Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography

Author: Timothy David Harding (1848- )Year: 2015Publisher: McFarland PublishingPlace: Jefferson, NCDescription: vi+582 pages with photographs, diagrams, tables, charts, illustrations, appendices, bibliography and indices. Quarto (11 1/4" x 8 3/4") bound in original publisher's red cloth with white lettering to spine and cover. Second printing.During a career spanning more than 50 years, J.H. Blackburne (1841-1924) won the British Chess Championship and several international tournaments, at his peak becoming one of the world's top three chess masters. A professional player who derived his livelihood from annual tours of chess clubs in England and other countries, entertaining and teaching amateur players, he astonished his contemporaries by the ease with which he played the game without sight of the chessboard. At 21, he set a world record for such exhibitions, competing against 12 club players simultaneously, and he continued to perform "blindfold" into his sixties. This first comprehe