John Wisker, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

John Wisker

English chess player

Date of Birth: 30-May-1846

Place of Birth: Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 18-Jan-1884

Profession: journalist, chess player

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

John Wisker (30 May 1846 in Kingston upon Hull, England – 18 January 1884 in Richmond, Victoria) was an English chess player and journalist.
By 1870, he was one of the world's ten best chess players, and the second-best English-born player, behind only Joseph Henry Blackburne. Wisker moved to London in 1866 to become a reporter for the City Press and befriended Howard Staunton.
His proficiency at chess improved rapidly, and he won the 1870 British Chess Championship after a play-off against Amos Burn, ahead of Blackburne, the defending champion.
He won again in 1872 after a play-off against the first British champion, Cecil Valentine De Vere.
After this second victory, the British championship was not resumed until 1904.
Wisker edited chess columns for The Sporting Times and Land and Water.
From 1872 to 1876, Wisker was Secretary of the British Chess Association and co-editor of The Chess Player's Chronicle. After learning that he had contracted tuberculosis, Wisker emigrated to Australia in the autumn of 1876 to try to regain his health.
In Australia, he wrote a chess column for the Australasian.
In 1884, Wisker died from bronchitis and tuberculosis.