Joseph Blackburne
“'The Black Death' — the grand old man of British chess”
A 50-year career as Britain's leading player, famous attacking brilliancies and blindfold displays
Joseph Henry Blackburne was born on 10 December 1841 in Manchester, England. He learned draughts as a child and came to chess relatively late, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, after hearing of the exploits of Paul Morphy during the American's European tour. Inspired by Morphy's example, he switched to chess and improved with remarkable speed, soon becoming one of the strongest players in the country and embarking on what would become one of the longest careers in the game's history.
Blackburne quickly made his name as both a tournament competitor and a phenomenal exhibition player. He developed a hugely popular career giving simultaneous and blindfold displays the length and breadth of Britain, often playing many opponents at once without sight of the boards. These exhibitions made him a public figure and provided much of his living, and he was widely regarded as one of the very best blindfold players who had ever lived.
His competitive results placed him among the world's elite for decades. In the 1868–69 season he won the British championship, and at the great Vienna tournament of 1873 he finished first equal with Wilhelm Steinitz, losing only the play-off. It was at Vienna that German commentators, struck by his black beard and the relentless, deadly nature of his attacking play, gave him the nickname 'der Schwarze Tod' — 'the Black Death' — which followed him for the rest of his life.
Blackburne was famous above all for his combinative gifts and his skill in the endgame. He won numerous brilliancy prizes for spectacular attacking games, and even his rival Steinitz praised one of his efforts as 'among the finest efforts of chess genius.' He was also, however, on the receiving end of one of the most celebrated games ever played, falling victim to Zukertort's Immortal at London 1883 — testament to the strength of the company he kept at the top of the game.
His career was extraordinary in its length. Blackburne played first-class chess for well over fifty years, from the early 1860s into the second decade of the twentieth century, competing against opponents from Anderssen and Steinitz through to Lasker and beyond. By his later years he was affectionately known as the 'grand old man of British chess', a living link between the Romantic era and the modern game.
He continued to play and to give exhibitions into old age, remaining a beloved figure in British chess until his death on 1 September 1924, at the age of eighty-two. Blackburne is remembered as the dominant British player of the Victorian age, a brilliant attacker and endgame artist, and one of the most popular ambassadors the game has ever had.
Playing style
Blackburne was a fierce and imaginative attacking player whose combinative flair earned him the nickname 'the Black Death' and a string of brilliancy prizes. He had a particular genius for sharp tactical positions and for conjuring sacrificial attacks against the enemy king, yet he was also one of the finest endgame players of his era, able to win technical positions with great precision. His blindfold and simultaneous skills were legendary, reflecting an exceptional capacity for visualisation and calculation.
Signature openings
Rivalries & key opponents
- Wilhelm Steinitz — tied for first at Vienna 1873 (lost the play-off); frequent rival
- Johannes Zukertort — opponent in Zukertort's Immortal (London 1883)
- Henry Bird — many matches and tournament games across decades
Career highlights
- Won the British Chess Championship (1868–69)
- Tied for first with Steinitz at Vienna 1873 (lost the play-off)
- Won numerous brilliancy prizes for his attacking games
- One of the greatest blindfold and simultaneous players in history
- Played top-class chess for over fifty years
- Known as the 'grand old man of British chess'
Famous games on BetterChess
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Biographical summary compiled by BetterChess. BetterChess is a practice tool — we make no guarantee you'll reach 1800 or any rating.