BCN remembers Philip Walsingham Sergeant who passed away on Monday, October 20th 1952.
PWS was born in Kensington on Saturday, January 27th, 1872 to Lewis Sergeant and Emma Louisa Sergeant (née Robertson) and was baptised at All Saints Church, Notting Hill. According to PWS’s baptism record Lewis was an author.
According to PWS in A Century of British Chess :
“When I was seven years of age – about the period, by the way, in which my father began to teach me Greek – he began also to initiate me into chess. Not that he designed it as a consolatory set-off to my application to Greek; for he loved the Classics well, though, going up to Cambridge with small classical exhibition, he had turned to Mathematics, and therein took his degree. ”
According to the 1881 census PWS (aged 9) lived with his parents and numerous siblings : Dorothy (aged 7), Winifred (6), Hilda (5), Bernard (2), John (his grandfather aged 76) and Mary (his grandmother aged 75). They had staff, Elizabeth Fraser and Sarah Martin. They lived at 10, Addison Road, North, Kensington.
According to “Joseph Foster. Oxford Men and Their Colleges, 1880-1892. 2 vols. Oxford, England: James Parker and Co, 1893″ :
PWS attended St. Paul’s School and then Trinity College, Oxford to read Classics where he attained Honour Moderations.
and here is the record from the above publication :
Entry for Philip Walsingham Sergeant in Joseph Foster. Oxford Men and Their Colleges, 1880-1892. 2 vols. Oxford, England: James Parker and Co, 1893
We do not know if PWS played in the Varsity matches of 1892 – 1895 : Britbase does not (yet) include player details for these matches.
PWS married Minnie Boundford (born 27th February 1889) in 1909 in Hampstead and they lived at 5, Dukes Avenue, Chiswick where PWS was listed as an author and Minnie as someone who carried out “unpaid domestic duties”. Minnie was 17 years younger than PWS. Minnie’s father was a joiner and a carpenter.
They had two daughters Margaret (born 1910) and Kathleen (born 1911).
In October 1946 Minnie and PWS remarried. Presumably this was rather unusual in that day and age.
According to The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 2nd edition, 1996) by Hooper and Whyld :
PWS was an English author of biographical games collections for Charousek, Morphy and Pillsbury as well as other works of importance such as A Century of British Chess (1943) and Championship Chess (1938).
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (BT Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek :
“A professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects. Without any pretentions to mastership, he represented Oxford University in the years 1892 – 5 and assisted RC Griffith in preparing three editions of Modern Chess Openings.
In chess he dealt with a number of important subjects : Morphy’s Games of Chess, London, 1916; Charousek’s Games of Chess, London, 1919; Pillsbury’s Chess Career (in collaboration with WH Watts), London, 1923; Championship Chess, London, 1938.
All these are lucidly and carefully written but suffer from the defect that, being neither a master player nor a professional annotator, he was not competent to deal with the annotational part of the work. Probably his best book on chess was A Century of British Chess, London, 1934.
From British Chess Magazine, Volume LXX11 (72), Number 11 (November), page 324 we have this rather brief obituary (presumably written by Brian Reilly):
“We regret to have to report the death, at the age of eighty-one of Philip W. Sergeant, the author of A Century of British Chess, which we imagine is in most chess libraries. He was the author of several well-known historical books – but we are only concerned here with his chess activities, which included representing Oxford University 1892-5; helping RC Griffith with two editions of Modern Chess Openings; playing for Middlesex, winning the chess championship of the authors’ club for several year, and latterly as an honoured member; and occasionally obtaining the championship of the Guildford Chess Club. Our sympathy with his widow and two daughters is sincere.”
”
“Philip Walsingham Sergeant (27 January 1872, Notting Hill, London[1] – 20 October 1952)[2] was a British professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects.[3][4] He collaborated on the fifth (1933), sixth (1939), and seventh (1946) editions of Modern Chess Openings, an important reference work on the chess openings. He also wrote biographical game collections of Paul Morphy (Morphy’s Games of Chess (1916) and Morphy Gleanings), Rudolf Charousek (Charousek’s Games of Chess (1919)), and Harry Nelson Pillsbury (Pillsbury’s Chess Career, with W. H. Watts, 1922), and other important books such as A Century of British Chess (1934) and Championship Chess (1938).”
