Jaume Mora Corbera, 1960

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1960

Jaume Mora Corbera, estimated 30 years of age.

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Henry Edward Bird, Photos

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Henry Edward Bird, Unknown date.

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Henry Edward Bird, Unknown date.

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Henry Edward Bird, Unknown date.

Henry Edward Bird, 1976

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July 10, 1976

The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Saturday, July 10, 1976

Our Yesterdays
One hundred years ago, Henry Edward Bird (1830-1908). English master, visited Montreal, the first player of repute to do so. He came up here after taking part in the USA Centennial tournaments at Philadelphia and New York in 1876. J. Mason won at Philadelphia with Bird, third. Famous for his eccentric style he is remembered to-day by such offbeat ideas as Bird's Opening (1. P-KB4) and Bird's Defence in the Ruy Lopez (1. P-K4, P-K4; 2. N-KB3, N-QB3; 3.B-N5, N-Q5). Yet even in these times they are occasionally used in master-play, largely for the surprise element. The middle-game was treated in the same manner, aimed at creating a quagmire of complexities that would engulf his opponent. Although generally outclassed by the world champions of his time, Anderssen, Morphy, Steinitz and Lasker, he had victories over all of them. In 1867 Steinitz could only beat him by 7 to 6, with 6 draws. Strictly an amateur, he could afford to play for the bloody fun of it, and every time he sat down a crowd quickly gathered, for the expected gore.
An accountant by profession he rose to a partnership in an important firm and his book on railway finance “An Analysis of Railways in the United Kingdom” (1866), was a standard work on the subject for years. On chess he wrote four books, the most valuable of which is “Chess Masterpieces” (1875), a selection of 150 master-games up to that year. His big-time activity stretched from London, 1851, to London, 1899 (including Hastings, 1895). Richard Teichman, the German master, when asked to say something about Bird's chess-playing ability for an obituary notice, remarked, “Same as his health. Always alternating between being dangerously ill and being dangerously well. England will not see his like again.” From the London, 1867 match:

Henry Edward Bird (white) vs. Wilhelm Steinitz (black)
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense

Descriptive 1. P-K4 P-K4 2. N-KB3 N-QB3 3. B-N5 N-B3 4. P-Q4 PxP 5. P-K5 N-K5 6. NxP B-K2 7. O-O NxN 8. QxN N-B4 9. P-KB4 P-QN3 10. P-B5! N-N6 11. Q-K4 NxR 12. P-B6! B-B4ch 13. K-R QR-N 14. P-K6! R-N 15. QxRP R-B 16. PxPch RxP 17. R-Kch B-K2 18. Q-N8ch R-B 19. P-B7mate

Algebraic 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. 0-0 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc5 9. f4 b6 10. f5! Nb3 11. Qe4 Nxa1 12. f6! Bc5+ 13. Kh1 Rb8 14. e6! Rg8 15. Qxh7 Rf8 16. exf7+ Rxf7 17. Re1+ Be7 18. Qg8+ Rf8 19. f7#

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Henry Edward Bird, 1972

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April 20 1972

Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Thursday, April 20, 1972

Henry Edward Bird, a “natural player”, outstanding accountant & authority on railway finance during the 1860's and 1870's, was overshadowed (and defeated) by the great Morphy. This Englishman created his own style of attack, while disregarding the positional subtleties. Bird played many sparkling gems against lesser masters of his day, as an expression of his free will and imagination. For over fifty years Bird sustained his chess career, only to expire in old age from gout.
This gem is neatly packaged and wrapped for delivery by Bird in a spectacular “smother” mate. Bird strikes out at his opponent ready to give Rook and Queen for an artistic coup de grace.
With 2. P-KB4 White offers a Pawn for a dominating center, better development and a rapid attack on KB7 (with the open KB file). If Black accepts the Pawn, he may shortly return the Pawn with equality (with…P-Q4) or dare to fight to keep it. After 3. N-KB3, Black may choose from six popular replies: 3.…P-Q4, N-KB3, P-KN4, B-K2, P-KR3 or P-Q3. Safer than 4. N-B3 is 4. P-KR4 or 4. B-B4. But Bird thrives on danger and baits his opponent on. Bird sacrifices Rook with 8.…PxR(Q) to play 9. Q-R5, which attacks B7 and renders the Black Queen useless. Black saves the Bishop and stalls mate with 9.…B-K2, but Bird threatens NxR dis ch and worse. After 10.…N-KB3 White can announce mate—in style—in three moves.

