Charles Edgar Walter (1953-Living)
1970, 1972 (co), 1973 (co), 1974, 1990 (co) South Carolina Chess Champion
Charles Walter, born August 16, 1953, is a Senior Life Master and one of South Carolina’s most distinguished chess players, achieving remarkable success in a competitive career from 1968-1975 and a return after a hiatus in 1990 until finally retiring from chess in 1992. With a peak USCF rating of 2432, Walter is the highest-rated player in South Carolina history, a mark that would still place him over 100 points ahead of the state’s top active players today. He also had a reputation as the strongest blitz player in South Carolina, and he left an indelible mark on the state’s chess history as the youngest state champion at age 17.
Walter burst onto the chess scene in 1968 as a high school freshman, winning his section at the Aiken Chess-In, the Spartanburg Quadrangular, and the Charleston Open in 1969, going undefeated in his first year of tournament play. That same year, he drew Grandmaster Larry Evans in a simultaneous exhibition and claimed the Columbia-Area Co-Championship, earning the Peter Grant trophy. His dominance continued through the early 1970s, with victories including the 1970 South Carolina High School Championship (anchoring Dreher High School), the 1970 Columbia Championship, and the 1970 South Carolina State Championship held at the YWCA in Columbia from Oct. 30-Nov. 1, where he finished a full point ahead of a field that included former and future champion Lee Hyder. In 1971, Walter represented South Carolina at the National High School Championship in New York City, where he played several five-minute blitz games against Bobby Fischer. Other notable wins included the Spartanburg Open, Camden Chess Tournament (High School Division), Gaffney HS Open, South Carolina Junior State Championship (1971), Savannah Coastal Empire Open (1972), and Dogwood Open (1972). He repeated as State Champion in 1972, tying Otto Estenger at the State Championship held at the Heritage Room of the Farmers & Merchant's Bank in Aiken, SC. Again in 1973, he held the title of state co-champion with Jeff Smeltzer at the State Championship held at the Wade Hampton Hotel in Columbia from Nov. 16-18, 1973.
He was sole champion in 1974 and title holder for three years running after defeating the field at the State Championship held at the South Carolina National Bank Building in Columbia from Nov. 1-4, 1974. Other notable achievements in Walter's early career included a draw against Grandmaster Pal Benko in a simultaneous exhibition, and a tie for first in the Southeast Region (Region IV) USCF Tournament, where he also won the Region IV Speed Chess Championship. He claimed the Edelsburg Memorial Tournament in 1974 and 1975, the March Wind Open in 1975, and tied for first in the Georgia Open Championships.
After a hiatus, Walter returned to competitive chess in 1990, quickly reasserting his dominance by winning the Clock Special, the Midlands Open, and sharing the 1990 South Carolina Co-Champion title at the Tremont Motor Inn in Columbia from Oct. 5-7, 1990. In 1991, he tied for first in the South Carolina Open. His notable achievements also include drawing Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan in a 1988 simultaneous exhibition and defeating US Women’s Champion Anna Achsharumova in a 1989 simul.
Beyond his competitive success, Walter contributed to South Carolina’s chess community as Vice President of the Palmetto Chess Club, the predecessor to the Columbia Chess Club, and authored the “Charles Walter Chess Quiz” in SCCA News. He also gave simultaneous exhibitions and lectures to various clubs, gave simultaneous exhibitions to prisoners, and provided live commentary during the 1974 Korchnoi-Mecking match in Augusta.
A graduate of Midlands Technical College with an Associate’s degree in Computer Technology (1994), Walter also pursued advanced mathematics at the University of South Carolina and worked as a computer consultant until his retirement. His extraordinary achievements in a relatively short competitive career, combined with his contributions to the chess community, cement his legacy as a legend in South Carolina chess history.
