Cecil Valentine De Vere
Number of games in database: 96
Years covered: 1861 to 1874
Overall record: +41 -35 =6 (53.7%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      14 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:  Ruy Lopez (17)      C80 C84 C62 C67 C60	With the Black pieces:  French Defense (10)      C01 C00 C15  Sicilian (8)      B46 B21 B44 B20 B43  Ruy Lopez (5)      C60 C84 C61 C65  Giuoco Piano (5)      C50 C53  Uncommon Opening (4)      B00 A00

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   De Vere vs Paulsen, 1870 1-0
   De Vere vs J Minchin, 1871 1-0
   S Hamel vs De Vere, 1867 0-1
   Winawer vs De Vere, 1870 0-1
   E D'Andre vs De Vere, 1867 0-1
   S Rosenthal vs De Vere, 1867 0-1
   De Vere vs Steinitz, 1867 1-0
   G Neumann vs De Vere, 1870 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Paris (1867)
   Baden-Baden (1870)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Paris 1867 by suenteus po 147
   Dundee Congress 1867 by Calli

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CECIL VALENTINE DE VERE (born Feb-14-1846, died Feb-09-1875) United Kingdom [what is this?] Valentine John Cecil De Vere Mathews¹, later known as Cecil de Vere, was born February 14 (Valentine’s Day), 1846. In 1857, at the age of 11, he was taught how to play chess by a strong London player, Francis Burden (1830-1882). In 1859, he joined the City of London Chess Club. In 1860, at the age of 14, he was a regular at Simpson’s Divan. In 1864, he played a number of games against George Alcock MacDonnell, winning the majority of them. In 1865, he won a match against Wilhelm Steinitz (+7-3=2), with Wilhelm Steinitz playing odds of a pawn and a move. In November, 1866, at the age of 20, he won the 1st British Chess Association Challenge Cup, held in London, becoming the first official British Chess Champion. He remained the youngest titleholder for over a century (until Nigel Short). In June 1867, he took 5th at Paris, won by Ignatz Von Kolisch. In September 1867, he took 3rd-4th at the 3rd Congress of the British Chess Association at Dundee, Scotland, won by Gustav Richard Neumann. While he was in Dundee, he learned that he had tuberculosis (consumption). He worked at Lloyd's of London, but gave up his employment when he discovered he had tuberculosis. In 1868-69, he tied for 1st place at the 2nd British Chess Association Challenge Cup, held in London. He lost the play-off to Joseph Henry Blackburne. In 1870, he took 6th-7th at Baden-Baden, Germany. In 1872, he took 3rd-5th at the 2nd British Chess Federation Congress in London. In 1872, he was the chess editor of "The Field" (newspaper), but lost it after 18 months through inattention to work (he had become an alcoholic). In 1874, he lost a match against Johannes Zukertort in London. He died of tuberculosis, and a penniless alcoholic, at the age of 28 in Torquay. (1) His full name and birth certificate were finally discovered by Owen Hindle and published in British Chess Magazine's Notes & Queries column. See issues Dec. 2003, Feb. 2004, and Nov. 2005. note: Cecil de Vere played on the teams of Cecil Valentine De Vere & Blackburne / Steinitz / De Vere. Wikipedia article: Cecil Valentine De Vere

page 1 of 4; games 1-25 of 96  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Paulsen vs De Vere 1-0 32 1861 Blindfold C01 French, Exchange 2. De Vere vs Steinitz 0-1 26 1864 Informal Game C53 Giuoco Piano 3. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 39 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 4. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 26 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 5. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 68 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 6. De Vere vs Steinitz 0-1 37 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 7. De Vere vs Steinitz ½-½ 24 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 8. De Vere vs Steinitz 0-1 34 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 9. De Vere vs Steinitz ½-½ 56 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 10. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 43 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 11. De Vere vs Steinitz 0-1 34 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 12. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 51 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 13. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 23 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 14. De Vere vs Steinitz 1-0 28 1865 odds match 000 Chess variants 15. De Vere vs J Minchin 1-0 30 1866 BCA-01.Challenge Cup C53 Giuoco Piano 16. De Vere vs Staunton 0-1 24 1866 London consult C59 Two Knights 17. De Vere vs Steinitz   ½-½ 50 1866 London C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense 18. Steinitz vs De Vere 1-0 39 1866 London B06 Robatsch 19. J Minchin vs De Vere   0-1 59 1866 London (England) C51 Evans Gambit 20. De Vere vs Bird 1-0 43 1866 London C61 Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defense 21. J Minchin vs De Vere 0-1 21 1866 London C30 King's Gambit Declined 22. De Vere vs E Thorold 0-1 32 1866 Counties Chess Association C41 Philidor Defense 23. G MacDonnell vs De Vere 0-1 19 1866 BCA-01.Challenge Cup C53 Giuoco Piano 24. Owen vs De Vere   0-1 35 1866 Counties Chess Association C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 25. De Vere vs G MacDonnell   1-0 34 1866 BCA-01.Challenge Cup C41 Philidor Defense  page 1 of 4; games 1-25 of 96    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | De Vere wins | De Vere loses