Harry Golombek writes that, “Without any pretensions to mastership, he represented Oxford University in the years 1892-5”.[3] Golombek considers A Century of British Chess probably Sergeant’s best chess book, but opines that although Sergeant’s chess books are lucidly written, they suffer from the defect that, as a non-master, he was not competent to deal with the annotational aspect of his work.
Philip Walsingham SergeantCharousek’s Games of ChessThe Rice Memorial Chess Tournament, 1916Pillsbury’s Chess Career, London, 1923A Century of British Chess, London, 1934An Introduction to the Endgame at Chess
We offer best wishes to IM Simon John Bradley Knott on his birthday
Simon was born on Sunday, October 19th 1958 in Lambeth, London to Simon Harold John Arthur Knott and Josephine Whowell.
Simon attended Trinity College, Cambridge.
He became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master in 2001. According to Felice and Megabase 2020 his peak FIDE rating was 2401 in October 2002 at the age of 43.
Simon was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1995-96 and 2001-02 seasons.
Simon plays for Hertford and Barbican in the Four Nations Chess League.
As white Simon plays the Queen’s Gambit via a 1.Nf3 or 1.c4 move order. There are zero 1.e4 games!
As the second player he plays the French Winawer and the Grünfeld Defence.
John K Shaw was born on Wednesday, October 16th, 1968 in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
On this day Americans Tommie Smith (gold 19.83 WR) and John Carlos (bronze) famously give the Black Power salute on the 200m medal podium during the Mexico City Olympics to protest racism and injustice against African-Americans.
He became a FIDE Master in 1994 at the age of 26. Five years later in 1999 he became an International Master and finally a Grandmaster in 2006 at the age of 38.
He won the Scottish Championship in 1995 (with IM Steve Mannion and GM Colin McNab), outright in 1998 and in 2000 with AJ Norris.
Not that many years previously (1988) John had a rating of 1700 at the age of 19 and therefore he falls into that rather rare category of GMs who were not strong players as juniors.
According to Felice and Megabase 2020 his peak FIDE rating was 2506 in January of 2002.
FIDE Rating profile for GM John Shaw
John’s FIDE federation is Scotland and is currently ranked fifth in that country.
He acquired his three GM norms at Gibraltar 2003, Calvia Olympiad 2004 and 4NCL Season 2005/6.
According to ChessBase (in 2005) :
“IM John Shaw has written two books for Everyman Chess and co-edited Experts vs. the Sicilian. He has represented Scotland on many occasions, recently in the Olympiad in Calvià, where he obtained his second GM-norm. As John has once had 2500 in Elo, it is his hope that he will complete his Grandmaster title in 2005 with a third GM-norm.
Together with Jacob, John constitutes two thirds of the new chess publisher Quality Chess Europe which has published Experts vs. the Sicilian by ten different authors and Learn from the Legends – Chess Champions at their Best by Romanian GM Mihail Marin.”
John plays / has played for 4NCL Alba and his peak ECF grading was 240B in July 2009.
With the white pieces almost exclusively plays 1.e4 and the Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation.
As the second player John has a wide repertoire versus 1.e4 essaying the Sicilian La Bourdonnais (Löwenthal) and against 1.d4 the Slav is the weapon of choice.
{[%evp 0,50,19,38,40,41,41,60,56,30,35,37,27,37,57,45,45,57,50,42,63,89,49,50,
62,7,1,5,1,-1,8,-5,-5,11,-4,-20,-7,-115,-77,-77,-76,-88,-13,-91,-9,-149,-178,
-188,-1,-1548,-1728,-1802,-1854]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5.
Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be2 d6 7. Be3 Be7 8. O-O Bd7 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bc6 11. b4 {
A move apparently first played by James Tarjan in 1980. Curiously, the
aforementioned player has also made a reappearance recently after some
decades’ absence from the game.} b6 12. Bf3 O-O 13. Rad1 Rc8 14. Bf2 Qc7 15. a3
Rfd8 16. Qe3 Bb7 {Perhaps White was now regretting his overly bold 11th move
as it has noticeably weakened the c-file.} 17. Nb5 Qxc2 18. e5 ({Life gets
difficult after this.} 18. Nxa7 Rc3 19. Rc1 $5 Rxe3 20. Rxc2 Rxa3 21. Nb5 Raa8
22. e5 {is suggested by Houdini.}) 18… Nd5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. exd6 Bf8 21.
