Master Profile

NM Thompson picked up the sport of chess at age 10 from cousins across the alley.  "I soon became the strongest chess player in my neighborhood and in my school when I was eleven.  I won all my elementary Junior High School Championships. In High School a math teacher rated USCF 1600 (who later became one of my best friends) helped me to improve my chess game and I became the high school champion," recalls NM Thompson. His early chess mentor would also expose him to his 1st US Chess Federation tournament.

Simultaneously, Dexter had developed an appreciation for the martial arts, a close cousin of chess. Arguably the best conditioned chess master in the world, Master Thompson started under the tutelage of Jae Joon Kim, also Chuck Norris' first instructor. Master Dexter Thompson first met Chuck Norris in 1975 in Detroit, Michigan at Thompson's dojo when Chuck Norris came to visit Grandmaster Jae Joon Kim after making the movie "Return of the Dragon" with Bruce Lee. Anyone with any familiarity with martial arts will attest that the Koreans have given a proud tradition to the powerful kicking art and the ferocity of their front line crack troops is legendary.

Holding a 4th-degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do, a 3rd-degree black belt in Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, and black belts in hapkido and aikido, this tall and slender warrior packs a heavy kick. In addition to his many accomplishments, he has appeared in two martial arts commercials for Olympics promotion, and has made television appearances giving martial arts demonstrations.

Besides showing his kicking skills in the martial arts world, he has also done a lot of kicking over the chess board. He has shown his chess prowess by beating the likes of Joel Benjamin (then an IM) in the 1985 World Open, GM Michael Wilder (in a TV match),  IM Benjamin Finegold, IM Kamran Shirazi, and several FIDE and U.S. Senior Masters.

A few of his tournament successes include novice championships such as: the 1978 Michigan Class "E" title, 1978 USCF Class "E" title, and the 1979 USCF Class "D" title. He has won the Michigan State Championship twice (1985, joint 1st; 1986 clear 1st). His win over Joel Benjamin took place at the 1985 New York Open. This monumental win helped him to win 2nd place in the Expert section. He was also won the 1989 Western Open Champion and has recently won the All-Japan Action Chess Championship.