Arnold Sheldon Denker was an American chess player and chess author who held the title of International Grandmaster. Born on December 20, 1914, in New York City, he was known as one of the strongest American players during the 1940s and 1950s.
Denker's early days in chess included winning the individual interscholastic championship of New York City and the New York State championship while at Theodore Roosevelt High School. In college, he played for the City College of New York, winning the four-man team U.S. Amateur Championship.
Denker won the U.S. Chess Championship in both 1944 and 1946. In international competitions, his record included victories over notable grandmasters. He represented the U.S. in several team competitions, including the Radio match against the USSR in 1945. He remained a competitive player into his 80s.
Apart from playing, Denker promoted chess as an organizer and official. He served as a tournament director for many national scholastic events and was instrumental in persuading the U.S. Congress to declare chess a sport for grant purposes. Denker was the first to hold the lifetime titles of National Chess Director and International Arbiter from the United States Chess Federation and FIDE respectively.
Denker also contributed to chess literature, authoring "If You Must Play Chess" (1945), "Chess: The Easy Way" (1942), and other books. He wrote chess columns and articles for multiple newspapers and magazines. In 2004, he wrote a book detailing his matches and experiences with the world's chess champions.
He received numerous awards for his contributions to chess. Denker was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1992 and the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2004.
Denker passed away from brain cancer on January 2, 2005, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The annual Denker Tournament of High School Champions, named in his honor, continues to be held by the United States Chess Federation.