Cecil Valentine De Vere (14 February 1846 in London – 9 February 1875 in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

) was the winner of the first official

British Chess Championship The British Chess Championships are organised by the English Chess Federation. The main tournament incorporates the British Championship, the English Chess Championships and the British Women's Chess Championship so it is possible, although it has ...

in 1866. He was born Valentine John Cecil De Vere Mathews in 1846. It is likely that he was the illegitimate son of William Cecil De Vere, a naval officer and son of the second Baronet of Curragh. His mother was Katherine Mathews, a Welsh-born household servant.Stephen Mann, ''Yorkshire Chess History'', Cecil Valentine De Vere
/ref> He played

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

effortlessly and elegantly without recourse to chess study or theory; in this respect he was not unlike

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanc ...

. His meteoric rise to fame and equally dramatic decline has been compared to

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was c ...

and he is often cited as 'The English Morphy'. His great natural talent for the game was attended by an equal indolence for work. Cecil De Vere contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

around 1867 and later became dependent on alcohol. He lived in London for most of his life but was sent to

by his chess friends in 1874 in the vain hope of recuperation. He died in Torquay, UK, aged 28, and is buried there.

References

External links

Article on J H Blackburne with section on C V De Vere

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{{DEFAULTSORT:De Vere, Cecil 1846 births 1875 deaths British chess players 19th-century chess players