Arthur Ford Mackenzie

Arthur Ford Mackenzie (Kingston, October 6, 1861 - Kingston, June 23, 1905) was a Jamaican chess composer.

He was a genius in chess composition.
Born into an English family from Devonshire, he studied at the Church of England High School and the Collegiate School in Kingston.

He taught for a few years after graduating, but his poor health made it impossible for him to continue.

From 1879 to 1881 he worked in the chess department of the weekly Jamaica Family Journal.

In 1883, he was called to head the chess column of Tri-Weekly Gleaner, a position he held with a few interruptions until his death.
In 1881 he sent the first problem to an international competition; He won third prize in a Burnley Express competition.

He later took part in many competitions and won about 200 prizes, including 50 first prizes.

He was soon recognized as one of the best problem gamers of the time.
In 1887, with the support of the Bishop and Governor of Jamaica and the English politicians Lord Randolph Churchill and Sir Robert Peel,

he published the book Chess: Its Poetry and Its Prose.
In 1896 his eyesight deteriorated considerably and within a few months he went completely blind.

After a while, when he stopped composing, he realized that the only way to deal with problems was to visualize them in his head, often with better results than before. He himself wrote: "I recently convinced myself that composing chess problems is essentially mental work and that using the chess board and chess pieces can even hinder the development of ideas and limit your imagination ...

I think that the problems in three moves that I have made since I have lost my eyesight are, on the whole, much larger than those previously composed ». 
He suffered from Hansen's then incurable disease for many years and died on June 23, 1905 at the age of 43.

The condolences for his death were great and profound in chess circles around the world.

The British chess magazine published a long homage to his memory in the August 1905 issue.
In the last years of his life, Mackenzie was preparing a book with a collection of his problems.

After his death, Alain C. White took care of completing it and publishing it under the title Chess Lyrics:

A Collection of Chess Problems by AF Mackenzie (New York, 1905). 
Creator of the Mackenzie theme of the two trains: «A white battery is controlled by two black parts.

The defenses now remove one, now the other, of these parts and make the battery go crazy by neutralizing the effect of the part that still controls it. »
Special forms of the Mackenzie theme are the Mansfield theme and the Foschini theme.

A biographical text, here copied from the Website arves.org:

"(Kingston, October 6, 1861 - Kingston, June 23, 1905) was a Jamaican chess composer.

Born into an English family from Devonshire, he studied at the Church of England High School and the Collegiate School in Kingston. After graduating, he taught for a few years, but poor health made it impossible for him to continue. From 1879 to 1881 he contributed to the chess section of the weekly Jamaica Family Journal. In 1883 he was appointed to direct the chess column of the Tri-Weekly Gleaner magazine, a position he held with some interruptions until his death.

In 1881 he sent the first problem to an international competition; He won third prize in a Burnley Express competition. He later took part in many competitions and won about 200 prizes, including 50 first prizes. He was soon recognized as one of the best problem players of the time.

In 1887, with the support of the Bishop and Governor of Jamaica and the English politicians Lord Randolph Churchill and Sir Robert Peel, he published the book Chess: Its Poetry and Its Prose.

In 1896 his eyesight deteriorated significantly and within a few months he became completely blind. After a period in which he stopped composing, he found that he could only process problems by visualizing them in his head, often with better results than before. He himself wrote: "Recently I have convinced myself that the composition of chess problems is an essentially mental work and that the use of the chessboard and chess pieces can even hinder the development of ideas and limit the imagination. ... I believe "that the problems in three moves that I have made since I lost my sight are, on the whole, much greater than those previously composed ». 

He suffered for many years from Hansen's then incurable illness and died on June 23, 1905 at the age of 43. Condolences for his death were widespread and profound in chess circles around the world. The British chess magazine published a long tribute to his memory in the August 1905 issue.

In the last years of his life, Mackenzie prepared a book containing a collection of his problems. After his death, Alain C. White took care of completing it and publishing it under the title Chess Lyrics: A Collection of Chess Problems by A. F. Mackenzie (New York, 1905).

Creator of the Mackenzie theme of the two trains: «A white battery is controlled by two black parts. The defenses remove now one, now the other of these parts and make the battery go crazy, neutralizing the effect of the part that still controls it. »

Special forms of the Mackenzie theme are the Mansfield theme and the Foschini theme."

Source: Website arves.org (editor Peter Boll)

Others: 3 endgame studies by him are selected on the Website arves.org