Smith, Charles


Ratings

Year       Rank    Edo    Dev.   Games 
1849  109  2132 (92) 2
1850  107  2147 (84) 14

Rating table notes

Biographical data
Name: Smith, Charles French  
Born: 1828
Died: 23 Feb. 1868
 
Notes:
Di Felice lists a C. Smith at London 1849 and a C.F. Smith at Birmingham 1858; but La Grande Storia degli Scacchi gives C.F. Smith at both. Staunton in the Chess Player's Chronicle lists 'C.J. Smith' at London 1849 (Mar. 1849, p.66) but has a number of games by 'C.F. Smith'. William Greenwood Walker lists a 'C. Smith' as a subscriber to his 1836 book 'A Selection of Games of Chess...' (p.279). A report of the Birmingham meeting of 1844 in the Chess Player's Chronicle (1844, v.5, p.351) lists a 'C. Smith' as being present. Edgar's Sketch of the Liverpool Chess Club (1893) gives 'Caleb Smith' as one of the founding members of the club in 1837, but it seems unlikely that this was 'C.F. Smith' since the latter is referred to by Staunton in 1848 (Chess Player's Chronicle, p.146) as 'a very young and promising addition to the circle of metropolitan players'. John Townsend (p.82) has found his full name, Charles French Smith, and approximate date of birth, 1828. So the references to 'C. Smith' in the 1830s are clearly not 'C.F. Smith'.
 
References
Books
   Di Felice, Chess Results, 1747-1900, page 232
   Harding, Eminent Victorian Chess Players, page 112
   Harding, Steinitz in London, page 79
   Townsend, Historical Notes on Players, page 81
Periodicals
   [BCR], vol. 1, no. 1, Jan. 1853, page 29
   [BCR], vol. 2, no. 4, Apr. 1854, page 97
   [BLL], 2 May 1847, page 8
   [BLL], 8 Apr. 1849, page 5
   [BLL], 1 July 1849, page 8
   [CP], vol. 3, Dec. 1852, page 140
   [CPC], vol. 9, no. 5, May 1848, page 146
   [CPC], vol. 9, no. 8, Aug. 1848, page 227
   [CPC], vol. 10, no. 3, Mar. 1849, page 66
   [CPC], vol. 3, no. 3, Mar. 1855, page 103
   [ILN], vol. 14, no. 368, 28 Apr. 1849, page 274
   [ILN], vol. 28, no. 782, 2 Feb. 1856, page 130
   [ILN], vol. 35, no. 986, 6 Aug. 1859, page 140
   [IZL], vol. 11, no. 276, 14 Oct. 1848, page 256
   [IZL], vol. 15, no. 370, 3 Aug. 1850, page 79
   [IZL], vol. 19, no. 487, 30 Oct. 1852, page 288
   [Reg], vol. 2, no. 11, Nov. 1850, page 346
   [ST], no. 1599, 29 May 1853, page 3
   [ST], no. 1809, 20 Dec. 1857, page supp.3
   [SZ], vol. 4, no. 6, June 1849, page 221
Web
   Sericano, C.  [Birmingham 1858]
   Sericano, C.  [London, Ries' Divan 1849]
   Spinrad, Jeremy P.  [Collected results, 1836-1863]
Match data  (f=formal; c=casual; s=soft)

Bird, H.E. - Smith, C.F. 1850         (f)     10.5   -   3.5
Smith, C.F. - Cradock, C.W. 1850         (f)     5   -   0      Smith, C.F. gave odds of pawn and two moves

Tournament data

London, England 1849     Ries' Divan tournament    
  Smith, C.F. - Buckle, H.T.     0 - 2    

Player information updated: 3 Jun. 2023