Jan Kleczyński

Jan Kleczyński (8 June 1837 – 15 September 1895) was a Polish pianist, composer, journalist, and chess master. Born into a Polish noble family in Janiewicze, Volhynia (then Russian Empire), he graduated from a conservatory of music in Paris (1855–1862) and then played several pianist concerts in France. In 1866, he returned to Poland to live in Warsaw. He lectured and published on the interpretation of the works of Frédéric Chopin. His work in this field was (he claimed) endorsed by pupils and friends of Chopin's, including Marcelina Czartoryska, Camilla O'Meara and Georges Mathias, and by Natalia Janotha, Princess Czartoryska's pupil, who translated some of his lectures for English publication. He came 2nd, behind Szymon Winawer, in the first Warsaw City Chess Championship in 1868, and came 3rd, after Józef Żabiński and Artur Popławski, in the second Warsaw-ch in 1884. Jan Kleczyński Senior wrote a weekly chess column for Tygodnik Ilustrowany (1859–1884), and Kurier Warszawski (1877–1895). His son Jan Kleczyński Jr. continued his work in 1897–1939.