17
Feb
Ruy López de Segura – Spain
Ruy López de Segura (1530 –1580) was a Spanish priest and later bishop in Segura whose book Libro de la invención liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez was one of the first fundamental chess books in Europe, only after Pedro Damiano’s.
He was born in Zafra near Badajoz, and he studied and lived in Salamanca. Considered by many to be the first unofficial world chess champion, as he won the first modern chess tournament in Madrid. He would later lose the title to Leonardo di Bona, a Roman lawyer.
The Ruy Lopez Opening is named after him.
Source page: Wikipedia under Wikipedia license
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruy_L%C3%B3pez_de_Segura
