Chuck Forrest

Charles "Chuck" Forrest (born June 3, 1961^[1]) is an American game show contestant who at one time held the record for the largest non-tournament cash winnings total on the syndicated game show Jeopardy! The Los Angeles Times called him "the Alexander the Great of Jeopardy! players."^[1] The producers of the show regarded him as one of the best and most memorable contestants of the 1980s.^[2] Forrest is widely regarded by other elite Jeopardy players to be one of the most formidable contestants ever to play.^[3]

Forrest, who was described at the time as a law student^[1] from Grand Blanc, Michigan, had a series of victories in Season 2 of Jeopardy!, starting on September 30, 1985. After four games, he set the regular play cash winnings record, with $60,000.^[4][5] When he went on to play his fifth game on October 4, 1985, he broke his own cash winnings record, with 5-day cash winnings of $72,800. Under the Jeopardy! rules in effect at the time of Forrest's victory, he retired undefeated. His record lasted until early in Season 6 of Jeopardy!, when Bob Blake won $82,501.^[5] Blake's record lasted until the middle of Season 6, when Frank Spangenberg accumulated a 5-day total of $102,597.

He went on to win the 1986 Tournament of Champions. In the quarterfinals, which was the first round, Forrest defeated Guy Tonti and Gary Palmer.^[6] (Palmer advanced as a "wild card" high scoring nonwinner.) In the semifinals, he defeated Jay Rosenberg and Gary Giardina^[7] He defeated Paul Rouffa and Marvin Shinkman in the two-game final, adding another $100,000 to his total cash winnings.^[8] That final series was featured in a July 29, 1989 PBS documentary called Wise Guys, a behind-the scenes look at the program.^[9]

In the 1990 Super Jeopardy! tournament, Forrest was defeated in the quarterfinals, or the first round, by Dave Traini. That appearance added $5,000 to Forrest's total winnings.^[10] Traini would eventually become the third-place finalist.^[11] In the 2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament, Forrest lost his semifinal to Bob Verini, picking up another $25,000 in the process.^[12] Verini placed third in the finals.^[13] In the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Forrest received a bye into Round 2 in recognition of his former regular-play cash winnings record. However, Forrest came in third in his Round 2 game and received another $25,000 ($10,000 as a runner-up and another $15,000 for the 2nd round bye). The scores were $0 for Forrest, $28,200 for the winner Phil Yellman, and $12,999 for Lara Robillard.^[14] There were no "wild card" spots for nonwinners in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, meaning neither Robillard nor Forrest had a chance of advancing to Round 3. Yellman, coming in second in round 3, lost to Pam Mueller along with Brian Moore.^[15] His all-time total cash winnings are $227,800.

Forrest returned for the Battle of the Decades tournament on February 3, 2014. He became a quarterfinalist, defeating India Cooper and Jim Scott. Cooper returned for the quarterfinals as a standby contestant. On May 9, he competed against 1990s champion Mark Dawson and 2000s champ Colby Burnett. Forrest won the game by $900, while Burnett in second place, moved on as a wildcard. He competed against Ken Jennings and Russ Schumacher in the semifinals on May 12 and briefly led in the Double Jeopardy! round, but Jennings ultimately moved on to the finals.

Forrest implemented a strategy known as the "Forrest Bounce" in his play to potentially confuse opponents.^[16] (Forrest referred to the technique as the "Rubin Bounce" after a law school friend, Donn Rubin, who first suggested it.^[17]) The Forrest Bounce is applied in the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds with the player in control of the board "bouncing" between different categories rather than continuing through individual categories in sequence. According to Forrest, "The basic point is, you know where you're going next and [your competitors] don't."^[17]

Forrest and Mark Lowenthal, a five-time champion in Season 4, co-wrote the 1992 book Secrets of the Jeopardy Champions.^[17] Like Forrest, Lowenthal won his Tournament of Champions.^[18]

In 1992, Forrest was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, entering the Republican primary for the Ninth District of Michigan, which at the time included his home town of Grand Blanc.^[19] Forrest is now a lawyer with the International Fund for Agricultural Development.^[20]

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