Henry Camilleri (21 February 1933 – 2015) was a Maltese chess International Correspondence Chess Master (IM), eighteen-times Maltese Chess Championship winner: first in 1965 and last in 2005, at the age of 72.

Henry Camilleri
CountryMalta
Born(1933-02-21)21 February 1933
Marsa, Malta
Died2015
TitleInternational Correspondence Chess Master (IM), Candidate Master (CM)

Biography

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Henry Camilleri won his first championship in 1950, at the age of 17.[1] It was the Malta Junior Chess Championship.[2]

Henry Camilleri won his first Maltese Chess Championship title in 1965.[2] He won the Maltese Chess Championship eight consecutive times between 1965 and 1972, which is a record in this championship. He then won a title in 1974, then another four consecutive times from 1976 to 1979 inclusive. In 1981, he was again titled but shared his title with Joseph Gauci. Later, he will again win this title twice in a row, in 1989 and 1990. He will win his 17th title in 1999, interrupting the series of six consecutive titles of Timothy Mifsud. Finally, in 2005, he won his last title at the age of 72. This was a world record forty years after his first title, which was only broken in 2016 by Paul Garbett when he won the New Zealand Open Championship 42 years after his first win in 1973/74. [3][4]

Henry Camilleri played for Malta in the Chess Olympiads:[5]

In 1967, 1969, 1978 and 1990 Henry Camilleri represented Malta in World Chess Championships European Zonal tournaments. He invariably took the last places, but regularly took points from famous chess players. In the 1967 tournament he defeated Nikolay Minev and Victor Ciocâltea, in the 1969 tournament he made draws with Lajos Portisch, László Bárczay and Robert Hartoch.[6]

Henry Camilleri was the first Maltese chess player to achieve an international rating, 2250 in the July 1972 list. He was awarded the ICCF International Master (IM) title in 1998 and the FIDE Candidate Master (CM) title in 2011.

References

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  1. ^ "Camilleri, Harry (21.02.1933-)". maltamigration.com. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  2. ^ a b "Henry Camilleri". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  3. ^ Chess: Harry Camilleri Is national champion for eighteenth time - The Malta Independent
  4. ^ National championships records - FIDE
  5. ^ "OlimpBase :: Men's Chess Olympiads :: Henry Camilleri". www.olimpbase.org.
  6. ^ "OlimpBase :: All-Time Player History :: Camilleri, Henry". www.olimpbase.org.
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