BCN remembers Sir Theodore Tylor who passed away on Wednesday, October 23rd, 1968.

Theodore Henry Tylor was born on Sunday, May 13th, 1900 in Bournville, (at the time) in northern Worcestershire. Now Bournville is in the metropolitan borough of Birmingham.

His father was Henry Bedford Tylor and his mother Minnie Belle Cater were both 29 when Theo was born. He had one sister Rachel Hope who was born on 1 November 1909 in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, when Theodore Henry was 9 years old.

In the 1911 census Theo is shown as living in Worcester as a student. His father passed away on 26 February 1915 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, at the age of 44.

In 1939 Theo was living at 2, Rawlinson Road, Oxford where he continued to live until his death.

We are grateful to John Foley writing in Floreat Domus (the Balliol College magazine) who wrote this about Tylor :

and, following this, John reproduced an item from On the Basis of of Hearsay, Grosvenor House Publishing, 2018 :

From British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXXIX (1969), Number 1 (January), pp 6-7 we have the following article :

Sir Theodore Tylor-An Appreciation

By W. RITSON MORRY

“The death of Sir Theodore H. Tylor at the age of sixty-eight was reported in The Times of October 24th. The announcement will be received with deep regret by the many chess enthusiasts who will remember him as a cheerful and extremely resourceful opponent who triumphed over the handicap of near-blindness and lived such a full and distinguished life that it earned him the admiration and respect of the world.

The Times has already done full justice to his work as Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence at Balliol for nearly forty years and to his service to organizations for the blind for which he was most justly knighted in 1965, but it barely mentioned that side of his life with which we chess-players were more intimately acquainted.

His education at Worcester College for the Blind naturally brought him into contact with chess and he became a very strong player. ln 1925, at the age of twenty-five, he was among the twelve players selected for the British Championship at Stratford-on-Avon and fully justified the selectors’confidence by taking fourth prize, behind Atkins, Yates, and Edmund Spencer, and ahead of Winter.

It was another four years before he became really active, but in 1929 he again played in the Championship and shared fourth prize with J. H. Morrison and W. Winter behind, Sultan Khan, H. E. Price, and R. P. Michell. He followed this with his first visit to Hastings and in the 1929-30 congress put up the best performance of his career, sharing first prize with Koltanowski, in front of Flohr, Reijifir, Rellstab, Alexander, Jackson, Noteboom, Vidmar Jnr., and Winser. This, by the way, was only a Premier Reserves!

This performance evidently impressed the selectors, for the following summer brought an invitation to play for the B.C.F. team in the Hamburg Olympiad, where he won one, drew four, and lost two games. ln the 1930-31 Hastings Congress he made the first of nine appearances in the Premier Tourney, but he never managed to maintain sufficient consistency to win honours in this exalted company and was never able to finish higher than equal sixth (in
1936-7). ln the nine tournaments he won ten tames (of which only two were against non-British opposition-Feigin and Medina) and drew thirty-three (including World Champions Alekhine and Euwe and grandmasters Fine, Flohr (three times), Keres, Sultan Khan, Tartakower, and Vidmar). ln 1934-5 he again tied with Koltanowski for first place in the Premier Reserves.

ln twelve British Championships his best performance was at Hastings in 1933 where he finished second, 1/2 point behind Sultan Khan and lost only to C. H. O’D. Alexander. In nine of the twelve he was in the first six, and was four times a prize-winner. He was chosen to play for England against Holland in 1938, 1948, and 1952, and against Yugoslavia in 1951. ln these games he won four and lost four. He was selected to play against
the U.S.S.R. in 1946, but had to withdraw at the last minute.

In 1936 he was chosen as one of the four British players in the Nottingham lnternational Tournament. This caused some dissatisfaction among other disappointed aspirants, but he came ahead of Alexander, Thomas, and Winter and captured the scalps of Flohr and Tartakower. ln the same year he was fifth at Margate, where he drew with Capablanca, Lundin, and Stahlberg.