Dr. Otto Estenger y Valiente, Sr. (1931-1998)
1971, 1972 (co) South Carolina Chess Champion
Dr. Otto Estenger, born August 8, 1931, was a Cuban-born educator, chess champion, and political refugee who made significant contributions to South Carolina's chess community in the early 1970s. A native of Santiago, Cuba, Estenger learned chess as a young boy from his father, who was inspired by the legendary Cuban World Chess Champion José Capablanca. He and his wife Vilma held Ph.D.s from the University of Havana, yet were forced to resign their positions from the University and flee to the United States in 1963. The Estenger family packed belongings that would fit into a single suitcase and sailed to Miami as political refugees, where they remained for seven months before securing Spanish teaching positions in Terre Haute, Indiana. There, Dr. Estenger received his M.S. from Indiana State College and then took a teaching position at East Carolina University. In 1966, Estenger joined the faculty at Lander College in Greenwood, South Carolina, where he taught Spanish.
Estenger began competitive chess in 1970, quickly establishing himself as a top player in South Carolina. His notable victories included the 1970 Spartanburg Castle Club Open, the 1971 Wade Hampton Open in Greenville, the 1971 Aiken Chess Festival, and the 1972 North Augusta Winter Open. He claimed the South Carolina State Championship in 1971, held at the Heritage Room of the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Aiken from October 29–31. The following year, he shared the State Champion title at the 1972 Championship, hosted at the North Augusta Recreation Center from November 10–12. Estenger also competed nationally, participating in the 1972 U.S. Chess Open, where he earned his master title from the U.S. Chess Federation.
Beyond chess, Estenger was recognized for his achievements as a Cuban émigré, receiving the Lincoln-Marti Award from the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for outstanding contributions by Cubans living in the country. He was active in the Greenwood Music Club and remained a dedicated member of St. John Vianney Catholic Church after relocating to central Florida in 1978.
Estenger passed away on February 27, 1998 at the age of 66 and is buried at Osceola Memory Gardens in Kissimmee, Florida. His legacy endures as a scholar, champion, and ambassador for chess in South Carolina.
Jeffrey Robert Smeltzer (1944-Living)
1973 (co), 1975 (co), and 1981 South Carolina Chess Champion
Jeff Smeltzer, born November 27, 1944, in Taylors, South Carolina, is a distinguished figure in South Carolina’s chess community, celebrated for his competitive achievements and leadership in promoting the game. A lifelong South Carolinian until his later years, Smeltzer’s contributions were marked by his success as a player and his roles in the Greenville Chess Club and the South Carolina Chess Association (SCCA).
Smeltzer began playing chess in 1963, advancing to a peak USCF rating of 2165. His competitive highlights include multiple South Carolina State Championship titles: he shared the co-champion title in 1973 at the Wade Hampton Hotel in Columbia, November 16–18, and again in 1975 at Recreation Center No. 2, Fort Jackson, Columbia, October 31–November 2. Smeltzer was sole champion in 1981 at the SC Championship held at the Siebels-Bruce Building, Columbia from September 25–27. Additionally, he achieved a notable second-place finish in the 1976 U.S. Amateur Tournament in Atlanta, demonstrating his strength on a national stage. Beyond the board, Smeltzer gave simultaneous exhibitions, including events on February 7, 1974, and October 17, 1990, at Haywood Mall in Greenville. He delivered lectures at local libraries and played a key role in introducing players like Klaus Pohl to the Greenville Chess Club, fostering the growth of the local chess community.
A graduate of Greenville High School and Furman University, Smeltzer pursued a career as a mechanical drafter, working with J.E. Sirrine Co. and later Daniel Engineering Co. in Greenville, where he utilized computer-aided design. He served as President of the Greenville Chess Club and as Vice President of the SCCA from 1975 to 1976, significantly contributing to the development of chess in the region.
Smeltzer remained in Greenville through at least the early 1990s before relocating to North Carolina and later settling in Gorham, Maine. His legacy as a champion and ambassador for chess continues to inspire South Carolina’s chess community.
