[[Category:American chess writers]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Brooklyn College faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century American chess players]]
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