Alan McGowan: Michael Fallone was born in Dundee, Scotland, on 23 November 1938. He showed great promise as a junior player and, as such, he represented Scotland in Glorney Cup junior team competitions between 1952 and 1957, and won the Glasgow Boys' (under eighteen) Championship for 1954 with a clean score of 8 wins.Michael played for Scotland against England in the matches in 1955, 1958 and 1962. In the first of these he reached his 17th birthday a few days before the match was played, and celebrated by defeating Haygarth.
He competed in several Scottish championships. In 1956 the championship was held in his home city of Dundee, and their were high hopes locally for success. As it was, the experienced Dr J.M. Aitken took the title with 8½/9 in an all-play-all tournament, but Michael captured second place with 7 points, without loss. This was a fine result, considering his age.
In the 1957 Scottish Championship, Michael scored 6½/9 to finish in joint 2nd-4th places with George Dickson and N.A. Macleod. The winner was Dr Aitken with 8.
In the 1958 event, Dr Aitken won again with 10/11, and this time Michael's great junior rival, George Dickson took clear 2nd place with 9½. Michael finished with 7½ to share 3rd and 4th places with N.A. Perkins. Michael's score was interesting; one draw against Aitken, 7 wins and three successive losses, in rounds 6-8.
Michael did not compete in the event over the next four year, but returned triumphantly to win the Scottish Championship in 1963 with a score of 6½ points in the seven round Swiss tournament, ahead of Ken McAlpine with 6, and fourteen others. In his report of the tournament for the British Chess Magazine, Dr J.M. Aitken stated about Fallone:
"His main characteristic is a tactical resourcefulness that is often apt to draw or even win a lost position and this trait stood him in good stead once or twice in this tournament."
Michael Fallone played in three Olympiads for Scotland: Moscow 1956, Tel-Aviv 1964 and Havana 1966. He provided some personal comments about his Olympiad chess career, which were incorporated in an article that appeared in Scottish Chess No. 174, June 2001.
Alan McGowan
Historian, Chess Scotland