James Rhode Addison (1953-Living)
1975 (co) South Carolina Chess Champion
James Rhode Addison was born on July 12, 1953, in Walterboro, South Carolina. He lived in the Lowcountry until age 11, when his family moved to Virginia. He graduated from J.R. Tucker High School in Richmond in 1971 and later attended the University of Virginia, majoring in government and foreign affairs.
Addison caught the chess bug around age 13 and quickly rose through the ranks in Virginia. He served as top board for his high-school team for two years. His first rated tournament was the 1970 Virginia Open, and in 1971 he tied for first in the Virginia High School Championship. Addison later coordinated the Virginia Penitentiary chess program (1974–75), served on the USCF Board of Directors in 1975, and won the Richmond Area Championship the same year. He also edited the Virginia Chess Federation Newsletter beginning in 1973. A member of the Association of United States Chess Journalists, he was a 1974 USCF Delegate and was appointed to the USCF Prison Chess Committee.
In 1975 Addison returned to South Carolina and immediately made his mark. At the South Carolina Closed Championship held at Fort Jackson (Recreation Center No. 2) on October 31–November 2, 1975, he scored 4–1 to share the state title with Jeff Smeltzer and Dr. Lee Hyder. Shortly afterward Addison was appointed editor of SCCA News, succeeding M. Lee Hyder. On November 12, 1975, as a new state champion and editor, he gave a 17-board simultaneous exhibition at the Charleston Chess Club, scoring +11 =6 –0. Addison resigned as editor in early 1976 upon moving back to Virginia. He later returned to the Lowcountry. In the 1990s he resumed tournament play in South Carolina and remained active into the 2020s. He was Charleston Chess Club Champion in 2007. His peak USCF rating reached 2180 in the mid-1990s; he was also a strong correspondence player who qualified for six Golden Knights Finals (with only one minus score) and competed in the 11th U.S. Absolute Preliminaries (peak correspondence rating ~2185).
Outside of chess, Addison worked in publishing and marketing early in his career. From 1980 to 1988 he co-founded and worked on the Richmond Review and held positions with Richmond newspapers in circulation management and subscriber relations. In 1988 he joined the marketing staff of The Press and Standard in Walterboro, later becoming Sales and Marketing Manager, and was a regular contributor to the paper for decades thereafter. He also notably operated C&W Grocery on Sidneys Road in Walterboro for many years.
Jim remains active in the South Carolina chess community.
Fred Scott Allsbrook (1957-Living)
1976 South Carolina Chess Champion
Fred Scott Allsbrook was born on February 6, 1957, in Buffalo, South Carolina. He won the 1976 South Carolina Closed Championship with a score of 4–1. At the time he was a University of South Carolina student rated 2008 by the USCF. The tournament was held over Thanksgiving weekend, November 26–28, 1976, at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Building in Columbia. He remained highly active in the years that followed. In 1976 he tied for first in the Open section of the Carolinas Open in Charleston. The next year he represented ACU-I Region V at a 16-player National Invitational in Whitewater Falls, Wisconsin, tying for third with a 3–2 score, and shared first place in the Flag Day Octal. In 1978 he posted perfect 5–0 scores in both the Dixie Chess Classic in Clemson and the Midlands Open in Columbia. He achieved the title of National Master during this period, with his published rating rising as high as 2261.
After leaving South Carolina, Allsbrook earned a B.A. in Mathematics from Kenyon College in 1982, followed by an M.S. in Mathematics in 1984 and an M.A. in Statistics in 1987 from the University of Michigan. He later worked for many years as an analyst and consultant in the insurance industry in the Chicago area and has taught as a part-time adjunct instructor at several Illinois colleges and universities. He remained active in chess and has had an impact on the Illinois chess scene, including winning the US Amateur Team North with his team going a perfect 5-0 in 2012.
