Thomas Wilson Barnes

Barnes was one of the leading British chess masters at the time of Paul Morphy's visit to the UK in 1858. Barnes had the happy fortune of having the best record against Morphy during the latter's visit, winning eight games and losing nineteen (Brace 1977). The only tournament he played in was London in 1862, where he finished in the middle of the field (Hooper & Whyld 1992), (Golombek 1976:148).

A variation of the Ruy Lopez opening called the Barnes Defence was named after him: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 (this is also sometimes known as the Smyslov Defence). A much more dubious variation named for him is Barnes Defence, 1.e4 f6 which he played against Anderssen and Morphy, beating the latter.[1] Barnes Opening, 1.f3, also bears his name. Opening with the f-pawn served his preference to sidestep existing opening knowledge.

Barnes went on a diet and lost 130 pounds (9st 4lb, approx. 59 kg) in 10 months, which resulted in his death.[2]

• Brace, Edward (1977), "Barnes, Thomas Wilson", An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess, Craftwell, ISBN 1-55521-394-4
• Golombek, Harry (1976), Chess: A History, Putnam, p. 148, ISBN 0-399-11575-7
• Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992), "Barnes, Thomas Wilson", The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-280049-3

• Thomas Wilson Barnes player profile and games at Chessgames.com