Wilson, William J.




Ratings

Year       Rank    Edo    Dev.   Games 
1861  54  2381 (74) 9
1862  55  2372 (77) 0
1863  54  2364 (77) 3
1864  67  2348 (79) 0
1865  73  2332 (78) 0
1866  80  2317 (76) 7
1867  96  2295 (85) 0
1868  107  2273 (92) 0
1869  120  2252 (98) 0
1870  134  2230 (103) 0
1871  155  2208 (108) 1

Rating table notes

Biographical data
Name: Wilson, William John  
   Also known as: Dr. W.J. Wilson
Born: 1834
Died: 19 Nov. 1880
 
Notes:
Di Felice has 'Wilson, William John' at Bristol 1861, as does La Grande Storia degli Scacchi. Gaige has 'V.J. Wilson' and cites the Chess Player's Chronicle of 1861 as a source, but the name appears there only as 'Dr. Wilson' in the account of the Bristol Tournament (pp.290-296). Sergeant (p.109, 317) also has 'Dr. V.J. Wilson' at that event. A 'Dr. J.W. Wilson' is mentioned in an earlier reference to the West Yorkshire Chess Association Meeting at Leeds (p.268). Feenstra Kuiper has only 'Wilson'. There was also a 'James Wilson' of the St. James' Chess Club in London in 1861, who I presume is the player in the Ries' Divan Tournament in London in 1856 (the Chess Player's Chronicle of 1856 gives only 'Mr. Wilson' there). Both of these Wilsons were apparently at the Bristol 1861 congress (Chess Player's Chronicle, 1861, p.290), 'James Wilson' in the minor tournament (p.225). Then, to make things worse, there was a 'D. Wilson' (Chess World, July 1866, vol.2, p.156; Illustrated London News, 9 June 1866, p.571) of Clay Cross (Derbyshire?), who appears to have been 'Dr. Wilson' (Illustrated London News, 13 June 1863, p.659) of Clay Cross, who played at Redcar 1866 (Chess Player's Magazine, 1866, p.280). Is the initial 'D.' in the 9 June 1866 issue of the Illustrated London News an error for 'Dr.'? This would allow for this to be the same Dr. Wilson as the one who played at Bristol 1861. Finally, there is a player named J.W. Rimington Wilson (born 1822) who was involved in the British Chess Association in 1866 (Chess Player's Magazine, 1866, p.110). It is not clear where Di Felice got the name 'William John Wilson', though there was a member of the Liverpool Club of that name elected in 1848 (Edgar, p.74). Steve Mann has identified Dr. William John Wilson from genealogical information. He gives date of birth between 20-11-1833 and 19-11-1834 and an exact date of death (19-11-1880).
 
References
Books
   Di Felice, Chess Results, 1747-1900, page 234
   Harding, Steinitz in London, page 84
   Löwenthal and Medley, Chess Congress of 1862, page xl
   Sergeant, Century of British Chess, page 109, 144, 317
   Thulin, Name index to CTC, page 298
   Whyld, English Tournaments, page 12
   Zavatarelli, Ignatz Kolisch, page 130
Periodicals
   [CPC], vol. 3, no. 33, Sep. 1861, page 268
   [CPC], vol. 4, no. 4, Apr. 1862, page 98
   [CPM], vol. 2, no. 7, July 1866, page 219
   [CPM], vol. 2, no. 9, Sep. 1866, page 280
   [CW], vol. 2, no. 5, July 1866, page 153, 156
   [CW], vol. 2, no. 7, Sep. 1866, page 195
   [Era], vol. 24, no. 1199, 15 Sep. 1861, page 6
   [Era], vol. 25, no. 1287, 24 May 1863, page 5
   [ILN], vol. 39, no. 1120, 7 Dec. 1861, page 584
   [ILN], vol. 41, no. 1171, 25 Oct. 1862, page 451
   [ILN], vol. 42, no. 1208, 13 June 1863, page 659
   [ILN], vol. 46, no. 1303, 25 Feb. 1865, page 195
   [ILN], vol. 48, no. 1374, 9 June 1866, page 571
   [ILN], vol. 49, no. 1385, 18 Aug. 1866, page 171
   [ILN], vol. 64, no. 1795, 17 Jan. 1874, page 67
Web
   Mann, Steve.  [Yorkshire Chess History - 1865: 1st Redcar Meeting]
   Mann, Steve.  [Yorkshire Chess History - 1866: NYDCA, 2nd Redcar Meeting]
   Mann, Steve.  [Yorkshire Chess History - Dr. William John Wilson]
   Sericano, C.  [Bristol 1861]
   Spinrad, Jeremy P.  [Collected results, 1836-1863]
Match data  (f=formal; c=casual; s=soft)

Wilson, W.J. - Wayte, W. 1861         (s)     3   -   2
Skipworth, A.B. - Wilson, W.J. 1871         (c)     1   -   0

Tournament data

Leeds 1861 (1)     West Yorkshire Chess Association Tournament    
  Wilson, W.J. - Watkinson, J.     1 - 0    
  Wilson, W.J. - Stanley, C.H.     0 - 1    
Bristol 1861 (1)     4th British Chess Association Congress - Grand Tournament    
  Wilson, W.J. - Stanley, C.H.     1 - 0    
  Wilson, W.J. - Paulsen, L.     0 - 1    
Sheffield 1863     West Yorkshire Chess Association Meeting    
  Wilson, W.J. - Mort, H.L.     1 - 0    
  Wilson, W.J. - Cadman, R.     1 - 0    
  Wilson, W.J. - Barlow, E.     1 - 0    
Redcar 1866 (1)     North Yorkshire and Durham Chess Association - 1st Class Tournament     3  /  7

Player information updated: 3 Apr. 2022