NM Harold "Hal" Alwyn Mouzon, Jr. (1929-2015)
1948, 1950, 1959 South Carolina Chess Champion
Harold "Hal" Alwyn Mouzon, Jr. was a distinguished National Master chess player, attorney, and public servant, born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Harold A. Mouzon, Sr., an attorney and president of the College of Charleston trustees. Mouzon's chess career was marked by significant achievements, including winning the South Carolina Chess Championship three times: in 1948 (June 19-20 at the Hotel Wade Hampton in Columbia), 1950 (June 10-11 at the YMCA in Charleston), and 1959 (November 27-29 at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston). During his 1948 victory, as a College of Charleston student, he bested E. B. Hallman of Spartanburg, who was the runner-up. In 1950, he defeated A. T. Henderson of Tazewell, Virginia, and in 1959, he outscored Dewey J. Varn of Charleston, with a final score of 5 points. That same year, Mouzon also won the North Carolina 30-30 Swiss type open chess tournament on December 13 at Pullen Park Community Center, as well as a closed tournament in Charleston over Thanksgiving weekend. Additionally, he claimed the 1969 Eastern Open title, achieving a peak USCF rating of 2294 (USCF ID 10191637). A longtime member of the Arlington, Virginia, Chess Club, Mouzon's legacy in chess extended to his son, Harold Alwyn "Wyn" Mouzon III, also a National Master, residing in North Carolina. Beyond chess, Mouzon lived most of his life in Alexandria, Virginia, where he built a career as an attorney with the Department of Labor. He demonstrated his commitment to public service by volunteering for the Army during the Korean War. Mouzon passed away at the age of 85 on December 15, 2015, and he is buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria.
Paul Lothian Cromelin (1905–1982)
1949 and 1951 South Carolina Chess Champion
Paul Lothian Cromelin, born on January 29, 1905, in Berlin, Germany, to an American father, was a U.S. citizen by parentage. He moved to England before returning to the United States in 1914 aboard the RMS Mauretania. Raised in New York, he served in the New York National Guard from 1921 to 1926 and worked as a salesman for Sears Roebuck around 1929. In 1932, Cromelin wrote a chess column for the Mount Vernon Argus in White Plains, NY, where he covered local chess events, analyzed games, and engaged readers with chess problems. His profession in sales eventually brought him to Columbia, South Carolina, in 1948 via Georgia, where he worked as an oil distributor. That year, he collaborated with Robert Brand of the Citadel to re-establish the South Carolina Chess Association, later serving as its president. Cromelin won the South Carolina State Chess Championship in 1949, held on June 18-19 at the Hotel Cleveland in Spartanburg, scoring 4½–½ in a five-round Swiss-style tournament, the largest ever held by the association with about 30 players. He regained his title in with 1951 championship tournament, held on June 16-17 at the Hotel Wade Hampton in Columbia, winning a close two-day tournament against strong contenders like Ben Ruddich and George Iwankiw. In the 1950s, Cromelin served as president of the Charlotte Optimists Club and worked as a sales manager for Caro Metal Products in Charlotte in 1953, and later for Dentaplane Corp in 1960. An avid bridge player, he authored "Bridge is Beautiful" and served as bridge editor for the Savannah News Press for 12 years during the 1970s and 1980s. Cromelin also enjoyed acting, notably playing Commander Jellico, USN, in a 1952 production of "Two Blind Mice" at Columbia’s Town Theatre, having previously performed with the Augusta Players. He passed away on March 13, 1982, at age 77, and was buried in Hillcrest Abbey East Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.
