H.E. Bird

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

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsForeword by Richard ForsterPrefaceIntroductionChess and Life FactsA Rare BirdBird’s Eye ViewA Nimzowitsch Forerunner?Bird’s LegacyPART I: A Young Bird, 1829–1851The Birds of BridgnorthLife in BristolHenry Bird and His FamilyMoving to LondonSearching Through LifeDiscovering the GameClubs and Coffee HousesA Trial of Strength Against Buckle 1847–1849A Ghost Tournament: London 1848A Tournament at the Divan: London 1849Match with G.W. Medley 1849Young Men Explore LondonOffhand and Various 1848–1850The Chess Masters Gather: London 1851Match with Horwitz 1851Offhand and Various 1851PART II: The Turn of the Tide, 1852–1855The Development of ChessAn Introduction to the Rise and Fall of Henry BirdGood YearsA Touch of AustraliaCase I. Jackson v. DrewCase II. Dyer v. DyerCase III. Bird v. DrouetA Tentative ConclusionThe Interaction between Henry Bird and His FamilyLife in AustraliaThe Story of Henry Edward and ElizaThe Tragic Fate of Charles French SmithOther Offhand Games 1852–1855PART III: The Accountancy Years (I), 1856–1865Becoming an Expert Accountant 1857–1866Personal ChangesMatches with Falkbeer 1856–1857Offhand Chess 1857–1858Morphy’s First Visit 1858B.C.A. Congress, Birmingham 1858A New Club in TownHandicap Tournament at Purssell’s 1859Morphy’s Second Visit 1859Offhand Chess 1859–1860Handicap Tournament at the St. James’s Chess Club 1860Years of Inactivity 1860⁠–⁠1865PART IV: The Accountancy Years (II), 1866–1870A Reunion and Some FarewellsThe Atlantic and Great Western Railway 1865–1867Leaving the Building 1867–1870Getting Back into Form 1866The First Challenge Cup Tournament, London 1866A Game with the Champion 1866A New Club and a New ChampionMatch with Steinitz 1866The AftermathQuiet Years 1866–1868The Second Challenge Cup Tournament, London 1868–1869A New Break 1869–1870Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1870⁠–⁠1871Another Break from Chess 1870⁠–⁠1872PART V: The Amateur Chess Champion, 1871–1875Failing Accountancy 1870⁠–⁠1871Loose Habits 1871–1883Return to the Chess CommunityFirst Match with Wisker 1873Second Match with Wisker 1873Repertoire ChangesVienna 1873About Amateurs and ProfessionalsThird and Fourth Match with Wisker 1873Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1873–1874The Gossip Saga 1873–1874Match with J. Lord 1874Proposing New Rules of ChessHandicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1874–1875The Oxford v. Cambridge University Matches 1873–1875Chess in the City of London Chess Club 1873–1875C.C.A. Congress, Glasgow 1875A Major DisputeThe Expulsion of SteinitzThe TerminationChess MasterpiecesTwo Regular Opponents 1872–1875PART VI: The New World, 1875–1877IntroductionThe New Chess Lion ArrivesMatch with Alberoni 1875The American Eagle Screams over the English BirdAnother Month in New York, January 1876Bird’s Visit to PhiladelphiaA Man of LettersThe Café International Tournament 1876Further DisputesSummer ChessChallenging the CaptainThe Centennial Congress 1876The Clipper Free Centennial Tournament 1876The Distribution of the Lieders CupThe Break from Professional ChessAcross the Border 1877Chess in New York 1877PART VII: Success and Controversy, 1878–1880Back HomeReturn to the DivanChess OpeningsParis 1878At the Divan 1878–1879A Visit to Croydon, February 1879Handicap Tournament at the City of London Chess Club 1878–1879Löwenthal Tournament 1879Match with Blackburne 1879Offhand Chess 1879–1880Another Match with Blackburne 1879–1880A Visit to Horncastle 1880C.C.A. Congress, Boston 1880Wiesbaden 1880Brunswick 1880Performing in Hamburg 1880A Short Stop in Amsterdam 1880Gouda 1880Bird’s Own Chess PiecesBird’s Farewell from ChessPART VIII: Return to the Chessboard, 1881–1884Chess in ExeterMatch with Maczuski 1881Chess PracticeVienna 1882Writing a ColumnA Loss for British ChessOn the Road to London 1882–1883London 1883A Visit to Sheffield 1883Nuremberg 1883Handicap Tournament at Purssell’s 1883A Testimonial for BirdC.C.A. Congress, Bath 1884A