Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825–1874) was an English

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

, 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, 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 ...

'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 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 ...

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

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 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 an impressive eight wins over Paul Morphy, includ ...

, 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 since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

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 ...

Notes

References

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External links

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