Nxa7 ({It was a tough choice between this and} 21. Rc1 Qg6 22. Qg3 Rxc1 23.
Rxc1 Qe4 {, which looks pretty good for Black.}) 21… Rc3 22. Qxb6 ({The
alternative was to grovel with} 22. Qe1 Rxa3 23. Nb5 Ra2 {when} 24. Nc3 {
may be answered by} Bb7 $1 {since} 25. Nxa2 $4 {allows mate with} Qc6 {, etc.})
22… Rxd6 23. Qb8 Rd3 ({Houdini suggests} 23… Qe4 {, forcing} 24. Rxd5 Rxd5
{. Though this does not appear wholly convincing to the human eye, the
computer thinks it’s game, set and match.}) 24. Rc1 $2 {[diag]} ({This meets
with a scintillating refutation. The alternative was} 24. Rxd3 $1 Qxd3 25. Re1
{(To cover Qe4)} Qg6 26. Bg3 $1 {when Black still has work to do, e.g.} Rd7 27.
Qb6 h5 28. f5 $1 Qxf5 29. Qf2 Qg6 30. Nb5 {, etc.}) 24… Rg3 $3 {Lawrence
Cooper, with an eye to the g3 square, the location of a famous Frank Marshall
sacrifice back in 1912, asked if the board was showered with gold coins after
this move.} 25. hxg3 (25. Rxc2 Rxg2+ 26. Kh1 Rg3# {mate.}) 25… Qe4 (25… Qe4
{White has a choice between being mated in one move, or in 13 moves after} 26.
Qxf8+ {- I’ll leave readers to amuse themselves working out how White can keep
the game going that long.}) 0-1
[/pgn]
A writer of chess books, John is the Chief Editor of the publishing house Quality Chess and has written the following (amongst others) :
starting out : the ruy lopezstarting out : the queen’s gambitQuality Chess Puzzle BookThe King’s GambitPlaying 1.e4Grandmaster versus Amateur by John ShawExperts on the Anti-Sicilian (Grandmaster Repertoire Series)
We wish GM Jonathan Speelman all the best on his 70th birthday.
Jonathan Simon Speelman was born on Tuesday, October 2nd, 1956 in Marylebone, London. His mother’s maiden name was Freeman. In March 2002 Jon and Lindsey Thomas were married in Camden, Greater London. They have a non-chess playing son, Lawrence who studied Ancient Languages at The University of Chicago.
Jonathan attended St. Paul’s School, London and then Worcester College, Oxford and read mathematics.
He became an International Master in 1978 (England’s tenth) and a Grandmaster in 1980 (England’s fifth) and achieved a peak FIDE rating of 2645 at the age of 32 in July 1988.
Jon is a Life Member of King’s Head Chess Club and has helped them organise a number of tournaments including the NatWest Young Masters where he has adjudicated the winner of the Best Game Prize.
Currently, Jon plays for Wood Green in Four Nations Chess League and in the London League and maintains an ECF grade of 245.
Jon is the chess correspondent for The Observer and The Independent.
With the white pieces Jon prefers 1.Nf3 and against 1…Nf6 to follow with c4 and d4. Interestingly, if black plays 1…d5 then Jon plays an early king-side fianchetto.
As the second player Jon prefers the Smyslov Caro-Kann, the Nimzo-Indian and Queen’s Indian defences.
His record against contemporary players is impressive:
Nigel Short: +5
Murray Chandler: +4
Jonathan Mestel: +4
John Nunn: +3
James Plaskett: +4
Mark Hebden: +7
Tony Miles: +1
Tony Kosten: +3
Daniel King: +2
Jon Speelman and Nigel Short at the start of their 1989 Candidates match. Jon won 3.5 – 1.5
From British Chess (Pergamon Press, 1983) by Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson :
“Having been asked to contribute an article on myself to this book I have decided to concentrate almost exclusively on my ‘relationship with chess’, but first quickly summarize my life.
