Henry Charlick (8 July 1845 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England – 26 July 1916 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Australia) was a leading Australian

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 Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

in the 1880s. He won the second

Australian Chess Championship The Australian Chess Championship is a tournament organised by the Australian Chess Federation and held every two years. The tournament is largely restricted to Australian chess players, although it is common to allow a small number of strong overs ...

1887 with 7½ points out of 9 games, ahead of reigning champion Frederick Karl Esling (7 points) and George H. D. Gossip (6½). Charlick scored 6/8 in the third championship at

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

1888, tying for first with William Crane, Jr., ahead of William Tullidge (5½), but narrowly lost the playoff to Crane (1 win, 2 losses, 1 draw).

History

Henry was born in 1845 on Tottenham Court road, London, to Richard Charlick (died 1868) and his wife Janet, née Wilson (died 1876), who emigrated to South Australia on the ''Calphurnia'', arriving in April 1849. He learned the chess moves at the age of 15 at the Adelaide Mechanics' Institute and read all the books he could find on the subject and played against every possible opponent. Blessed with a singularly retentive memory, he was soon winning every game. Before the age of 18 he had, blindfolded, simultaneously beaten two strong players. He was influential in the inauguration of the first inter-colonial competition, between Victoria and South Australia in 1864 or 1865. In a demonstration at the

Adelaide Town Hall Adelaide Town Hall is a landmark building on King William Street in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The City of Adelaide Town Hall complex includes the Town Hall and the office building at 25 Pirie Street. Description and history Adelaid ...

given by J. H. Blackburne in 1885 against twenty-odd players, Charlick, who conducted two games against the English champion, won one in five moves, and drew the other; Blackburne's only reverses. At the chess congress at Adelaide in 1887 he was the first to be awarded Australian Chess Champion. The following year that honour went to William Crane (14 April 1851 – 23 April 1920) of New South Wales. He retired from active competition in 1893, in part to encourage younger players. He was for many years Secretary of the Adelaide Chess Club (industrialist

A. M. Simpson Alfred Muller Simpson (4 April 1843 – 28 September 1917), invariably known as Alfred M. Simpson or A. M. Simpson, was a South Australian industrialist, a principal of the manufacturing firm of A. Simpson & Son. He was a member of the South A ...

was a longtime president), and edited the Chess column in the

Adelaide Observer ''The Observer'', previously ''The Adelaide Observer'', was a Saturday newspaper published in Adelaide, South Australia from July 1843 to February 1931. Virtually every issue of the newspaper (under both titles) has been digitised and is availabl ...

. His style of play has been compared with that of

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s, Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master. A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 ...

as distinct from that of

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was a Bohemian-Austrian, and later American, chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...

. Of quiet, generous and unassuming demeanor, Charlick was employed for most of his life at the offices of the

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and ...

, first as a reporter then in the commercial department. He married Jane Connors in 1869; they had four sons: Henry Walter Charlick (1870–1940), Leslie Stanford Charlick (1876– ), Raymond Charlick (1883–1950), Geoffrey Astles Charlick (1884–1927) and two daughters: Ella Charlick (1881–1947) and Alice Charlick (1888–1965). Geoffrey killed himself by drinking

lysol Lysol (, ; spelled Lizol in India) is an American brand of cleaning and Disinfectant, disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and s ...

. He had been suffering from severe disabilities as a result of World War I injuries. Raymond's son Geoffrey Raymond Charlick (1912–1976) was a linguist, scholar and author.

Charlick Gambit

In the early 1890s, Charlick introduced the dubious

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 ...

1.d4 e5?!, which was sometimes (back then) called the Charlick Gambit. Charlick's idea was to meet 2.dxe5 with the

gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

2...d6 "with the object of preventing

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

from playing a close game." Today, 1.d4 e5 is usually called the

Englund Gambit The Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves: : 1. d4 e5 Black's idea is to avoid the traditional queen's pawn games and create an with tactical chances, but at the cost of a pawn. The gambit is considered w ...

, and the 2.dxe5 d6 offshoot that Charlick pioneered is usually called the Blackburne–Hartlaub Gambit. Modern

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

considers 2...d6 even more dubious than the main line 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7, since White obtains a large advantage after 2...d6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Bg5 Qd7 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.Nbd2.

Illustrative games

Following are two games showing Charlick's style of play. * Apperly–Charlick, corr., Australia 1894:
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 d6 Charlick's favorite gambit. 3. Bf4 Nc6 4. exd6 Qf6 5. Bc1 Bxd6 6. c3 Bf5 7. e3 0-0-0 8. Nd2 Qg6 9. h3 Nf6 10. Ngf3 Rhe8 11. Qa4 Bc2 12. Nb3 Ne4 13. Nh4 Qg3 14. fxg3 Bxg3+ 15. Ke2 Bd1 White . * Charlick–William Crane, Jr., Australian Championship playoff 1888:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. d3 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Ne2 Ne7 8. Ng3 Ng6 9. Bg5 Be6 10. c3 Bc5 11. Nh5 c6 12. Ba4 Bg4 13. Nxf6+ gxf6 14. Bh6 Re8 15. h3 Bd7 16. b4 Bb6 17. Bb3 Be6 18. Nh2 f5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Qf3 Be6 21. Ng4 Bxb3 22. Nf6+ Kh8 23. Nxe8 Bc2 24. Qxf7 Black resigned.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlick, Henry Colony of South Australia people 1845 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Australian chess players 19th-century Australian sportsmen 19th-century British chess players 20th-century Australian chess players