Theophilus Thompson was not the first black chess player. Chess was a known favorite of many prominent free Black people prior to the Civil War. James McCune Smith, known for being the first Black American to hold a medical degree, an abolitionist, co-founder of the National Council of the Colored People, and author (and clearly deserving of his own future post) wrote an essay about chess in the September 29, 1859 edition of The National Era, a 19th century abolitionist newspaper.
However, Theophilus Augustus Thompson is the first “recognized” Black chess master* which basically mean he is the first Black chess player best-known by white people. Born a slave in 1855 in Frederick, Maryland, Thompson spent his early teens working as a house servant after emancipation. Around the age of 17, Thompson worked as a servant for John K. Hanshew, publisher of The Maryland Chess Review.
Thompson became fascinated with chess after watching Hanshew play against an opponent. Thompson was eager to learn and once Hanshew found out, he loaned Thompson a chess board and pieces and gave Thompson several chess problems to solve. (Because Black people are pure magic) Not only did Thompson quickly solve those problems… he also began to create his own, eventually contributing his chess problems to The Dubuque Chess Journal. Thompson gained notoriety as a chess prodigy and began getting invitation from cities across the country to compete in tournaments.
One year after witnessing his first chess game, Thompson composed a book of endgame positions called Chess Problems, which was praised by his peers. A review of Thompson’s book was documented in the July 1874 issue of City of London Chess Magazine stating “We have been very much pleased indeed with the composition in this book, and consider that they display real genius, both of a conceptive and constructive order. . . . We consider Mr. Thompson a composer of great merit and of rare promise.”
In 1875, the The Dubuque Chess Journal closed, leaving Thompson unemployed, after which he disappeared. There were rumors that his disappearance was the result of racial lynching, which was not uncommon during that time, however an 1880 census lists a Theophilus Thompson (age 24) , working as an oysterman in his homestate of Maryland and a 1920 census listed a 69 year old (he would have been 65) Theophilus Thompson, married with two kids. It is also reported that a 1930 and 1940 census list a Theophilus Thompson living in Churchton, Maryland. We will never know why Thompson chose to simple life, but it is reassuring to know that he live a full life (based on census documentation).
Nevertheless, we salute this brilliant man and his legacy. Though flying under the radar, Thompson’s contributions to chess helped impact not just black chess players, but the game as a whole. Salute!
*titles associated with ratings didn’t appear until around 1950