  joseph henry blackburne (10 december 1841 â 1 september 1924), nicknamed "the black death", dominated british chess during the latter part of the 19th century. he learned the game at the relatively late age of 18 but quickly became a strong player and went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50&nbsp;years. at one point he was the world's second most successful player, with a string of tournament victories behind him, and popularised chess by giving simultaneous and blindfold displays around the country. blackburne also published a collection of his own games, and was a chess correspondent for a leading journal until his death. he was also noted for heavy drinking of scotch whisky, especially during exhibition games, and this became the subject of many anecdotes. however, he occasionally became violent when drunk, and his victims included other chess players. ==biography== joseph henry blackburne was born in manchester in december 1841. his father was a temperance reformer who travelled all over britain and ireland, taking his son with him. ironically joseph blackburne became famous for his heavy drinking of whisky while playing chess. he learned how to play draughts as a child but it was not until he heard about paul morphy's exploits around europe that he switched to playing chess, at the age of 18â19:  blackburne joined the manchester chess club around 1860. in july 1861 he lost 5-0 in a match with manchester's strongest player, edward pindar (and champion of the provinces), but 3 months later blackburne defeated pindar (five wins, two draws, one loss). next year he became champion of the city club, ahead of pindar and bernhard horwitz (who taught him endgame theory).{{cite book | author=hooper & whyld | t
1841_births 1924_deaths British_chess_players Deaths_from_myocardial_infarction English_chess_players People_from_Manchester