Mike Goodall

Kenneth Michael Goodall, better known as Mike Goodall, (born January 13, 1946 in Denver, Colorado; died October 5, 2010 in Marinwood, California) was until his death the most active chess tournament organizer in Northern California. He organized and directed the U.S. Chess Championship in 1975, 1984 and 1986, the U.S. Junior Chess Open Championship in 1985, and the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in 1984 and 1986. Most of these events were held on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Goodall also organized memorial tournaments at the San Francisco Mechanics' Institute, such as the Stamer Memorial and the Capps Memorial. He also held USCF rated King's Gambit tournaments. The biggest tournament he ever ran was the First Golden Gate Open in 1976 with 468 players.

Goodall was an International Arbiter, recognized and certified by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. He was also a National Tournament Director for the USCF. Goodall was also a tournament chess player and for many years was a rated chess expert. He once defeated Grandmaster Nick de Firmian.

Goodall was the person charged with transmitting the moves from Iceland to the New York PBS TV Station during the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. This led to a permanent job as Assistant Director of Broadcast Operations for PBS.

Goodall held various positions in the California Chess Association and in the United States Chess Federation. He was President of the California Chess Association and Regional Vice-President of the USCF. He was also a member of the Tournament Directors Qualification Committee. He was regularly a Northern California delegate to the United States Chess Federation.

Goodall was known for his annual Christmas party, which was a gala event to which top chess players were invited.

Goodall had been a scientific data analyst for the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley.

Goodall lived for many years in Berkeley, California, where he did accounting work in the publishing industry. After retiring he moved to the Marinwood area of San Rafael, California, where he became a chess philanthropist, contributing to many chess-related causes.

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