MARK RUBERY CHESS

The following obituary and subsequent retraction are from William Winter’s excellent Chessnotes site.

From The Field, 19 June 1875:

‘Death of Capt. Kennedy We announce with regret the death, at the age of 68, of Capt. H.A. Kennedy, whose name has been associated with the chess world for the last 40 years – an enthusiastic amateur, acknowledged the best chess player in the army, and one of the strongest of English players. In 1845 he played a great deal with Mr Buckle, the author of the History of Civilisation, with whom he then made even games, a creditable performance, if we remember that some years after Mr Buckle was pronounced by Anderssen to be the finest English player. In 1851 he participated in the Grand International Tournament, where he was awarded the sixth prize. In 1862 he published a book under the title Waifs and Strays, chiefly from the Chessboard (published by L. Booth), which contained a collection of humorous chess anecdotes. Most of the latter had already appeared in the Chess Player’s Chronicle and the American Chess Monthly, and some of them had previously been found worthy of a place in the pages of Punch. Up to a short time before his death, he took the warmest interest in the game, which he had liberally supported throughout his life. His personal qualities were characterized by an amiable disposition, and his loss will be deeply felt in the widest chess circles.’

The retraction, in The Field, 26 June 1875:

‘Captain Kennedy As appears from the subjoined letter, the report of Capt. Kennedy’s death, published in our last week’s issue, is erroneous. The happily unfounded news was communicated to us independently by two of the strongest metropolitan players, whose bona fides are [sic] above suspicion, and who had received the tidings from a member of a West-end club to which Capt. Kennedy belongs. We have not been able to trace the origin of the false report, but we can assure our esteemed correspondent that, for the first time within our editorial experience, we feel great pleasure in correcting a mistake that has appeared in our columns. Sir: I have had the mournful satisfaction of reading my obituary notice in The Field of Saturday last. It is not everyone who is so privileged, and I am much obliged for the friendly and flattering remarks with which you garland my tomb. But I am not dead yet: moreover, if I am to attain the age of 68, I have still some time to spend in this best of all possible worlds. Some wag has been imposing a figment upon you. Let your editorial baton smite him heavily. Yours in the flesh, H.A. Kennedy. The ‘true’ obituary of Mr Kennedy eventually appeared in The Field of 2 November 1878

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