JS
Born on 2nd October 1956 I went to a ‘Nursery School’ whose name I forget. Then to Arnold House School followed by St. Paul’s School. I had a ‘Year off’ from January to October, 1976, when I went up to Worcester College, Oxford, where I studied mathematics. In 1977 I left Oxford with a 2nd degree. Since then I have been a professional chess player.
I was taught chess at the age of 6 by my cousin on Boxing Day, 1962. Then as now, I was an inquisitive person and the idea of a ‘complicated and difficult game’ interested me. Sadly my first game of chess ended in checkmate in four moves; but I persevered and soon became more competent.
JS at the London based Philips & Drew Kings tournament
I have always seen life to some in terms of barriers. There are things which one can do easily and which one finds difficult or almost impossible. For any given task the transition from one state to the other is not as smooth. One builds up energy and finally is able to succeed for the first time. After that the task becomes successively easier: Partly because one is aware that one can succeed.
Jonathan Speelman without glasses
ln order to illustrate my chess career to date, I shall therefore pick out examples of barriers which I managed to break through.
Jonathan was an early follower of fashion
Until a few Years ago there were few titled players in Great Britain. But recently, thanks largely to a change of emphasis in organisation, several players have broken through to obtain international titles. This is not only because British players have become stronger – which they undoubtedly have – but also because they have received opportunities which were previously denied them.
JS at the London Robert Silk Fellowship invitational tournament
I first started seriously to contemplate becoming an international master in 1977. Previously, I had of course aspired to this but without really investigating the mechanics of obtaining norms. In August, 1977 England sent a team to the World Student Team Championships in Mexico City. We came third: a year later we were to win the event (though on that occasion it was a World Under 26 Team Championship). On our return there was an invitation tournament in London: the ‘Lloyds Bank Silver Jubilee’. Although I was rather tired after Mexico I decided to play and to my surprise, I obtained an IM norm with a round to spare. It all seemed rather easy. I drew with six strong players including GM Torre and four IM’s and beat three weaker ones.
Grandmaster Uses PressTel Chessbox to Play Long Distance Chess. Jonathan Speelman the UK Grandmaster is pictured here deciding his next move in a computer chess game against five simultaneous opponents. Players exchanged moves online via the ChessBox club on PressTel, BTs videotex service.
In December, 1977 I played for the first time in the Annual Grandmaster Tournament at Hastings. I was very pleased to ‘shut up shop’, abandoning any pretensions to an exciting style to score one win, one loss and – wait for it – twelve draws; but 7/14 was sufficient for another international master norm.
These two events left me with twenty three games of norm, one less than the required minimum. Early in 1978 I played in a tournament in London but failed to get my final leg. It was in April that year that I had my next chance at the famous Lone Pine Tournament in California. I have already stressed the importance of barriers. It was in round one of the Lone Pine tournament that I broke through another important one – that of beating a grandmaster.
JS was a frequent giver of simultaneous displays
Nowadays (and here I hear myself sounding like an old man!) the strongest young players (under twenty-six) beat international masters quite regularly and indeed grandmasters from time to time. ‘In my day’ this was not so much the case. Titled foreign players could still come over to pillage weekend tournaments; and succeed much of the time! When one of them lost to homegrown talent it was news.
IM Jonathan Speelman vs IM Simon Webb at the 1978 British Championships in Ayr, Courtesy of John Upham
I first started to play regularly against grandmasters in my first Hastings tournament, which I mentioned previously. Of course, I had played grandmasters before, but at Hastings seven of the fourteen games were against them. I scored there six draws and a loss to the tournament winner, Dzindzihashvili.
Julian Hodgson and Jonathan Speelman prepare to play each other at their own home via CEEEFAX. This was organised by Peter Andrews of BBC Chess Club and was the first match of its kind.
In round one of Lone pine I was White against Bent Larsen of Denmark. Given that one is going to beat a strong grandmaster (l hadn’t even beaten a weak one) then White against Larsen is quite a good chance. Although he is an extremely strong player, Larsen loses quite a lot of games to much weaker opponents and wins an enormous number against them as well, with not many draws. I was fortunate in obtaining a nice position from the opening and won a good game. That is one of the games I have chosen.
