Shelbourne Richard Lyman (October 22, 1936 – August 11, 2019) was an American chess player and teacher known for hosting a live broadcast of the 1972 World Chess Championship for the PBS television station Channel 13 in Albany, New York, New York.
This broadcast became the highest-rated public television program ever at that time, far surpassing viewership expectations.
He was also taught sociology at the City College of New York for three and a half years.
Shortly after the 1972 World Championship ended, he began writing a syndicated column about chess for Newsday; at its peak, this column was published in 82 newspapers around the world.
He later hosted a two-hour broadcast covering the World Chess Championship 1986.
This segment was recorded at WNYE-TV in Brooklyn and aired on 120 public television stations.