Julius du Mont (15 December 1881, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

– 7 April 1956, in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a pianist, piano teacher,

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 ...

player, journalist, editor and writer. He studied music at the

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Conservatoire and at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, and became a concert pianist. He emigrated to England as a young man and became a successful piano teacher. Amongst his pupils was

Edna Iles Edna Amy Iles (18 May 190529 January 2003) was an English classical pianist. Edna Iles was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham in 1905. She began her studies in Birmingham with Appleby Matthews, making her debut as soloist with the City of Birmingh ...

. He settled in London and also gained a reputation as a strong chess player. He won club and county chess championships in the period leading up to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and showed his mastery of the English language by writing a manual on the Lewis gun. After the war, chess writing took up more and more of his time. Perhaps his most famous work was ''500 Master Games of Chess'' (1952), written in collaboration with

Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grand ...

. For some years, du Mont was chess columnist of '' The Field'' and of the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Between 1940 and 1949 he was general editor of ''

British Chess Magazine ''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''. The founder and ...

''.

Bibliography

*''Chess Openings Illustrated'' *''I Centre Counter Defence'' (1919) *''II Centre and Danish Gambit'' (1920) *''The Elements of Chess'' (1925) *''The Basis of Combination in Chess'' (1938) *''200 Miniature Games'' (1941) *''More Miniature Games'' (1953) *''500 Master Games of Chess'' (with

), two volumes (1952) *''100 Master Games of Modern Chess'' (with

), (1954)

Translations

Edward Lasker Edward Lasker (born Eduard Lasker) (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author of ...

’s ''Chess Strategy'' * Alekhine’s two volumes of ''My Best Games of Chess'' (the first with M. E. Goldstein) *

Rudolf Spielmann Rudolf Spielmann (5 May 1883 – 20 August 1942) was a Jewish-Austrian chess player of the romantic school, and chess writer. Career Spielmann was born in 1883, third child of Moritz and Cecilia Spielmann, and had a younger brother Edgar, an o ...

’s ''Art of Sacrifice in Chess''

References

*''British Chess Magazine'', May 1956, p119 (Obituary)

External links

British Chess Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mont, Julius du 1881 births 1956 deaths French chess players British chess players British writers French chess writers French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French male writers French emigrants to the United Kingdom Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts alumni Chess theoreticians British magazine editors German–English translators British columnists The Guardian journalists 20th-century French male pianists British male pianists Piano pedagogues French music educators British music educators Musicians from Paris Gun writers