Dan Heisman
Encyclopedia
Dan Heisman is a United States Chess Federation
National Master
and author. He is the two-time Open chess
champion of Philadelphia (1973 and 1976), and the Philadelphia Invitational Chess Champion (1973). His Penn State team won the U.S. Amateur Team Championship in 1972. Although rated over 2200 by both the United States Chess Federation and FIDE, he is currently inactive as a tournament player. Heisman is a member of the International Computer Games Association
and worked at both Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
matches (1996 and 1997).
Heisman is related to John Heisman
, the football coach who left the endowment for the Heisman Trophy
. Dan Heisman's paternal great-grandfather, Aaron, was John Heisman's first cousin.
Heisman is married to Shelly Hahn. His first wife, Susan "Holly" Hollis Bloom Heisman, died of breast cancer in 1994; they had one son, Delen, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Heisman was born in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
in 1950 and currently lives in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
.
Web site. He has also written eight books on chess, including Elements of Positional Chess Evaluation, Everyone's 2nd Chess Book, and Looking for Trouble.
Heisman is well known throughout the Philadelphia chess scene. His chess activities include promoting local chess, hosting a chess radio show "Ask the Renaissance Man" on ICC
Webcast, and organizing events like the Philadelphia Championship and Philadelphia Junior Championship. He is currently a member of the Main Line Chess Club and the SE Scholastic Coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation
. He maintains an extensive web page which provides information on Philadelphia area chess and many articles on chess improvement. Heisman is a chess tutor and among his current students is radio DJ Howard Stern
.
Heisman began his career as an engineer and worked in that capacity with several organizations, including the Naval Air Development Center and Intermetrics, Inc. Later, Heisman became a Registered Investment Adviser in Pennsylvania; he has been a full-time chess instructor and author since 1996. He is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research
and had a baseball newsletter, "Baseball's Active Leaders". His hobbies include backgammon
, science fiction, collecting comic books, and following the Philadelphia sports teams. He helped mentor the 2007-08 National High School champion Dan Yeager, also from Hatboro-Horsham High School.
in Pennsylvania as the co-valedictorian in 1968, and was elected to the school's Hall of Fame in 2007. He attended Caltech and transferred to Penn State in 1969. In 1971 Heisman graduated at the top of his class earning a B.S. in Mathematics, and in 1983, again at the top of his class with a 4.0 G.P.A., received his Masters Degree in Engineering, both from The Pennsylvania State University.
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
National Master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
and author. He is the two-time Open chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
champion of Philadelphia (1973 and 1976), and the Philadelphia Invitational Chess Champion (1973). His Penn State team won the U.S. Amateur Team Championship in 1972. Although rated over 2200 by both the United States Chess Federation and FIDE, he is currently inactive as a tournament player. Heisman is a member of the International Computer Games Association
International Computer Games Association
The International Computer Games Association was founded as the International Computer Chess Association in 1977 by computer chess programmers to organise championship events for computer programs and to facilitate the sharing of technical knowledge via the ICCA Journal.Renamed the 'ICGA' in...
and worked at both Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov was a pair of famous six-game human-computer chess matches played between the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue and the World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. The first match was played in February 1996 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kasparov won the match 4–2, losing one...
matches (1996 and 1997).
Heisman is related to John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
, the football coach who left the endowment for the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
. Dan Heisman's paternal great-grandfather, Aaron, was John Heisman's first cousin.
Heisman is married to Shelly Hahn. His first wife, Susan "Holly" Hollis Bloom Heisman, died of breast cancer in 1994; they had one son, Delen, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Heisman was born in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Willow Grove is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Abington Township and Upper Moreland Township...
in 1950 and currently lives in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania is a suburban community located outside of Philadelphia in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Wynnewood was named in 1691 for Dr. Thomas Wynne, William Penn's physician and the first Speaker of the Pennsylvania General...
.
Career
Heisman authors the award-winning Novice Nook columnist, aimed at improving adults, for the popular Chess CafeChessCafe.com
ChessCafe.com is a website that publishes endgame studies, book reviews and other articles related to chess on a weekly basis. It was founded in 1996 by Hanon Russell, and is well known as a repository of articles about chess and its history....
Web site. He has also written eight books on chess, including Elements of Positional Chess Evaluation, Everyone's 2nd Chess Book, and Looking for Trouble.
Heisman is well known throughout the Philadelphia chess scene. His chess activities include promoting local chess, hosting a chess radio show "Ask the Renaissance Man" on ICC
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
Webcast, and organizing events like the Philadelphia Championship and Philadelphia Junior Championship. He is currently a member of the Main Line Chess Club and the SE Scholastic Coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation
Pennsylvania State Chess Federation
The Pennsylvania State Chess Federation is the official Pennsylvania affiliate of the United States Chess Federation. PSCF, is a 501 non-profit organization. Currently the highest ranking member is Alexander Shabalov. The president, of this organization, is Tom M Martinak....
. He maintains an extensive web page which provides information on Philadelphia area chess and many articles on chess improvement. Heisman is a chess tutor and among his current students is radio DJ Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
.
Heisman began his career as an engineer and worked in that capacity with several organizations, including the Naval Air Development Center and Intermetrics, Inc. Later, Heisman became a Registered Investment Adviser in Pennsylvania; he has been a full-time chess instructor and author since 1996. He is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research
Society for American Baseball Research
The Society for American Baseball Research was established in Cooperstown, New York, in August 1971 by Bob Davids of Washington, D.C. The Society's mission is to foster the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, while generating interest in the game...
and had a baseball newsletter, "Baseball's Active Leaders". His hobbies include backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
, science fiction, collecting comic books, and following the Philadelphia sports teams. He helped mentor the 2007-08 National High School champion Dan Yeager, also from Hatboro-Horsham High School.
Education
Heisman graduated from Hatboro-Horsham High SchoolHatboro-Horsham High School
Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School is a comprehensive public high school, serving grades 9 -12, located in Horsham, Pennsylvania, about 17 miles outside of Philadelphia. It is the only high school in the Hatboro-Horsham School District which includes part of Ambler as well as Horsham and Hatboro...
in Pennsylvania as the co-valedictorian in 1968, and was elected to the school's Hall of Fame in 2007. He attended Caltech and transferred to Penn State in 1969. In 1971 Heisman graduated at the top of his class earning a B.S. in Mathematics, and in 1983, again at the top of his class with a 4.0 G.P.A., received his Masters Degree in Engineering, both from The Pennsylvania State University.