Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki, and is a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. A well-known writer on many aspects of chess, he was editor of Chess Mail magazine from 1996 to 2005. Since 1996 he has contributed the monthly articles in “The Kibitzer” series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.
"A monumental new book by chess scholar Tim Harding represents a
colossal contribution to chess literature. Harding has not just
provided a full biography with many games, he has also done far
more than simply reproduce 19th century commentary....no chess
library which aspires to the name can afford to be without this
book." - The Spectator, 10th October 2015
"Harding's biography is a breathtaking and carefully researched
masterpiece, full of information about one of the great English
players. It is also a portrait of the old Europe that vanished in
the upheavals of WWI." -- André Schulz, ChessBase.com
"A monument in the history of chess-books." - Bab en Truus
Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad
"In his introduction, T. Harding, as a true historian, thoroughly
analyses the current state of research into JHB’s legacy.
[...]
This (hopefully) exhaustive list illustrates the extraordinary
depth of Harding’s historical research, on which he must have spent
hundreds or possibly even thousands of hours in a wide range of
books and other sources. Hats off to Harding here!
[...]
In closing, we can say that this is a unique book on the life of
one of the greatest English chess masters. Harding has tracked down
hundreds of unknown Blackburne games (1,184 in total), many of
which are appearing in print for the first time, and without his
efforts these games would have remained lost in old chess columns
and magazines for another hundred 580 years or more. Even so,
Harding did not content himself with merely providing analysis of
Blackburne’s chess activities and the accumulation of his serious
tournament and match games, but in the introductory and following
chapters presents hitherto unknown information on his youth, family
and personal life, which paints a colourful picture of this
renowned British chess master.
[...]
We can heartily recommend this book to all lovers of chess history
and believe it belongs on the bookshelf of any serious chess
collection. Harding’s book ranks among the best chess biographies
from the McFarland and Co. publishing house that have been
published in the previous decades." - Quarterly for Chess History,
Vol. 18
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