Jan-16-23
 | | Stonehenge: More information:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jenni... |
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| Aug-07-23 | | sentient: a smart trade of surnames |
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Apr-29-25
 | | MissScarlett: What's the tie-in with Jennings and the <Nowell> who played Philidor? At the very least, can it be shown that he used the surname <Nowell> before the late 1780s? |
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Apr-29-25
 | | jnpope: I'll check my Philidor file when I get home. |
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Apr-29-25
| | MissScarlett: I'm going to run this up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes: https://morethannelson.com/officer/... |
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Apr-29-25
| | jnpope: "The best players are Count Bruhl, the Hon. Henry Conway, Lord Harrowby, Mr. Bowdler, and Mr. Jennings. These gentlemen give Mr. Philidor the two first moves, for which they receive a Knight, and are then a match for him."
-<Chess>, Anecdotes of Mr. Philidor Communicated by Himself, Twiss, London 1787, pp164-165
"Another Match, played at the Chess-club, the 10th of May, 1788, against Count Bruhl, Mr. Nowell, and Mr. Leycester.—Mr. Nowell and Mr. Leycester received the odds of the Pawn the the move, and Count Bruhl only the move."
-<Analysis of the Game of Chess>, v2, Philidor, London 1790, p152
"Our efforts to attach a certain date to these remarkable contests has not been as successful as we would wish. It seems certain from Twiss (volume I., p. 154) that Jennings played with Philidor blindfold, about 1783, and from another passage (volume I., p. 164) we infer that Jennings was still living in 1787. We have been unable to ascertain the christian name of Jennings. A “Benjamin Jennings, Esq., husband to the Vicountess Dowager Dudley and Ward” died in August 1791, “at his home in Cloane Street,” London. Was this the chess-player?"
-<Chess Monthly>, v4, Fiske et. al., New York 1860, p80
Perhaps two men? Perhaps just Henry Jennings Nowell? |
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Apr-30-25
| | MissScarlett: < “Benjamin Jennings, Esq., husband to the Vicountess Dowager Dudley and Ward” died in August 1791, “at his home in [S]loane Street,” London. Was this the chess-player?"> This couple were only married in August 1790. He, apparently, was born c.1838. This was the Viscountess' third marriage. She was born <Mary Worth>, c.1747 in Norfolk. She married <William Baker> in 1763, but it's not known if they had children or when he died. But it seems she had a child, Anna, in 1778 as the mistress of <John Ward, 2nd Viscount Dudley and Ward>, and she eventually married him in July 1788 but by October he was dead. Having managed to see off three husbands, the last in August 1791, she married again in December 1791 to a <Captain John Smith, R.N.>. He survived until 1808. So, the question arises, could <Benjamin Jennings> and <Captain Smith> have been fellows of the Parsloe's club as well as bedfellows of the Viscountess? John Ward: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_... |
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Apr-30-25
| | jnpope: Interesting theory. |
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Apr-30-25
| | jnpope: Theory dead?
"On the 28th of last May, we gave an account of a match at Chess, in which the famous Mr. Philidor contended, blind-fold, against Count Bruhl and Mr. Bowdler. Mr. Philidor invited the Members of the Chess Club, and the lovers of the game, to be present, at a similar exercise of his prodigious memory, on Saturday last, when about forty persons assembled at Parsloe's in St. James's-street, amongst which were some very beautiful females. The adversaries of Mr. Philidor, on this occasion, were Mr. Nowell (late Mr. Jennings) and Mr. Lesper [sic], both members of the Chess Club, and ranked amongst the best players of the game. Count Bruhl was one of the representatives of Philidor against Mr. Leister, and Mr. Bowdler the other against Mr. Nowell..."
-<Kentish Gazette>, 1788.05.16, p2 |
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May-01-25
| | MissScarlett: Pity. <Benjamin Jennings> reminds me of a line I recently heard by Sir James Goldsmith: <When a man marries his mistress, it creates a job vacancy.> |
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May-01-25
 | | perfidious: That calls to mind another, supposedly uttered by Gladstone to Disraeli: <Wm Gladstone (addressing Benjamin Disraeli): You will die either upon the gallows or of a venereal disease.Disraeli: I should say that depends upon whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.> |
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May-01-25
| | jnpope: Sounds familiar...
https://www.oxfordreference.com/dis... |
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May-01-25
| | perfidious: <jnpope>, I first saw that in the late 1970s, then attributed to those fierce rivals, but, same as a few other utterances, the truth was not quite so clear. |
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| May-02-25 | | stone free or die: Whoever came up with it - what a great retort! |
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Kibitzing
