A FAMOUS CHESS PLAYER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 November 1924, Page 13

A FAMOUS CHESS PLAYER.

CHAMPION OF ENGLAND; Mr. John Henry Blackburne, - the veteran English chess player, died at his residence at Lewisham (.England) on September 1, aged 83. He was seized with a slight paralytic stroke about a year ago. The late Mr. Blackburn© v who became champion of England in 1886, ranks as the finest player that Great Britain has ever produced. Probably the greatest of his many fine achievements was the winning of the first prize, with three games to spare, in th© international tournament held at Berlin in 1881, when the by-name “Der Schwarze Tod der Schachspieler,” invented for him by the German players,- was certainly justified. He never failed to 'be among the prize-winners in the arduous international contests for more than 40 years, and even when age and illness had impaired his powers he was yet strong enough to take the top board in the annual cable matches between Great Britain and th© United States. His amazing ingenuity often gained him most spectacular victories ivhen he was playing without sight of board and men, for he was a very expert blindfold player. He had a great fund of humour, and the stories concerning him are legion. He had a charming personality, and was liked by all who met him. The Manchester Guardian says of him: “Now that he has sealed his last move, and the long game is adjourned for ever, and a rest has come to him that no combination can break, we may pay our tribute of honour and affection to the memory of a dauntless and very human Englishman, whose'pastim© became his lifework. who played the game of chess as he played the game of life, with courage, resource, and good humour, and w;ho. in a restricted, yet world'vid© fold has left a name which may well prove imperishable.”