Alexander, (Conel) Hugh O'Donel (1909–1974), chess player and cryptanalyst, was born in Cork on 19 April 1909, the eldest of four children of Conel William Long Alexander (1879–1920), professor of engineering at University College, Cork, and his wife, Hilda Barbara Bennett (1881–1964), of ...
Article
Alexander, (Conel) Hugh O'Donel (1909–1974), chess player and cryptanalyst
Harry Golombek
revised by Ralph Erskine
Article
Blackburne, Joseph Henry (1841–1924), chess player
E. S. Tinsley
revised by Julian Lock
Blackburne, Joseph Henry (1841–1924), chess player, was born in or near Hulme, Manchester, on 10 December 1841, the son of Joseph Blackburne, a Quaker bookkeeper and temperance reformer (not a path taken by his son) who also practised as a phrenologist, and his wife, ...
Article
Evans, William Davies (1790–1872), master mariner and chess player
Tim Harding
Evans, William Davies (1790–1872), master mariner and chess player, was born at Musland farm in the parish of St Dogwell's, Pembrokeshire, Wales, on 27 January 1790, the eldest son of John Evans (1757–1820), a farmer, and his wife, Mary, née Davies (1766–1856). Having probably received some education at ...
Image
Gunsberg, Isidor Arthur (1854–1930)
Maker: Hastings Bradshaw
In
Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (1854–1930) by Hastings Bradshaw, c.1900 Chesshistory.com
Article
Gunsberg, Isidor Arthur (1854–1930), chess player and journalist
Tim Harding
Gunsberg, Isidor Arthur (1854–1930), chess player and journalist, was born in Pest, Hungary, the eldest son of Abraham Gunsberg and his wife, Katharine, née Tapart. Records kept by Hungarian rabbis suggest that Isidor was born on 1 November 1854, but he himself believed his birthday was 2 November. ...
Article
Loewenthal, Johann Jacob [formerly János Jakab Löwenthal] (1810–1876), chess player
Thomas Seccombe
revised by Julian Lock
Loewenthal, Johann Jacob [formerly János Jakab Löwenthal] (1810–1876), chess player, son of a Hungarian merchant, was born at Budapest in July 1810. He was educated at the Gymnasium of his native town, and received his first chess lessons from Szen, the noted Hungarian player, then a clerk in the archives at ...
Article
Philidor, François-André Danican (1726–1795), musician and chess player
Julian Rushton
Philidor, François-André Danican (1726–1795), musician and chess player, was born at Dreux, France, on 7 September 1726, the youngest child from his second marriage, to Elisabeth Leroy, of André Danican Philidor ‘l'aîné’ (c.1647–1730), composer, instrumentalist, and librarian, the presiding genius of the ...
Image
Philidor, François-André Danican (1726–1795)
Maker: Augustin de Saint-Aubin
In
François-André Danican Philidor (1726–1795) by Augustin de Saint-Aubin, pubd 1772 (after Charles-Nicolas Cochin) © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Rudge, Mary (1842–1919), chess player
Tim Harding
Rudge, Mary (1842–1919), chess player, was born in Leominster, Herefordshire, on 6 February 1842, the youngest child in a family of two sons and five daughters of Henry Rudge (1795/6–1874), a surgeon, and his wife, Eliza, née Barrett (1801/2–1863).
Mary Rudge learned chess in early childhood and became the first Englishwoman to play the game competitively to a high standard and over a long period. As early as 1864 she and her elder sister ...
Article
See Dufour [married name Sarratt], (Elizabeth) Camilla
Article
Saul, Arthur (d. 1614x18), writer on chess and supposed spy
C. G. Lewin
Saul, Arthur (d. 1614x18), writer on chess and supposed spy, is a figure about whom much remains obscure. He was possibly a kinsman of Arthur Saul (d. 1586), canon of Bristol and of Gloucester, and may be the Arthur Sale who graduated BD from ...
Article
Stamma, Phillip (d. 1755), chess player and interpreter of oriental languages
John-Paul Ghobrial
Stamma, Phillip (d. 1755), chess player and interpreter of oriental languages, was born in Aleppo. His name is rendered variously in European documents as Philippe, Philippo or Filipo, and Phillip. What little can be known about his origins comes from evidence contained in a few extant copies of his treatise on chess, ...
Article
Zukertort, John Hermann (1842–1888), chess player
Thomas Seccombe
revised by Julian Lock
Zukertort, John Hermann (1842–1888), chess player, was born on 7 September 1842, probably at Lublin in Russian Poland, the son of a converted Jew, who had been a protestant pastor of very humble means. In 1855 he entered the Gymnasium at Breslau in ...
