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February 18 1942
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, February 18, 1942
W. P. SHIPLEY DIES; RETIRED LAWYER, 81
Chess Expert Also Edited Column In The Inquirer
Walter Penn Shipley, retired attorney and international chess expert who edited The Inquirer's Chess and Checkers column since 1908, died suddenly yesterday at his home, 477 Locust ave., Germantown. He was 81.
Mr. Shipley was educated at Friends Select School and was a graduate of Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1883 and was senior member of the law firm of Shipley and Vaux until his retirement in 1927.
He was a director of John C. Winston Co., a former director of the Germantown Preparative Meeting of Friends, and treasurer of the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons. He formerly was also connected with the shoe manufacturing industry.
Mr. Shipley was co-author of “History of Chess in Philadelphia” and held many chess championships. He was a member of the University Club, the Historical Society of Philadelphia and the National Boot and Shoe Manufacturer's Association.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Anne Emlen Shipley, and three sons, Thomas, James and Walter Penn, Jr. Funeral services will be held from his home tomorrow at 2 P.M.
February 19 1942
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Thursday, February 19, 1942
CHESS WORLD MOURNS LOSS OF SHIPLEY
Germantown Amateur Dies in 81st Year—To Be Buried Today
By HERMANN HELMS
Dean of chess in America, Walter Penn Shipley of Philadelphia, is dead at the age of 81. This afternoon, at his home in German-town, his funeral will take place, and it is expected that many of his friends in chess, legal and philanthropic circles will attend to do honor to his memory. He had conducted a column on chess and checkers for the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1908.
An amateur who never accepted cash prizes, Mr. Shipley, actively engaged in the practice of law until quite recently, was known the world over as one of the foremost exponents of chess in America and one of its strongest players. For many years he was president of the famous Franklin Chess Club and in 1921 he was elected president of the United States Chess Association, organized at a dinner in Atlantic City.
Chess by correspondence owed much to the interest of this noted Philadelphian, who came of Quaker stock. It was he who in 1893 organized the Continental Correspondence Tournament, which was won by Charles W. Phillips of Chicago.
It produced some high-class chess and led to many lasting friendships. After a tie with J. E. Narraway of Ottawa, Mr. Shipley in 1906 won the masters tournament of the Pillsbury National Correspondence chess Association and the North American championship.
