
Joseph Henry Blackburne
A Chess Biography
Tim Harding(Author)
McFarland & Co Inc (Publisher)
Published on 4. September 2015
Book
Hardback
592 pages
978-0-7864-7473-8 (ISBN)
Description
During a career spanning more than 50 years, J.H. Blackburne (1841-1924) won the British Chess Championship and several international tournaments, at his peak becoming one of the world's top three chess masters. A professional player who derived his livelihood from annual tours of chess clubs in England and other countries, entertaining and teaching amateur players, he astonished his contemporaries by the ease with which he played the game without sight of the chessboard. At 21, he set a world record for such exhibitions, competing against 12 club players simultaneously, and he continued to perform "blindfold" into his sixties.
This first comprehensive biography of Britain's greatest chess player of the 19th and early 20th centuries presents more than 1,000 of Blackburne's games chronologically, including all his surviving games from serious competition, annotated in varying detail. Many are masterpieces containing beautiful combinations and instructive endgame play. Blackburne's unusual family and social background are fully explored.
This first comprehensive biography of Britain's greatest chess player of the 19th and early 20th centuries presents more than 1,000 of Blackburne's games chronologically, including all his surviving games from serious competition, annotated in varying detail. Many are masterpieces containing beautiful combinations and instructive endgame play. Blackburne's unusual family and social background are fully explored.
Reviews / Votes
"Harding tells Blackburne's chess life with a great love for detail...a breathtaking and carefully researched masterpiece"-ChessBase; "[Harding] has recovered unknown games, corrected errors in published games, and created thorough travelogues for his tours and travels...definitive...an indispensable resource"-Chess Life; "the first comprehensive biography of Britain's greatest chess player of the 19th and early 20th centuries."-ChessCafe; "stupendous door-stopper of a book"-New in Chess; "this is an excellent book, packed with game scores (often annotated) ad engravings. The paper is of very high quality and the chess community should be grateful to both publisher and author for providing such a text.... Blackburne was a great chess player and this book is a fitting memorial to him"-Kingpin Chess Magazine; "deeply researched"-Chess Book Chats; "definitive...an indispensable resource"-Chessbooks.nl; "massive...even more impressive than its size and weight is the amount of effort that went into producing this book...like all McFarland books the production qualities are first rate...highly recommended"-IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com); "impressively authoritative and readable"-Chess; "an exceptionally detailed record of Blackburne's life."-David G. Mills; "well researched.... As with all McFarland books, the quality of the publication is excellent...an excellent in-depth study"-Mind's Eye Press; "monumental...a huge contribution to chess literature...splendid...no good chess library can afford to be without this book"-The Spectator; "both a biography and a game collection, Harding sets the record straight and fleshes out the life and career of Joseph Henry Blackburne"-ProtoView; "amazing...comprehensive...beautiful...Harding at his best!"-Huffington Post.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Library binding
Illustrations
95 illustrations, 1,186 games, appendices, notes, bibliography, indexes
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
1306 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7864-7473-8 (9780786474738)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki. He is a FIDE Candidate Master and a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. He is a former editor of Chess Mail magazine and for almost 20 years he contributed monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Content
Table of Contents
?Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Annotation Symbols
On Money and Notation
1.?Manchester Beginnings, 1841-1861
2.?Blindfold Performer, 1862
3.?The Call of London, May-December 1862
4.?Slow Rise, 1863-1869
5.?Joining the Elite, 1870-1873
6.?Mature Grandmaster, 1874-1879
7.?Tournament World Champion, 1880-1881
8.?"The very Hercules of Chess," 1882-1883
9.?Illness and Recovery, 1884-1885
10.?New Rivals Emerging, 1886-1888
11.?From New York to Breslau, 1889
12.?Veteran in Gradual Decline, 1890-1892
13.?The Hastings Years, 1893-1896
14.?Marathon Tournaments, 1897-1898
15.?Grand Old Man of British Chess, 1899-1903
16.?The Early B.C.F. Years, 1904-1906
17.?Not Checkmated Yet, 1907-1911
18.?His Final Moves, 1912-1924
APPENDICES
I.?Match and Tournament Record
II.?Record Against Principal Rivals
III.?Blackburne's Chess Compositions
IV.?Interviews with Blackburne
V.?Blackburne's Blindfold Exhibitions
VI.?Blackburne's Two Articles for The Strand Magazine
VII.?Corrections to Game Scores
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index of Players (by game number)
Index of Openings-Traditional Names (by game number)
Index of Openings-ECO code (by game number)
General Index (by page number)
?Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Annotation Symbols
On Money and Notation
1.?Manchester Beginnings, 1841-1861
2.?Blindfold Performer, 1862
3.?The Call of London, May-December 1862
4.?Slow Rise, 1863-1869
5.?Joining the Elite, 1870-1873
6.?Mature Grandmaster, 1874-1879
7.?Tournament World Champion, 1880-1881
8.?"The very Hercules of Chess," 1882-1883
9.?Illness and Recovery, 1884-1885
10.?New Rivals Emerging, 1886-1888
11.?From New York to Breslau, 1889
12.?Veteran in Gradual Decline, 1890-1892
13.?The Hastings Years, 1893-1896
14.?Marathon Tournaments, 1897-1898
15.?Grand Old Man of British Chess, 1899-1903
16.?The Early B.C.F. Years, 1904-1906
17.?Not Checkmated Yet, 1907-1911
18.?His Final Moves, 1912-1924
APPENDICES
I.?Match and Tournament Record
II.?Record Against Principal Rivals
III.?Blackburne's Chess Compositions
IV.?Interviews with Blackburne
V.?Blackburne's Blindfold Exhibitions
VI.?Blackburne's Two Articles for The Strand Magazine
VII.?Corrections to Game Scores
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index of Players (by game number)
Index of Openings-Traditional Names (by game number)
Index of Openings-ECO code (by game number)
General Index (by page number)