Theodore Tylor
Encyclopedia
Sir Theodore Henry Tylor (13 May 1900 – 23 October 1968) was a lawyer and international level chess
player, despite being nearly blind. In 1965, he was knighted for his service to organisations for the blind. He was Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence
at Balliol College, Oxford
for almost forty years.
Born in Bournville
, Tylor learned to play chess at age seven.
His chess skill increased while he attended Worcester College for the Blind
from 1909 to 1918.
He studied at Oxford University beginning in 1918, and captained the Oxford University Chess Club
.
Tylor received First-class Honours in Jurisprudence in 1922 and was made an honorary scholar of Balliol College.
The next year, he became a Bachelor of Civil Law and a lecturer at Balliol College.
Called to the Bar
by the Inner Temple
with a certificate of honour, he was made a Fellow at Balliol College in 1928.
Tylor competed in twelve British Championships
, finishing fourth in his first appearance in 1925. His best result was in 1933, finishing second to Mir Sultan Khan
.
He tied for first at the 1929/30 Hastings Premier Reserves alongside George Koltanowski
ahead of Salo Flohr
, Josef Rejfiř
, Ludwig Rellstab
, C.H.O'D. Alexander
, Daniël Noteboom
, and Milan Vidmar
.
Tylor played in the top section, the Hastings Premier
, nine times beginning in 1930/1.
His best finish was 6th= in 1936/7.
He was first reserve for the English team at the Hamburg 1930 Chess Olympiad
.
Tylor won the British Correspondence Chess Championship in 1932, 1933, and 1934.
He shared 5th–6th at Margate 1936 with P. S. Milner-Barry
, but he won their individual game and drew
with 2nd to 4th place finishers José Raúl Capablanca
, Gideon Ståhlberg
, and Erik Lundin
(Salo Flohr
won). Although he finished 12th at Nottingham 1936
, he had the best score of the British participants, ahead of C. H. O'D. Alexander, G. A. Thomas
, and William Winter
. Mikhail Botvinnik
noted that Tylor was using a tactile chess board that he incessantly fingered, as well as a device for counting the number of moves made.
Tylor was President of the Midland Counties' Chess Union from 1947 to 1950, but his work for the university and for the welfare of the blind limited the time he had to devote to chess. Tylor also enjoyed bridge
.
He died in Oxford
on 23 October 1968.
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...
player, despite being nearly blind. In 1965, he was knighted for his service to organisations for the blind. He was Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
for almost forty years.
Born in Bournville
Bournville
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
, Tylor learned to play chess at age seven.
His chess skill increased while he attended Worcester College for the Blind
New College Worcester
New College Worcester is a residential secondary school for students, aged 11–19, who are blind or partially sighted. It caters for around 80 students including those who have other special needs or disabilities along with their visual impairment. It is located in the city of Worcester, England...
from 1909 to 1918.
He studied at Oxford University beginning in 1918, and captained the Oxford University Chess Club
Oxford University Chess Club
The Oxford University Chess Club was founded at the University of Oxford in 1869 and is the oldest university chess club in the United Kingdom. The Club meets each Tuesday evening during University term time, from 7.30pm at St John's College...
.
Tylor received First-class Honours in Jurisprudence in 1922 and was made an honorary scholar of Balliol College.
The next year, he became a Bachelor of Civil Law and a lecturer at Balliol College.
Called to the Bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
by the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
with a certificate of honour, he was made a Fellow at Balliol College in 1928.
Tylor competed in twelve British Championships
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...
, finishing fourth in his first appearance in 1925. His best result was in 1933, finishing second to Mir Sultan Khan
Mir Sultan Khan
Malik Mir Sultan Khan was the strongest chess master of his time from Asia. This manservant from British India traveled with Colonel Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan , his master, to Britain, where he took the chess world by storm...
.
He tied for first at the 1929/30 Hastings Premier Reserves alongside George Koltanowski
George Koltanowski
George Koltanowski was a Belgian-born American chess player, promoter, and writer. He was informally known as "Kolty". Koltanowski set the world's blindfold record on 20 September 1937, in Edinburgh, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded, making headline news around the world...
ahead of Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
, Josef Rejfiř
Josef Rejfír
Josef Rejfiř was one of Czechoslovakia's strongest chess players before World War II.Rejfiř represented Czechoslovakia at all five Chess Olympiads from 1928 to 1935....
, Ludwig Rellstab
Ludwig Rellstab (chess player)
Ludwig Rellstab was a German chess master.He was German Champion, winning at Bad Oeynhausen 1942. He took 8th in the European Championship at Munich 1942 . In 1943, he took 6th in Salzburg...
, C.H.O'D. Alexander
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, CMG, CBE was an Irish-born British cryptanalyst, chess player, and chess writer. He worked on the German Enigma machine at Bletchley Park during World War II, and was later the head of the cryptanalysis division at GCHQ for over 20 years...
, Daniël Noteboom
Daniël Noteboom
Daniël Noteboom was a Dutch chess player.Born in Noordwijk, Daniël Notebooom gained notice at the 1930 Chess Olympiad at Hamburg, scoring 11.5/15....
, and Milan Vidmar
Milan Vidmar
Milan Vidmar was a Slovene electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, philosopher, and writer. He was a specialist in power transformers and transmission of electric current.- Biography :...
.
Tylor played in the top section, the Hastings Premier
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
, nine times beginning in 1930/1.
His best finish was 6th= in 1936/7.
He was first reserve for the English team at the Hamburg 1930 Chess Olympiad
3rd Chess Olympiad
The 3rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 13 and July 27, 1930, in Hamburg, Germany...
.
Tylor won the British Correspondence Chess Championship in 1932, 1933, and 1934.
He shared 5th–6th at Margate 1936 with P. S. Milner-Barry
Stuart Milner-Barry
Sir Stuart Milner-Barry KCVO, CB, OBE was a British chess player, chess writer, World War II codebreaker and civil servant. He represented England in chess both before and after World War II...
, but he won their individual game and drew
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
with 2nd to 4th place finishers José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
, Gideon Ståhlberg
Gideon Ståhlberg
Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg was a Swedish chess grandmaster.He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became Nordic champion in 1929, and held it until 1939....
, and Erik Lundin
Erik Lundin
Erik Lundin a Swedish chess master.In 1928, he won in Oslo, took 5th in Helsingborg, tied for 2nd-3rd in Stockholm . In 1929, he took 2nd in Göteborg , and took 3rd in Västerås...
(Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
won). Although he finished 12th at Nottingham 1936
Nottingham 1936 chess tournament
Nottingham 1936, was a 15-player round robin chess tournament held August 10-28 at the University of Nottingham. It was one of the strongest of all time....
, he had the best score of the British participants, ahead of C. H. O'D. Alexander, G. A. 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...
, and William Winter
William Winter (chess player)
William Winter was a British chess player. He won the British Open Chess Championship in 1934 and the British Chess Championship in 1935 and 1936. An acolyte of Siegbert Tarrasch, his sound, strategic play enabled him to defeat a number of the world's top players, including David Bronstein, Aron...
. Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
noted that Tylor was using a tactile chess board that he incessantly fingered, as well as a device for counting the number of moves made.
Tylor was President of the Midland Counties' Chess Union from 1947 to 1950, but his work for the university and for the welfare of the blind limited the time he had to devote to chess. Tylor also enjoyed bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
.
He died in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
on 23 October 1968.