Albéric O'Kelly de Galway was a Belgian chess Grandmaster (GM) who was the third International Correspondence Chess Federation World Champion. O'Kelly was born on 17 May 1911 in Brussels, Belgium and died on 3 October 1980. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) in 1950, the GM title in 1956, and went on to become the inaugural winner of the "Master Emeritus" title of the International Correspondence Chess Federation in 1975.
Throughout his career, O'Kelly won multiple Belgian Chess Championships, with his victories coming in 1937, 1938, and 1950. He also participated in several Chess Olympiads as part of the Belgian team. His best individual result was in 1956 where he won the individual gold medal on the second board. O'Kelly also finished first at multiple international tournaments such as the 1942/43 tournament in Madrid.
As a chess journalist and author, O'Kelly wrote several chess books in French and Spanish, some of which were later translated into English. He was not just a player, but also a respected chess arbiter. He served as Chief Arbiter at the famous 1972 World Chess Championship match, which featured the historic showdown between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Additionally, Alberic O'Kelly de Galway also played an instrumental part in the creation of the Grandmaster title.