Samuel Herman Reshevsky (1911–1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was never a full–time chess professional.

He was a strong contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid–1930s to the mid–1960s. He was an eight–time winner of the U.S. Chess Championship. An

outstanding match player throughout his career, Reshevsky excelled at positional play and could be a brilliant tactician when required. He took a long time over his opening

moves, and often found himself under time pressure, but this sometimes unsettled his opponent more than himself.

He was an accountant by profession, and a well-regarded chess writer.His peak World Ranking is 1st (in 14 different months between December 1942 and October 1953. He was considered to be one of the best ten players between 1935 and 1945. According to Chessmetrics his highest rating is 2785.

Reshevsky finished fourth both in the 1948 Chess World Championship and in the 1953 Candidates Tournament.

He represented Poland in eight Chess Olympiads between 1937 and 1974. In 1937 he won team gold medal. In 1950 he won individual bronze medal. In 1974 he won team bronze medal.

Interesting facts:

During his long career Reshevsky played with eleven of the first twelve World Champions from Emanuel Lasker to Anatoli Karpov. He defeated seven World Champions: Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Max Euwe, Botvinnik, Smislov and Bobby Fischer.

He died on 4 April 1992.