Chess History and ReminiscencesBird, H. E. (Henry Edward)
History
Chess History and Reminiscences
Bird, H. E. (Henry Edward)
Chess
The Amateur Masters are not so numerous that they need have
been passed over. The Rev. W. Wayte is alike distinguished for
his honorary writings in support of chess, and his brilliant
victories, at times, against the finest players, extending over a
long period, not very far short of the experience of the writer of
these lines. He is, in addition to his many well-known scholarly
qualifications, a very distinguished amateur chess master, a liberal
supporter of the game, and by many looked up to as the head of
the circle. His name would grace any article. Mr. Minchin's
national and international services are too well-known to require
comment and he would deprecate any reference to them; still I
must express the opinion that he has earned the gratitude of the
entire chess-playing world for his disinterested services in
promoting and so largely contributing to the success of great and
popular gatherings. Mr. Thorold's eminence as an exponent, and
modesty and courtesy as an opponent, are known to all; whilst
Mr. Watkinson, though now out of practice, was an equally
forcible player, and has rendered inestimable benefits to the cause
of chess by conducting, for many years, a journal of the highest
class; which has never wounded the susceptibilities of a member
of the circle. The life-long services of the Rev. Mr. Skipworth
ought not to be forgotten; he is, when free from his official duties,
quite formidable as an adversary, and is ever ready and willing
to test conclusions with the best of players. The Rev. C. E.
Ranken, too, a very strong player and analyst, has, in many ways,
been of great service to the cause of chess.
Should the reader's stock of astonishment be at all limited,
heavy draws will have been already made upon it; yet another
call, however, remains, and that the most recent and in many
respects the most unaccountable. The advent of a new chess
master after a lapse of twenty years is in itself an event of
considerable interest in the chess world. W. H. K. Pollock was
early last year admittedly a master, in the opinion of many
considered competent to judge. In August of last year he won
the first prize in the "Irish Chess Association one game Master
Tournament," winning from Blackburne, Burn, and six leading
Irish players. He is most modest and very chivalrous, always
ready to play on convenient occasions for pure love of the game
and credit of victory alone. This is truly a strange omission.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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