# Thomas Wilson Barnes

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Wilson_Barnes
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thomas_Wilson_Barnes.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wilson_Barnes
> Source revision: 1285144605
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|English chess player}}
{{other people|Thomas Barnes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox chess biography
| name          = Thomas Wilson Barnes
| image         = Thomas_Wilson_Barnes.jpg
| caption       = Thomas Wilson Barnes
| birthname     = 
| country       = [England](/source/England)
| birth_date    = 1825
| birth_place   = 
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1874|8|20|1825|df=y}}
| death_place   = 
| title         =
}}

'''Thomas Wilson Barnes''' (1825–1874) was an English [chess master](/source/chess_master), one of the leading British masters of his time.

==Chess history==
Barnes was one of the leading British chess masters at the time of [Paul Morphy](/source/Paul_Morphy)'s visit to the UK in 1858.  Barnes had the happy fortune of having the best record against [Paul Morphy](/source/Paul_Morphy) during the latter's visit, winning eight games and losing nineteen {{harvcol|Brace|1977}}.  The only tournament he played in was [London in 1862](/source/London_1862_chess_tournament), where he finished in the middle of the field {{harvcol|Hooper|Whyld|1992}}, {{harvcol|Golombek|1976|p=148}}.

==Openings named for Barnes==
{{chess notation|pos=secleft}}
A variation of the [Ruy Lopez](/source/Ruy_Lopez) [opening](/source/chess_opening) called the Barnes Defence was [named](/source/List_of_chess_openings_named_after_people) after him: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 (this is also sometimes known as the [Smyslov Defence](/source/Ruy_Lopez)). A much more dubious variation named for him is [Barnes Defence](/source/Barnes_Defence), 1.e4 f6 which he played against [Anderssen](/source/Adolf_Anderssen) and Morphy, beating the latter.<ref>[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1266586 Morphy vs. Barnes, Barnes Defense]</ref>  [Barnes Opening](/source/Barnes_Opening), 1.f3, also bears his name. Opening with the f-pawn served his preference to sidestep existing opening knowledge.

==Death==
Barnes went on a diet and lost 130 pounds (9st 4&nbsp;lb, approx. 59&nbsp;kg) in 10 months, which resulted in his death.<ref>{{harvcol|Hooper|Whyld|1992}}</ref> Barnes was buried 5 days after his death at the [Brompton cemetery](/source/Brompton_Cemetery) in [London](/source/London).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Upham|first=John|date=2020-08-20|title=Remembering Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825 20-viii-1874)|url=http://britishchessnews.com/2020/08/20/remembering-thomas-wilson-barnes-1825-10-viii-1874/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=British Chess News|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{citation
|last=Brace|first=Edward  <!-- not [Edward Brace](/source/Edward_Brace) -->
|year=1977
|title=An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess 
 |contribution = Barnes, Thomas Wilson
|publisher=Craftwell
|isbn= 1-55521-394-4}} 
* {{citation  
   | last=Golombek | first=Harry |authorlink=Harry Golombek 
   | year=1976
   | title=Chess: A History
   |page=148
   | publisher=Putnam
   | isbn= 0-399-11575-7}}
* {{citation
 | last=Hooper | first=David | authorlink=David Vincent Hooper
 | last2=Whyld | first2=Kenneth | authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld
 | title=[The Oxford Companion to Chess](/source/The_Oxford_Companion_to_Chess)
 | year=1992 
 | edition=2nd
 |contribution = Barnes, Thomas Wilson
 | publisher=Oxford University Press
 | isbn=0-19-280049-3 }}

==External links==
*{{chessgames player|id=10344}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Thomas Wilson}}
Category:1825 births
Category:1874 deaths
Category:19th-century British chess players
Category:19th-century English sportsmen
{{England-chess-bio-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Wilson Barnes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wilson_Barnes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wilson_Barnes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.