James A. Leonard
| James A. Leonard | |
|---|---|
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| Full name | James A. Leonard |
| Country | Ireland, then USA |
| Born |
November 6, 1841 Ireland |
| Died | September 26, 1862 (aged 20) Annapolis, Maryland |
James A. Leonard (November 6, 1841 Ireland – September 26, 1862 Annapolis, Maryland) was a young American chess master, who grew up as a son of poor Irish immigrants in New York City. He learned to play chess at age 16 or 17. Before his 20th birthday, he was already famous for his fierce attacking play and prowess at blindfold chess, at which he played as many as ten games simultaneously.
In 1862, he fought for the Union in the American Civil War. He was captured, and while being held as a prisoner of war, died of dysentery before reaching his 21st birthday. Commentators have compared his promise, never realized, to that of American chess giants Paul Morphy and Harry Nelson Pillsbury.
Nineteenth-century chess journalists and Jeremy Gaige's book Chess Personalia: A Biobibliography state that Leonard was born in New York City. However, his biographer John S. Hilbert, states, based on Leonard's military records, that "recent evidence strongly suggests he was born in Ireland".
Leonard grew up in New York City with his parents, who were poor, working-class Irish immigrants. Hilbert believes, based on 1850 census records, that his parents may have been John Leonard, a cabinet maker, and his wife Eleanor. Leonard also had a brother Joseph, about two years his junior.
Leonard learned chess at age 16 or 17. He played chess primarily at the Morphy Chess Rooms in New York. Chess journalist Myron Hazeltine remarked that Leonard was the Rooms' "light and lustre". In the summer of 1860, he won the second New York Handicap tournament held there. In October 1860, Paul Morphy, the de facto world chess champion, visited New York and played Leonard, giving him rook odds. The result of the game is unknown.
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Wikipedia