Marion Tinsley

Marion Franklin Tinsley was an American mathematician and checkers player. He is widely considered the greatest checkers player ever. Tinsley was world champion from 1955–1958 and 1975–1991 and never lost a world championship match. He lost only seven games from 1950 until his death in 1995. He withdrew from championship play between 1958–1975, relinquishing the title during that time. Derek Oldbury, sometimes considered the second-best player of all time, thought Tinsley was "to checkers what Leonardo da Vinci was to science, what Michelangelo was to art and what Beethoven was to music."