JS receives one of many awards
After beating Larsen the rest of the tournament was rather an anti-climax for me. I drew some games, then lost in successive rounds to Browne and Biyiasas. Needing a win to reach fifty per cent the chance of my final norm, I clawed my way to victory in a dreadful game against a young American P. Whitehead. Two short draws in the final two rounds brought me the title.
At the Praxis British Zonal in February 1987 here at the roman baths. Murray Chandler, Jonathan Speelman, and Jonathan Mestel
Some years ago the British Championship really was the Championship of Britain. But in the early seventies there was a decline as several of the strongest players did not enter. In the last two years the decline has been halted and then reversed by the sponsorship of stockbrokers Grievson Grant. In 1979 two of our four Grandmasters, Miles and Nunn, competed in the British Championship at Chester and there were no fewer than six International Masters; indeed Nigel Short succeeded in obtaining his first IM norm there.
JS plays Alexander Khalifman during the SWIFT World Cup in Reykjavik, 1991. The game was drawn
I first competed in the British Championship at Brighton in 1972. After a good start, beating Michael Basman in the first round and drawing with Craig Pritchett in the second, I lost to Haygarth in round three. Thereafter, I found it incredibly difficult to win games. My old British Chess Magazine reminds me that I succeeded in winning in round nine, but that was the only one after round one. I finished with 4.5/11.
JS, Jana Bellin and Nigel Short in a publicity shoot outside Simpsons in the Strand
A year later at Eastbourne I was still finding it hard to win games. Again I finished with 4.5/11. By Clacton, 1974 I had improved. A loss in the last round to the eventual winner Botterill left me a point behind the seven (!) who had to play off for the title.
I competed at Morecambe, 1975 and Portsmouth, 1976, missing only Brighton, 1977 when the students team was in Mexico. By Ayr, 1978 I was probably one of the favourites along with Jonathan Mestel, who ran away with the tournament in Portsmouth,
1976, George Botterill, the defending champion, and some others.
Jonathan shows off his all seeing four eyes
In fact I won at Ayr. I played quite well throughout. ln the last round half a point ahead of Mestel I played a quick draw with Webb but was lucky when Mestel could only draw with Clarke. Of course winning the British was a big breakthrough for me. But I feel that the most important psychological change came in 1974 when I started to discover that it is possible to win games in the British Championship.
Jonathan Simon Speelman (02-x-1956) as imagined by Roger Morgan, 1982
Since late 1978 I have made no dramatic breakthrough but have, I believe, almost imperceptibly made the change from a ‘medium’ to a ‘strong’ international master.
Jonathan Speelman telephones good news
I’ve selected three games to go with this article. The one with Larsen I’ve already mentioned. Mihaljcisin-Speelman I like as a game in which I played very actively as Black.
{[%evp 0,84,15,10,81,81,81,41,41,33,28,44,44,19,67,21,52,8,17,0,11,-5,-5,4,-2,
-65,-68,-120,-122,-141,-134,-147,-149,-183,-180,-185,-179,-185,-136,-206,-199,
-189,-178,-154,-179,-169,-169,-162,-118,-118,-99,-108,-101,-107,-104,-134,-124,
-120,-130,-179,-184,-184,-112,-131,-112,-98,-46,-84,-119,-207,-218,-210,-218,
-225,-225,-244,-250,-250,-250,-278,-279,-365,-374,-374,-374,-1014,-1014]} 1. e4
{JS : Mr. Mihaljcisin of Yugoslavia had a very bad tournament at Frunze :
after an early win against the Mongolian Miagmasuren he failed to win another
game and lost many! When I played him , having not yet discovered that the GM
norm was 13/17 (I thought it was about 12) I was very anxious to win. At the
beginning of the tournament I played Sicilian against 1.e4 but without
reaching very good positions though I drew them all. As Black against
Miagmasuren I played a French Defence; he played 2.Nf3 and I very quickly
reached a won position ! In this game I decided to avoid 2.c3 against the
Sicilian which is what we would have had otherwise and to try for the first
time in my tournament career a Caro-Kann Defence – I am often lucky in my
first adoption of an opening variation !} c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6
5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. Ne2 {My opponent played this move almost instantly. This
rather disconcerted me since I had expected that he would have a reasonably
long think.} (6. c3 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6) {So….} 6… h5 $5 ({JS : If now} 6… Bf5
7. Ng3 Bg6 8. h4 h5 9. Be2 {and White can prepare for Bxh5 with c3 : this is
perfectly playable for Black but why follow your opponent’s theory especially
when you don’t know it properly?}) 7. h4 $6 {JS : This seems very dubious to
me.} ({JS : Surely} 7. Qd3 {is better.}) 7… Bg4 8. Qd3 ({JS :
Yanofsky-Larsen, Dallas, 1957 went} 8. c3 Nd7 9. Qb3 Nb6 10. Bf4 Qd7 11. O-O-O
Be6 12. Qc2 a5 13. Ng3 Qd5 14. a3 Qa2 15. Qb1 Qxb1+ 16. Kxb1 Nd5 {given as =+
by Larsen in ECO.}) 8… e5 9. Be3 ({Perhaps White should play} 9. c3 {I
intended} Nd7 ({but perhaps Black should play} 9… Na6) 10. Ng3 exd4 {at the
time}) 9… Na6 10. a3 ({White would like to play} 10. O-O-O {but this seems
to fail tactically , viz} Nb4 11. Qb3 Be6 $1 12. c4 (12. d5 $2 cxd5 {gives
White nothing}) 12… Bf5 13. Rd2 a5 $1 {, when White should play} 14. Nc3 ({
If instead} 14. dxe5 {but} a4 $1 {which wins. I’m afraid that I hadn’t noticed
that 14…Nd3+ is bad and 14…a4! superb, but my position was, I think,
already good enough for one to expect that there would be in a reasonable line
a tactical mêlée.} ({not} 14… Nd3+ {when} 15. Kd1 {is very strong})) 14…
a4 $1 15. Nxa4 Qa5 $17 {which is excellent for Black}) ({White should have
played} 10. c3 {when} Nc5 {is conceivable} ({After} 10… Qa5 {Black is
already better.})) 10… Qa5+ $1 11. Bd2 Qb6 {Black has got a clear advantage.}
{So, White feels obliged to try} 12. dxe5 ({If now} 12. O-O-O O-O-O {the white
d-pawn is dreadfully weak}) 12… Nc5 13. Qe3 O-O-O 14. b4 {This is a
desperate move to force the queens off.} ({If} 14. O-O-O Bh6 15. f4 fxe5 {
and White’s position collapses.}) {but…} 14… Bh6 $1 15. f4 {[#]} Rxd2 $1
16. Qxd2 ({if} 16. bxc5 Qb2) ({If} 16. Kxd2 Rd8+ 17. Ke1 Nd3+ $1) 16… Ne4 17.
Qd4 Qxd4 18. Nxd4 Bxf4 19. Nf3 ({If} 19. Be2 Bd2+ 20. Kd1 Bc3 {and White loses
a vast amount of material.}) (19. Bd3 {is best} {but after} Bd2+ 20. Kf1 Ng3+
21. Kf2 Nxh1+ 22. Rxh1 Bc3 {Black is, of course, winning.}) 19… Ng3 {the
simplest} 20. Rh3 $1 ({If} 20. Rg1 Be3 {and White cannot prevent …Bxf3 and ..
