Background
The son of the architect Ernest Gershom Colman (1851-1935) he graduated from Cambridge University with a law degree and entered service in the Malay States.
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Eugene Colman
Edit ProfileCareer
When he retired, he stayed on in Malaysia and set up youth clubs throughout the peninsula. His name is attached to the Colman Variation of the Two Knights Defense (1e4 e5 2Nf3 Nc6 3Bc4 Nf6 4Ng5 d5 5exd5 Na5 6Bb5+ c6 7dxc6 bxc6 8Qf3 Rb8) but the most remarkable thing about it were the circumstances under which it was first analysed. During World World War II Colman was interned in Changi Civilian Internees Camp in Singapore (1942–1945) and his opening analysis helped take his (and his fellow prisoners’) mind off the horrors of the prison (about 850 POWs died in Changi Prison during the Japanese occupation).
Coleman called his variation "The Wimbledon Defense.".
Achievements
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He tied for 9-10th in the Hamburg 1910 chess tournament (the 17th Dictionary of Scientific Biography Congress, Hauptturnier A, Gersz Rotlewi won), tied for 6-7th at Oxford 1910, took 10th at London 1910, shared 3rd at Tunbridge Wells 1911, tied for 10-11th at London 1919, and took 7th at Margate 1923.
Membership
He returned to England and lived in Wimbledon where he was an active member of the Wimbledon Chess Club.
