Born in Lvov, in the Ukraine, he immigrated to the US at the age of 16 in 1949 and his family settled in Newark, New Jersey. After finishing high school in 1951, in the fall he enrolled in Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, majoring in chemistry.
In the fall of 1955, he entered the PH.D. Program in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, first as a teaching assistant and then as an Allied Chemical and Dye Fellow. In January 1959, he was awarded his Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in analytical chemistry.
He then began a corporate career with ESSO (Exxon/Mobil) and in 1963, he began teaching in Brooklyn College of the City University of New York where he became a full professor in the Department of Chemistry.
Popovych was a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, a Ukrainian-American scholarly institution, and served as its president from 2006 to 2012.
In 2010, he was awarded a prize for Best Translations from Ukrainian into English by the American Association for Ukrainian Studies for his translations of three collections of poems.
That sums up his professional life, but Popovych also had a long career as a tournament player and later also as a chess organizer and author.
In 1957, he obtained the rank of USCF Master and 1972, hr reached the Senior Master rank (2400+). In 1974 the USCF mage him a Life Master.
Beginning in 1976, he has played in a few international tournaments, mostly in the US, England and Norway, but also twice in Germany and once in Switzerland, Italy and Iceland. In 1980, je was awarded the title of FIDE Master.
Popovych won the New Jersey championship in 1959, 1961, 1985 and in 2001. In 2001 he authored a chess book featuring games by former champions of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the USA and Canada. He was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Federation Hall of Fame in 2016. He won the 1971 Atlantic Open and the championship of the Ukrainian Sports Federation nine times.
The following game was played in the 1956 US Open which was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Arthur Bisguier and James Sherwin shared first place with 9.5-2.5 scores. Bisguier was champion based on superior tiebreaks. Popovych tied for places 9-15 (out of 102), scoring +5 -1 =6. At the tie Popovych was living in Newark, New Jersey ans was rated 2055, a USCF Expert.
In the game Popovych took out Benjamin E. Thurston 1903-1999, 95 years old).
Thurston was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He passed away peaceably, in his sleep in Seattle, Washington on April 14, 1999, after about a 10 week battle with pneumonia and other respiratory problems.
His mother, an opium addict, crusaded for child labor laws and and her children raised themselves. Thurston won an appointment to the US Military Academy and graduated in 1926.
After graduation he served at various posts in the peacetime Army and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.
In 1944, he was appointed as a Battalion Commander in Europe under the command of General Patton. He retired from the Army with the rank of Colonel in 1955.
In this tournament Thurston tied for places 75-84 with a +4 -7 =1 score. At the time the game was played Thurston was living in Spokane, Washington and his USCF rating was 1682 (Class B).
[Event "US Open, Oklahoma City"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1956.07.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Orest Popovych"]
[Black "Ben Thurston"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B64"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 16"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "1956.??.??"]
{B64: Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 {The Richter–Rauzer Attack threatening to double black's Ps
after Bxf6 and at the same time avoids the once feared Dragon.} e6 {After this
Rauzer introduced the modern plan of Qd2 and 0-0-0 in the 1930s. White
maintains pressure on the d-Pawn.} 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 {The main
alternative is now 9...Nxd4 though sometimes 9...h6 is interpolated.} e5 10.
Nf3 Bg4 11. h3 $16 Bxf3 12. gxf3 {[%mdl 32]} Nd4 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. f4 {This is
at least as good as 14.Rg1} (14. Rg1 {Turns out not to be as good as it looks
if black responds correctly.} Nxf3 {Which he did not in thsi game.} (14... Rc8
15. Be2 Rxc3 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. bxc3 Be7 18. Kb1 (18. cxd4 Ba3+ 19. Kb1 Qb6+ {
with mate to follow.}) 18... Qb6+ {Black is better. Karaklajic,N-Joppen,E
Belgrade 1954}) 15. Qf2 Qb6 16. Be3 Nd4 17. Rxd4 exd4 18. Bxd4 {White is
better. Korschnoj,V-Geller,E Kiev 1954}) 14... Nc6 {A tactical oversight.} (
14... Ne6 {had to be played in order to defend g7.} 15. Qe1 (15. Qg2 {now has
no sting.} Qa5 16. f5 Nxg5 17. Qxg5 Nd5 18. Qg3 Nxc3 19. Rg1 (19. Qxc3 Qxa2 20.
Rg1 Rad8 21. Bd3 {Black is better.}) 19... Nxa2+ 20. Kb1 Bf6 {with the better
position.}) 15... Qc8 16. fxe5 Nxg5 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Nd5 {White is slightly
better owing to his better placed piece.}) 15. Qg2 {This wins the exchange and
generates a strong attack against black's K.} Qa5 16. Bh6 g6 17. Bxf8 Bxf8 18.
f5 Nd4 (18... Ba3 {was worth a try.} 19. Qg3 (19. bxa3 Qxa3+ 20. Kd2 Nd4 {
and black has enough play that he is very close to equalizing.}) 19... Qb4 20.
bxa3 Qxa3+ 21. Kd2 Rc8 22. fxg6 hxg6 23. Bc4 Qxc3+ 24. Qxc3 Nxe4+ 25. Ke1 Nxc3
26. Rd7 {White has the advantage and should be able to nurse it to a win.}) 19.
fxg6 hxg6 (19... Rc8 {was worth a try.} 20. gxf7+ Kxf7 21. Rd3 Bb4 22. Qg3 {
White has successfully defended against the assault on c3.}) 20. Bc4 Kg7 21.
Rhg1 {Hoping for 22.Bxf7!} Nh5 {He should at least try to defend f7 with 21...
Qc7} (21... Rc8 22. Bxf7 Kxf7 23. Qxg6+ Ke7 24. Rgf1 Rc6 25. Qg5 Qc5 26. Nd5+
Kd8 27. c3 Nb5 28. Rxf6 Rxf6 29. Qxf6+ Be7 30. Nxe7+ {wins}) 22. Qf1 f6 {
This allows a flashy finish, but he was lost anyway.} 23. Rxg6+ {[%mdl 512]}
Kxg6 24. Qg2+ Kh6 25. Rg1 Nf4 26. Qg8 Qc7 27. Qh8+ {White mates.} Qh7 28. Qxf6+
Ng6 29. Bf7 Nf3 30. Rxg6+ {Black resigned. It's mate next move.} 1-0
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