Jacob Gottschalk Ascher (18 February 1841,

Plymouth, England Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

– 12 October 1912,

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 ...

, United States) was a British–Canadian

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. He was the son of Isaac Gottschalk Ascher, and brother to

Isidor Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...

, Albert, Hyman, and Eva. Ascher twice won the

Canadian Chess Championship This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the World Cup st ...

; the 6th CAN-ch at Montreal 1878/79, and (tied for first) the 10th CAN-ch at Montreal 1882/83. He defeated

George Henry Mackenzie George Henry Mackenzie (24 March 1837, in North Kessock, Scotland – 14 April 1891, in New York City) was a Scottish-born American chess master. Biography Mackenzie was educated mainly in Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Mar ...

at Montreal in one of fourteen simultaneous games played by Mackenzie on 14 January 1879. He was a chess columnist at ''New Dominion Monthly'' published in Montreal.Canadian Chess
at web.ncf.ca He was Editor of the

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English language, English-language Canada, Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950 ...

and was president of the Young Men's Hebrew Association of Montreal, the first Jewish charitable organization in Canada. Ascher died in New York on 12 October 1912.

References

1841 births 1912 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Sportspeople from Plymouth, Devon British emigrants to Canada English Jews English people of German-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian sportspeople Canadian people of German-Jewish descent English chess players Canadian chess players Jewish chess players Chess players from Montreal 19th-century British chess players 19th-century Canadian sportspeople {{Canada-chess-bio-stub