Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
Encyclopedia
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, CMG
, CBE
(19 April 1909 – 15 February 1974) was an Irish
-born British
cryptanalyst, chess
player, and chess writer. He worked on the German Enigma machine
at Bletchley Park
during World War II
, and was later the head of the cryptanalysis
division at GCHQ for over 20 years. In chess, he was twice British chess champion and earned the title of International Master. He was usually referred to as C. H. O'D. Alexander in print and Hugh in person.
Hugh Alexander was born on 19 April 1909 in Cork
, Ireland
, the eldest child of Conel William Long Alexander, an engineering
professor at University College, Cork, and Hilda Barbara Bennett. His father died in 1920, and the family moved to Birmingham
in England
where he attended King Edward's School
. He won a scholarship to study mathematics
at King's College, Cambridge
in 1928, graduating with a first in 1931. He represented Cambridge in chess.
From 1932, he taught mathematics in Winchester
, and married Enid Constance Crichton Neate (1900–1982) on 22 December 1934. Their eldest son was Michael O'Donel Bjarne Alexander
(1936–2002), a diplomat. In 1938 he left teaching and became head of research at the John Lewis Partnership
.
, the British codebreaking centre during World War II
. He joined Hut 6
, the section tasked with breaking German
Army
and Air Force
Enigma messages. In 1941, he transferred to Hut 8
, the corresponding hut working on Naval Enigma. He became deputy head of Hut 8 under Alan Turing
. Alexander was more involved with the day-to-day operations of the hut than Turing, and, while Turing was visiting the United States
, Alexander formally became the head of Hut 8 around November 1942. Other senior colleagues included Stuart Milner-Barry
, Gordon Welchman
, and Harry Golombek
. In October 1944, Alexander was transferred to work on the Japan
ese JN-25
code.
In mid-1946, Alexander joined GCHQ (under the control of the Foreign Office), which was the post-war successor organisation to the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) at Bletchley Park. By 1949, he had been promoted to the head of "Section H" (cryptanalysis
), a post he retained until his retirement in 1971.
MI5
's Peter Wright
, in his 1987 best-selling book Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer, wrote about Alexander's assistance to MI5 in the ongoing Venona project, as well as other important mutual cooperation between the two organizations, which broke down previous barriers to progress. "Any help is gratefully received in this department", Alexander told Wright, and that proved the case from then on. Wright also lauded Alexander's professionalism, and opined that the exceptional mental demands of his cryptanalytical career and chess hobby likely contributed to Alexander's early death at age 64, despite his healthy lifestyle.
). He was twice a winner of the British Chess Championship
, in 1938 and 1956. He represented England in the Chess Olympiad
six times, in 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1954, and 1958. At the 1939 Olympiad in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, Alexander had to leave part-way through the event, along with the rest of the English team, because of the declaration of World War II
, since he was required at home for codebreaking duties. He was also the non-playing captain of England from 1964 to 1970. He was awarded the International Master title in 1950 and the International Master for Correspondence Chess
title in 1970. He won Hastings
1946/47 with the score 7½/9, a point ahead of Savielly Tartakower
. His best tournament result may have been first equal (with David Bronstein
) at Hastings 1953/54, where he went undefeated and beat Soviet grandmasters David Bronstein
and Alexander Tolush
in individual games. Alexander's opportunities to appear abroad were limited as he was not allowed to play chess in the Soviet bloc because of his secret work in cryptography. He was also the chess columnist of The Sunday Times
in the 1960s and 1970s.
Many knowledgeable chess people believe that Alexander had Grandmaster potential, had he been able to develop his chess abilities further. Many top players peak in their late twenties and early thirties, but for Alexander this stretch coincided with World War II, when high-level competitive opportunities were unavailable. After this, his professional responsibilities as a senior cryptanalyst limited his top-class appearances. He defeated Mikhail Botvinnik
in one game of a team radio match against the Soviet Union
in 1946, at a time when Botvinnik was likely the world's top player. Alexander made important theoretical contributions to the Dutch Defence
and Petroff Defence.
game one suddenly meets a move which simply takes one's breath away."