Bird / Dobell vs NN
London (1886), London ENG
King's Gambit: Accepted. Quade Gambit (C37) 1-0

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Henry Edward Bird, 1975

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February 08, 1975

Times Colonist, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Saturday, February 08, 1975

FOR THE STUDENT HENRY EDWARD BIRD
AND HIS DEFENCE TO THE RUY LOPEZ
(1. P-K4, P-K4; 2. N-KB3, N-QB3; 3. B-N5, N-Q5.)
In an era of swashbuckling attack and free-for-all gambits, British Chess Master Henry Bird (1830-1908) stood out as a chivalrous ultra-romantic who enjoyed nothing more than to play an adventurous game. Better known as the originator of Bird's Opening (l. P-KB4), Bird also discovered 3. …N-Q5 in defence of the much-disliked Ruy Lopez.
During a playing career spanning 50 years, Bird was famous for his willingness to play anyone, any time, preferably for small stakes but if his opponent so wanted it, for no stakes at all. Whether in offhand games at Simpson's Divan in London or in matches with the likes of Anderssen, Lowe, Morphy, Steinitz, Blackburne or Lasker, Bird played original chess, always striving to avoid variations which were “book.”
It was this desire to improvise and discover on the chessboard that led to the creation of both Bird's Opening and Bird's Defence.
Even in its own era, Bird's Defence had only a lukewarm acceptance and, sad to say, experts have not warmed to it in the intervening years. Modern Chess Openings, in its sixth edition, termed it “theoretically unsound” and noted that “it has been abandoned in serious chess.” Five editions later, MCO was even harsher, dismissing Henry Bird's creation as “an oddity.”
Here's how Bird moved into a game after the initial stage:

4. NxN PxN
5. P-Q3 P-KR4
6. P-QB3 B-B4
7. O-O P-QB3
8. B-R4 P-Q3
9. Q-K1 Q-B3
10. K-R1 N-R3
11. P-B3 P-R5
12. B-B2 B-Q2
13. PxP BxP

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Henry Edward Bird, 1986

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March 09 1986

Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Sunday, March 09, 1986

History records that the first brilliancy prize in chess was awarded to British master Henry Edward Bird for his game against James Mason at New York in 1876.
(Bird - Mason 1875/76 Match)
Happily, the tradition of rewarding the player of the most brilliantly executed game in a tournament or match has continued to the present day. And chess fans have been regaled with many pretty games, inspired, one would like to think, by the prospect of winning a special prize.
The criteria for awarding a brilliancy prize are reasonably straightforward: The game should exemplify an original concept and contain the element of surprise.

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Henry Edward Bird, 2007

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March 25 2007

South Florida Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sunday, March 25, 2007

“There is no more striking figure or more chivalrous player in the chess world than the veteran Mr. H. E. Bird. Some men play the game to win money, others to gain a reputation, a few to vindicate their intellectual supremacy. But he plays primarily and principally because he loves a free fight, for the fun and pleasure of the thing.”—G. A. Macdonnel.

It's always dangerous to draw conclusions about someone's personality by the way they play chess. Often aggressive braggarts play boring games devoid of risk while Casper Milquetoasts suddenly roar like lions over the board.
Chess can serve as a release for creative imagination and an outlet for aggression. Dr. Karl Menninger, for example, said he adopted the hobby as a substitute for hunting. Henry Edward Bird was a chess fiend by night and, by day, a meticulous accountant whose Analysis of Railway Finance in the United Kingdom was considered the last word on the subject in the 19th century.
Bird's Opening (1. f4) is named in his honor. And Bird's Defense to the Ruy Lopez (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4) has never been refuted despite the heresy of moving the same piece twice so soon.
In 1858 at age 28 he lost a casual match to Paul Morphy, yet his playing career spanned another half century. In 1886 he drew a match with the redoubtable Amos Burn. But Bird's results were erratic because he scorned book knowledge and blazed bizarre new paths in the opening.
In 2006 the Sicilian and the French were the most popular defenses against 1. e4. After 1. … e6, Black intends to fight for a foothold in the center by 2. … d5. Bird uncorked the one and only move that stops it cold. Instead of 2. d4 which today is played by rote, he uncorked the amazing 2. Bb5!? and tried this weird move three times at the great Vienna International Tournament in 1873 where he finished sixth in a field of 12.
After 1. e4 e6; 2. Bb5 a6; 3. Ba4 b5; 4. Bb3 c5 (transposing into a Sicilian) 5. d3 d5; 6. a4 c4; 7. Ba2 in the first two games, he opined: “White, although apparently on the defense has, we think, the sounder game.” The third time around Dr. Fleissig discovered 2. … Qg5! Now White has nothing better than 3. Bf1 d5; 4. d4 Qd8 leading to the main line of the French Defense. But Fleissig aimed to refute the line by 4. … Qg6 placing his queen on a more active post where it became a target for harassment. Bird's attack blossomed and Black resigned in view of 23. … Kh8; 24. Qg5 threatening Qh4.

