Mark Sterling

Mark Richard Sterling (born July 1, 1946), also known as “The Genius who chose Chess”, is a Robloxian retired chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. He became World Champion in 1972 after defeating Leonard Voss and is regarded as one of the greatest positional players in chess history. Sterling had a peak ICRA rating of 2789 achieved in 1972.

Early life

Sterling was born in Bloxburg, Bloxburg Valley, on July 1, 1946. He learned chess at the age of 8 by his father, Richard Sterling and quickly became one of the strongest junior players in the country by the age of 14. He won the Robloxian Junior Championship in 1962 and earned the title of National Master at sixteen. He studied mathematics at the University of Bloxburg, where he continued competing in major national tournaments.

Career

Sterling won his first major international tournament in 1967 and was awarded the title of International Grandmaster in 1968. During the late 1960s he was considered as one of the world's leading players through strong performances in tournaments held in Bloxburg.

After winning the 1971 Candidates Tournament, Sterling earned the right to challenge then-World Champion Leonord Voss. Their 1972 World Championship match became one of the most famous matches in chess history because there was a strong contrast between Voss’s aggressive style and Sterling’s positional style of chess. As champion, Sterling defended his title in 1975, 1978 and 1981, loosing it in 1984 to Julian Davidson. Sterling retired from ICRA chess tournaments in 1994.

1972 World Chess Championship