Awards

• Winner of Book of the Year Award—<I>Chess Journalists of America</I> 2017 (United States)

Overview

No chess player of the 19th century had a longer, more varied career than Henry Edward Bird (1829-1908). After pursuing a civil career for years his love for chess prevailed. He belonged to the top level of British players for decades but he really shone at Simpson's Divan. Bird's accessibility, fierce attacking style and contempt for draws made him a people's favorite but his proud and touchy character led him into disputes with his colleagues. A very strong and widely known player, he fell into oblivion after his death. This comprehensive first biography of Bird provides a detailed account of his personal life and a deeply researched coverage of his feats at the chess board. Almost 1,200 games are included, hundreds of them published here for the first time. Nearly 450 games--many of them thrilling all-out fights--are presented with a mix of contemporary and modern annotations.

Full Product Details

Author:   Hans Renette
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 21.60cm , Height: 3.10cm , Length: 27.90cm
Weight:   1.637kg
ISBN:  

9780786475780

ISBN 10:   0786475781
Pages:   608
Publication Date:   07 October 2016
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Foreword by Richard Forster Preface Introduction Chess and Life Facts A Rare Bird Bird’s Eye View A Nimzowitsch Forerunner? Bird’s Legacy PART I: A Young Bird, 1829–1851 The Birds of Bridgnorth Life in Bristol Henry Bird and His Family Moving to London Searching Through Life Discovering the Game Clubs and Coffee Houses A Trial of Strength Against Buckle 1847–1849 A Ghost Tournament: London 1848 A Tournament at the Divan: London 1849 Match with G.W. Medley 1849 Young Men Explore London Offhand and Various 1848–1850 The Chess Masters Gather: London 1851 Match with Horwitz 1851 Offhand and Various 1851 PART II: The Turn of the Tide, 1852–1855 The Development of Chess An Introduction to the Rise and Fall of Henry Bird Good Years A Touch of Australia Case I. Jackson v. Drew Case II. Dyer v. Dyer Case III. Bird v. Drouet A Tentative Conclusion The Interaction between Henry Bird and His Family Life in Australia The Story of Henry Edward and Eliza The Tragic Fate of Charles French Smith Other Offhand Games 1852–1855 PART III: The Accountancy Years (I), 1856–1865 Becoming an Expert Accountant 1857–1866 Personal Changes Matches with Falkbeer 1856–1857 Offhand Chess 1857–1858 Morphy’s First Visit 1858 B.C.A. Congress, Birmingham 1858 A New Club in Town Handicap Tournament at Purssell’s 1859 Morphy’s Second Visit 1859 Offhand Chess 1859–1860 Handicap Tournament at the St. James’s Chess Club 1860 Years of Inactivity 1860⁠–⁠1865 PART IV: The Accountancy Years (II), 1866–1870 A Reunion and Some Farewells The Atlantic and Great Western Railway 1865–1867 Leaving the Building 1867–1870 Getting Back into Form 1866 The First Challenge Cup Tournament, London 1866 A Game with the Champion 1866 A New Club and a New Champion Match with Steinitz 1866 The Aftermath Quiet Years 1866–1868 The Second Challenge Cup Tournament, London 1868–1869 A New Break 1869–1870 Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1870⁠–⁠1871 Another Break from Chess 1870⁠–⁠1872 PART V: The Amateur Chess Champion, 1871–1875 Failing Accountancy 1870⁠–⁠1871 Loose Habits 1871–1883 Return to the Chess Community First Match with Wisker 1873 Second Match with Wisker 1873 Repertoire Changes Vienna 1873 About Amateurs and Professionals Third and Fourth Match with Wisker 1873 Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1873–1874 The Gossip Saga 1873–1874 Match with J. Lord 1874 Proposing New Rules of Chess Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1874–1875 The Oxford v. Cambridge University Matches 1873–1875 Chess in the City of London Chess Club 1873–1875 C.C.A. Congress, Glasgow 1875 A Major Dispute The Expulsion of Steinitz The Termination Chess Masterpieces Two Regular Opponents 1872–1875 PART VI: The New World, 1875–1877 Introduction The New Chess Lion Arrives Match with Alberoni 1875 The American Eagle Screams over the English Bird Another Month in New York, January 1876 Bird’s Visit to Philadelphia A Man of Letters The Café International Tournament 1876 Further Disputes Summer Chess Challenging the Captain The Centennial Congress 1876 The Clipper Free Centennial Tournament 1876 The Distribution of the Lieders Cup The Break from Professional Chess Across the Border 1877 Chess in New York 1877 PART VII: Success and Controversy, 1878–1880 Back Home Return to the Divan Chess Openings Paris 1878 At the Divan 1878–1879 A Visit to Croydon, February 1879 Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1878–1879 Löwenthal Tournament 1879 Match with Blackburne 1879 Offhand Chess 1879–1880 Another Match with Blackburne 1879–1880 A Visit to Horncastle 1880 C.C.A. Congress, Boston 1880 Wiesbaden 1880 Brunswick 1880 Performing in Hamburg 1880 A Short Stop in Amsterdam 1880 Gouda 1880 Bird’s Own Chess Pieces Bird’s Farewell from Chess PART VIII: Return to the Chessboard, 1881–1884 Chess in Exeter Match with Maczuski 1881 Chess Practice Vienna 1882 Writing a Column A Loss for British Chess On the Road to London 1882–1883 London 1883 A Visit to Sheffield 1883 Nuremberg 1883 Handicap Tournament at Purssell’s 1883 A Testimonial for Bird C.C.A. Congress, Bath 1884 A Visit to Manchester 1884 Various and Offhand 1883–1884 Modern Chess PART IX: The Heyday of the Associations, 1885–1887 A New Turn Skipworth’s Anguish The Formation of a National Association The British Chess Hegemony Meeting the Clergy