Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825–1874) was an English chess master, one of the leading British masters of his time.

Chess history

Barnes was one of the leading British chess masters at the time of

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was c ...

's visit to the UK in 1858. Barnes had the happy fortune of having the best record against

during the latter's visit, winning eight games and losing nineteen . The only tournament he played in was London in 1862, where he finished in the middle of the field , .

Openings named for Barnes

A variation of the Ruy Lopez

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

called the Barnes Defence was named after him: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 (this is also sometimes known as the Smyslov Defence). A much more dubious variation named for him is Barnes Defence, 1.e4 f6 which he played against

Anderssen Anderssen is a surname, and may refer to: *Adolf Anderssen (1818–79), German chess grandmaster, unofficial first world champion from 1851–58, 1860-1865 and 1867–68 **Anderssen's Opening, chess opening named after Adolf Anderssen *Justus Ander ...

and Morphy, beating the latter.

Barnes Opening The Barnes Opening (sometimes called Gedult's Opening) is a chess opening where White opens with: :1. f3 The opening is named after Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825–1874), an English player who had eight wins over Paul Morphy, including one game wh ...

, 1.f3, also bears his name. Opening with the f-pawn served his preference to sidestep existing opening knowledge.

Death

Barnes went on a diet and lost 130 pounds (9st 4 lb, approx. 59 kg) in 10 months, which resulted in his death. Barnes was buried 5 days after his death at the

Brompton cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Notes

References

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External links

* 1825 births 1874 deaths British chess players 19th-century chess players {{England-chess-bio-stub