Harding Tim. Eminent Victorian Chess Players. Ten Biographies

McFarland & Company, 2012. — 406 p. — ISBN: 978-0-7864-6568-2.About the BookThis book portrays British chess life in the nineteenth century through biographical studies of ten players who shaped the modern game. From Captain Evans, inventor of the famous gambit, to Isidor Gunsberg, England's first challenger for the world championship, personal narratives are blended with game annotations to reassess players' achievements and character. The author has combined deep reading in primary sources with genealogical research to reveal new facts and correct previous misunderstandings. Major chapters on Howard Staunton and William Steinitz, in particular, highlight the tensions between Englishmen and immigrants, amateurs and professionals. The contrasting long careers of Henry Bird and Joseph Blackburne provide a thread of continuity. The lives of several other important figures in Victorian chess are also presented.More than 160 games (with diagrams), several annotated in detail, and 50 photographs and line drawings are included. Appendices provide career records for all ten; there are extensive notes, a bibliography and indexes.About the Author
Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki, and is a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. A well-known writer on many aspects of chess, he was editor of Chess Mail magazine from 1996 to 2005. Since 1996 he has contributed the monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.Chesscafé.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Annotation SymbolsWilliam Davies Evans (1790-1872)
Howard Staunton (1810-1874)
John Jacob Löwental (1810?-1876)
Henry Edward Bird (1829-1908)
Arthur Bolland Skipworth (1830-1898)
Willian Steinitz (1836-1900)
Joseph Henry Blacburne (1841-1924)
Johannes Hermann Zukertort (1842-1888)
Amos Burn (1848-1925)
Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (1854-1930)Career Records
Games by Captain Evans
Evans Family Financial Appeals
Staunton's Contract with Routledge
Löwental's Will
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