Georges Emile Barber

Georges Emile Barbier (born February 24, 1844 in L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs , † December 17, 1895 in Ecrosville ) was a chess composer from France . He composed numerous chess problems, but became world famous through the Saavedra study .

chess

Barber was an amateur player of mastery who ran a chess column for the Weekly Citizen in Glasgow from 1886 until his death . Also in 1886 he won the Scottish Chess Championship.

In chess composition, Barbier mainly created chess problems. By chance, which can be traced back to Barbier's lack of memory, he published an incorrect draw study in the Weekly Citizen in 1895, just a few months before his death . However, a reader named Fernando Saavedra found a winning move, which is why the composition is now known as the Saavedra Study.

Life

Barbier was born in France and has worked as a French teacher in Yorkshire and London . He later also gave lessons at the Athenaeum in Glasgow . In 1893 he suffered from a severe attack of flu and in early October 1895 from cerebral palsy . He returned to France a few weeks before his death.

Barbier's birthplace was given as Besançon by Henri Weenink in The Chess Problem , but research by John Selman revealed that there was no corresponding entry with the local authorities. Instead, the authorities in l'Isle-sur-le-Doubs confirmed that Barbier was born there, but only gave Emile as his first name. Selman stated that Barbier's father had the first name Georges, but that this was no explanation why Barbier was known by the first name Georges Emile.

Web link

• Compositions by Georges Emile Barbier on the PDB server