Finally, a word should be said about his work away from the board. For six years he was President of the Chess Education Society, in whose work he took a lively interest from its foundation in 1943. He was President of the Midland Counties Union from 1946-9. He played top board for Oxfordshire for many years and captained the team for a period. We mourn a great friend of chess and a fine player who was a true amateur and obviously enjoyed every minute he spent among us.”

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek (article by Ray Keene) :

“In spite of the handicap of partial blindness, Tylor enjoyed a successful academic career and was for nearly forty years a Fellow and tutor in jurisprudence at Balliol College, Oxford. He took up chess seriously while a schoolboy at Worcester College for the Blind and later as an undergraduate captained the Oxford University chess team.

At Hastings 1929/30, Tylor shared first prize with Koltanowski in the Premier Reserves ahead of Flohr, Reijfir, Rellstab, Alexander, Jackson, Noteboom, Vidmar Jr. and Winser. He played in the Hastings Premier event on nine occasions, but never finished in the top half. He competed in the British Championship twelve times, his best result being 2nd to Sultan Khan in 1933. He was selected for the BCF team in the Hamburg 1930 Olympiad and was British Correspondence Champion in 1933, 1934 and 1935.”

We are grateful to Tim Harding who sent us this link to his research on Tylor

From Wikipedia:

“Sir Theodore Henry Tylor (13 May 1900 – 23 October 1968)[1] was a lawyer and international level chess player, despite being nearly blind. In 1965, he was knighted for his service to organisations for the blind. He was Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence at Balliol College, Oxford for almost forty years.[2]

Born in Bournville, Tylor learned to play chess at age seven. His chess skill increased while he attended Worcester College for the Blind from 1909 to 1918. He studied at Oxford University beginning in 1918, and captained the Oxford University Chess Club. Tylor received First-class Honours in Jurisprudence in 1922 and was made an honorary scholar of Balliol College. The next year, he became a Bachelor of Civil Law and a lecturer at Balliol College. Called to the Bar by the Inner Temple with a certificate of honour, he was made a Fellow at Balliol College in 1928.”

[pgn]
[Event “National Club Championship Final”]
[Site “National Chess Centre, London”]
[Date “1951.11.08”]
[Round “Final”]
[White “Aitken, James Macrae”]
[Black “Tylor, Theodore Henry”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C89”]
[Annotator “JM Aitken, Harry Golombek, British Chess News”]
[PlyCount “80”]
[SourceTitle “BCM, December 1952, page 350”]
[WhiteTeam “Lud Eagle”]
[BlackTeam “Oxford University”]

