Henry Edward Bird (14 July 1829A date of 1830 has been given, but baptismal records indicate 1829. – 11 April 1908) 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 ...

player, author and accountant. He wrote the books ''Chess History and Reminiscences'' and ''An Analysis of Railways in the United Kingdom''. Although Bird was a practising accountant, not a professional chess player, it has been said that he "lived for chess, and would play anybody anywhere, any time, under any conditions."Harold C. Schoenberg, ''Grandmasters of Chess'', W.W. Norton & Co., New York, Rev. Ed. 1981, p. 66.

Tournament play

At age 21, Bird was invited to the first international tournament, London 1851. He also participated in tournaments held in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1858 he lost a match to Paul Morphy at age 28, yet he played high-level chess for another 50 years. In the New York tournament of 1876, Bird received the first ever awarded, for his game against James Mason.

Legacy

In 1874 Bird proposed a new

chess variant A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...

, which played on an 8×10 board and contained two new pieces: ''guard'' (combining the moves of the rook and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

) and ''

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

'' (combining the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and knight). Bird's chess inspired

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was the third World Chess Championship, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional Chess ...

to create another chess variant, Capablanca Chess, which would ultimately differ from Bird's chess only by the starting position. It was Bird who popularised the

chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...

now called

Bird's Opening Bird's Opening (or the Dutch Attack) is a chess opening characterised by the move: : 1. f4 Named after 19th century English player Henry Bird, Bird's opening is a standard flank opening. White's strategic ideas involve control of the e5-squa ...

(1.f4), as well as Bird's Defence to the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, featuring many variations. In ...

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4). Bird's Opening is considered sound, though not the best try for an opening advantage. Bird's Defence is regarded as slightly inferior, but "".

Bibliography

*Bird, H. E. ''Chess Masterpieces'' (London: Dean, 1875) *Bird, H. E. ''The Chess Openings, Considered Critically and Practically'' (London: Dean, 1877; New York: Lockwood, 1880, 1886) *Bird, H. E. ''Chess Practice'' (London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1882; Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1892) *Bird, H. E. ''Chess History and Reminiscences'' (London: Dean, 1893) *Bird, H. E. ''Chess Novelties and Their Latest Developments'' (London, New York: F. Warne, 1895)

Notes

References

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External links