Visit to Manchester 1884Various and Offhand 1883–1884Modern ChessPART IX: The Heyday of the Associations, 1885–1887A New TurnSkipworth’s AnguishThe Formation of a National AssociationThe British Chess HegemonyMeeting the Clergy in London, January 1885In the Provinces, March–June 1885Match with Skipworth 1885B.C.A. Congress, London 1885German Chess Congress, Hamburg 1885C.C.A. Congress, Hereford 1885In the Provinces, September–October 1885Changes in LondonHandicap Tournament at Purssell’s 1886Master Tournament at the British Chess Club 1886Simuls and Visits, January–April 1886Controversies with Burn, Gunsberg and SteinitzMatch with Burn 1886Match with Gunsberg 1886B.C.A. Congress, London 1886Match with Lee 1886C.C.A. Congress, Nottingham 1886Giving Exhibitions 1886–1887A Quiet SeasonC.C.A. Congress, Stamford 1887Working for a Jubilee TournamentIn the Provinces, October 1887B.C.A. Congress, London 1887PART X: Settling at the Divan, 1888–1890Touring the North, January–February 1888Quarreling with SkipworthHandicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, March–April 1888Some Offhand Games, Spring 1888Handicap Tournament at the British Chess Club, June–July 1888B.C.A. Congress, Bradford 1888The Zukertort Chess ClubA Few Exhibitions, October 1888–January 1889Match with Blackburne 1888Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, December 1888–January 1889Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, January–February 1889A Tour in Wales, February 1889Match with Gunsberg 1889American Chess Congress, New York 1889Touring through the United States and Canada, May–July 1889Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, September–October 1889A Second Visit to Wales, October 1889B.C.A. Congress, London 1889Match with Gossip 1889Visiting the North, December 1889–January 1890Bird’s Chess ReviewsMatch with Lasker 1890Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, April–June 1890Chapman in LondonB.C.A Congress, Manchester 1890To Holland 1890Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, October–December 1890Falling IllPART XI: The Grand Old Man, 1891–1895IntroductionChess: A Manual for BeginnersSimpson’s Divan Tournament, June–July 1891Lasker’s ReturnSimpson’s Divan Tournament, September–October 1891Offhand Games 1891Match with Loman 1892B.C.A. Congress, London 1892Quintangular Tournament 1892Handicap Tournament at Simpson’s Divan, April–June 1892Some Offhand Games, Spring 1892In the Provinces, July–August 1892Match with Lasker 1892Belfast 1892Match with Heywood 1892In the Provinces, 1892–1893London 1893In Wales, March 1893Chess History and ReminiscencesMatch with Jasnogrodsky 1893The Remainder of the Year 1893Hastings Chess Festival 1894A Small Tour in the Provinces, March 1894Two Tournaments at the Divan 1894A Book on the World ChampionshipOffhand Games 1894–1895In the Provinces 1894Hastings Chess Festival 1895Another Trip to HastingsPreparing for HastingsHastings 1895Chess NoveltiesA Tour through the South, October–November 1895PART XII: The Final Years, 1896–1908IntroductionCable Match 1896Hastings Chess Festival 1896Simpson’s Divan Tournament 1896The Divan Chess AssociationHastings Chess Festival 1897Match with Lee 1897Attempts to Enter a German CongressA Few Exhibitions, 1897–1898Hastings Chess Festival 1898Bird Against the WorldAmong Old FolksThe Final TourLondon 1899The Final YearsObituaries and MemorialsAppendix 1: Chess ProblemsAppendix 2: Documents about and by BirdThe New Chess Lion ArrivesBird’s Farewell to ChessBird’s Visit to Albany (24–26 May 1889)Buckley’s Recollections of BirdAppendix 3: Tournament RecordAppendix 4: Match RecordAppendix 5: Results Against MastersBibliographyWorks and Typescripts by Henry Edward Bird (Chronological)Manuscripts/TypescriptsReference WorksTournament Books with Bird as a Participant (Chronological)Biographies, Other Tournament Books and Game CollectionsAnthologies, Chronicles, Textbooks, etc.WebsitesNon-Chess WorksIndex 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)

“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.