Baruch Harold Wood
Encyclopedia
Baruch Harold Wood MSc OBE (more commonly known as B. H. Wood) (13 July 1909 – 4 April 1989) was an English
chess player
, editor
and author
. He was born in Sheffield
, England
.
eight times. In 1939 he represented England
at the Chess Olympiad
in Buenos Aires
. He won the tournaments at Baarn
(1947), Paignton
(1954), Whitby
(1963), Tórshavn
(1967) and Jersey
(1975). He tied for 4th-6th, scoring 5 points out of 9 games, at the 1948-49 Hastings Christmas Chess Congress, 1.5 points behind winner Nicolas Rossolimo
. In 1948, he tied for second place at the British Chess Championship
held in London
. His best historical Elo rating was 2459 in July 1946. He won the British Correspondence Chess
championship in 1944-45. From 1946 to 1951 he was a president of the ICCA, a forerunner organization of the International Correspondence Chess Federation
. Wood was a FIDE Judge, an international chess arbiter
, and the joint founder of the Sutton Coldfield Chess Club.
, which became one of the two leading chess magazines in Great Britain. He edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press
. Wood was the chess correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and The Illustrated London News. From 1948 to February 1967, he was responsible for the chess column of the Birmingham Daily Post. He also wrote a popular and thrice-reprinted book Easy Guide to Chess (Sutton Coldfield 1942). His other books include World Championship Candidates Tournament 1953 (Sutton Coldfield 1954) and 100 Victorian Chess Problems (1972).
, England
at the age of 79.
Wood's daughter Margaret (Peggy) Clarke won the British Girls' Championship in 1952, 1955, and 1956, and was the joint British Ladies' Champion in 1966. Her husband Peter Clarke is a full-time chess player and writer, who finished second in the British Chess Championship five times, represented England in the Chess Olympiads seven times, wrote five chess books, and was the Games Editor of the British Chess Magazine
. Woods' sons Christopher, Frank and Philip are also strong chess players.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
chess player
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was born in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Playing career
Between 1938 and 1957, Wood won the championship of WarwickshireWarwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
eight times. In 1939 he represented England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. He won the tournaments at Baarn
Baarn
Baarn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-The municipality Baarn :The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.- The town Baarn :...
(1947), Paignton
Paignton
Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...
(1954), Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
(1963), Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
(1967) and Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
(1975). He tied for 4th-6th, scoring 5 points out of 9 games, at the 1948-49 Hastings Christmas Chess Congress, 1.5 points behind winner Nicolas Rossolimo
Nicolas Rossolimo
Nicolas Rossolimo was an American-French-Russian-Greek chess Grandmaster. He was many times champion of Paris, France, and after relocating to the United States won the 1955 U.S. Open Championship...
. In 1948, he tied for second place at the British Chess Championship
British Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His best historical Elo rating was 2459 in July 1946. He won the British Correspondence Chess
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
championship in 1944-45. From 1946 to 1951 he was a president of the ICCA, a forerunner organization of the International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation was founded in 1951 as a new appearance of the ICCA , which was founded in 1945, as successor of the IFSB , founded in 1928....
. Wood was a FIDE Judge, an international chess arbiter
International Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
, and the joint founder of the Sutton Coldfield Chess Club.
Writings
In 1935, Wood founded the magazine CHESSCHESS magazine
CHESS magazine , also called CHESS and previously called CHESS Monthly, is a chess magazine published monthly in the UK by Chess and Bridge Limited. CHESS was founded by Baruch Harold Wood in 1935 in Sutton Coldfield. Wood edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press and changed...
, which became one of the two leading chess magazines in Great Britain. He edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press
Pergamon Press
Pergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded by Paul Rosbaud and Robert Maxwell, which published scientific and medical books and journals. It is now an imprint of Elsevier....
. Wood was the chess correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and The Illustrated London News. From 1948 to February 1967, he was responsible for the chess column of the Birmingham Daily Post. He also wrote a popular and thrice-reprinted book Easy Guide to Chess (Sutton Coldfield 1942). His other books include World Championship Candidates Tournament 1953 (Sutton Coldfield 1954) and 100 Victorian Chess Problems (1972).
Other
Wood represented England when it joined FIDE, the world chess federation. He was long time President of the British Schools Chess Association and also of the British Universities Chess Association. He died in Sutton ColdfieldSutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the age of 79.
Wood's daughter Margaret (Peggy) Clarke won the British Girls' Championship in 1952, 1955, and 1956, and was the joint British Ladies' Champion in 1966. Her husband Peter Clarke is a full-time chess player and writer, who finished second in the British Chess Championship five times, represented England in the Chess Olympiads seven times, wrote five chess books, and was the Games Editor of the British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine 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....
. Woods' sons Christopher, Frank and Philip are also strong chess players.