Henry Bird vs Maximilian Fleissig
Vienna (1873), Vienna AUH, rd 6, Aug-07
French Defense: Bird Invitation (C00) 1-0

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Henry Edward Bird, 1908

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April 16 1908

The Birmingham Post, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, Thursday, April 16, 1908

Death of a Famous Chess Player.
The “Morning Post” says:— The death is announced of Mr Henry Edward Bird the well-known chess player. The long career of Mr Bird who was born in 1830, is intimately connected with the history of chess in the second half of the nineteenth century, the period in which the game attained its highest standard in this country. He appeared at the famous Divan, the rendezvous of the great players of the past as a boy of sixteen and became a general favourite, winning renown by defeating Buckle, the historian, then one of the best players in the world at the odds of pawn and move. Bird took part in the tournament of 1851, and also in that of 1899, when, though he was enfeebled by age and gout the fire that always marked his play remained unextinguished. In the long interval he had engaged in a multitude of tournaments and matches. He made an even score with Anderssen in a series of eighteen games, and in 1867 he nearly defeated Steinitz who had just won the world's championship from Anderssen. Blackburne paid him the compliment of frequently adopting his strategy.

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April 17 1908

The Guardian, London, Greater London, England, Friday, April 17, 1908

Mr. H. E. Bird.—The death is announced of Mr. Henry Edward Bird, one of the best-known English chess players of the past century. He was born in 1830; and for fifty years played a leading part in matches and tournaments. He belonged to the brilliant, dashing tip-and-run school, and his play, though never particularly sound, was most attractive to the spectator. He was no match for the giants of the game, and was distinctly inferior to several of his English contemporaries, but he had a lively imagination, and was an adept at clever combinations. Several audacious innovations in the openings will probably give him a permanent place in chess literature. When Dr. Lasker was on the threshold of his fame he played Bird a short match at the Liverpool Club, and beat him soundly without the loss of a game. This was almost the last appearance of the veteran in serious chess.

City Hall, Liverpool, England; 17 February 1890—28 February 1890

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April 25 1908

The Bridge of Allan Gazette, Bridge of Allan, Central Region, Scotland, Saturday, April 25, 1908

Death of 'Old Bird'
By the death last week of Henry Edward Bird, England has lost one of her foremost players.
A Somersetshire lad with a most remarkable memory he soon began to make his way upwards from the humble station in life in which he was born. For his education he had chiefly to depend on himself but such good use did he make of his opportunities that at sixteen he became an accountant's clerk and not long after joined a firm of accountants.
In this sphere to which he was so peculiarly adapted he specialized on railways and framed the tables and statistics on which the Great Eastern Railway is to-day conducted.
Meanwhile his great memory had soon made him a marked figure in the chess world and when only 21 years of age he took part in the great International tournament of 1851. From that day to this (says the “London Evening Standard”) he has always been recognized as a chess master and his various books on the game have added to his reputation. The foremost player of his day he never was. In fact, Henry Thomas Buckle, the author of the “History of Civilisation” could concede him odds and beat him. He also succumbed to Paul Morphy the phenomenal American player, but for all that he was a great factor in upholding the honour of English chess when it stood sorely in need of champions.
For many years Bird was a familiar figure at London's one time great chess resort now closed—Simpson's Divan in the Strand—and was the best liked of all the professionals who gathered there to play with anybody—for a fee. Bird was not so greedy as some of them, and was of a genial, pawky nature, which attracted strangers who found their way to the Divan when in London. He was a very good player, though not first-class, but was one of those who will take risks for the sake of a pretty combination, with a sparkling finish. The player who does this enjoys his chess better, but he does not win so many games as the man to whom victory is the main consideration. Bird was over 70 years of age and was a big heavy man.

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May 06 1908

Free Press Prairie Farmer, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Wednesday, May 06, 1908

The death has occurred of the veteran chess player, Henry Edward Bird, in London, in his 78th year. In his earlier years Mr. Bird practised the profession of accountant, though chess always had a great fascination for him, and so far back as 1851 he competed in the International chess tournament held that year in London. He was the author of several works on chess, perhaps the best known of which are his “Chess Masterpieces,” “Chess History and Reminiscences,” and “Modern Chess.” His chief records in tournament and match play were as follows: He lost to Steinitz, 6 games to 7, in 1867, just after the latter player had beaten Anderson for the championship of the world. In the Vienna tournament of 1873 he took fifth place, and the third place in the Philadelphia tournament of 1876. In 1889 he won the first prize at the London congress of the British Chess association, and the first prize in Simpson's handicap, 1891. He competed in the Hastings tournament of 1895 and in the London tournament of 1899, in both cases securing only a very moderate position in the score, and since then his failing health prevented him from taking part in any contest of importance.

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