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 ...
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Alexander, (Conel) Hugh O'Donel (1909–1974), chess player and cryptanalyst
Harry Golombek
revised by Ralph Erskine
Article
Anderson, Andrew (1798–1861), draughts player
Thompson Cooper
revised by Julian Lock
Anderson, Andrew (1798–1861), draughts player, was born on 3 May 1798 at Braidwood, near Carluke, Lanarkshire, the son of William Anderson, a stocking weaver, and his wife, Mary, née Selkirk. He became the champion draughts player of Scotland (from 1828) and (unofficially) of the world. He defeated ...
Article
Barry, Sir (Philip) Stuart Milner- (1906–1995), code-breaker and chess player
Ralph Erskine
Barry, Sir (Philip) Stuart Milner- (1906–1995), code-breaker and chess player, was born on 20 September 1906 in Hendon, London, the second youngest of six children (five sons and one daughter) of Edward Leopold Milner-Barry, a schoolteacher (later professor of modern languages at the ...
Article
Beale, Francis (bap. 1621?, d. in or before 1666), writer on chess
C. G. Lewin
Beale, Francis (bap. 1621
Article
Bird, Henry Edward (1829–1908), chess player
Thomas Seccombe
revised by Julian Lock
Bird, Henry Edward (1829–1908), chess player, born at Portsea, Hampshire, on 14 July 1829, was the son of Henry Bird, of a Somerset family, and his wife, Mary Ellen, and was baptized at St Thomas's, Portsmouth, on 7 August. His father afterwards kept a shop in ...
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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
Bristow, Eric John (1957–2018), darts player
Patrick Chaplin
Bristow, Eric John (1957–2018), darts player, was born on 25 April 1957 at Hackney Hospital, London, the son of George John Bristow (1932–2015), plasterer, and his wife, Pamela Helen, née McEvoy (1935–2005), a telephonist. At the time of his birth and for some time after his parents lived at ...
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Burn, Amos (1848–1925), chess player
W. D. Rubinstein
Burn, Amos (1848–1925), chess player, was born on 31 December 1848 at 28 Bourne Street, Kingston upon Hull. He was the third surviving son (there were also three daughters) of Amos Burn (1810–1877), a timber merchant and commission agent of Scottish descent, and his wife, ...
Article
Cheeke, William (fl. 1592–1615?), anagrammatist
Edward A. Malone
Cheeke, William (fl. 1592–1615
Article
Clay, James (1804–1873), politician and writer on whist
M. C. Curthoys
Clay, James (1804–1873), politician and writer on whist, was born in Bloomsbury, London, on 20 December 1804, the only son—there was also a daughter—of James Clay (1764–1828), a merchant of Old Broad Street, London, and his wife, Mary (1766/7–1840), daughter of ...
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Dudeney, Henry Ernest (1857–1930), compiler of mathematical puzzles
Angela Newing
Dudeney, Henry Ernest (1857–1930), compiler of mathematical puzzles, was born in Mayfield, Sussex, on 10 April 1857, the third child and second son in the family of three sons and seven daughters of Gilbert Dudeney (1825–1877), a schoolmaster in a Methodist school at ...
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 ...
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Gillies, Ian Malcolm (1927–2002), question-setter and broadcaster
Stephen Follows
Gillies, Ian Malcolm (1927–2002), question-setter and broadcaster, was born at Upper Heath, Hampstead, London, on 7 December 1927, the son of Duncan Neil Gillies, company accountant, and his wife, Elsie Mary, née Nowell, of 16B Golders Way, Golders Green, London. He spent his early life in ...
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Golombek, Harry (1911–1995), chess player and writer on chess
W. D. Rubinstein
Golombek, Harry (1911–1995), chess player and writer on chess, was born on 1 March 1911 at 200 Railton Road, Herne Hill, London, the younger son in the family of two sons and three daughters of Barnet Golombek (1877/8–1943), a successful grocer, and his wife, ...
Article
See Markus [née Scharfstein], Erika [Rixi]
Article
See Berry, (James) Gomer, first Viscount Kemsley
Article
Gray, Maurice Charles Harrison- (1899–1968), bridge player and writer
Andrew Robson
Gray, Maurice Charles Harrison- (1899–1968), bridge player and writer, was born Maurice Charles Gray on 13 November 1899 at Ingatestone, Essex, the son of Oswald Harrison Gray, maltster and fellmonger, and his wife, Gloria Gladwin, née Terry. He later adopted the surname Harrison-Gray...
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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. ...
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Horwitz, Bernard (c. 1807–1885), chess player
R. E. Anderson
revised by Julian Lock
Horwitz, Bernard (c. 1807–1885), chess player, was a native of the grand duchy of Mecklenburg, born at Neustrelitz probably on 10 May 1807, of Jewish descent. He learned the game under Mendheim at Berlin and became one of the seven great players known as the Pleiades. He moved about 1840 to ...
