Arthur Bisguier

Bisguier was born in New York City and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. He was taught chess at the age of 4 by his father, a mathematician. In 1944, aged 15, he was third at the Bronx Empire Chess Club. In 1946, aged 17, he came fifth in the U.S. Open at Pittsburgh, followed by seventh place in 1948. Later that year, he took the U.S. Junior Championship and was invited to the New York City 1948–49 International Tournament. Throughout the 1940s, he was considered one of the United States' best players, with Larry Evans, George Kramer, and Walter Shipman. As he gained in strength, Bisguier was coached by Master Alexander Kevitz.

In 1949 he retained the U.S. Junior Championship title, and also won the Manhattan Chess Club Championship. In 1950 he won the first of his three U.S. Open titles, and also won at Southsea in England.

Army service interrupted his U.S. chess career during 1951 to 1953, but he managed to get leave to play in two European events. He played at the Helsinki Olympiad 1952, and then won the third annual Christmas tournament at Vienna 1952 with a 9–2 score. He earned the International Master title in 1950 from his Southsea victory.

After a poor performance in the U.S. Open in 1953, he entered the Philadelphia Candidates' Tournament for the U.S. Championship and came through with a first-place finish and another over-2600 performance. His meteoric rise culminated in winning the 1954 United States Chess Championship at New York. He also won the 2nd Pan American Chess Championship at Los Angeles 1954. In 1956 at Oklahoma City, he added the U.S. Open Chess Championship title to his U.S. Championship. Bisguier achieved the International Grandmaster title in 1957. He tied with Bobby Fischer for first–second places at the U.S. Open at Cleveland 1957, where Fischer was awarded the title on tiebreak.

Following his U.S. title in 1954, Bisguier regularly returned to compete for the national championship, but was never able to repeat his success. The late 1950s saw the sensational rise of Bobby Fischer, who swept the eight U.S. Championship tournaments that he contested. Bisguier and Fischer were tied for first place going into the last round of the 1962–1963 event, and they still had to face each other. Bisguier had a promising position but made a mistake, which Fischer punished spectacularly, allowing Fischer to take the game and the title. Fischer scored 8/11, with Bisguier a point back in clear second place. Bisguier also served as a second to Fischer at several international events.

Most of Bisguier's play after the mid-1960s was limited to U.S. events. He won National Opens in 1970 (jointly), 1974, and 1978. He won the Lone Pine tournament in 1973, tied for second place behind reigning world champion Boris Spassky in the international tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1969, and took first place in the first-ever Grand Prix in 1980. He took first place in the U.S. Senior Open in 1989, thus winning a U.S. championship at every age level of chess. He won the Senior Open again in 1997 and 1998.

Bisguier was a regular contributor to Chess Life magazine. In 2003 he wrote a book on his best games from 1945–1960 titled The Art of Bisguier.

Bisguier continued to play regularly at the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick, MA until 2014. He qualified for and competed in the 2011 Metrowest Club Championship.