(Composite Photo)
Paul Everett Tinkler (1953-Living)
1977 South Carolina Chess Champion
Paul Everett Tinkler was born on May 18, 1953, in Rantoul, Illinois. He attended Greenwood High School in SC and graduated from Erskine College in 1974, majoring in history and playing on the soccer team. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1978, where he served as Research Editor of the South Carolina Law Review. By 1975, Tinkler was already a notable chess player, having won the Camden "Chess Day" tournament in '75 and also drawing Grandmaster and then-US-Champion Walter Browne in a simultaneous exhibition that same year.
In November 1977, while a third-year law student at USC and rated only 1691, Tinkler won the South Carolina Championship with a perfect 5–0 score in one of the more dramatic upsets in the tournament’s history. The event was held November 11–13, 1977 at the Woodward Recreation Center in Camden. Tinkler, the fourth-rated player in the Championship section, defeated three higher-rated opponents on his way to the title: top seed Klaus Pohl (2094), Marvin Chappell, Jr. (1843), and William McClain (1819). Tinkler outlasted Pohl in a long second-round struggle that ended only as the tournament director prepared to adjourn, and followed it up with with victories over Chappell and McClain before also securing a final round victory to remain undefeated.
After his championship, Tinkler remained a mainstay of South Carolina chess. By 1981 he was serving as SCCA Vice-President, was ranked among the state’s top twenty players and had won the Ninth Snowstorm Special in Charleston. He continued competing regularly in local and regional events for decades, reaching a peak rating of 2104 in 1998. Notable performances include a first place finish in the 1992 Charleston Championship, and another upset against Klaus Pohl in the 1989 South Carolina Championship where he finished just short of the title. Paul Tinkler is one of the Charleston Chess Club’s longest-tenured members and remains active in chess today, including multiple appearances at the Reykjavik Open in Iceland and continued play in Charleston and statewide events.
Professionally, Tinkler clerked for Circuit Judge Klyde Robinson in Charleston County before entering private practice in Charleston in 1979. He has practiced law there for more than four decades, focusing on personal-injury, business, and property litigation. He also served three terms on Charleston City Council for District 9, 1998–2007.
Edward Owen McCauley (1957-2023)
1979 (Co) South Carolina Chess Champion
Born April, 9, 1957, Edward McCauley grew up in Charleston, attending St. Andrews Parish High School. He was a leading player in the Charleston chess community during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
By 1979, McCauley was rated 1858, when he and a contingent of Charleston players competed in the 1979 South Carolina Championship, held November 9–11, 1979 at the Tremont Motor Inn in Columbia, SC. Aged 22, McCauley finished in a three-way tie for first in the Championship Section with Richard Cohen and Patrick Hart, each scoring 4.0/5.0. According to the state bylaws the three shared the title for the coming year. A Charleston contingent that included McCauley, Hart, Tinkler and others received the 1979 SCCA President’s Award for best out-of-town group at the state championship.
In 1982, McCauley also won the Charleston Chess Club Championship outright with a perfect 4–0 score. He continued to appear in local events into the early 1980s, including the Charleston Classic (tied for first at 4–1 in 1981) and other Charleston and statewide tournaments, maintaining ratings in the high 1800s to low 2000s. McCauley remained active in Charleston chess for several years after his co-championship.
Edward McCauley passed on June 13, 2023 at the age of 66. In his memory, his family donated his chess effects to the Columbia Chess Club, where a significant portion of his library remains today.
Richard Alan Cohen (1944-2021)
1979 (Co) South Carolina Chess Champion
Dr. Richard Alan Cohen was born August 14, 1944, in Ramsey, Minnesota. He grew up in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, attending St. Louis Park High School. Cohen showed early strength as a tournament player, winning the 1964 North Dakota Open with a score of 5–1 and later taking first in the Expert-A section of the 1968 Minneapolis Equalizer.
