Did Alfred Jordan change his name?

[DrCaesar]

A few days ago, I ran across an item online from the early 20th century in which the writer claimed that Alfred Jordan's real last name was "Boynton" (or maybe "Boyton"), and that he had changed it to Jordan because he considered Richard Jordan the greatest draughts player alive. The writer was a contemporary of Jordan, and observed George Buchanan doing solitary study at the draught board in Jordan's tobacco shop.

I thought the article was in the Online Museum of Checkers History, but when I went back and searched the site, I couldn't find it. I haven't found it through a Google search, either.

The name-changing thing strikes me as strange for several reasons, including:

a) Alf had already won the London championship in 1890, at age 20, defeating George Freeman. That same year, Dick won the Edinburgh championship. Was Alf still going by his real name when he won the London title? I couldn't find any records online to check this.

It would make the situation twice as strange if Alf had already started winning major tournaments under his own name when he changed it.

b) Would he really be so awed by 18-y.-o. Dick that he would adopt his last name? Alf went on to win the English championship in 1892, the same year Dick beat James Wyllie.

c) What would be the point of adopting Jordan's last name? To make people think they were related? That would appear to have failed utterly, since the fact that they were not related was commonly known even when they were both still alive.

Anyway, I thought I would ask, since I had never come across this information before.

Thanks,
Austin

[George Hay]

DrCaesar, I would have to agree with you and add that Alf was almost exactly two years older than Dick. Alfred Jordan lived from 6 Nov 1870 to 7 May 1926, while Richard Jordan lived from 4 Nov 1872 to 8 Oct 1911. Dick Jordan was one of the best ever, and Alf Jordan was no slouch. My guess is that Alfred Jordan's reputation suffers a bit in having the same last name as Richard Jordan. In the treasury of The Checker Games Of Richard Jordan by Jim Loy, Alfred Jordan has a distinction that few players can claim. Alfred went O-O-3 (three draws) against Richard Jordan in tournament play, Scotland vs England 1910.

--George Hay

[DrCaesar]

Thanks for your reply, George. Obviously, Alf was an ambitious and talented young man who had already proven himself one of the major young draughts talents in the British Isles with two major tournament wins by the age of 21. It's strange to think he would choose to subsume his identity to another up and coming young player, and do so at such an early stage in his career.

I'm going to scour the internet, find that article, and post a link.

I think Alf was an interesting guy, and had a remarkable career. He clearly loved checkers (although it is often noted that he was a highly skilled billiards and cricket player, too) to have competed as much as he did, over as many decades as he did.

I also find it notable that both Horr and Long hated him and considered him a bad sportsman for dragging out endgames interminably, hoping for a blunder on his opponent's part. In their cases, his plan succeeded.

[DrCaesar]

Found it! Yes, his real name was Alfred E. Boynton. The whole story is strange, if true. Also, I'm surprised it isn't more widely known.

I'm assuming he won the London championship under his real name.

http://www.online-museum-of-checkers-hi ... %20ENLARGE

[tgf]

I found this article http://www.wylliedraughts.com/bemo4.htm

[DrCaesar]

That blunder permanently altered the trajectory of Horr's career in checkers! That blunder is mentioned on p. 181 of "Sixth" by Moiseyev. He was so devastated he refused to shake Jordan's hand and didn't show up at another checker tournament for three years.

As for the name change, since there is no record of Jordan going by the name of Boynton, I wonder if the whole "I changed my name in honor of Richard Jordan" story was some tall tale he used to peddle late in life.

[tgf]

I found this article http://www.wylliedraughts.com/bemo4.htm

The author (who?) keeps exclaiming BEMO, what's it stands for?

[DrCaesar]

Blunder Error Mistake Oversight. The author's love of exclamation points can be distracting.