Regarded by Howard Staunton as 'one of the finest players in England', he was primarily an enthusiastic amateur of chess, yet in his sole tournament appearance at London 1851 he took second prize behind Adolf Anderssen. Finishing ahead of Staunton, Elijah Williams, Bernhard Horwitz, and Jozsef Szen, he succumbed only to Anderssen in the final, by a score of 2½-4½. Long after he had retired from competitive play, he retained a great interest in the game and was known to have contributed to the organisation and funding of the 1883 London tournament.