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> Feb-14-05    nikolaas: It's Vere's birthday today. Is it possible that Valentine's day is named after him? Feb-14-05    cu8sfan: The feast of Saint Valentine is very old. For reference read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_.... I don't think it's an incredible coincidence that a boy born in 1845 is named after the saint of his birthday. Feb-14-05    Open Defence: <chessgames> As someone posted earlier, that knight looks very lonely, get him/her a Valentine :-) Feb-14-06    refutor: lesiege is a poker player not a chess player nowadays ;) Feb-14-07    Hafen Slawkenbergius: Such a pity... it's interesting, BTW, a lot of extremely talented players of this generation stopped playing early; not only Morphy, but de Vere, Kolisch, Neuman, Suhle... Just think, what a hell of a time would Steinitz have had, if Vienna 1873 included all of the best living players, and not just all of the best active ones. Feb-14-07    kellmano: Looks like a really cool dude. I might copy his hairstyle. Feb-14-07    setebos: <kellmano> Buy a cow and have it lick your hair in the morning:) Feb-14-07    DennistheMenace: <He worked at Lloyds Bank...> No, Lloyd's the insurance market. A different beast altogether. Trying to think who the picture of de Vere reminds me of. Yes, it's a youthful Christopher Hichens. Feb-14-08    BIDMONFA: Cecil Valentine De Vere DE VERE, Cecil Valentine http://www.bidmonfa.com/de_vere_cec... _ Feb-14-08    brankat: Seems to have been such a great talent, young Mr.De Vere. And yet such a short, unhappy and tragic life. Happy Birthday Cecil Valentine, wherever You may be! Feb-14-08    whiteshark: Player of the Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_... At least it gives an explanation why he is sometimes called <The English Morphy> and it has the beautiful link: http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/eve... Feb-14-08    Open Defence: <At about the time that he won the national championship his mother died, a loss he felt deeply, 'the only person who ever cared for me'> that indeed is tragic... maybe he had to open up and give a little to receive.. how lucky we are though Feb-14-08    pawnofdoom: Born on Valentine's Day! Feb-14-08    Sneaky: Born on Valentine's Day? What a coincidence! ;-) Feb-14-08    MichAdams: If born on May 1st, he'd really have been in trouble. Feb-15-08    Calli: De Vere's shining moment was a thrashing of Steinitz at the odds of a pawn and two, 7W-3L-2D. CG just put these games in the DB, so enjoy: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... Feb-15-08    Open Defence: <Calli> the link states <Overall record: Wilhelm Steinitz beat Cecil Valentine De Vere 11 to 8, with 2 draws.*> Feb-15-08    Calli: Yes, that is the correct overall record. De Vere won the odds match 7-3-2. Feb-15-08    Open Defence: Oh sorry I thought that the statement reflected the Odds Match Feb-15-08    Calli: Hmm, well I can do it a different way http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... Aug-16-09    YoungEd: Does anyone know why he used the pseudonym he did? What's wrong with Valentine Brown? (Yes, I know, normally Valentine red, but seriously). Feb-14-10    Doc Valentine: Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine's Day, too! Feb-14-11    Penguincw: This person only lived up to age 29. Feb-14-12    brankat: Born on Valentine's Day :-) A very talented young chess player. From the Bio: <..becoming the first official British Chess Champion. He remained the youngest titleholder for over a century (until Nigel Short)..> Happy Birthday! Feb-14-12    Penguincw: On second of thought, he might be a another candidate. He was POTD last year, I believe. R.I.P. < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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