I first stumbled on the name of Sir George Alan Thomas in my favorite childhood chess book, The Art Of The Checkmate. I am not even sure whether the book included his victory over an amateur or his defeat at the hands of one of the chess legends like Capablanca or Alekhine.
I thought he was just another „less important“ player from the history of chess, say, like Milan Vidmar, Marmaduke Wyvill, Louis Paulsen or Lajos Portisch.
But today I read his Wikipedia page and realized how superficial and ignorant it is to underestimate „less important“ players. Because sir George Alan Thomas was not only much stronger chess player than I anticipated, but also one of the most remarkable human beings in history.
Apart from chess, he was also a ‘professional’ badminton and tennis player (with his achievements in badminton being particularly impressive). Some of the highlights of his career include:
• British Chess Champion in 1923 and 1924
• Shared 1st at Hastings International Chess Congress with Max Euwe and Salo Flohr, ahead of Capablanca and Botvinnik (he beat both of them in individual games)
• Quarterfinal in singles in Wimbledon (1911)
• Semi-final in doubles in Wimbledon (1907, 1912)
• Most successful player ever in the history of All England Open Badminton Championship (considered the unofficial World Badminton Championship) with 21 titles (4 in singles)
• Co-founder of International Badminton Federation
• President of International Badminton Federation from 1934-1955
• The originator of Badminton’s World Men Team Championship (akin to tennis Davis Cup). The Cup for the championship is named Thomas Cup after him.
It is surprising what you can do with all the time you have when you never marry in your life…
Happy birthday anniversary to an amazing individual and a true sportsman!
(If you like posts such as this one, check our complete list of Chess Birthdays )