Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825-1874) was an English chess master, one of the leading British masters at the time of Morphy's visit to the UK in 1858.

Barnes had the happy fortune of having the best record against Paul Morphy during the latter's brief visit. A variation of the Ruy Lopez called the "Barnes Defense" was named after him: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6?! (this is also sometimes known as the Smyslov Defense).