{[%evp 0,9,19,38,25,7,30,29,28,3,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 (13. Re2 Qh4 14. g3 Qh5 (14… Qh3) 15. Bxd5 cxd5 16. Qd3 $146 Bf5 17. Qd2 Bh3 18. f4 Rae8 19. Rf2 Re3 $1 20. Na3 Rfe8 21. Nc2 {RMW Butler (Scotland) vs NP Littlewood (England), BCM, 1951, page 234, game # 10,864 from Glorney Cup, 1951.} Re2 $1 {and White resigned} 22. Rxe2 (22. Qd3 Re1+) (22. Qd1 Rxf2) 22… Rxe2 23. Qd3 Rg2+ 24. Kh1 Rxh2+ 25. Kxh2 Bf5+) 13… Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Be3 Bg4 16. Qd3 f5 {[#]} (16… Bf5 17. Qd2) 17. Qf1 $146 ({Relevant:} 17. f4 {In a recent issue of Chess Archives, Euwe, after giving the moves up to this point as the best line for White, continues 17 f4 only playing Qf1 later if necessary. But I do not think this can make much difference to the evaluation of the position and the line suggested could easily transpose into the game.} Kh8 18. Bxd5 cxd5 19. Nd2 Rg8 20. Qf1 Qh5 21. a4 Qe8 22. axb5 Qxb5 23. Qxb5 axb5 24. Kf2 Bh5 25. Nf3 Rgb8 26. Bd2 Bf7 27. h3 Kg8 28. g4 fxg4 29. hxg4 Be8 30. f5 h5 31. Ne5 hxg4 32. Kg3 g6 33. Kxg4 gxf5+ 34. Kxf5 Rxa1 35. Rxa1 b4 36. Rg1+ Kh7 37. Rh1+ Kg8 38. cxb4 Bxb4 39. Bg5 Rb7 40. Bf6 Rh7 41. Ra1 Rb7 42. Rg1+ {1-0 Euwe,M-Donner,J NED-ch15 Amsterdam 1950 (11)}) 17… Qh5 18. f4 g5 (18… Kh8 19. Nd2 g5 20. Bxd5 cxd5 21. a4 Rae8 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ra6 gxf4 24. Bxf4) 19. Nd2 (19. fxg5 f4 20. Bxf4 (20. gxf4 Rf5) 20… Rf5 {Black regains at least one pawn and his attack increases in violence.}) 19… Kh8 {This position appears in the photograph of Yanofsky and Edward Lasker from Hastings 1952/53.} 20. Bxd5 cxd5 21. a4 (21. fxg5 {is met as before but even more effectively. I believed a Queen-side diversion was now essential.}) 21… Rae8 22. axb5 axb5 $16 23. Ra6 $2 {This was a mistake} ({The consolidating} 23. Qf2 {should have been tried}) ({or} 23. fxg5 $1) 23… Bh3 {Black here fails to take advantage of White’s error.} ({The idea of Ra6 was, if for example} 23… Bb8 {to play} 24. Ra8 Rg8 25. Rxb8 $1 Rxb8 26. fxg5 Rge8 27. Bf4) (23… gxf4 {appears to win quickly with the variations:} 24. Rxd6 (24. gxf4 Bh3 {and wins!}) (24. Bxf4 Bh3 ({better than} 24… Bxf4 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Qxf4) 25. Rxe8 (25. Qf2 Bxf4 {wins}) 25… Rxe8 {which is more incisive than} (25… Bxf1 26. Rxf8+ Bxf8 27. Be5+ Kg8 28. Nxf1 {with a good equivalenant for the Queen.}) 26. Qf3 Re1+ 27. Kf2 Bg4 28. Qd3 Re2+ 29. Qxe2 Qxh2+ {and wins}) 24… fxe3 25. Nb3 f4 26. gxf4 Rg8 {and wins}) ({Stockfish suggests} 23… Rf6 24. Qf2 Rfe6 $17 25. Raa1 gxf4 26. Bxf4 Re2 $17) 24. Qf3 {This is forced but is actually quite strong as the transition to the ending suits White, who should now be out of danger.} ({If} 24. Qf2 {then} gxf4 {wins at once.}) 24… Qxf3 25. Nxf3 gxf4 26. Rxd6 ({Also playable are} 26. Bxf4) ({or better} 26. gxf4 Rg8+ 27. Ng5 {when all the forcing lines are good for White. e.g. if} Bxf4 28. Bxf4 Rxe1+ 29. Kf2 $16 {but I believed the text stronger and I belive correctly so.}) 26… Rxe3 {[#]} ({here} 26… fxe3 27. Ng5 Bg4 28. Re6 {is in White’s favour}) 27. Rxe3 $2 $15 {Possibly the losing move – at any rate after this White is always struggling} ({The simple} 27. Kf2 $18 {wins for White as Black cannot defend his many weak pawns}) 27… fxe3 28. Ng5 {Overlooking the pretty reply but in any case it is difficult for White.} (28. Rh6 $1 Bg4 29. Ne1 (29. Ng5 $2 Ra8 $1 $19) (29. Kg2 e2 30. Re6 f4 31. Rxe2 fxg3 32. Re3 Bxf3+ {wins the pawn ending}) 29… f4 30. gxf4 Kg7 31. Rd6 $11) (28. Re6 f4 $19) 28… Ra8 $1 29. Rd8+ ({As the knight vs bishop ending is a forced loss a better practical chance would have been given by} 29. Nxh3 Ra1+ 30. Kg2 e2 31. Re6 e1=Q 32. Rxe1 Rxe1 33. Nf4 Rc1 34. Nxd5 Rc2+ 35. Kf3 Rxb2 {and the Black pawns are so weak that he will have to struggle to make the material plus tell.}) 29… Rxd8 30. Nf7+ Kg7 31. Nxd8 Kf6 32. Nc6 f4 33. Nb4 Ke6 34. Nd3 {[#]} fxg3 $1 {This turn forces the issue} 35. hxg3 ({If now} 35. Nf4+ Kf5 36. Nxd5 e2 37. Ne3+ Kf4 38. Nc2 Bf5 39. Ne1 Be4 {and White is helpless.}) 35… Kf5 36. Nf4 Kg4 37. Nxd5 Kf3 38. Nb4 e2 39. Nd3 Bf5 40. Ne1+ Kxg3 {and White resigned for the rooks pawn runs through to force a mate. This games suggests that the Marshall Attack has still more venom than is conceded by modern opening theory.} 0-1
[/pgn]