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(19 April 1909 – 15 February 1974) was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cryptanalyst, chess
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...
player, and chess writer. He worked on the German Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and was later the head of the cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
division at GCHQ for over 20 years. In chess, he was twice British chess champion and earned the title of International Master. He was usually referred to as C. H. O'D. Alexander in print and Hugh in person.
Early life and education
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the eldest child of Conel William Long Alexander, an engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
professor at University College, Cork, and Hilda Barbara Bennett. His father died in 1920, and the family moved to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 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...
where he attended King Edward's School
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
. He won a scholarship to study mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1928, graduating with a first in 1931. He represented Cambridge in chess.
From 1932, he taught mathematics in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, and married Enid Constance Crichton Neate (1900–1982) on 22 December 1934. Their eldest son was Michael O'Donel Bjarne Alexander
Michael Alexander (diplomat)
Sir Michael Alexander was a British diplomat. He was the foreign policy secretary to Margaret Thatcher and the UK ambassador to NATO....
(1936–2002), a diplomat. In 1938 he left teaching and became head of research at the John Lewis Partnership
John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned UK partnership which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and a number of other services...
.
Bletchley Park and GCHQ
In February 1940 Alexander arrived at Bletchley ParkBletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, the British codebreaking centre during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He joined Hut 6
Hut 6
Hut 6 was a wartime section of Bletchley Park tasked with the solution of German Army and Air Force Enigma machine ciphers. Hut 8, by contrast, attacked Naval Enigma...
, the section tasked with breaking German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
and Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
Enigma messages. In 1941, he transferred to Hut 8
Hut 8
Hut 8 was a section at Bletchley Park tasked with solving German naval Enigma messages. The section was led initially by Alan Turing...
, the corresponding hut working on Naval Enigma. He became deputy head of Hut 8 under Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
. Alexander was more involved with the day-to-day operations of the hut than Turing, and, while Turing was visiting the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Alexander formally became the head of Hut 8 around November 1942. Other senior colleagues included Stuart Milner-Barry
Stuart Milner-Barry
Sir Stuart Milner-Barry KCVO, CB, OBE was a British chess player, chess writer, World War II codebreaker and civil servant. He represented England in chess both before and after World War II...
, Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman was a British-American mathematician, university professor, World War II codebreaker at Bletchley Park, and author.-Education and early career:...
, and Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek OBE , was a British chess International Master and honorary grandmaster, chess arbiter, and chess author. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He became a grandmaster in 1985.He was the chess correspondent of The Times...
. In October 1944, Alexander was transferred to work on the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese JN-25
JN-25
The vulnerability of Japanese naval codes and ciphers was crucial to the conduct of World War II, and had an important influence on foreign relations between Japan and the west in the years leading up to the war as well...
code.
In mid-1946, Alexander joined GCHQ (under the control of the Foreign Office), which was the post-war successor organisation to the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) at Bletchley Park. By 1949, he had been promoted to the head of "Section H" (cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
), a post he retained until his retirement in 1971.
MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
's Peter Wright
Peter Wright
Peter Maurice Wright was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence officer, noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher, which became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies...
, in his 1987 best-selling book Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer, wrote about Alexander's assistance to MI5 in the ongoing Venona project, as well as other important mutual cooperation between the two organizations, which broke down previous barriers to progress. "Any help is gratefully received in this department", Alexander told Wright, and that proved the case from then on. Wright also lauded Alexander's professionalism, and opined that the exceptional mental demands of his cryptanalytical career and chess hobby likely contributed to Alexander's early death at age 64, despite his healthy lifestyle.
Chess career
He represented Cambridge University in the Varsity chess matches of 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932 (he studied at King's College, CambridgeKing's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
). He was twice a winner of 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...
, in 1938 and 1956. He represented England in 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...
six times, in 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1954, and 1958. At the 1939 Olympiad 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...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Alexander had to leave part-way through the event, along with the rest of the English team, because of the declaration of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, since he was required at home for codebreaking duties. He was also the non-playing captain of England from 1964 to 1970. He was awarded the International Master title in 1950 and the International Master for 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...
title in 1970. He won Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
1946/47 with the score 7½/9, a point ahead of Savielly Tartakower
Savielly Tartakower
Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...
