Robert Felt
Encyclopedia
Robert Felt was a computer programmer, USCF
-rated chess
Expert, Tennessee Junior chess champion, and champion Scrabble
player.
Born in Memphis, he entered the University of Chicago
in 1971 and tested out of so many requirements that he was awarded Junior status. At the University of Chicago he a was member of the chess team, at one point being first board on the University's second team for two Pan-American Intercollegiate national tournaments. He also competed for the University at the NCAA national contract bridge tournament.
In 1978, he left the University without a degree and joined Banker's Life and Casualty as a computer programmer. At the TDM division of Rand McNally
he enjoyed a reputation as one of the best CICS
programmers in the world. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he established 911 systems for police and fire dispatchers. Much of the technology at most 911 call centers is derived from his early work.
In 1990, Felt became the first Scrabble player to win both the US National Scrabble Championship and the UK Scrabble championship in the same year, an amazing feat that required him to memorize two different dictionaries. He achieved a peak rating of 2155, which in February 2011 would easily be the number one rating again.
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...
-rated 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...
Expert, Tennessee Junior chess champion, and champion Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
player.
Born in Memphis, he entered the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1971 and tested out of so many requirements that he was awarded Junior status. At the University of Chicago he a was member of the chess team, at one point being first board on the University's second team for two Pan-American Intercollegiate national tournaments. He also competed for the University at the NCAA national contract bridge tournament.
In 1978, he left the University without a degree and joined Banker's Life and Casualty as a computer programmer. At the TDM division of Rand McNally
Rand McNally
Rand McNally is an American publisher of maps, atlases, textbooks, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data...
he enjoyed a reputation as one of the best CICS
CICS
Customer Information Control System is a transaction server that runs primarily on IBM mainframe systems under z/OS and z/VSE.CICS is a transaction manager designed for rapid, high-volume online processing. This processing is mostly interactive , but background transactions are possible...
programmers in the world. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he established 911 systems for police and fire dispatchers. Much of the technology at most 911 call centers is derived from his early work.
In 1990, Felt became the first Scrabble player to win both the US National Scrabble Championship and the UK Scrabble championship in the same year, an amazing feat that required him to memorize two different dictionaries. He achieved a peak rating of 2155, which in February 2011 would easily be the number one rating again.