View source for Walter Browne

{{Short description|American chess and poker player (1949–2015)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox chess player
|name = Walter Browne
|image = Walter Browne 1975.jpg
|caption = Browne in 1975
|full_name = Walter Shawn Browne
|country = {{ubl|Australia (until 1974)|United States (from 1974)}}
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1949|1|10}}
|birth_place = [[Sydney]], Australia
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2015|6|24|1949|1|10}}
|death_place = [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], United States
|title = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (1970)
|peakrating = 2590 (July 1982)
|peakranking = No. 14 (January 1976)
}}

'''Walter Shawn Browne''' (10 January 1949 – 24 June 2015) was an Australian-born American [[chess]] and [[poker]] player. Awarded the title [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (GM) by [[FIDE]] in 1970,<ref>{{cite book|last=Gaige|first=Jeremy|author-link=Jeremy Gaige|year=1987 |title=Chess Personalia: A Biobibliography|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0-7864-2353-6}}</ref> he won the [[U.S. Chess Championship]] six times.

==Early years==
Browne was born to an American father and an Australian mother in [[Sydney]]. His family moved to the [[New York City|New York]] area when he was age 3. Browne moved to [[California]] in 1973.
[[File:Walter Browne 1972.jpg|thumb|left|190px|Browne in 1972]]

Browne won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1966.

Browne had dual Australian and American citizenship until he was 21,<ref name="Kennedy1976" /> and represented Australia for a short time. He won the 1969 [[Australian Chess Championship]]. He tied first with [[Renato Naranja]] while representing Australia at the 1969 Asian Zonal tournament in [[Singapore]], earning the [[International Master]] title, though Naranja qualified for the [[World Chess Championship 1972#1970 Interzonal tournament|1970 Interzonal]] on tie breaks.

His zonal result earned him an invitation to an international grandmaster tournament in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]]. There, he gained the Grandmaster title by tying for 2nd–4th places, with [[Bruno Parma]] and [[Arthur Bisguier]], behind reigning [[world chess championship|world champion]] [[Boris Spassky]]. He became the first GM born after [[World War II]].

Browne played {{chessgloss|first board}} for Australia at the 1970 and 1972 [[Chess Olympiad]]s, before [[List of nationality transfers in chess|switching]] to representing the United States in 1974.

Browne was the highest-rated American player on the January 1976, January 1984, and July 1984 FIDE rating lists.<ref>https://2700chess.com/top50-for-any-month {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2025}}</ref>

==U.S. championships==
[[File:Walter Browne 1974b.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Browne in 1974]]
He won the [[U.S. Chess Championship]] six times. His victories were at [[Chicago]] 1974 with 9½/13, [[Oberlin, Ohio|Oberlin]] 1975 with 8½/13, [[Mentor, Ohio|Mentor]] 1977 with 9/13, [[Greenville, Pennsylvania|Greenville]] 1980 with 7½/12, [[South Bend]] 1981 with 9/14, and 1983 with 9/13. Of these six titles, three were shared, with three-way ties in 1980 and 1983, and a two-way split in 1981. His six titles have been exceeded only by the eight titles of [[Bobby Fischer]], all won outright by at least a point, and [[Samuel Reshevsky]].

==Interzonals==
Browne qualified for three [[Interzonal]] tournaments, but never came close to qualification for the [[Candidates Tournament]]. At the [[World Chess Championship 1978#1976 Interzonal tournaments|Manila Interzonal 1976]], Browne scored 8½/19 for 15th place. At the [[World Chess Championship 1984#1982 Interzonal tournaments|Las Palmas Interzonal 1982]], he placed last of 14 contestants with 3/13. Finally, at the [[World Chess Championship 1987#1985 Interzonal tournaments|Taxco Interzonal 1985]], he scored 6½/15 for a tied 9–13th place.<ref name=chessmetrics/>

==Olympiads==
Browne generally performed well at the [[Chess Olympiad]] in his six appearances. He represented Australia twice and the United States four times, winning a total of five medals, all bronze. He scored 55½/86 points (+40−15=31), for 64.5 percent. His detailed results, from olimpbase.org, follow.

* [[Siegen]] 1970, Australia board 1, 14/19 (+10–1=8);
* [[Skopje]] 1972, Australia board 1, 17½/22 (+15–2=5), board bronze;
* [[Nice]] 1974, United States board 3, 10½/17 (+7–3=7), team bronze;
* [[Buenos Aires]] 1978, United States board 2, 4½/9 (+3–3=3), team bronze;
* [[Lucerne]] 1982, United States board 1, 5½/10 (+4–3=3), team bronze;
* [[Thessaloniki]] 1984, United States board 4, 3½/9 (+1–3=5), team bronze.

==Other results==
Browne was a dominant presence in American chess in the 1970s and 1980s. Aside from his U.S. Championship wins, he also won the National Open eleven times, the American Open seven times, the World Open three times, and the [[U.S. Open Chess Championship]] twice (1971 and 1972).

