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William Wayte
Full name William Wayte
Country  England
Born (1829-09-04)4 September 1829
Calne, England
Died 3 May 1898(1898-05-03) (aged 68)
London, England
Title Master
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

William Wayte (born September 4, 1829 – died May 3, 1898) was a Church of England clergyman and a talented British chess master. He was part of a special group of religious leaders who played a big role in English chess during the late 1800s. Even though he's not widely known today, he was once considered one of the top 10 chess players in the world around 1878!

Becoming a Scholar and Priest

William Wayte was born in Calne, England. He was a very smart student. In 1850, he won important awards like the Craven Scholar and Brown's Medallist.

He earned his first university degree (B.A.) in 1853. That same year, he became a deacon, which is a step in becoming a priest. He also started teaching at Eton College, a famous school, where he worked until 1875. In 1854, he became a full priest. He later earned his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1856.

In 1876, Wayte became a professor of Greek at University College London. He loved studying Greek and even helped edit important books about ancient Greek writings and history.

Playing Chess as a Master

William Wayte was one of several clergymen who were excellent chess players in the Victorian Era in England. Other famous players in this group included George Alcock MacDonnell and John Owen.

These "English parsons" (another word for clergymen) were very skilled. Some people think their quiet country lives gave them lots of time to practice chess! Many of them even used secret names when they played in tournaments. This was so their church members wouldn't know they were spending weekends playing chess in London! Wayte's secret chess name was "W.H.C."

Wayte played in many chess tournaments across Britain from 1861 to 1893. He often placed very high.

  • In 1868, he came in second place at a big chess event in York.
  • He also finished second in 1871 at the British Chess Association Challenge Cup.
  • In 1872, he took third place at another major tournament in Malvern.
  • He was second again in 1873 at the Counties Chess Association Congress in Bristol.

In 1876, Wayte tied for second place with other strong players. In 1877, he won a chess match against James Minchin in London.

Wayte had a fantastic year in 1878. He won the Loewenthal Cup in London without losing a single game! He won it again in 1879. As his chess career grew, he left his teaching job at University College London in 1879.

He continued to play well in the 1880s:

  • In 1881, he finished third at a chess congress in Leamington.
  • In 1884, he won the Counties Chess Association tournament in Bath. He beat famous players like Henry Bird!
  • Also in 1884, he won another match against Rev. Thorold.

In 1885, William Wayte was so well-known that he was featured in a cartoon! The famous artist Harry Furniss drew him in Punch, a popular British humor magazine. The cartoon showed Wayte with a very large head, playing chess against another top player, Johannes Zukertort. By 1894, Wayte was considered a very important member of the Counties' Association. He also wrote articles for the British Chess Magazine, which is the oldest chess magazine in the world that is still published today!

William Wayte passed away in London, England, on May 3, 1898.

Famous Chess Games

Here are two of William Wayte's interesting chess games. Chess games can be very complex, but these show how clever he was!

Schmid vs. Wayte (Dresden 1880)

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8 {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn 2
1 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king 1
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Schmid-Wayte, position after 19.Rf1?

In this game, Wayte (playing as Black) made a very smart move. He sacrificed his queen! This means he let his opponent capture his most powerful piece. But by doing this, he gained a huge advantage and was able to win the game. This game showed that even without a queen, a player can win if they have strong rooks, bishops, and passed pawns.

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4 6.e5? d5! 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Ne2 Bg4 10.d3 Bc5+ 11.d4 Bb6 12.Bxf4 f6 13.c3 fxe5 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Nxe5 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 c5 17.Be3 cxd4 18.Rxf8+ Rxf8 19.Rf1? 19...dxe3! 20.Rxf8+ Rxf8 21.Nf3 g5! 22.h3 Ng3 23.Qe1 e2+ 24.Kh2 Nf1+ 25.Kh1 Be3! 26.Qb1 Rxf3! 27.gxf3 Bf2 28.Qd3 Ng3+ 29.Kg2 e1(N)+! 30.Kxf2 Nxd3+ 31.Kxg3 Nxb2 0-1

Wayte vs. Ranken (Edinburgh 1877)

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8 {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn 2
1 {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king 1
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Wayte-Ranken, position after 13...Ne7

In this game, William Wayte (playing as White) made a surprising attack that quickly led to a win against his fellow clergyman, Charles Ranken. Wayte found a way to open up the game and attack his opponent's king very quickly.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nf5!? g6 6.Ne3 Nf6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 Re8 9.Nc3 Bd4 10.Ned5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 d6 12.c3 Bg7 13.f4 Ne7 14.f5! gxf5 15.Bg5 fxe4 16.Bxe4 Qd7 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.Qxf7+ Kh8 20.Nf6! 1-0

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