A Great British Amateur Who Vanished from the Scene

     Every so often a player appears on the scene, creates a sensation, then for whatever reason disappears. James S. Kipping (November 28, 1922-April 20, 1899) from Manchester, England was one such player who outlived his reputation and became practically unknown. 
     During his heyday he was considered among the strongest English amateurs. His grandson, Cyril Stanley Kipping, would later earn the honorary FIDE title of International Master of Chess Composition in the 1959. Chessmetrics assigns Kipping a high rating of 2412 in 1861. This ranked him 19th in the world, putting him the a class with such players as Robert Wormald, Carl Mayet, Bernhard Horwitz and Augustus Mongredien. 
     Kipping had managed to disappear from the public eye to the point that in 1884 a Manchester weekly newspaper included him in a list of distinguished local players who had long since disappeared. The fact was, Kipping was still alive and though he never visited the local chess club, he was still playing at private gatherings. 
     Forty to fifty years previously he had met the great players of his day: Howard Staunton, Adolf Anderssen (whom he defeated several times), Thomas H. Buckle, Bernard Horwitz, Paul Morphy, Henry Bird and G.A. Macdonald. 
     For many years Kipping was the manager of the Bank of England. At the age of 20 he joined the bank where he worked under his father and remained there for 45 years until he retired. 
     The first record of him appearing on the Manchester's chess club members' list was in 1850. At the time the club's president was C.A. Duval, a well known artist of the day. 
     In 1853 Kipping participated in a an important club event that was attended by Staunton and other prominent players. During that event Kipping defeated a strong amateur player named Williams in a match by a score of +3 -2 =0. Eventually Kipping became club secretary, an office which he held until 1863.
     When the British Chess Association held its meeting in Manchester in 1857 there was a consultation game which lasted two days in which Staunton, Boden and Kipping defeated Anderssen, Horwitz and Kling. 
     In August, 1858 players from all over England journeyed to Manchester to watch Morphy to play eight blindfold games and Kipping was among those selected to play. Kipping took advantage of a weak move by Morphy and with skillful play secured the win. Later, when Morphy played 24 blindfold games in Leeds, Kipping was the only player to score a win. Kipping later played two other games against Morphy. 
     Starting in 1855 Kipping's name began appearing regularly in club matches and finally disappeared in 1887 although he had dropped his regular appearance at the club long before that. It was in 1887 while Kipping was club secretary that J.H. Blackburne, then 18 years old, joined the club. 
     Besides chess, Kipping also had an interest in chemistry and he was a member of the Manchester Chemical Society and regularly attended their meetings. 
     Kipping was known for his healthy constitution and it was reported that he never had a day's illness and even in the coldest weather he never wore an overcoat and in both winter and summer, he slept with a window open. 
     On April 19, 1899, he complained of feeling faint and the following day his end came suddenly without any warning; he was 76 years old. 
     Few of his games have survived and most of his wins in databases are from simuls against world class players of his day, but most of them are not especially well played. The following game against another amateur probably best represents Kipping's solid play.