in London, January 1885 In the Provinces, March–June 1885 Match with Skipworth 1885 B.C.A. Congress, London 1885 German Chess Congress, Hamburg 1885 C.C.A. Congress, Hereford 1885 In the Provinces, September–October 1885 Changes in London Handicap Tournament at Purssell’s 1886 Master Tournament at the British Chess Club 1886 Simuls and Visits, January–April 1886 Controversies with Burn, Gunsberg and Steinitz Match with Burn 1886 Match with Gunsberg 1886 B.C.A. Congress, London 1886 Match with Lee 1886 C.C.A. Congress, Nottingham 1886 Giving Exhibitions 1886–1887 A Quiet Season C.C.A. Congress, Stamford 1887 Working for a Jubilee Tournament In the Provinces, October 1887 B.C.A. Congress, London 1887 PART X: Settling at the Divan, 1888–1890 Touring the North, January–February 1888 Quarreling with Skipworth Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, March–April 1888 Some Offhand Games, Spring 1888 Handicap Tournament at the British Chess Club, June–July 1888 B.C.A. Congress, Bradford 1888 The Zukertort Chess Club A Few Exhibitions, October 1888–January 1889 Match with Blackburne 1888 Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, December 1888–January 1889 Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, January–February 1889 A Tour in Wales, February 1889 Match with Gunsberg 1889 American Chess Congress, New York 1889 Touring through the United States and Canada, May–July 1889 Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, September–October 1889 A Second Visit to Wales, October 1889 B.C.A. Congress, London 1889 Match with Gossip 1889 Visiting the North, December 1889–January 1890 Bird’s Chess Reviews Match with Lasker 1890 Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, April–June 1890 Chapman in London B.C.A Congress, Manchester 1890 To Holland 1890 Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, October–December 1890 Falling Ill PART XI: The Grand Old Man, 1891–1895 Introduction Chess: A Manual for Beginners Simpson’s Divan Tournament, June–July 1891 Lasker’s Return Simpson’s Divan Tournament, September–October 1891 Offhand Games 1891 Match with Loman 1892 B.C.A. Congress, London 1892 Quintangular Tournament 1892 Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, April–June 1892 Some Offhand Games, Spring 1892 In the Provinces, July–August 1892 Match with Lasker 1892 Belfast 1892 Match with Heywood 1892 In the Provinces, 1892–1893 London 1893 In Wales, March 1893 Chess History and Reminiscences Match with Jasnogrodsky 1893 The Remainder of the Year 1893 Hastings Chess Festival 1894 A Small Tour in the Provinces, March 1894 Two Tournaments at the Divan 1894 A Book on the World Championship Offhand Games 1894–1895 In the Provinces 1894 Hastings Chess Festival 1895 Another Trip to Hastings Preparing for Hastings Hastings 1895 Chess Novelties A Tour through the South, October–November 1895 PART XII: The Final Years, 1896–1908 Introduction Cable Match 1896 Hastings Chess Festival 1896 Simpson’s Divan Tournament 1896 The Divan Chess Association Hastings Chess Festival 1897 Match with Lee 1897 Attempts to Enter a German Congress A Few Exhibitions, 1897–1898 Hastings Chess Festival 1898 Bird Against the World Among Old Folks The Final Tour London 1899 The Final Years Obituaries and Memorials Appendix 1: Chess Problems Appendix 2: Documents about and by Bird The New Chess Lion Arrives Bird’s Farewell to Chess Bird’s Visit to Albany (24–26 May 1889) Buckley’s Recollections of Bird Appendix 3: Tournament Record Appendix 4: Match Record Appendix 5: Results Against Masters Bibliography Works and Typescripts by Henry Edward Bird (Chronological) Manuscripts/Typescripts Reference Works Tournament Books with Bird as a Participant (Chronological) Biographies, Other Tournament Books and Game Collections Anthologies, Chronicles, Textbooks, etc. Websites Non-Chess Works Index of Opponents (by game number) Index of Annotators (by game number) Index of Named Openings (by game number) Index of Openings—ECO Code (by game number) General Index (to page numbers)

Reviews

Excellent --British Chess News; A wonderful account of Bird's 64 year chess career...fascinating journey through the chess landscape of the 19th century --Huffington Post; Well researched.... As with all McFarland books, the quality of the publication is excellent. --Mind's Eye Press; McFarland, the premier publisher on chess history, recently put out one of its best ever books dedicated to the life and games of the English master H.E. Bird. Everything one could want in a book dedicated to an important but neglected figure in chess history. H.E. Bird is an outstanding book which pays proper homage to not only Bird, but the period of English chess in which he was an active player. Highly recommended --IM John Donaldson, (JeremySilman.com); A truly wonderful work on the life and games from the great Henry Edward Bird! --Chessbooks.nl; This comprehensive first biography of Bird provides a detailed account of his personal life and a deeply researched coverage of his feats at the chess board --New in Chess.

well researched.... As with all McFarland books, the quality of the publication is excellent. --Mind's Eye Press; a truly wonderful work on the life and games from the great Henry Edward Bird! --Chessbook Reviews; this comprehensive first biography of Bird provides a detailed account of his personal life and a deeply researched coverage of his feats at the chess board --New in Chess.

Author Information

Historian Hans Renette is FIDE master in chess (with 2 IM norms). He lives in Bierbeek, Belgium.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions