We left Thomas Francis Lawrence in 1901, living in Westminster with his mother and brother, and now established as one of England’s leading players, having won the prestigious City of London Chess Club Championship on five occasions and represented his country in the Anglo-American cable matches.

In 1901-02 William Ward won the City of London Club Championship for the first time, with Lawrence in second place. He won the title back the following year, his sixth victory.

In 1902 Lawrence was appointed chess columnist for The People: his columns are exemplary for the time, including, as was standard, the latest chess news, a recent tournament game and a problem along with lists of those who had submitted correct solutions to the previous week’s problem. Along with his work for the Prudential and his regular chess playing commitments, he must have been pretty busy.

He didn’t play in the 1901 cable match, but in both the two following years he was on top board against the great Harry Nelson Pillsbury, drawing both games. Here’s the 1903 game: click on any move for a pop-up board.

[pgn]

[Event “Match/Nation ENG-USA”]
[Site “Cable”]
[Date “1903.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Black “Pillsbury, Harry Nelson”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “B40”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “76”]
[EventDate “1903.??.??”]
[EventType “team”]
[EventRounds “1”]
[EventCountry “ENG”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 2002”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2001.11.25”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2001.11.25”]
[SourceQuality “1”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 e6 5. Bg2 d5 6. d3 $146 {B40: Sicilian: 2.
..e6, Unusual lines.} ({Predecessor:} 6. exd5 exd5 7. d4 Bg4 8. Be3 Be7 9. h3
Bh5 10. g4 Bg6 11. Ne5 cxd4 12. Bxd4 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 O-O 14. O-O Rc8 {0-1 (71)
Von Gottschall,H-Mieses,J Hannover 1902}) 6… d4 7. Ne2 e5 8. O-O {Black is
slightly better.} h6 9. c3 Be7 10. Ne1 (10. b4 {seems wilder.} dxc3 11. b5 Nb4
12. Nxe5 Ng4 13. Nf3) 10… g5 11. cxd4 cxd4 (11… exd4 12. f4 $11) (11…
Nxd4 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. f4 $11) 12. f4 gxf4 13. gxf4 Bg4 14. h3 Bh5 ({Don’t take
} 14… Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Qd6 16. fxe5 Qxe5 17. Rf5 $16 (17. Bf4 Qe6 $14)) 15. Nf3
Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Qd7 17. f5 O-O-O 18. Bd2 Rdg8+ 19. Kh1 h5 20. Rc1 Kb8 21. Bg2 Ne8
22. Qe1 Bg5 23. Bxg5 Rxg5 24. Qd2 Rhg8 25. Rg1 {Active counter play!} Qe7 26.
Bf3 Qf6 (26… R5g7 $5 27. Qh6 (27. Rxg7 Rxg7 28. Qh6 Qh4 $15) 27… Rxg1+ 28.
Rxg1 Rxg1+ 29. Nxg1 Nb4 $11) 27. Rxg5 Rxg5 28. Rg1 $36 {Black is under strong
pressure.} Rxg1+ 29. Nxg1 Ng7 30. a3 a5 31. Bd1 Ka7 32. Nf3 {[#] Hoping for
Qg5.} Ne8 33. Ba4 {Bxc6 is the strong threat.} Ka6 34. Bxc6 bxc6 35. Qh2 c5 36.
Nxe5 $2 {[#]} (36. Qxe5 $18 {and White stays clearly on top.} Qxe5 37. Nxe5)
36… Qg5 $16 37. Qc2 ({Don’t do} 37. Nxf7 Qe3 $16) 37… Qg3 38. Qxc5 Qe1+ $1
{Weighted Error Value: White=0.44/Black=0.42} 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

It was common at the time for clubs to open their season with a novelty match. Richmond Chess Club, as we’ve seen, staged matches between the residents of Richmond and Sheen. Some clubs played matches between smokers and non-smokers, or, in this case, married men against bachelors, and in 1903 Thomas Francis Lawrence was on top board for the singletons against the illustrious veteran Joseph Henry Blackburne.

Here’s the ‘capital game’. Blackburne’s loss, according to Stockfish, was caused by trading bishops on move 22, allowing the white knight into play.

[pgn]

[Event “Singles – Married match”]
[Site “City of London CC, London ENG”]
[Date “1903.10.09”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Black “Blackburne, Joseph Henry”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B73”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[EventDate “1903.??.??”]

1. e4 {ChessBase II} c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6
7. Be2 d6 8. O-O h5 {B73: Sicilian Dragon: Classical System without 9 Nb3.} 9.
h3 {Against Ng4} Bd7 10. Qd2 a6 {[#] White is better.} 11. f4 $146 {& White is
more active.} ({Predecessor:} 11. Rad1 b5 12. Bd3 h4 13. Nce2 Qc8 14. Nxc6 Bxc6
15. f3 Nd7 16. c3 Qb7 17. Nd4 {1-0 (45) Minckwitz,J-Schallopp,E Hamburg 1885
HCL [ChessBase II]}) 11… b5 12. Bf3 Rc8 13. Rad1 {[#] And now e5! would win.}
Qc7 14. Nb3 ({Much worse is} 14. e5 $6 dxe5 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 $14) 14… O-O 15.
Nd5 {Prevents b4.} Nxd5 16. exd5 Nd8 17. c3 Nb7 18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4 {Qh2 is
the strong threat.} e5 20. fxe5 Bxe5 21. Kg2 f5 22. Bd4 Bxd4 $4 (22… fxg4 $14
23. Be4 Bf5 24. Bxf5 gxf5) 23. Nxd4 $18 {Threatens to win with Qh6.} (23. Qxd4
Qc4 24. Qe3 Rf7 $18) 23… Qd8 24. Qh6 Qf6 25. g5 $40 {Black is in trouble.} (
25. Rh1 $142 Rf7 26. g5) 25… Qg7 {Prevents Qh7+.} 26. Qxg7+ Kxg7 27. Ne6+
Bxe6 28. dxe6 Nc5 29. Rxd6 Rfe8 $2 {[#] Loses the game.} (29… Rfd8 $16 30.
Rfd1 Rxd6 31. Rxd6 Kf8) 30. Rd7+ $1 Kg8 31. Bd5 Rb8 32. Rh1 {Rdh7 would kill
now.} Ne4 33. Rhh7 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.39/Black=0.87} 1-0

[/pgn]

Sadly, shortly after this game his mother, Esther Jane (Izard) Lawrence, died at the age of 70, necessitating Thomas’s withdrawal from the City of London Club Championship, in which William Ward took the title for the second time. The burial record confirms that at some point after the 1901 census the family had moved from Westminster to 132 Palewell Park, Mortlake (it would now be considered East Sheen), one of the area’s most desirable roads, close to Richmond Park.  Esther was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church Mortlake, also the burial place of Queen Elizabeth I’s astrologer John Dee.

It’s worth a look at Rod Edwards’ retrospective ratings for 1903 at this point. Lawrence is ranked 54th in the world, with a rating of 2423. You’ll see Atkins (2542) and Burn (2540) ranked 13th and 14th, and then a gap to Blackburne (2451), Michell (2428) and Lawrence. Two distinguished veterans, then, and three up-and-coming young players.

In 1904 a major chess tournament took place in Cambridge Springs, a small town in Pennsylvania noted at the time for its mineral springs. The world’s leading players were invited to take part, and it was perhaps surprising for several reasons that Thomas Francis Lawrence was one of the participants. Apart from having a busy life, his seeming modesty and lack of ambition made him an unlikely choice: indeed, he was the only one of the eight European participants with no previous experience at this level.

Here’s a group photograph with Lawrence third from the right at the back.

And here he is again (on the right on the fourth row down) in this rather wonderful tournament souvenir.

Lawrence scored 5½/15, about par for his (hypothetical) rating, but it could easily have been much better.

In Round 2 he could have obtained good winning chances against Delmar by trading queens on the right square instead of weakening his pawn formation. In Round 5 he lost on time in a winning position against Fox. In Round 8 he had a big advantage from the opening against Barry.  In Round 10 he made an elementary one-move blunder in a drawn rook ending against Lasker. In Round 11 he missed a win against Chigorin, and then, it appears, agreed a draw after his opponent made a losing blunder. In Round 15 he took a draw by repetition in a winning endgame against Showalter.

A score of 9 rather than 5½ would have been a great success, so what, I wonder, went wrong? The pressure of the big occasion? Lack of experience at this level? Nerves? Poor clock handling? There were other lessons to be learnt: while he did well with black, his play with the white pieces was often uninspiring: he was comprehensively outplayed by Janowski, Marco, Schlechter and Hodges.

His game against Napier demonstrated that, given the chance, he was a strong attacking player.

