A schoolmaster, Atkins treated chess as a hobby, devoting relatively little time to it and playing in only a handful of international tournaments.

FIDE, the World Chess Federation, awarded him the International Master title in 1950 in recognition of his past achievements.

[5] A schoolmaster who played chess only in his spare time, he nonetheless became one of the strongest amateur players.

[1][8] One of his sisters gave him a copy of Howard Staunton's treatise The Chess-Player's Handbook, which he closely studied.

[1] Between 1895 and 1901, Atkins played in seven minor tournaments, winning four and finishing second or equal second in the others, and losing just 3 out of 70 games.

He proceeded to win the next seven Championships: Southport 1905 and Shrewsbury 1906, again scoring 8.5/11 each time; Crystal Palace 1907 (7.5/11); Tunbridge Wells 1908 (8/11); Scarborough 1909, where he tied for first with Joseph Henry Blake, each scoring 8.5/11, but won the playoff with 2.5/3; Oxford 1910 (8.5/11); and Glasgow 1911, tying for first with Frederick Yates at 8.5/11, and winning all three games in the playoff.

[32] Coles writes, "His success in these years was all the more striking because of his lack of other first-class practice, which not infrequently caused him to get away to a bad start; yet such was his natural ability and determination that he invariably overhauled the field before the end as confidence and skill returned.

"[29] He had agreed to play in the 1919 Hastings Victory Congress, but withdrew at the last moment "by doctor's orders".

[34] In 1922, a major international tournament was organized in London, the first in almost a quarter of a century; many of the world's leading players agreed to compete, such as newly crowned World Champion José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, and Akiba Rubinstein.

[11] Playing first board for England in the London 1927 Olympiad, he scored 3 wins, 8 draws, and 1 loss (58.4%), leading the English team to what author Árpád Földeák calls an "unexpected but well deserved" third-place finish.

[41][42][43][44] At age 63, he played fourth board for England at the Warsaw 1935 Olympiad, scoring 3 wins, 6 draws, and 4 losses (46.2%).

[36][45] G. H. Diggle recollected of Atkins:[46] ... we well remember his giving a "simultaneous" at the Lincoln Chess Club in 1924, winning 17 and drawing two.

One of his more elderly opponents (a notorious non-resigner) who for 30 moves had been wobbling along with a piece down until "time" had to be called, then proceeded to "demonstrate a draw" by concocting a continuation so optimistic that even clubmates with lifelong experience of his powers stood aghast.

Atkins, with his greatcoat on ready to go home, made no attempt to refute this analytical masterpiece but merely remarked with great deference: "I don't think we can play it quite like that!"

and then beat a craven retreat "escorted by Club Officials".An unobtrusive man, we last saw him as a spectator at "Nottingham, 1936" wandering about as if he was nobody.Atkins originated an important defensive strategy in the Queen's Gambit Declined: an early ...Ne4 by Black in order to exchange off a pair of minor pieces and ease the pressure on Black's position.

[47][48] He played it successfully against Marshall in a 1902 cable match between England and the United States, the game beginning 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.e3 Ne4.

[10] Sir George Thomas, one of Britain's leading players in the first half of the 20th century, observed, "H. E. Atkins ranks, indisputably, as the greatest figure in English chess since Amos Burn, and only lack of opportunity prevented him, in my opinion, from definitely establishing his position in the world championship class.

"[38] Anne Sunnucks writes that, "His devotion to teaching and his insistence on treating chess as merely a game was all that prevented him from becoming one of the leading players of the world.

"[9] Atkins (Black) won the following game at London 1922 against Savielly Tartakower (White), then one of the world's leading players.

Tartakower and du Mont remark, "Black conducts the game with superb élan."

Tartakower and du Mont observe, "This curious break-through sacrifice is the crowning touch to a powerfully conducted game.

Here, using his novel ...Ne4 maneuver in the Queen's Gambit Declined, Atkins routs the young American star Frank Marshall:[56] Marshall-Atkins, USA v. England cable match 1902 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.e3 Ne4 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Nd2 f5 10.Be2 O-O 11.O-O e5 12.d5?