Henry Bird (chess player)

Henry Bird
Born(1829-07-14)14 July 1829
Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Died11 April 1908(1908-04-11) (aged 78)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Known forBird's opening

Henry Edward Bird (14 July 1829[1] – 11 April 1908) was an English chess player, author and accountant. He wrote the books Chess History and Reminiscences and An Analysis of Railways in the United Kingdom.

Although Bird was a practising accountant, not a professional chess player, it has been said that he "lived for chess, and would play anybody anywhere, any time, under any conditions."[2]

  1. ^ A date of 1830 has been given, but baptismal records indicate 1829. Renette, Hans (2016). H.E. Bird: A Chess Biography with 1,198 Games. McFarland. p. 20.
  2. ^ Harold C. Schoenberg, Grandmasters of Chess, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, Rev. Ed. 1981, p. 66.