AMarch 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
