Matthew Reilly Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Matthew Reilly Wiki

Gilbert Giles is a teacher of philosophy, and a master chess player.

History[]

Early History[]

Born in the early 16th century, Gilbert Giles was raised in Cambridge, and was able to undergo a proper education. After he began attending Cambridge University, Giles proved himself a prodigious chess player, eventually become known as the finest chess player at Cambridge.

While at Cambridge, Giles fell in love with a beautiful debutante, and competed with his fellow student, Roger Ascham, for her affections, with Giles using both flowers and his wit to try to woo her. Though she accepted both of their advances, the girl instead ran off with a wealthy heir. In spite of their previous competition, Giles and Ascham were united as firm friends from then on.

Later, during his studies of philosophy, Giles became interested in his professor's daughter, Charlotte Page, who would often sit at the back of the class during lectures and proved herself an intellectual match for any of the boys taking the class. After courting her, Giles and Charlotte married, though she tragically died due to the plague only a year later. Following Charlotte's passing, Giles showed no further interest in courting women, remaining unwed for several years.

After completing his education, Giles took a post at Cambridge University, teaching secular philosophy. He would continue to socialise with Ascham over the years, with the pair often playing chess together, with the victories most often being in Giles' favour.

The Tournament[]

In 1546, King Henry received a letter from Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire to announce that he was going to be holding a chess tournament, and requested that England send their best player to Constantinople to determine the champion of the known world. Having heard of Giles' chess skills, King Henry sent the letter on to Ascham, requesting that he send Giles to him. Upon meeting with His Majesty, Giles was told to prove his skill, but, knowing of Henry's penchant for beheading those who upset him, tactfully lost the match. Knowing what Giles was doing, Henry ordered him not to be a sycophant and to play properly; in the subsequent match, Giles bested Henry within nine moves, convincing the King to send Giles to Constantinople as England's champion.

Soon Giles set off for the Ottoman Empire with a delegation consisting of himself, a group of guards, Ascham, Princess Elizabeth, Elsie Fitzgerald, and Llewellyn and Primrose Ponsonby.

.

Personality[]

.

Skills[]

  • Genius-Level Intellect: To Be Added.
    • Expert Philosopher: To Be Added.
    • Master Chess Player: Giles is a highly-skilled chess player, counted among the best players in England. He is largely considered a better player than Ascham, who is only able to win one out of ten matches against Giles. His chess-playing skills got him selected as representative for England at the Invitational Chess Championship, where his prowess allowed him to beat Talib and Dragan, even though the latter attempted to distract Giles with boisterous behaviour. This made Suleiman's underlings concerned that he could easily surpass the local player Ibrahim, and so threatened to kill his companions if he didn't throw the match. Ascham assured Giles that he had already proved himself against two talented players and didn't need to waste his time against conspirators who didn't respect the game.

Trivia[]

.

Advertisement