Stephen Francis Smith was a Canadian 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...

 master.

Born in Ontario, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, he emigrated with his family to London, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, in the mid-1870s. Following in his father's profession Smith trained as a doctor, eventually becoming a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons and a Licentiate of the Apothecaries' Society. He played 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...

 and at Hastings (1895, 1919, 1927/28) but never in the Premier. Smith won the City of London Chess Club championship in 1895 and placed second in 1905/06. He shared 6th in the London 1899 chess tournament

London 1899 chess tournament

The London 1899 chess tournament was without a doubt one of the very strongest tournaments ever held on British soil. Almost every great master of the day was present including the past and reigning world champions...

 (the Minor Tourney, Frank James Marshall won), participated in the Ostend 1907 chess tournament

Ostend 1907 chess tournament

The tournament was divided into two sections: the Championship Tournament and the Masters' Tournament. The first section was for players who had previously won an international tournament. The Championship Tournament took place in the Casino of Ostend from 16 May to 14 June 1907...

 (C tournament), took 4th at Deal 1907 (George Alan Thomas

George Alan Thomas

Sir George Alan Thomas, Bart. was a British badminton, tennis and chess player. He was twice British Chess Champion and a 21-time All-England Badminton champion. He also played in the semi-finals of the men's tennis doubles at Wimbledon in 1911...

 won), tied for 10-11th at Oxford 1910 (Henry Ernest Atkins

Henry Ernest Atkins

Henry Ernest Atkins was a British chess master who is best known for his unparalleled record of winning the British Chess Championship nine times in eleven attempts. He won every year from 1905 to 1911, and again in 1924 and 1925...

 won), and tied for 6-8th at London 1910 (W. Ward won).

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he left the British Isles for North America. He won the Vancouver Chess Club championship in the Spring of 1915, but there is no mention of there being a British Columbia championship in 1915. Smith is first mentioned as a B.C. Champion in the August 1925 edition of BCM. He challenged Sydney Gale to Canadian Chess Championship

Canadian Chess Championship

This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the next stage of the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle...

 match 1920 (abandoned by Gale after +1 –1).

Dr. Smith played in 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

The first Team Chess Tournament had been held by coinciding the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, 12th - 20 July 1924, at Hotel Majestic. The core of the organizing committee were the Frenchmen Pierre Vincent and Alexander Alekhine. Fifty-four players representing 18 countries arrived to Paris...

 at Paris 1924 as the sole representative of Canada. He was one of the 15 delegates from all over the World who signed the proclamation act of the International Chess Federation (originally known as Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE) on July 20, 1924.

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