The Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1858), an uprising against the British, caught the British by surprise. During that time Minchin sent his wife Mary, who was in poor health due to the climate in Madras, back to England.
In due course she returned to India, however the travel, the climate and seven pregnancies had taken their toll and she passed away in Madras, where she had been born, in about 1877.
Minchin returned to England a wealthy man and was one of the main promoters of the London 1883 international tournament and he also edited the tournament book.
For many years while he was in India he was a member of the Legislative Council of Calcutta which gave him the opportunity of becoming acquainted with Indian Princes and rulers, many of whom took a great interest in chess.
In a letter in the newspaper Morning Post Henry Bird stated that Minchin was " the principal originator in England and India of the great Exhibition Tournament of 1851", but the British Chess Magazine of the day disputed the claim because Minchin’s name was mentioned by Staunton in his tournament book nor was his name mentioned in the list of subscribers.
However, the success of the 1883 Chess Congress in London
was largely owing to Minchin’s influence with the Indian Princes and particularly with the Maharajah of Vizayanagram, after whom the Minor Tournament was named and who contributed largely to the prizes.
The St. George's Chess Club took a leading role in organizing the 1883 event and Minchin, an honorary secretary of the club, was appointed “manager” of the event.
Minchin was known as a kindhearted man who was an excellent
scholar both in ancient and modern languages and he had a fondness for reading.
As for his chess, he was a very tough opponent over the chess
board and no one took him lightly. As a member of the St. George's Chess Club he took part in its numerous matches with considerable success.
Later in his life when he had experienced the loss of many of his old friends he retired from the London chess scene and went to live near Bournemouth in southern England.
There he was elected the president of the Bournemouth Chess Club where he appears to have played only casual chess. He died near Bournemouth, England.
In the following game, perhaps an offhand game, he handily defeats Henry Bird, who in 1866 was, according to Chessmetrics, one of the top 5 best players in the world.
Henry Bird–James Minchin0–1C84LondonLondon1866Stockfish 16
C84: Ruy Lopez, MacKenzie Variation 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 a6 4.a4 f6 5.d4 This variation (a favorite of Bird) is named after George
Henry Mackenzie who used it on a regular basis. It's a direct and aggressive
approach, but modern theory frowns on it because it does not promise white any
advantage. My databse confirms this opione;white wins 20 percent of the games,
but loses over twice as many. This variation ( favorite of Bird) is namee
after George Henry Mackenzie who used it on a regular basis. It's a direct and
aggressive approachm but modern theory frowns on it because it does not
promise white any advantage. My databse confirms this opione;white wins 20
percent of the games, but loses over twice as many. exd4 6.e5 Rarely played,
but it's neither better nor worse than the usual 6.O-O because neither move
has brought white much success. e4 7.0-0 e7 Black has achieved better
results with the ift played 7...Nc5 8.c3 Risky, but playable! 8.xc6 dxc6 9.xd4 0-0 10.f3 c5 11.c3 Strikovic,A (2512)-Lazic,M (2528) Subotica
2008. White has equalized. 8...dxc3 9.e1 9.c2 is inferior to the text.
cxb2 10.xb2 d5 11.bd2 White does not have nearly enough compensation.
Richter,K-Saemisch,F Berlin 1937 9.bxc3 is not very good either. 0-0 10.d5 c5 11.c2 Black has a solid position, but started making mistakes and
soon lost! b6 12.e3 b7 13.xc5 xc5 14.e6 dxe6 15.xh7+ xh7 16.h5+ g8 17.g5 e8 18.xf7+ h8 19.h5+ g8 20.h7+ f8 21.h8+ e7 22.xg7+ 1-0 Bird,H-Steinitz,W London 1866 9...cxb2 10.xb2 White has barely
sufficient compensation for his two Ps. Black's positiom is quite solid and
it's going to be tough to crack his defense. c5 11.c2 0-0 12.c3 d6 13.d5 g4 14.xe7+ xe7 15.d5 Walking into a fork gets white into major
difficulties. His best chance was 15.exd6 15.exd6 xd6 16.xh7+ White
must play this aggressive move even tgough black can survive it with little
difficulty. White must play this aggressive move even tgough blaack can
survive it with little difficulty. h8 This reserves black's edge. 16...xh7 17.g5+ g8 18.xg4 g6 Black id well defended, but white can continue
attacking as foillows... 19.e3 e6 20.h4 xg5 21.hxg5 ae8 22.h3 e4 23.g3 d6 and white's attack on the h-file has come to nothing. Even so, the
position has fizzled out to a draw (5 Shootouts from this position were drawn).
17.xd6 This is the best white has. cxd6 18.c2 xf3 19.gxf3 It's
clear that this position is better for black, but can he win. The double Rs
and white's two Bs will make squeezing out then win very difficult. In
Shootouts white scored +9 -2 =3, but the games were long and laborious. In
practical play it seems unlikely black could force a win. 15...b4-+ 16.d4 xc2 The elimination of this B also eliminates any attacking chances
white may have had...theoretically speaking that is. Practically speaking the
position is quite thorny. 17.xg4 This is a tricky position! Black must be
very careful to choose the right move here! 17.exd6 looks reasonable, but
after looks reasinable, but after xe1+ 18.xe1 xd4 19.xd4 cxd6 black is
winning. 17...e6 17...xa1 This proves once again that is't not over
until it's over! 18.exd6 xe1+ 19.xe1 e6 and white has multiple ways to
win. 17...xe1 This should be sufficient to win. For example... 18.exd6 xf3+ 19.gxf3 f5 20.dxe7 fxg4 21.exf8+ xf8 22.fxg4 d3 and with care
black should win. 18.h4 Of course white cannot afford to trade Qs. xe1 19.xe1 d3 Yet another fork. 20.e4 20.e2 dxe5 21.xe5 f6 22.e4 xe5 23.xe5 ad8 24.h4 d1+ 25.h2 xe5+ is an easy win. 20...xb2 White
is down so much material the game is over. 21.g4 f5 22.h3 dxe5 23.g3 g6 24.g5 ad8 25.h4 h5 26.e4 d1+ 27.h2 hxg4 28.g5 f4+
White resigned 28...f4+ 29.g3 xg5 30.xg4 xg4 31.hxg4 g7 32.g3 d3+ 33.f3 h8 34.f2 d2+ 35.g3 g5 36.f4 exf4+ 37.f3 e8 38.a3 e3# 0–1
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