Edgar Thomas McCormick ’35

EDGAR T. MCCORMICK, reigning U.S. Amateur Chess Champion, died at age 75 on March 12, 1991 in the J.F.K. Memorial Center in Edison, NJ.

Edgar had retired in 1975, after 40 years service with the Pru. During WWII he served in the U.S. Army (19415) as a special agent in cryptology for the C.I.A. At Princeton he graduated in mathematics, the same field as his father.

Ed never married, and chess was his life focus, beginning at East Orange H.S. and Princeton, where he won the Ivy Championship. After the War he competed in an average of 15 tournaments per year in the U.S. and Canada. He became a V.P. of the U.S. Chess Federation and attended more U.S. Opens than anyone37. Not only did he win as a player, but he was also a director and organizer of events, the founder of a club, "The Independents," and he took an active role in establishing chess programs in inner city areas of the Garden State.

He will be remembered among chess enthusiasts for his generosity, not just with material things such as food, money, and lodging, but for unselfishly sharing his expertise and experience in analysis sessions. Few have championed the game with as much vitality and enthusiasm.

He is survived by two nieces, Ellen Torrante and Wendy Padgett, to whom the Class extends its sympathy.

The Class of 1935