Browne also enjoyed many international successes from the early 1970s into the mid-1980s. His  international firsts include [[Venice]] 1971, [[Corus chess tournament|Wijk aan Zee]] 1974, [[Winnipeg]] 1974 ([[Pan American Chess Championship|Pan American Championship]]), [[Lone Pine International|Lone Pine]] 1974, [[Mannheim]] 1975, [[Reykjavík]] 1978, Wijk aan Zee 1980, [[Chile]] 1981, [[Indonesia]] 1982 (shared  with [[Ron Henley (chess player)|Ron Henley]] in a 26-player [[round-robin tournament]]), the 1983 [[New York City|New York]] Open, [[Gjøvik (town)|Gjøvik]] 1983, and [[Naestved]] 1985.<ref name=chessmetrics>[http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/PlayerProfile.asp?Params=199510SSSSSWS016860000000141000000000003110100 Chessmetrics Player Profile: Walter Browne]. Chessmetrics.com. Retrieved on 9 November 2012.</ref> His chess accomplishments earned him not one but two nicknames: "Six-time" and "King of the Swiss".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Mike |date=25 June 2015 |title=GM Walter Browne, 1949-2015 |url=https://www.chess.com/news/view/gm-walter-browne-1949-2015-3134 |access-date=24 March 2024 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

After dominating the U.S. Championship for a decade, however, Browne was unable to approach the same level in that event after 1983. In U.S. Championships, he scored just 7½/17 in 1984, 6½/13 in 1985, 6/15 in 1986, 6/13 in 1987, and 6/15 in 1989.<ref name=chessmetrics/> He won the 1991 [[Canadian Open Chess Championship]].

==Later life==
Browne was inducted into the [[World Chess Hall of Fame#U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductees|U.S. Chess Hall of Fame]] in 2003. He won the U.S. Senior Open in June 2005. In 2012 he published an autobiography and collection of his best games, ''The Stress of Chess ... and its Infinite Finesse''.

In December 2014, he won the Pan-American Senior Championship in the 65+ age category, held in [[São Paulo]], Brazil.<ref>[http://brasilbase.pro.br/bva2014.htm São Paulo 2014 - 1° Campeonato Panamericano Seniors 65+]. BrasilBase.</ref><ref>[http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12917/796 GM Browne Wins Pan-Am Senior]. United States Chess Federation. 15 January 2015</ref> On 22 June 2015, Browne played in the 50th Anniversary National Open Chess Championship at the Westgate Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. He tied for 9th–15th. At the 2015 Las Vegas International Chess Festival, Browne also gave a 25-board simultaneous exhibition, a lecture series, and taught a chess camp.  That same weekend, Browne took byes in the National Open so he could play in the 2015 Senior Event at the World Series of Poker. He played well but did not win money.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

After a week of chess and poker, Browne stayed at the home of a lifelong friend in Las Vegas, and died in his sleep on 24 June 2015. He was 66.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vegaschessfestival.com/2015/gm-walter-s-browne-1949-2015/|title=GM Walter S. Browne 1949 – 2015|date=24 June 2015|first=Janelle|last=Losoff|publisher=Las Vegas International Chess Festival|access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> He was survived by his wife of 42 years, Dr. Raquel Browne, a clinical psychologist, their three sons, and eight grandchildren.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

==Books==
*{{cite book |last=Browne |first=Walter |date=2012 |title=The Stress of Chess ... and its Infinite Finesse: My Life, Career and 101 Best Games |location=[[Alkmaar]] |publisher=[[New In Chess]] |isbn=978-90-5691-382-3}}

==Playing style==
{{quote box|quote=If Bobby Fischer is the God of chess, I'm the Devil.|source=&nbsp; &nbsp; — Walter Browne<ref name="Kennedy1976">{{cite magazine | title = Making All the Right Moves | magazine = Sports Illustrated | date = 1976-01-12 | first = Ray | last = Kennedy | volume = 44 | issue = 2 | pages = 80–9| url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8467/index.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090809143240/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8467/index.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 9 August 2009 | access-date = 2011-01-06}}</ref>}}
Browne tended to spend a lot of his allotted time during the opening moves and early [[Chess middlegame|middlegame]]; consequently, he often wound up in {{chessgloss|time trouble}}. This sometimes led to mistakes, even though Browne played well in time trouble, and good play during this phase could unsettle his opponents.<ref name="uscfbio">[http://main.uschess.org/content/view/146/5/ "GM Walter Browne"]. [[United States Chess Federation]].</ref> A world-class [[speed chess]] player, Browne in 1988 formed the World [[Blitz Chess]] Association, but it ended in 2004 after encountering financial troubles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.extremechess.net/nationalnews.html |title=National Chess News |access-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905162713/http://www.extremechess.net/nationalnews.html |archive-date=5 September 2008 }}. extremechess.net</ref>

