Charles Blake | |
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Born | London, England | 12 June 1880
Died | 18 May 1961 Canada | (aged 80)
Education | Bedford Modern School |
Charles Blake (12 June 1880 – 18 May 1961) was an Anglo-Canadian chess player and prominent lawyer in Canada.[1] He won the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1911, was the chess champion of Western Canada between 1907 and 1910, and was Winnipeg Chess Club Champion, between 1907 and 1910.[2][3]
Charles Blake was born in London on 12 June 1880.[1] He was educated at Bedford Modern School.[1][4]
Blake immigrated to Canada in 1903, read law in Winnipeg, Canada, and was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1909.[1] He practised with Rothwell & Johnson in Winnipeg, between 1909 and 1911, before setting up his own practice in Brandon, Manitoba, in 1912.[1] He moved to Ontario in 1925 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1929 and the British Columbia Bar in 1949.[2]
Blake was the chess champion of Western Canada between 1907 and 1910, and was Winnipeg Chess Club Champion, also from 1907 to 1910.[2][3] Blake won the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1911.[2][3] He was said to be one of the few players who could effectively compete with Magnus Smith, the three-time Canadian Chess Champion.[5] Blake was runner up in the Canadian Chess Championship in 1909 and 1913.[5] In the 1920s, he won two Northwest Competitions in Canada.[5]
At the outset of World War I, Blake joined the 99th Manitoba Rangers.[1] He was with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France, 8th Battalion, 1st Canadian Division, from August 1914, where he was a lieutenant, later promoted to captain in October 1915.[1] He was further promoted to the rank of major in September 1916.[1]
Blake's wife predeceased him. He died, without issue, on 18 May 1961.[2]