“Tylor competed in twelve British Championships, finishing fourth in his first appearance in 1925. His best result was in 1933, finishing second to Mir Sultan Khan.[2][3] He tied for first at the 1929/30 Hastings Premier Reserves alongside George Koltanowski ahead of Salo Flohr, Josef Rejfiř, Ludwig Rellstab, C.H.O’D. Alexander, Daniël Noteboom, and Milan Vidmar.[2] Tylor played in the top section, the Hastings Premier, nine times beginning in 1930/1. His best finish was 6th= in 1936/7.[3] He was first reserve for the English team at the Hamburg 1930 Chess Olympiad.

Tylor won the British Correspondence Chess Championship in 1932, 1933, and 1934.[1][2] He shared 5–6th at Margate 1936 with P. S. Milner-Barry, but he won their individual game and drew with 2nd- to 4th-place finishers José Raúl Capablanca, Gideon Ståhlberg, and Erik Lundin (Salo Flohr won). Although he finished 12th at Nottingham 1936, he had the best score of the British participants, ahead of C. H. O’D. Alexander, G. A. Thomas, and William Winter.[5] Mikhail Botvinnik noted that Tylor was using a tactile chess board that he incessantly fingered, as well as a device for counting the number of moves made.”

[pgn]
[Event “British CF-26 Championship”]
[Site “Hastings/ East Sussex”]
[Date “1933.08.03”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Tylor, Theodore Henry”]
[Black “Winter, William”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A47”]
[Annotator “British Chess News”]
[PlyCount “47”]
[EventDate “1933.07.31”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “11”]
[EventCountry “GBR”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 2017”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2016.10.25”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2016.10.25”]
[SourceQuality “1”]

{[%evp 0,47,19,31,14,30,51,10,16,0,14,3,9,19,-2,-9,-12,-13,-3,-22,-18,-21,-20,
-23,24,3,-26,-3,-19,-12,27,31,17,17,35,15,15,-26,-2,-27,-24,-115,206,134,29993,
29994,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. Nbd2 Bb7 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3
c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. c3 Be7 8. Qe2 O-O 9. a3 Qc7 10. Re1 d5 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4
cxd4 13. cxd4 Rad8 14. Be3 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Bf6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Rac1 Rc8 18. Qd2
Rfd8 $6 19. Bb1 (19. d5 $1) 19… Qd7 20. Qd3 Nxd4 $2 21. Nxd4 Rxc1 22. Qh7+
Kf8 23. Qh8+ Ke7 24. Nf5+ {Sources: The Times, 4 Aug 1933; Manchester Guardian,
5 Aug 1933; The Observer, 13 Aug 1933; BCM, Sept 1933, p394} 1-0
[/pgn]

“Tylor was President of the Midland Counties’ Chess Union from 1947 to 1950, but his work for the university and for the welfare of the blind limited the time he had to devote to chess. Tylor also enjoyed bridge.[3] He died in Oxford on 23 October 1968.”