Dr. Cohen earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Kent State University and pursued psychiatry in South Carolina. He was licensed by the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology in 1976 and began a long career counseling children and adolescents in Anderson, SC. From 1976 through the late 1980s, he worked at the Anderson-Oconee-Pickens Mental Health Center, rising to co-director of child and adolescent services and, by 1981, serving as coordinator and director of the Anderson Clinic. Later he was associated with Anderson Area Medical Center Behavioral Health Associates and the group practice Anderson Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LLC, as well as the Anderson Vocational Rehabilitation Department.
After relocating to South Carolina to pursue his career, Cohen entered the South Carolina chess scene in 1978 as a strong Expert from Anderson. That spring he scored 3–1 in the Toccoa Falls Open to finish third behind Fred Allabrook and Stan Vaughan. In the 1978 South Carolina Closed Championship in Columbia he finished clear second on score, sharing the runner-up position behind Lee Hyder’s perfect 5–0. At the 1979 South Carolina State Championship, held November 9–11, 1979 at the Tremont Motor Inn in Columbia, Cohen scored 4–1 to finish in a three-way tie for first with Edward McCauley and Patrick Hart. The championship section was decided by a last-round draw between McCauley and Cohen, while Hart caught the leaders with a final-round win. Cohen remained active in the early 1980s. In April 1981, he won the top section of the Spartanburg Chess Club Open with a perfect 3–0 score, finishing ahead of Jack Berry and Ernie DeGusman. He gradually reduced his tournament play as professional responsibilities increased, though his name continued to appear on South Carolina rating lists into later decades.
Dr. Cohen continued to practice psychiatry until the early 2010s in Anderson, SC before eventually retiring after a more than 40-year career. Dr. Cohen passed away on January 3, 2021, at the age of 76.
Patrick Dale Hart (1955-2000)
1979 (Co) and 1995 (co) South Carolina Chess Champion
Patrick Dale Hart of Mount Pleasant was born on August 15, 1955 and was a longtime leader of Charleston and statewide chess. He was an honors graduate of Moultrie High School in 1973 and the first student to earn his diploma by means of a telecommunications link to his home. Despite being wheelchair-bound from muscular dystrophy since youth, with limited use of his hands and body, he competed successfully for more than two decades at the Expert level in over-the-board, blitz, and postal chess.
Hart first rose to prominence in Charleston chess in the mid-1970s. He won the Charleston Chess Club Championship seven times during 1975, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1993. He was a frequent high finisher in local events, including shared first in the Colonel James Green Open and clear first in a 1977 Labor Day tournament with a perfect 5–0 score. He was also winner of the 1982, 1983, and 1991 Snowstorm Opens in Charleston.
Hart has also held the title of SC State Champion twice. In the 1979 South Carolina Championship, held November 9–11, 1979 at the Tremont Motor Inn in Columbia, Hart finished in a three-way tie for first in the Championship Section with Edward McCauley and Richard Cohen. Each scored 4–1 in a thirteen-player field. A Charleston contingent that included McCauley, Hart, and Paul Tinkler received the 1979 SCCA President’s Award for best out-of-town group. Sixteen years later, in the 1995 Closed State Championship held October 15–16, 1995 at the Hampton Inn (7333 Garners Ferry Road) in Columbia, Hart again shared the title. Forty-three players competed in three sections, with Wayne Williams and Patrick Hart tied for first with 4 points each in the Championship section.
Beyond the board, Hart served as chairman of the SCCA Junior Activities Committee in the mid-1970s, working to identify high-school clubs, arrange inter-school matches, and promote junior events. He later became a mainstay of SCCA governance as Treasurer, tracking association finances and helping build scholastic programs across the state. Within the Charleston Chess Club he was a twenty-two-year member and officer, serving as President and perennial Treasurer. Contemporaries described him as the lifeblood of the Charleston Chess Club for the better part of three decades.
Hart died on June 19, 2000 at the age of forty-four and is buried at Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens. The Charleston Chess Club established an annual Patrick D. Hart Memorial tournament in his honor; the event has continued for more than fifteen years and remains a fixture of Lowcountry chess.