Marion Tinsley was an amalgam of the longevity of Lasker, the invincilibility of

Petrosian and the perfection of Fisher. His career is unique in any game or sport.
From 1950 to 1995 Tinsley never lost a single tournament, or even shared first
place with another player. He took part in nine world championship matches, winning
them all, usually by an embarrassingly large margin. In the 45-year period he
played in thousands of tournaments, matches and exhibitions, playing many tens of
thousands of games. Of these he lost exactly seven games. "Tinsley was as close to
perfect as is humanly possible," writes Jonathan Schaeffer.