Eugene Ernest Colman (11 October 1878 – 20 July 1964) was an English

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

master. Colman was born in Merton, England, the son of the architect Ernest Gershom Colman (1851–1935). He was educated at

St Paul's School, London St Paul's School is a Selective school, selective Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent day school (with limited boarding school, boarding) for boys aged 13–18, founded in 1509 by John Colet and located on a 43-acre site by Rive ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

with a first-class degree in classics in 1900. He subsequently entered service in the

Malay States The monarchies of Malaysia exist in each of the nine Malay states under the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features ...

; when he retired, he stayed on in Malaysia and set up youth clubs throughout the peninsula. He tied for 9-10th in the

Hamburg 1910 chess tournament The Hamburg 1910 chess tournament (the 17th DSB Congress) was organized by Walter Robinow, the President of the Hamburg Chess Club (''Hamburger Schachklubs''). Masters Tournament Eighteen masters started but Franz G. Jacob, Franz Jakob withdrew af ...

(the 17th

DSB Congress The '' Deutscher Schachbund'' (DSB) was founded in Leipzig on 18 July, 1877. When the next meeting took place in the Schützenhaus on 15 July 1879, sixty-two clubs had become member of the chess federation. Hofrat Rudolf von Gottschall became Ch ...

, ''Hauptturnier A'',

Gersz Rotlewi Gersz (Georg, George, Gersh) Rotlewi (Rotlevi, Rotlevy) (1889 – 1920) was a Polish chess master. Biography In 1906, Rotlewi tied for 5-6th in Łódź (Akiba Rubinstein won). In 1907, he took 3rd, behind Rubinstein and Dawid Daniuszewski, in Lo ...

won), tied for 6-7th at Oxford 1910, took 10th at London 1910, shared 3rd at Tunbridge Wells 1911, tied for 10-11th at London 1919, and took 7th at Margate 1923. His name is attached to the Colman Variation of the

Two Knights Defense The Two Knights Defense (also called the Prussian Defense) is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Nf6 First recorded by Giulio Cesare Polerio (c. 1550 – c. 1610) in the late 16th century, this line o ...

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3 Rb8) but the most remarkable thing about it were the circumstances under which it was first analysed. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Colman was interned in Changi Civilian Internees Camp in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(1942–1945) and his opening analysis helped take his (and his fellow prisoners') mind off the horrors of the prison (about 850 POWs died in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

during the Japanese occupation). He returned to England and lived in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

where he was an active member of the Wimbledon Chess Club. Coleman called his variation "The Wimbledon Defense."

References

1878 births 1964 deaths English chess players Chess theoreticians Sportspeople from the London Borough of Merton Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge {{England-chess-bio-stub