[pgn]

[Event “Cambridge Springs”]
[Site “Cambridge Springs”]
[Date “1904.??.??”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Napier, William Ewart”]
[Black “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C82”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “68”]
[EventDate “1904.04.25”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “15”]
[EventCountry “USA”]
[SourceTitle “HCL”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “1999.07.01”]
[SourceVersion “2”]
[SourceVersionDate “1999.07.01”]
[SourceQuality “1”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. a4
Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. dxe5 Be6 11. c3 Bc5 12. Nbd2 O-O 13. Bc2 f5 14. Nb3 Bb6
15. Nfd4 {C82: Open Ruy Lopez: 9 c3 without 9…Be7.} Nxd4 16. cxd4 {Black
must now prevent f3.} f4 17. f3 {White is slightly better.} Ng3 18. Re1 (18.
hxg3 fxg3 19. Qd3 (19. Nc5 $2 Qh4 $19) 19… Bf5 20. Qxf5 (20. Qxb5 $2 Qh4 $19)
20… Rxf5 21. Bxf5 Qh4 $11) 18… Qh4 19. Nc5 (19. hxg3 fxg3 20. Be3 Qh2+ 21.
Kf1 Bh3 $19) 19… Bxc5 20. dxc5 {Ra6 is the strong threat.} ({But not} 20.
hxg3 $2 fxg3 21. dxc5 Qh2+ 22. Kf1 Qh1+ 23. Ke2 Qxg2+ 24. Kd3 Rxf3+ 25. Be3 d4
$19) 20… c6 $146 ({Predecessor:} 20… g5 21. Ra7 Rf7 22. Ra6 Re8 23. Rxe6
Rxe6 24. hxg3 fxg3 25. Qxd5 Qh2+ 26. Kf1 Qg1+ {1-0 (53) Pillsbury,H-Marco,G
Vienna 1898}) 21. Ra6 (21. hxg3 fxg3 22. f4 Qh2+ 23. Kf1 Qh1+ 24. Ke2 Qxg2+ 25.
Kd3 Bf5+ 26. Kc3 d4+ 27. Kb4 Bxc2 $19) 21… Rbc8 22. b4 (22. hxg3 fxg3 23. f4
Qh2+ 24. Kf1 Qh1+ 25. Ke2 Qxg2+ 26. Kd3 Bf5+ 27. Kd4 Bxc2 $19) 22… Nf5 23.
Bxf5 (23. Bd3 $5) 23… Rxf5 24. Re2 Rh5 25. h3 Bxh3 26. Qd2 $2 {[#] This
costs White the game.} (26. Qe1 $11 {and White has nothing to worry.} Be6 27.
Qxh4 Rxh4 28. Rea2) 26… Be6 27. Qxf4 Qh1+ 28. Kf2 Rh2 29. Kg3 (29. Qg3 Bh3
30. Re1 Rxg2+ 31. Ke3 d4+ 32. Kxd4 Rxg3 33. Rxh1) 29… Rf8 30. Qe3 h5 {
[#] ( -> …h4+)} 31. f4 h4+ 32. Kf3 Rh3+ (32… h3 $142 33. Kg3 hxg2 34. Re1
Rh3+ 35. Kf2 Rxe3 36. Rxh1 gxh1=Q 37. Bxe3 Bg4 38. Ra3 d4 39. f5 Qh2+ 40. Kf1
dxe3 41. Rxe3 Rd8 42. f6 Bh3+ 43. Ke1 Qd2#) 33. Kf2 $19 Rxe3 34. Bxe3 d4 {
Weighted Error Value: White=1.08/Black=0.51} 0-1

[/pgn]

Although Pillsbury was mortally ill with syphilis, it was still no mean feat to bring off a tactical finish against his old cable match opponent.

[pgn]

[Event “Cambridge Springs”]
[Site “Cambridge Springs”]
[Date “1904.??.??”]
[Round “7”]
[White “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Black “Pillsbury, Harry Nelson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B24”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “61”]
[EventDate “1904.04.25”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “15”]
[EventCountry “USA”]
[SourceTitle “HCL”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “1999.07.01”]
[SourceVersion “2”]
[SourceVersionDate “1999.07.01”]
[SourceQuality “1”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 h5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 4… Nf6 5. Nge2 d5
6. exd5 exd5 7. d4 Be6 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qb6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Re1 O-O-O 12.
Rxe6 Bc5 13. Bf4 Bxf2+ 14. Kh1 d4 15. Rxf6 gxf6 16. Bh3+ Rd7 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18.
Qg4+ Ke8 19. Nd5 Qd8 20. Qe6+ {1-0 (20) Znosko Borovsky,E-Bernstein,O Kiev 1903
}) 5. Nf3 Be7 6. d4 {B24: Closed Sicilian: 3 g3 sidelines.} d5 7. exd5 exd5 8.
dxc5 {White is better.} d4 9. Ne4 Bf5 10. Qe2 Bxe4 11. Qxe4 Nf6 12. Qe2 Qa5+
13. Bd2 Qxc5 14. O-O O-O 15. c3 dxc3 16. Bxc3 Rfe8 17. Rac1 {[#] Hoping for
Bxf6.} Bf8 18. Qc2 Ne4 19. Qb3 {Strongly threatening Bxg7!} Na5 {Pair of
Knights!} 20. Qa4 Nxc3 21. Rxc3 Qb4 22. Qc2 {And now Ng5 would win.} g6 23. Ng5
{Black must now prevent Bd5.} Rad8 {Against Bd5} 24. Be4 {Threatens to win
with Bxg6!} Qd6 25. b4 $40 {White is up to no good. & White is more active.}
Qf6 $2 {[#] This costs Black the game.} 26. Nxf7 $1 $18 {White is clearly
winning.} Rd4 (26… Kxf7 27. Rf3) 27. Bxg6 ({And not} 27. bxa5 Rexe4 28. Re3
Re7 29. Rxe7 Bxe7 $17) 27… Bxb4 28. Nh6+ Kf8 29. Bxe8 Bxc3 30. Qxc3 Kxe8 31.
Qxa5 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.20 (precise) /Black=0.21 (precise)} 1-0

[/pgn]

If you’re interested in finding out more about Cambridge Springs there’s a new book coming out later this year which sounds well worth reading. This website is also informative.

It was at this point that we first met him in our previous instalment, giving a simul at Richmond Chess Club in October 1904.

Did he, inspired by his participation at Cambridge Springs, take part in more tournaments?

The answer is ‘No’. He didn’t take part in the next three City of London Club Championships. The Anglo-American Cable Match didn’t take place, for various reasons, for three years between 1904 and 1906, so, it seems that, at this point, he was playing very little chess. Perhaps he had other things on his mind.

Perhaps he had a young lady on his mind. Take a look at this.

Here he is, aged 35, tying the knot with 21-year-old Mary Campbell Glover, on 18 April 1907, in St Botolph’s Church, Aldersgate, right by the Barbican and very near St Paul’s Cathedral. There are a few mysteries. We know his family owned a property in East Sheen at the time (as you’ll see shortly) but his address was given as Charterhouse Square, close to St Botolph’s. Perhaps he had a London pad, conveniently situated a few minutes’ walk from the new Prudential headquarters in Holborn.

Mary’s father, George Glover, was an insurance clerk and chess enthusiast: he and Thomas knew each other from the Insurance Chess Club.

There are a couple of interesting things to point out. Look at it more closely.

Look closely at Henry’s Rank or Profession. Biscuit Manufacturer? I’m not sure. When Thomas was born he was living in Velsen, where the North Sea Canal was being built. Was he manufacturing something to do with canals? Or did the construction workers need a supply of freshly baked biscuits? Any idea?

There’s something else strange. It was customary (and probably still is) to add ‘deceased’ under the father’s name in marriage registers, and, if you look at the complete page, you’ll see several examples. Thomas’s late mother Esther had claimed to be a widow on the census records between 1881 and 1901, but here’s her son implying that Henry was still alive. It was very common at the time for women who had split from their husbands to describe themselves as widows so perhaps that’s what had happened. Or perhaps Thomas had no idea whether or not Henry was still alive. Perhaps the omission of the word ‘deceased’ was just an oversight.

He had in fact returned to chess a few weeks before this happy event, taking part in the 1907 cable match, where he drew with the splendidly middle-named Albert Beauregard Hodges.

Later in the same year he returned to tournament play in the City of London Championship, taking the title for a seventh time just ahead of William Ward and George Edward Wainwright a 1-2-3 for Richmond and Twickenham chess.

He didn’t take very long to dispose of Rudolf Loman, a game which followed his game against Barry from Cambridge Springs for the first 14 moves.

[pgn]

[Event “City of London CC Championship”]
[Site “City of London CC, London ENG”]
[Date “1907.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Loman, Rudolf Johannes”]
[Black “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C84”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “40”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 Ne4 8.
Nxd4 O-O 9. c3 (9. Nf5 $5 d5 10. exd6 Bxf5 11. dxe7 Nxe7 12. Nc3 $11) 9… Nxe5
{C84: Closed Ruy Lopez: Unusual White 6th moves.} 10. Re1 d5 {Hoping for …
Bh4.} 11. f3 {[#]} c5 $1 {Threatens to win with …Bh4! Black is clearly
better.} 12. fxe4 {Strongly threatening Nf3.} cxd4 13. cxd4 {[#]} Bg4 $1 14.
Qd2 {[#]} Nc6 $146 {& Black is more active.} ({Reject} 14… Nc4 $6 15. Qf4 f5
16. e5 $11) ({Predecessor:} 14… Ng6 15. Bc2 Qb6 16. Nc3 Rad8 17. Nxd5 Rxd5
18. exd5 Bb4 19. Qf2 Bxe1 20. Qxe1 Qxd4+ {1/2-1/2 (37) Barry,J-Lawrence,T
Cambridge Springs 1904}) 15. Nc3 dxe4 {…b5 is the strong threat.} 16. Nxe4 f5
(16… Qxd4+ 17. Qxd4 Nxd4 18. Be3 $17) 17. Nc5 f4 $36 {And now …f3 would
win. Keeping White busy.} 18. Bb3+ $2 (18. Nxb7 Qb6 19. Re4 (19. Bxc6 Bb4 $17)
19… Qxb7) (18. Bxc6 $17 {is a better chance.} bxc6 19. Re4) 18… Kh8 $19 {
Black is clearly winning.} 19. Ne4 (19. Ne6 $142 Bxe6 20. Rxe6) 19… Qb6 20.
Nf2 {[#]} Bb4 $1 {Weighted Error Value: White=1.44/Black=0.59} 0-1

[/pgn]

This was to be Lawrence’s last appearance in the City of London Club Championship, but he continued to play club chess, both for Ibis and for the central London club Lud-Eagle, and county chess for Surrey. He was also a popular visitor to many London clubs, giving simultaneous displays and playing consultation games.

He also continued to play in the Anglo-American Cable Matches, drawing with Hermann Helms, who repeated moves in what, according to Stockfish, was a winning position, in 1908. Helms would go on to have a long and distinguished career as a chess promoter and journalist, being involved in organising the great New York tournaments in 1924 and 1927, and helping the young Bobby Fischer in 1951. Lawrence drew with his old rival John Finan Barry in 1909 and with Hodges again in 1910. In the final match, in 1911, he played a controversial game against Albert Whiting Fox, which I’ve annotated for the Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club website here. It’s well worth your attention.

This left his final record in the cable matches: played 10, no wins, six draws and four losses: perhaps slightly disappointing given his strength. Maybe the format didn’t bring out the best in him.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Mary had wasted no time at all in starting a family. A daughter, Margery (known as Peggy) was born in Mortlake just nine months after their wedding, on 28 January 1908, and baptised at St Botolph, Aldersgate on 28 March 1908. A year later, Joyce was born in Mortlake on 3 February 1909 and baptised at St Botolph on 1 May 1909. In the same year, on 23 December 1909, Ruth followed, but she was baptised on 10 April 1910 at Christ Church East Sheen, close to their family home. This is just a few yards from Sheen Mount Primary School, whose former headteacher, Jane Lawrence (no relation as far as I know) promoted chess very strongly: her pupils there included future IMs Richard Bates and Tom Hinks-Edwards.

It was at 132 Palewell Park that the census enumerator found the family in 1911: as you’d expect, Thomas, Mary and their three daughters were at home, along with Ellen Lloyd, a domestic servant, and Helen Wapshott, a nurse employed to care for the young girls.

The following year the family would be completed with the arrival of a son, named Roger Clive Lawrence, born on 12 November 1912, and baptised at Christ Church on 12 February 1913.

Earlier in 1912 the British Championships had taken place in Richmond, and the local club, of which Lawrence was now President, was involved in the organisation, but he wasn’t to be persuaded to play.

The opportunity to compete again on the international stage came knocking again the following year, when he was selected to travel to The Hague to play two matches against a Dutch team. His opponent here was Arnold van Foreest, great great grandfather of Jorden, Lucas and Machteld.

Their first game resulted in an exciting ending in which both players had advanced connected passed pawns. Lawrence eventually came out on top, as you can see here.

[pgn]

[Event “Match/Nation NED-ENG 4,0-12,0”]
[Site “The Hague”]
[Date “1914.04.11”]
[Round “1.3”]
[White “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Black “Van Foreest, Arnold E”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C48”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “129”]
[EventDate “1914.04.11”]
[EventType “team-match”]
[EventRounds “2”]
[EventCountry “NED”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 2014”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2013.11.20”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2013.11.20”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
[WhiteTeam “England”]
[BlackTeam “Netherlands”]
[WhiteTeamCountry “ENG”]
[BlackTeamCountry “NED”]

1. e4 {ChessBase} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Ba4 c6 6. O-O d6 {
C48: Four Knights: 4 Bb5, replies other than 4…Bb4.} 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. Nd5 $146
(8. Ne2 $16) ({Predecessor:} 8. Ne2 Nxe4 9. Nxd4 Nc5 10. Re1+ Be6 11. Nxe6 Nxe6
12. Bb3 d5 13. c4 d4 14. c5 {1/2-1/2 (28) Schlechter,C-Marshall,F Nuremberg
1906 HCL [ChessBase]}) 8… Nd7 {Black is slightly better.} (8… Nxe4 $2 9.
Re1 $18) (8… Ng4 {looks sharper.} 9. Nf4 Qh4 10. h3 g5) 9. Nf4 Be7 (9… a5
$5 10. c3 g5 $11) 10. d3 (10. c3 $5) 10… Qa5 11. Bb3 g6 {Prevents Nh5.} 12.
Ne2 Bf6 13. f4 Qh5 14. Qe1 O-O 15. Ng3 Qh4 16. Qf2 Nc5 17. f5 Nxb3 18. axb3 Be5
19. Bf4 f6 20. Qd2 c5 21. Rf3 g5 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. b4 cxb4 24. Qxb4 Qh6 25. c3
Rd8 26. Ne2 dxc3 27. bxc3 (27. Nxc3 Qf8 28. Qb3+ Kh8 $16) 27… Qf8 28. Qxf8+
Kxf8 29. d4 exd4 30. cxd4 (30. Nxd4 Re8 $11) 30… b5 31. e5 {& White is more
active.} a5 {Strongly threatening …b4.} 32. e6 {Black must now prevent Rc1.}
(32. exf6 b4 33. h3 a4 $19) 32… Bb7 $2 (32… b4 $11 {and Black stays safe.})
33. Rc3 $18 {Threatens to win with Rc7.} Rdc8 {Prevents Rc7.} 34. Rxc8+ Bxc8 {
Endgame KRB-KRN} 35. d5 b4 36. Nd4 $2 (36. d6 a4 37. Nd4 (37. d7 Bxd7 38. exd7
Ke7 $16)) 36… a4 $2 {[#]} (36… Ra6 {was called for.}) 37. d6 $1 {aiming
for Nb5.} a3 38. Re1 $2 (38. Nc2 $18 Ra4 39. Rc1 (39. d7 Bxd7 40. exd7 Ke7 $11)
) 38… a2 $2 (38… Bb7 $1 $11) 39. d7 Bxd7 40. exd7 {And now Ra1 would win.}
a1=Q 41. d8=Q+ {Decoy} Rxd8 42. Ne6+ ({Inferior is} 42. Rxa1 Rxd4 43. Ra2 Ke7
$17) 42… Ke7 43. Rxa1 {KRN-KR} Rb8 44. Rb1 Kd6 45. Kf2 Ke5 46. g4 h5 47. h3 (
{White should play} 47. Re1+ $18 Kd5 48. gxh5) 47… hxg4 $11 48. hxg4 b3 49.
Kf3 {Hoping for Nc5.} b2 50. Nc5 Kd4 51. Na4 Rb3+ {[#] Loses the game.} (51…
Rb4 $1 $14) 52. Kg2 $1 $18 Ra3 $2 (52… Rb4 53. Nxb2 Kd5 54. Rd1+ Kc6) 53.
Nxb2 {Nd1 is the strong threat. White is clearly winning.} Kc3 (53… Rb3 $142
54. Rd1+ Ke4) 54. Nd1+ Kc2 55. Rb6 Kxd1 56. Rxf6 {KR-KR} Ra2+ 57. Kf3 Ra3+ 58.
Ke4 Ra4+ 59. Ke5 Rxg4 60. Rg6 Rg1 61. f6 g4 62. Kf4 Ke2 63. Rxg4 Rf1+ 64. Kg5
Ke3 65. Kg6 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.49/Black=0.66} 1-0

[/pgn]

He scored a quicker win in the return encounter when his opponent miscalculated the tactics on the open e-file.

[pgn]

[Event “Match/Nation NED-ENG 4,0-12,0”]
[Site “The Hague”]
[Date “1914.04.13”]
[Round “2.3”]
[White “Van Foreest, Arnold E”]
[Black “Lawrence, Thomas Francis”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C47”]
[Annotator “Tactical Analysis 5.2 (1s)”]
[PlyCount “54”]
[EventDate “1914.04.11”]
[EventType “team-match”]
[EventRounds “2”]
[EventCountry “NED”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 2014”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2013.11.20”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2013.11.20”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
[WhiteTeam “Netherlands”]
[BlackTeam “England”]
[WhiteTeamCountry “NED”]
[BlackTeamCountry “ENG”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be2 Bb4 5. Nd5 Be7 6. Nxe7 $146 {C47: Scotch
Four Knights and Four Knights with 4 g3.} ({Predecessor:} 6. d3 d6 7. Nxe7 Qxe7
8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Nxg5 hxg5 12. Bxg5 Qe6 {0-1 (30)
Blackburne,J-Tarrasch,S Ostend 1905}) 6… Qxe7 7. d3 d5 8. O-O {The position
is equal.} Bg4 $2 (8… dxe4 $17 9. dxe4 Nxe4) 9. exd5 $16 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 $2
Bxe2 $17 {& Black is more active.} 11. Qxe2 {[#] Black must now prevent Re1.} O-O
({Weaker is} 11… Qxe5 12. Qxe5+ Nxe5 13. Re1 $15) (11… Nxe5 12. Re1 $11)
12. f4 {White does not recover from this.} f6 13. d4 fxe5 14. Qc4 Rad8 {
Black is clearly winning.} 15. fxe5 (15. dxe5 $142 g5 16. g3) 15… Rxf1+ $19
16. Kxf1 Qf7+ 17. Kg1 Rf8 {( -> …Qf2+)} 18. Bg5 Qf2+ 19. Kh1 Qxd4 20. Qxd4
Nxd4 21. c4 Nf4 22. Rd1 {[#]} Nd3 $1 {…Nf2+ is the strong threat.} 23. Be3
Nf2+ 24. Bxf2 Rxf2 25. Kg1 Rf4 26. g3 Re4 27. Kf2 c5 {Weighted Error Value:
White=0.72/Black=0.27 (precise)} 0-1

[/pgn]

Club chess was curtailed during the war, and, with a growing family, Thomas Francis Lawrence had other demands on his time. He did, however, continue writing in The People up to January 1916. Here, he proposed the abolition of adjudications.

More than a century on, we haven’t progressed very far. Even today, the January 2022 Rules of Play on the London League website still allows for adjudications. Lawrence must be turning in his grave.

He still seems to have been playing occasional club chess: in December 1919 Ibis welcomed a visiting team from Hastings, with Lawrence drawing with MCO co-author Richard Clewin Griffith on top board.

By 1921 the family had moved just round the corner, to 92 East Sheen Avenue, backing onto the house across the road from their previous address. Thomas was by now a Principal Clerk with the Prudential Assurance Company Limited, Mary and their four children were also at home, as was Helen Wapshott, a nurse a decade ago but now a general domestic servant.

Lawrence retained his interest in the game for the rest of his life. He still played occasionally for Ibis, in 1925 losing rather horribly on top board against George Marshall Norman in one of the regular Hastings v Ibis matches.

At some point in the 1930s Thomas retired from his job with the Prudential and retired to Comp Corner Cottage, Wrotham, Kent (between Sevenoaks and Maidstone), now a Grade 2 Listed Building, where, in 1939 he was living with Mary, Ruth and two of Mary’s unmarried sisters, Louisa and Charlotte, the latter of whom was employed as a schoolmistress teaching domestic subjects.

His great-niece Jill recalled visiting him at Comp Corner. There were always huge jigsaw puzzles on a huge table in the house in Comp Corner, Wrotham, Kent. Tom was very clever, wealthy, occupation unknown, believed to have been South-East chess champion. Well, he was seven times champion of the City of London Chess Club, which was very much the same thing, as most of the strongest players in the South East took part.

