William (Bill) Dale Wall (born May 11, 1951 in Raymond, Washington) is an American chess author and journalist

William (Bill) Dale Wall (born May 11, 1951 in Raymond, Washington) is an American chess author and journalist.

He is a retired Air Force officer (1970-1995) and former NASA engineer at Ames Research Center (1985-1991), now working at Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida as an Information Security Systems Engineer (ISSE). He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He has degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Biography

He was introduced to chess by his parents, both chess players, at around age 10. He attended Clover Park High School in Tacoma, Washington, then entered Northrop Institute of Technology in Inglewood, California, where he became president of the college chess team. He played his first major tournament, the 5th American Open in Santa Monica, in November 1969. The event included Walter Browne and Larry Christiansen and was won by Ray Martin. Wall placed in a middle-table position.

In September 1970 Wall joined the U.S. Air Force and the next year he was assigned to Beale AFB in Marysville, California, where he was a crew chief on KC-135 tankers, refueling SR-71 aircraft. He organized a chess club there and wrote a chess column for the base paper. He also played for an Air Force team called The Flying Knights.

In December 1971 he was assigned to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. While off-duty he played a lot of chess at the Naha USO chess club. While on leave, on June 30-July 4, 1973 he played in the first World Open, held at the McAlpin Hotel in New York. There were 725 player, a record for U.S. chess. The event was won by Walter Browne, who scored 9/10. Wall scored 5-3 in his 8-rounds section. Upon returning to Beale AFB, he became a USCF certified tournament director.

In 1974 he was temporarily assigned for 5 months at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. He organized several chess tournaments on the island. In August 1974, he was inducted in the USO hall of fame for his chess activities overseas. He was honorably discharged in September with the rank of Staff Sergeant and returned to the U.S., settling in Statesville, North Carolina. In February he won the Wilkes County chess championship. He was elected president of the Wilkes College, Mitchell College, and Lenoir Rhyne chess clubs, and in September 1978 he became President of the North Carolina Chess Association. He is a past Secretary of the Chess Journalists of America and a past vice-chairman of the Southern Chess Administration. He served as a delegate in the US Chess Federation from 1977 to 1983.

In March 1980 Wall was editor of the Dayton Chess Club Review and Vice President of the Dayton Chess Club in Dayton, Ohio. In September of the same year he was elected president of the Ohio Chess Association. In April 1982 he co-edited the Ohio Chess Bulletin and wrote his first book 300 King's Gambit Miniatures, published by Chess Enterprises, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.

In 1982, he was nominated as USCF volunteer of the year.

From 1982 to 1986 he was president of the Dayton Chess Club and from 1986 to 1991 of the Palo Alto Chess Club in California. From 1992 to 1997, he was president of the Kelly AFB/Lackland AFB Chess Club in San Antonio, Texas. From 1999 to 2002, he was president of the Melbourne Chess Club in Florida.

From 1995 to 2000 he served as Sysop for Microsoft’s Internet Gaming Zone.

In 2003 he sponsored the Bobby Fischer display at the World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami. He is a contributor of ChessGames.com, of Black & White, a chess magazine in India, and of chess e-books for the "Gambit Chess" website.

Books

300 King's Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1982 ISBN 0-931462-27-7
500 Sicilian Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1983 ISBN 0-931462-24-X
500 French Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1984 ISBN 0-931462-32-2
500 Queen's Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1985 ISBN-931462-38-X
Larsen's Opening, Chess Enterprises, 1986 ISBN-931462-55-X
Owen's Defense, Chess Enterprises, 1986 ISBN 0-931462-50-9
500 Ruy Lopez Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1986 ISBN-931462-56-8
500 King's Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1986 ISBN-931462-57-6
500 Italian Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1987 ISBN 0-931462-65-7
500 Sicilian Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1987 ISBN 0-931462-73-8
Grob's Attack, Chess Enterprises, 1988 ISBN 0-931462-86-X
500 Queen's Gambit Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1988 ISBN 0-931462-87-8
The Orangutan, Chess Enterprises, 1989 ISBN 0-931462-92-4
500 Indian Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1990 ISBN 0-931462-99-1
500 English Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1990 ISBN 0-945070-04-5
The 1990 World Chess Championship, Chess Enterprises, 1991 ISBN 0-945470-08-8
500 Caro Kann Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1991 ISBN 0-945470-15-0
Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Chess Enterprises, 1992 ISBN 0-945470-22-3
Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Chess Enterprises, 1993 ISBN 0-945470-25-8
500 Pirc Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1993 ISBN 0-945470-38-X
500 Alekhine Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1994 ISBN 0-945470-38-X
Dunst Opening, Chess Enterprises, 1994 ISBN 0-945470-48-7
500 French Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1995 ISBN 0-945470-54-1
500 King's Gambit Miniatures II, Chess Enterprises, 1996 ISBN 0-945470-61-4
500 Scotch Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1997 ISBN 0-945470-89-4
700 Opening Traps, Chess Enterprises, 1998 ISBN 0-945470-71-1
500 Blackmar Diemer Gambit Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 1999 ISBN 0-945470-80-0
500 Center Counter Miniatures, Chess Enterprises, 2001 ISBN 0-945470-85-1
Off The Wall Chess Trivia, ChessCentral, 2001
Winning with the Krazy Kat and Old Hippo, Lulu, 2008 (co-author with Gary Gifford and Davide Rozzoni)