Canadian Chess Biographies

"Wetherald's calm approach was demonstrated when, during the same period, a noisy camp meeting near his home was disturbing his pondering of a chess problem. A local youth who was particularly affected by the emotion of the moment burst in upon him exclaiming, 'Mr. Wetherald, rouse yourself! We are all going straight to perdition!' Wetherald answered with dry humour, 'Well, if that is the case we may as well go quietly.'"

Source (biography, quote): Kathleen M. S. Hertzberg, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 1891-1900 Volume XII, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2000

John White

(1834-91)

Played Canadian Championship 1874, 1877 (4th), 1879 (2nd)

Kenneth Whitfield

(1902-83)

Played Canadian Championship 1924, 1926, 1927, 1929 (6th), 1931 (5th), 1932, 1934
CCCA Champion 1927
Ontario Correspondence Champion 1926, 1927

Kurt Widmann

Correspondence Senior International Master 1999
Canadian Correspondence Champion 1985
Member Canada's 11th International Correspondence Chess Federation Olympiad Bronze medal team

Leo Williams

Photo: Chess Canada 1973.05.

Manager, power engineering
Holds Canadian record for a blindfold simultaneous exhibition: 27 opponents Baie-Comeau, Quebec, 1986.11.15, 18.75 hours, +16 =9 -2
Previous Canadian records for blindfold simultaneous exhibitions 22 boards, Montreal, 1973.02, +17 =3 -2, 11.5 hours; 25 boards, Montreal, 1982.07.15, +21 =3 -1, 16 hours
Chess columnist, Le Devoir; author, Cine Chess magazine

Leo Williams - Claude Hudon
Blindfold Simultaneous Exhibition by Williams on 27 boards, Baie-Comeau, Quebec, 1986.11.15

Here is Leo Williams' selection for several of his better games:

Leo Williams - D. Anastasiadis
La Presse Internationale, Montreal, Quebec, 1973

Leo Williams - Julio Kaplan
World Open, New York, NY, USA, Round 9, 1974.07.07

Leo Williams - Duncan Suttles
International Open, Vancouver, British Columbia, Round 2, 1975.05

Leo Williams - Jean Hébert
Quebec, 1974

J. Noel Williams

5th place Canadian Championship 1959

Laird Wilson

Source: Chess Personalia by Jeremy Gaige.

Stanley B. Wilson

(1881-1960)

Stanley Wilson

Photo: 1935 Canadian Championship, Canadian Chess Championship Tournament 1935, 1935.

Top Montreal player
Played Canadian Championship (1922, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1935, 1943)
CCCA Champion 1937
Artist; primarily painted watercolour landscapes of the Laurentians, with a few oil sketches; each November, exhibited his paintings at his studio
Known for paintings of views of the Lachine Canal
Sketches published as covers for sheet music
Paintings exhibited at the Art Association of Montreal (1910-45)
Designed logos for the Chess Federation of Canada and Maritime Chess Chat

Sources: CHECK!, Canadian Correspondence Chess Association; Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives, Art Gallery of Ontario; Artists in Canada database, National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Heritage Information Network, Canadian Heritage Ministry, Government of Canada; Library, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction by Anthony R. Westbridge, Westbridge Publications, 1999-, p.110

William N. Wilson

(1912-73)

Played Canadian Championship 1936

W.O. Wilson

Source: Chess Personalia by Jeremy Gaige.

William Winfrey

(1876-1956)

Played Canadian Championship 1922

Ken Winterton

(1919-98)

Ken Winterton

Ph.D. Birmingham University 1943
Arrived Canada 1955
Department Head, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Resources, Government of Canada 1959-79
Fellow, American Society for Metals 1979
National Master; 2200 rating first achieved in 1986 (rated 2217, ranked No. 56 in Canada) on winning the R.A. Chess Club Championship (6.5/7)
Top Ottawa player; many times Ottawa (1962, 1970) and R.A. Chess Club (1963/4, 1985/6, etc.) Champion
1st place, 1st Arnprior Open 1983
2nd place, Canadian Correspondence Championship 1965 (K-21)
2nd place, Ontario Open Championship 1968
1st place, 70th United States Open Championship 1969, unrated class section
On 1963 visit to Russia, even at blitz games with former World Champion (and future World Blitz Champion) Mikhail Tal +1 -1
In simultaneous exhibitions against Grandmasters, drew Paul Keres (1970) and beat Tony Miles (1981)
Wrote articles in Chess Canada and En Passant about the causes of errors by chess players

Contributors (photo, biography): family of Ken Winterton.
Sources: article by Ken Winterton, Canadian Chess Chat 1963.08 Vol.17, No.8, p.187; Chess Canada, 1975.01-02, Vol.6 No.1-2, p.32-7; Chess Canada Echecs No.60 (1983.05-06, p.20); En Passant No.78 (1986.04), 149, 150, 151; Ottawa Citizen 1998.02.27.

Laszlo (Leslie) Witt

(1933-2005)

Laszlo Witt

Photo: Chess Canada 1972.07-08.

International Master 1969
Canadian Open Champion 1962 with a perfect score
Represented Canada at Olympiads (1964, 1966, 1970)

John (Jack) Woodbury

Source: Chess Personalia by Jeremy Gaige.

Thomas Workman

(1813-89)

Irish; emigrated to Montreal 1827
Merchant, owner largest Canadian wholesale hardware house
Banker, President Molson's Bank
President, Sun Mutual Life Insurance Company of Montreal 1871-89
Member of Parliament, 1867-72, 1875-8

Source: Gerald J. J. Tulchinsky, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 1881-1890 (Volume XI), University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2000

Fred Wren

(1900-78)

American; U.S. Vice-consul in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Maritime Champion 1941, 1945
Played Canadian Championship (1940, 1943)
Contributor to Chess Life, Chess Review, Canadian Chess Chat

Siegfried Wreschner

(1899-1956)

Played Canadian Championship 1947

John Wright

Correspondence Senior International Master 1999
Canadian Correspondence Champion (1972, 1976, 1977)
North American Correspondence Champion 1984
Member Canada's 11th International Correspondence Chess Federation Olympiad Bronze medal team

Contributor: Joe Deidun Jr.