He won the Wisconsin State Championship eight times,[5] and was the 11th person inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.

The original player rating system was developed in 1950 by Kenneth Harkness, the Business Manager of the United States Chess Federation.

The new rating system was approved and passed at a meeting of the United States Chess Federation in St. Louis in 1960.

In 1970, FIDE, the World Chess Federation, agreed to adopt the Elo Rating System.

FIDE also added new "Qualification for Rating" rules to its handbook awarding arbitrary ratings (typically in the 2200 range, which is the low end for a chess master) for players who scored at least 50 percent in the games played at selected events, such as named Chess Olympiads.