Ken Whyld
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Whyld was a British
chess
author and researcher, best known as the co-author (with David Hooper)
of The Oxford Companion to Chess
, the standard single-volume chess reference work in English.
Whyld was a strong amateur chess player, taking part in the British Chess Championship
in 1956 and winning the county championship of Nottinghamshire
. He subsequently made his living in information technology
while writing books on chess and researching its history.
As well as The Oxford Companion to Chess
, Whyld was the author of other reference works such as Chess: The Records (1986), an adjunct to the Guinness Book of Records and the comprehensive The Collected Games of Emanuel Lasker
(1998). He also researched more esoteric subjects, resulting in works such as Alekhine Nazi Articles (2002) on articles in favour of the Nazi Party supposedly written by world chess champion Alexander Alekhine
, and the bibliographies Fake Automata in Chess (1994) and Chess Columns: A List (2002).
From 1978 until his death in 2003, Whyld wrote the "Quotes and Queries" column in the British Chess Magazine
.
Shortly after Whyld's death, the Ken Whyld Association was established with the aim of compiling a comprehensive chess bibliography in database form and promoting chess history.
Whyld's library was later sold to the Musée Suisse du Jeu, located on the shores of Lake Geneva
in Switzerland
(as reported in number 152 of EG
).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
author and researcher, best known as the co-author (with David Hooper)
David Vincent Hooper
David Vincent Hooper , born in Reigate, was a British chess player and writer. As an amateur, he tied for fifth place in the 1949 British Championship at Felixstowe. He was the British correspondence chess champion in 1944 and the London Chess Champion in 1948...
of The Oxford Companion to Chess
The Oxford Companion to Chess
The Oxford Companion to Chess is a reference book on chess written by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld. The book is written in an encyclopedia format. The book belongs to the Oxford Companions series.-Details:...
, the standard single-volume chess reference work in English.
Whyld was a strong amateur chess player, taking part in the British Chess Championship
British Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
in 1956 and winning the county championship of Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. He subsequently made his living in information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
while writing books on chess and researching its history.
As well as The Oxford Companion to Chess
The Oxford Companion to Chess
The Oxford Companion to Chess is a reference book on chess written by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld. The book is written in an encyclopedia format. The book belongs to the Oxford Companions series.-Details:...
, Whyld was the author of other reference works such as Chess: The Records (1986), an adjunct to the Guinness Book of Records and the comprehensive The Collected Games of Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
(1998). He also researched more esoteric subjects, resulting in works such as Alekhine Nazi Articles (2002) on articles in favour of the Nazi Party supposedly written by world chess champion Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, and the bibliographies Fake Automata in Chess (1994) and Chess Columns: A List (2002).
From 1978 until his death in 2003, Whyld wrote the "Quotes and Queries" column in the British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as BCM....
.
Shortly after Whyld's death, the Ken Whyld Association was established with the aim of compiling a comprehensive chess bibliography in database form and promoting chess history.
Whyld's library was later sold to the Musée Suisse du Jeu, located on the shores of Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(as reported in number 152 of EG
EG (magazine)
EG is a magazine that publishes endgame studies and discusses various aspects of the endgame in chess. The letters "EG" stand for "End Game."...
).