Victor Palciauskas
Victor Palciauskas was born in 1941 in Lithuania, but moved to the U.S. in childhood. Although he was taught chess by his uncle at age five, he did not play seriously until his teens; he gained an expert rating in his first tournament at age 16. In 1963, he tied for fifth place in the U.S. Open.
Dr. Palciauskas' promising OTB career came to a rather sudden end due to his graduate studies in theoretical physics. But his loss was also his gain, as Palciauskas turned to international correspondence play after seeing a 1970 article by Walter Muir. Since correspondence chess does not require the player to be at certain places at certain times, the busy scientist was better able to blend it into his schedule.
The rest is history! Palciauskas' undefeated, clear victory in the World Championship of correspondence chess, completed by 1984, placed him among those few who have achieved the highest possible level in any endeavor. To appreciate the rarity of such feat, consider that chess has probably the most valid individual world championship competition of any sport or game.
Victor Palciauskas is the second youngest Hall of Fame member at the age of 51. Fischer is the youngest.