Jonathan Corbblah (born 1978 or 1979) is a chess master from New York City, known for appearing on as many American game shows as possible.
Jonathan Corbblah | |
|---|---|
 Corbblah in 2015 | |
| Born | 1978/1979 (age 44–45) |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Competing on game shows |
Personal life edit
Jonathan Corbblah was born in 1978 or 1979.[1] As a child, he was almost held back in the first grade because he was illiterate; after his father—a Christian preacher—spent the summer drilling academics non-stop, by the next academic year, he was ahead of his second-grade class.[2]
As of December 2010[update], he was married and living in Harlem.[1] By February 2014[update], he was coaching individuals and teams for national trivia championships, and taught Scrabble[2] to schoolchildren.[1]
Games and game shows edit
Corbblah learned to play chess at age six or seven.[2] According to the United States Chess Federation, since he began playing ranked matches in the late 1990s, Corbblah has a top regular Elo rating of 2199 (earned between 2010 and 2014) and a top blitz rating of 2262 (in 2019).[3] In December 2002, he became a USCF Candidate Master,[4] and in 2014, Pacific Standard reported he was a master-level chess player.[2]
Corbblah was eleven years old in 1990 when he appeared on his first game show, PBS' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?.[1] In December 2010, after his two days on Jeopardy!, he told ABC News that "I'm trying to go on as many possible game shows as I can";[5] he has appeared on at least seven.
| Date(s) | Show | Result | Citation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? | A basketball and US$100 (equivalent to $233.21 in 2023) | [1] |
| July 23, 2004 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | US$32,000 (equivalent to $51,619 in 2023) | [6] |
| December 13, 2010 December 14, 2010 |
Jeopardy! | $14,000 (equivalent to $19,561 in 2023) | [6] |
| August 6, 2013 | The Chase | $60,000 (equivalent to $78,480 in 2023) Shared with two other contestants |
[6] |
| December 17, 2014 | Wheel of Fortune | $14,500 (equivalent to $18,662 in 2023) | [6] |
| May 21, 2015 | 500 Questions | Unable to defeat Steve Bahnaman | [6] |
In summer 2019, he was a guest expert on several episodes of Best Ever Trivia Show, and then as a master mind on several 2020–2021 episodes of Master Minds.[6] He has also won $1,500 on Cash Cab.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Fanelli, James (December 15, 2010). "Harlem man Jonathan Corbblah settin' a record on TV, wins money on 'Jeopardy' and 'Cash Cab'". Daily News. ISSN 2692-1251. OCLC 9541172. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c d David, Noah (June 14, 2017) [2014-02-18]. "What Makes You So Smart, Jonathan Corbblah?". Pacific Standard. ISSN 1941-5672. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
Jonathan Corbblah wants to be on more trivia shows than any other human being ever has. He talked to Noah Davis.
- ^ "USCF Ratings History Graph for 12758690". United States Chess Federation. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Milestones History". United States Chess Federation. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "The Conversation: 'Game Show Guy' Jonathan Corbblah". ABC News. December 20, 2010. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
New York man has an unusual hobby: appearing on TV game shows.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jonathan Corbblah". J! Archive. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.