Lewis se učil hrát šachy v šachových kavárnách Tom's Coffee House, kde se scházel London Chess Club, a v Salopian Coffee House, kde mu dával lekce Jacob HenrySarratt [1 ]. Stejně jako jeho učitel, byl i Lewis propagátorem italské šachové…
While studying law, he became a very strong chess player and published a book on the game, which included the Cochrane variation of the Salvio Gambit, a main line of the King's Gambit.
Jacob HenrySarratt was known as the "Professor of Chess" and he wrote about that game. Her 1803 novel was "Aurora, or, The Mysterious Beauty" which was not original but based on a French work by J. J. M.