Birch, James




Ratings

Year       Rank    Edo    Dev.   Games 
1855  162  1942 (120) 2
1856  181  1940 (118) 0
1857  188  1939 (115) 0
1858  207  1937 (113) 0
1859  233  1935 (109) 1
1860  246  1936 (107) 0
1861  258  1937 (104) 3
1862  274  1941 (102) 6
1863  268  1940 (103) 2
1864  287  1936 (107) 0
1865  312  1932 (110) 1
1866  348  1922 (115) 0
1867  347  1913 (119) 0
1868  368  1903 (123) 0
1869  381  1894 (126) 1

Rating table notes

Biographical data
Name: Birch, James A.  
Born:
Died:
 
Notes:
Staunton gives his name as 'I.A. Birch' in the Illustrated London News of 4 Apr. 1863 (p.395), but it is given elsewhere as 'J. Birch' or 'James Birch'. I believe these are the same person, as 'I' was often used interchangably for 'J' as an initial in the 19th century. The middle initial 'A' also appears in the subscription list of the book of the Chess Association of Manchester meeting in 1857, and in Renette's biography of Paulsen, citing the Manchester Weekly Express and Guardian of 21 Dec. 1861. The Jun. 1853 issue of the Chess Player's Chronicle has 'James Bird' in error. There was also a 'Lee Birch' or 'Lea Birch' in Manchester, who was active at least from 1837 to 1853, and another 'James Birch' who played in Glasgow in the 1870s and was born in Manchester in 1841, but too young to have been the Manchester player of 1853.
 
References
Books
   Chess Association, Manchester 1857 Report, page 40
   Renette, Louis Paulsen, page 119
   Whyld, English Tournaments, page 11
Periodicals
   [CP], vol. 3, June 1853, page 322
   [CPC], vol. 1, no. 6, June 1853, page 180
   [CPC], vol. 3, no. 5, May 1855, page 176
   [Era], vol. 18, no. 919, 4 May 1856, page 14
   [Era], vol. 24, no. 1203, 13 Oct. 1861, page 13
   [Era], vol. 24, no. 1214, 29 Dec. 1861, page 4
   [ILN], vol. 22, no. 623, 21 May 1853, page 403
   [ILN], vol. 28, no. 797, 3 May 1856, page 483
   [ILN], vol. 30, no. 843, 7 Feb. 1857, page 124
   [ILN], vol. 38, no. 1068, 5 Jan. 1861, page 23
   [ILN], vol. 42, no. 1197, 4 Apr. 1863, page 395
   [MWET], no. 736, 26 Apr. 1856, page 6
Web
   Spinrad, Jeremy P.  [Collected results, 1836-1863]

Tournament data

Liverpool 1855     Manchester - Liverpool Club Match    
  Birch, J.A. - Sparke, M.     1.5 - 0.5    
Manchester and Liverpool 1859     Manchester - Liverpool Telegraph Match    
  Birch, J.A. - de Szabo, E.     0 - 1    
Manchester 1861 (1)     Manchester Chess Club Tournament - 1st Class    
  Birch, J.A. - Pindar, E.D.     0 - 3    
Manchester 1862 (1)     Manchester Club Tournament    
  Birch, J.A. - Perkins, G.     3 - 1    
Manchester 1862 (2)     Manchester - Liverpool Club Match    
  Birch, J.A. - Soul, J.     0.5 - 1.5    
Liverpool 1863     Manchester - Liverpool Club Match    
  Birch, J.A. - Schull, L.     0.5 - 1.5    
Manchester 1865     Manchester - Liverpool Club Match    
  Birch, J.A. - Soul, C.     0.5 - 0.5    
Manchester 1869     Manchester - Liverpool Club Match    
  Birch, J.A. - Soul, C.     0 - 1    


Player information updated: 22 Jul. 2022