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James Henry Gerard Mortimer[1] (22 April 1832[2] – 24 February 1911) was an American-born British chess player, journalist, and playwright.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Mortimer graduated from the University of Virginia. As an attaché in the U.S. Diplomatic Service he was stationed in Paris from 1855 to 1860. Emperor Napoleon III awarded him the Cross of the Legion of Honour for his work. When American chess champion Paul Morphy traveled to Paris in 1858, Mortimer met him and they became friends. Mortimer was one of the few who witnessed the famous 1858 Morphy match with Adolf Anderssen.[3]
His loyalty to the Southern Confederacy led him to quit federal service in 1860. Mortimer remained in Paris working as a journalist. When Napoleon III was deposed in 1870, they both settled in England.
In London, Mortimer founded The London Figaro, the official newspaper of Napoleon's government in exile. Although Napoleon died in 1873, Figaro continued as a magazine. It was often controversial, and Mortimer made many enemies with his scathing theatre reviews. When caught up in a libel case, Mortimer unwisely chose to defend himself. Acting as his own counsel, he was unable to testify in his own defense. After he was convicted by the jury Mortimer was able to produce evidence to the judges that he had no personal knowledge of the libelous article, but it was too late. Rather than imposing the more common penalty of a fine, the court sentenced him to three months prison. Mortimer's public stature grew as a result as the punishment was widely felt to be unfair. Mortimer's imprisonment eventually caused him to sell Figaro, and with the sale came the end of its excellent chess column which had been written by chess master Johann Löwenthal from 1872 to 1876 and World Chess Champion Wilhelm Steinitz from 1876 to 1882. When Mortimer was released, he continued his career as a critic and a playwright. He wrote over 30 plays produced in London. Covering Spain's first international chess tournament, San Sebastián 1911, he caught pneumonia and died.
Mortimer had a very poor record in chess tournaments, nearly always finishing near the bottom of the field. At a London tournament in 1887, he finished last of ten players, losing all nine games he played. Despite his poor finishes, he was invited to many tournaments and seemed to be regarded more highly as a chess personality than a chess player.
Although never successful in tournaments, Mortimer sometimes did play well in individual games against powerful opponents. In the London tournament of 1883, he beat Johannes Zukertort and Mikhail Chigorin, but finished tied for last in a field of 14 with a score of 3–23. At the BCA International Congress in London in 1886 he defeated Jean Taubenhaus, James Mason, William H. K. Pollock, and Emil Schallopp, but finished with a score of 4–8 and in 11th place of 13. When he was 74 he played the 1907 Masters Tournament at Ostend and defeated Savielly Tartakower, Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, and Joseph Henry Blackburne, but finished last of 29 with a score of 5–23. He also won tournament games against Henry Bird and Jacques Mieses, and drew with Wilhelm Steinitz and George Henry Mackenzie.
Mortimer wrote two best-selling chess books published in London. He is the eponym of the Mortimer Defence in the Ruy Lopez and the related Mortimer Trap, and the Mortimer-Frazier Attack in the Evans Gambit.
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