. His best tournament result may have been first equal (with David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
) at Hastings 1953/54, where he went undefeated and beat Soviet grandmasters David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
and Alexander Tolush
Alexander Tolush
Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster. He was one of Boris Spassky's mentors. Tolush was born and died in Saint Petersburg...
in individual games. Alexander's opportunities to appear abroad were limited as he was not allowed to play chess in the Soviet bloc because of his secret work in cryptography. He was also the chess columnist of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
in the 1960s and 1970s.
Many knowledgeable chess people believe that Alexander had Grandmaster potential, had he been able to develop his chess abilities further. Many top players peak in their late twenties and early thirties, but for Alexander this stretch coincided with World War II, when high-level competitive opportunities were unavailable. After this, his professional responsibilities as a senior cryptanalyst limited his top-class appearances. He defeated Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
in one game of a team radio match against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1946, at a time when Botvinnik was likely the world's top player. Alexander made important theoretical contributions to the Dutch Defence
Dutch Defence
The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:Elias Stein , an Alsatian who settled in The Hague, recommended the defence as the best reply to 1.d4 in his 1789 book Nouvel essai sur le jeu des échecs, avec des réflexions militaires relatives à ce jeu.-Theory:Black's 1.....
and Petroff Defence.
A quote
"In playing through an AlekhineAlexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
game one suddenly meets a move which simply takes one's breath away."
Books
- C. H. O'D. Alexander (1972). Fischer v. Spassky. Vintage. ISBN 0-394-71830-5.
- C. H. O'D. Alexander (1972). Fischer v. Spassky - Reykjavik 1972. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-140-03573-7.
- C. H. O'D. Alexander (1973). The Penguin Book of Chess Positions. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-140-46199-2.
- C. H. O'D. Alexander, Derek Birdsall (Editor) (1973). A Book of Chess. Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-091-17480-4.
- C. H. O'D. Alexander (1974). Alexander on Chess. Pittman. ISBN 978-0-273-00315-1.
- Learn Chess: A New Way For All. Volume One: First Principles by C.H. O’D. Alexander and T. J. Beach. (RNIB, 1963). In One Volume.
- Learn Chess: A New Way For All. Volume Two: Winning Methods by C.H. O’D. Alexander and T. J. Beach. (RNIB, 1973). In One Volume.
- Alekhine's Best Games of Chess : 1938 - 1945 by Alexander, Conel Hugh O'Donel London: G. Bell and Sons, 1966 ISBN 4-87187-827-9
- Learn chess : a new way for all by Alexander, C. H. O'D. (Conel Hugh O'Donel) Oxford : Pergamon Press, 1963-
- A Book of Chess ISBN 9780060100483, Harper & Row
External links
- Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander at ChessGames.com
- Documents written by Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander while working as a cryptanalyst at Bletchley Park.
Sources
- Harry GolombekHarry GolombekHarry Golombek OBE , was a British chess International Master and honorary grandmaster, chess arbiter, and chess author. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He became a grandmaster in 1985.He was the chess correspondent of The Times...
and William HartstonWilliam HartstonWilliam Roland Hartston is an English chess player who played competitively from 1962 to 1987 with a highest Elo rating of 2515...
, The Best Games of C. H. O'D. Alexander (1976). - Sir Stuart Milner-BarryStuart Milner-BarrySir Stuart Milner-Barry KCVO, CB, OBE was a British chess player, chess writer, World War II codebreaker and civil servant. He represented England in chess both before and after World War II...
, "A Tribute to Hugh Alexander", in Harry Golombek and William Hartston, The Best Games of C H O'D Alexander (1976), pp. 1–9 http://frode.home.cern.ch/frode/crypto/alexander/mbarry.html(PDF). - British Chess MagazineBritish Chess MagazineBritish 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....
, April 1974, p. 117 & June 1974, p. 202 (obituary and tribute) - Ken WhyldKen WhyldKenneth Whyld was a British chess author and researcher, best known as the co-author of The Oxford Companion to Chess, the standard single-volume chess reference work in English....
, Chess: The Records (Guinness Books, 1986) - Obituary in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...