The family finally moved to Storrington, Sussex in about 1950, where he died on 25 January 1953 at the age of 81. Here’s his obituary from the BCM: I presume FAR was Frank Rhoden.

Several mysteries remain. After a recent post on the English Chess Forum, Sussex chess historian Brian Denman contacted me with this message, repeated here with his permission.

The following story will probably have not surfaced for over fifty years. The Worthing Gazette of 27.7.1966, which had as its chess columnist Leslie A Head, reported that thirteen years previously the Worthing CC had in its possession one of the most famous trophies in the history of British chess. The Ibis Challenge Trophy was once the championship trophy of the City of London CC and was won outright by T F Lawrence in 1898. About sixteen or seventeen years ago Lawrence had come to live in Storrington. He invited David Armstrong and the columnist to play him an occasional game. On one of these visits he showed the trophy, which consisted of a set of large ivory chessmen and board. The next time that the columnist heard about the trophy was in January 1966, when a reader, who insisted on remaining anonymous, informed him that the trophy had been presented to the club by his widow. The club minutes in fact recorded that in March 1953 the trophy had been presented to the club by the widow on condition that, if the club parted with it, it should be to a person interested in chess. At that time the committee could not decide how to use the gift and the matter was left in abeyance. Head commented that the club might have held a Lawrence Memorial Tournament or displayed the trophy at Annual General Meetings. In a follow-up article in the Worthing Gazette of 10.8.1966 Head mentions that Eric Chettle, secretary of Worthing CC from 1955-59, remembers the trophy being in the club’s cupboard. The club wrote to Jacques and were told that the set would be worth £60, though the firm no longer made them. Mr Chettle said that he had sold it to a Chichester player for £18 or £20. The columnist commented that it was very sad that this priceless and historic trophy had been hidden away in a cupboard unrecognised and unappreciated until it was sold for a few paltry pounds. He asks why there was such secrecy over the sale. The Worthing Herald of 3.10.1958 mentions that a fall in the club’s membership had caused anxiety and the set had been sold for £20 to ease the club’s balance. One wonders if the set still exists.

There seems to be some confusion with regard to this trophy. I suspect that the BCF obituary was incorrect: my guess is that the Ibis Trophy was originally the Mocatta Trophy, which Lawrence won in 1898 for his third successive victory in the City of London Club Championship. He then donated it to the Ibis Chess Club, whereupon its name was changed. When they no longer had use for it, it returned to Lawrence’s possession, and was then passed onto Worthing Chess Club by his widow after his death in 1953. Anyway, if anyone has any idea what happened to it after it was sold to the ‘Chichester player’, do please get in touch.

There are two other mysteries as well: I still have no idea who exactly his father Henry Lawrence was. I’m also interested in what happened to his brother. He had three Christian names: Henry Arthur Edward, although he seemed to vary their order, so it should be relatively easy to track him down. We can pick up his birth in Velsen in 1873, and see him living with his mother in London in 1881, 1891 and 1901, up to her death in 1903, but after that the trail goes dead. I can find no marriage or death records with those three names in any order, nor any information on online family trees. Again, if you can help with either Henry, father or son, I’d love to hear from you.

What should we make of Thomas Francis Lawrence as a chess player? He was clearly very talented but his games don’t make a particularly strong impression today. With more ambition and perhaps a wider opening repertoire (I don’t think his predilection with the Spanish Four Knights helped very much) he might have reached grandmaster level, but he didn’t play a lot at the top level and seemed to have had other priorities – work and family – in his life. Nevertheless, wins against Pillsbury and Blackburne and draws with Lasker and Chigorin are not to be sniffed at.

More than that, he comes across as a genuinely nice and modest person. Returning to the BCM obituary: ‘a kindly man, and always willing to give courteous advice to young chess-players seeking his aid’. A fine and fitting epitaph, I think. I’m very proud that Thomas Francis Lawrence was one of my predecessors as President of Richmond (& Twickenham) Chess Club.

Sources and Acknowledgements:

ancestry.co.uk

findmypast.co.uk

Wikipedia

Google Maps

chessgames.com

MegaBase

The City of London Chess Club Championship (Roger Leslie Paige)

British Chess Literature to 1914 (Tim Harding)

British Chess Magazine 1953

English Chess Forum

Chess Notes (Edward Winter)

BritBase

Gerard Killoran

Brian Denman

Hastings Chess Club website

Cambridge Springs 1904 website