Eminent Victorian Chess Players

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.

“meticulously researched...Harding has written many fine books, but this may be his best...warmly recommended”—IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com); “a major work on the history of the top personalities from the period...outstanding...highly recommended”—Carls Planet; “I would place Eminent Victorian Chess Players at the top of his achievements as an author. The book is simply packed with material.... Surely this is one of the best and most accessible pieces of chess history ever written”—The Week in Chess; “deeply researched”—Chess Book Chats; “should both enlighten and enthrall...sheds light on a select group of players, and the clubs and publications they founded and funded...exhaustively researched...finely produced...exquisite...Harding has amassed a cornucopia of scholarship. Harding is a fine researcher, author, and an eminent historian. This book is a fine guide to British Victorian chess and honors the contributions of these ten men and others immortalized between its covers”—ChessCafe.com; “A book that transports you back to the nineteenth century, to a time when London was the centre of the chess world...diligently researched and vividly written...an excellent book”—Compulsive Reader; “well researched.... As with all McFarland books, the quality of the publication is excellent”—Mind’s Eye Press; “this is a welcome, deeply researched work that fills a void in our understanding of the lives of nine prominent Victorian chess players and a tenth, slightly unusual choice...excellent”—Chess; “wonderful”—Huffington Post; “valuable”—Dale Brandreth, Caissa Editions; “diligently researched and vividly written...an excellent book”—Manchester Chess Foundation; “impressive”—Chess Direct; “the depth of research undertaken by Tim Harding in the course of writing this book is impressive. A joy to read, the photographs and sketches help illuminate a bygone time”—Hull & District Chess Association.

• Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments      Abbreviations and Annotation Symbols      1. William Davies Evans (1790–1872)      2. Howard Staunton (1810–1874)      3. John Jacob Löwenthal (1810?–1876)      4. Henry Edward Bird (1829–1908)      5. Arthur Bolland Skipworth (1830–1898)      6. William Steinitz (1836–1900)      7. Joseph Henry Blackburne (1841–1924)      8. Johannes Hermann Zukertort (1842–1888)      9. Amos Burn (1848–1925)      10. Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (1854–1930)      Appendix I. Career Records      Appendix II. Games by Captain Evans      Appendix III. Evans Family Financial Appeals      Appendix IV. Staunton’s Contract with Routledge      Appendix V. Löwenthal’s Will      Appendix VI. The Career of Mephisto      Chapter Notes      Select Bibliography      Index of Images      Index of Opponents      Index of Openings (by Name)      Index of Openings (by ECO Code)      General Index