As Browne's play improved through the 1970s, his deportment and demeanor at tournaments reportedly changed as well:<blockquote>With this improvement in play there also came a marked improvement in tournament etiquette and behaviour. Always noted for his fighting spirit, there had been a number of occasions when his allegedly unsporting behaviour had offended both organizers and players alike. But the new Browne, while retaining his competitive and aggressive spirit, was more amenable to tournament discipline and in consequence a more formidable grandmaster.<ref>[[Harry Golombek|Golombek, H.]], ed., [https://archive.org/details/golombeksencyclo0000golo/page/49/mode/1up?view=theater ''Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess'', p.49] ([[Crown Publishing Group|Crown Publishers]], 1977).</ref></blockquote>

==Notable games==
{{AN chess|pos=secright}}
*One of Browne's best games, a coruscating {{chessgloss|brilliancy}}{{according to whom|date=September 2022}} against [[International Master]] [[Bernard Zuckerman]]:
:Browne vs. Zuckerman, New York 1973 <br />1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.0-0 a6 10.a4 cxd4 11.exd4 Nb6 12.Bb3 Bd7 13.Ne5 Bc6 14.Bc2 Nbd5 15.Bb1 Nb4 16.Re1 g6 17.Bh6 Re8 18.Ra3 Qd6 19.Ne2 Rad8 20.Rh3 Qd5 21.Nf3 Qa5 22.Nc3 Nbd5 23.Ne5 Nxc3 24.bxc3 Bxa4 25.Qe2 Bd7 26.Bg5 Nd5 27.Nxf7 Bxg5 28.Rxh7 Nf6 29.Bxg6 Nxh7 30.Qh5 Qxc3 31.Qxh7+ Kf8 32.Rf1 Qxd4 33.Ne5 Qf4 34.Nxd7+ Rxd7 35.Qh8+ Ke7 36.Qxe8+ Kf6 37.Qxd7 Kxg6 38.Qxe6+ Bf6 39.Qe8+ Kh6 40.g3 Qb4 41.Re1 a5 42.Re6 Qb2 43.Qf7 Kg5 44.h4+ Kg4 45.Qg6+ Kh3 46.Qf5{{chessAN|#}} {{chessAN|1–0}}
*Another brilliant{{according to whom|date=September 2022}} win, this one against GM [[Larry Christiansen]]:
:Browne vs. Christiansen, U.S. Championship 1977 <br />1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.d5 Ba6 4.e4 exd5 5.exd5 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Qe2+ Be7 8.Qc2 c6 9.Bd3 b5 10.cxb5 cxb5 11.Nge2 b4 12.Ne4 Nxd5 13.0-0 0-0 14.Rd1 Qa5 15.N2g3 g6 16.Bh6 Re8 17.Qd2 Nf6 18.Qf4 Qb6 19.Bxa6 Nxa6 20.Rd6 Bxd6 21.Nxf6+ Kh8 22.Bg7+ Kxg7 23.Ngh5+ gxh5 24.Qg5+ Kh8 25.Qh6 Bxh2+ 26.Kh1 Qxf6 27.Qxf6+ Kg8 28.Qg5+ Kh8 29.Qf6+ Kg8 30.Qg5+ Kh8 31.Kxh2 Re6 32.Rd1 Rg8 33.Qf4 Reg6 34.g3 f6 35.Rxd7 Nc5 36.Rd6 h4 37.Qxh4 a5 38.Qd4 1–0

==Poker==
Browne was a professional poker player from the early 1970s.<ref name="uscfbio" /> In 2007, he was runner up in the $2500 HORSE event of the [[World Series of Poker]].<ref>[http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/37654-walter-browne Results for Walter Browne] at CardPlayer.com</ref> Browne won $269,203 in live events.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Walter Browne's profile on The Hendon Mob |url=https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=32296 |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=The Hendon Mob Poker Database |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{365Chess.com player|Walter_S_Browne|Walter S. Browne}}
* {{Chessgames player|16174|Walter Browne}}
* {{OlimpBase player|ttl9fd1k|Walter Shawn Browne}}
* [https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/01/12/making-all-the-right-moves "Making All the Right Moves"], ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', 12 January 1976
*[https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=32296 Hendon Mob profile]
*[https://www.wsop.com/players/profile/?playerid=17934 WSOP profile]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = [[John Grefe]] and [[Lubomir Kavalek]]
| title  = [[United States Chess Championship|United States Chess Champion]]
| years  = 1974–1978
| after  = [[Lubomir Kavalek]] 
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Lubomir Kavalek]]
| title  = [[United States Chess Championship|United States Chess Champion]]
| years  = 1980 (with [[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]] and [[Larry Christiansen]]), 1981–1982 (with [[Yasser Seirawan]]), 1983 (with [[Larry Christiansen]] and [[Roman Dzindzichashvili]])
| after  = [[Lev Alburt]] 
}}
{{s-end}}

{{AustraliaGMs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Walter}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian chess players]]
[[Category:20th-century American chess players]]
[[Category:American chess players]]
[[Category:Chess Grandmasters]]
[[Category:Chess Olympiad competitors]]
[[Category:American poker players]]
[[Category:Chess players from Sydney]]