Thomas Wilson Barnes was an English chess master

Chess master

A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....

, one of the leading British masters at the time of Paul Morphy

Paul Morphy

Paul Charles Morphy was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and an unofficial World Chess Champion. He was a chess prodigy...

's visit to the UK in 1858.

Barnes had the happy fortune of having the best record against Morphy during the latter's brief visit. A variation of the Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez

The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...

 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 Andersson and Morphy, beating the latter. Barnes Opening

Barnes Opening

Barnes Opening or Gedult's Opening is a chess opening where White opens withIt is considered an irregular opening, so it is classified under the A00 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings....

, 1. f3, also bears his name.

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