.Bxg1 winning a whole rook to come out a piece up.}) 20… Bxh3 {Maybe I could
have found something better here but this is perfectly effective so I didn’t
look further.} 21. gxh3 Nxf1 22. Kxf1 fxe5 {Black is effectively two pawns up.}
23. Ng5 {[#]} Rg8 $4 {Here I had a complete hallucination.} (23… Kd7 $1 {
would have won easily} {for if} 24. Nxf7 Rf8 25. Rd1+ Kc7 $1 26. Nd6 Rd8 {
and Black wins a piece.}) 24. Nxf7 e4 25. Ng5 {This is move I had missed.} Bxg5
26. hxg5 Rxg5 $17 {It is now touch and go whether the position is won (for
Black) any more.} 27. Re1 ({White could also try} 27. Kf2 {with the idea} Rf5+
({Black could also try} 27… h4 28. Re1 Rf5+ 29. Kg2 Rf3 30. Rxe4 Rg3+ 31. Kh2
Rxa3 {which must be winning I imagine,} {though after} 32. c4 $19 {must be
worse it would be pretty close.} (32. Rxh4 Rc3)) 28. Ke3 Rf3+ 29. Kxe4 Rxh3 (
29… Rc3 $1) 30. Kd4 {and 31.c3 which is not too bad for White.}) 27… Rg3
28. Rxe4 Rxh3 29. Ke2 Rxa3 30. Rh4 {[#]} Ra4 $4 {This is stupid. My opponent
was now in time-trouble.} ({I had intended} 30… a5 {but now panicked about}
31. Rxh5 ({White might try} 31. b5 cxb5 32. Rxh5 b4 {is easily winning for
Black.}) 31… axb4 32. Rh4 {Of course} Rc3 33. Kd2 c5 {would win easily for
Black.}) 31. Kd3 b6 ({if} 31… a5 $2 32. Rxh5 axb4 ({BCN : but} 32… Ra3+ 33.
Kd2 axb4 {is winning}) 33. Kc4 {and White can draw}) 32. c3 a5 33. Kc4 {
In time trouble Mihaljcisin fails to find the defence – I also did not see it
until nearly a month later !} ({After} 33. Rxh5 $1 axb4 34. Rh4 {Black cannot
play} c5 ({So} 34… Kb7 35. cxb4 ({not} 35. Rxb4 Rxb4 36. cxb4 Kc7 $19 {
winning}) 35… Ka6 36. Rd4 $1 ({also} 36. Rh6 Kb5 37. Kc3 $1 $11) 36… Kb5
37. Kc3 $11 {seems to be a draw.}) {since} 35. cxb4 cxb4 (35… Rxb4 36. Rxb4
cxb4 37. Kc4 {is a drawn pawn ending.})) 33… axb4 34. Kb3 ({Or} 34. cxb4 c5
$19) 34… Ra5 $1 ({not} 34… b5 {(BCN : actually, this is winning for Black!)
} 35. cxb4 c5 36. Rxh5 Rxb4+ 37. Ka3 Rc4 38. Rh7 $19) 35. Kxb4 (35. cxb4 {
also loses of course}) 35… Rg5 36. c4 Kb7 37. Rf4 Rg4 38. Rf7+ Ka6 39. Kb3 ({
or} 39. Rf6 c5+ 40. Kb3 Ka5 $1 {etc} ({but not} 40… Rg3+ 41. Ka4 Rc3 $4 (
41… Rg4 42. Kb3 h4) (41… Rg1 $1) 42. Rxb6+ $1 $11)) 39… Rg3+ 40. Kb4 $2 (
40. Ka4 c5 41. Rf6 Rg4 42. Kb3 Ka5 {etc}) 40… c5+ 41. Ka4 Rc3 42. Rf4 Rxc4+
$1 {and white resigns.} 0-1
[/pgn]
The game against Biyiasis is a good ‘rough and tumble’ not free from errors of course – but wouldn’t that be boring?
From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld :
“British Champion in 1978, Speelman played at Mexico City later that year in the English team that won (ahead of the USSR) the world’s first youth teams (under-26) championship.
(from l-r) Jonathan Kinlay, Shaun Taulbut, Jonathan Speelman, David Goodman and Jonathan Mestel accepting 1st prize at the 1978 World U26 Student Olympiad in Mexico City
Two good performances in 1980, as score of +5=5-3 to share fourth place in the category 13 London tournament and a second place (+6=7) at Maribor, brought him the title of International Grandmaster (1980). His subsequent achievements include : Dortmund 1981, first (+5=6) equal with Ftacnik and Kuzmin; Hastings 1981-2, second equal with Smyslov after Kupreichik; and London 1982, category 14, +2=10-1 to share fourth place. An excellent analyst, Speelman has written several books, among them Best Chess Games 1970-1980 (1982).”
From Wikipedia :
A winner of the British Chess Championship in 1978, 1985 and 1986, Speelman has been a regular member of the English team for the Chess Olympiad, an international biennial chess tournament organised by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
In 1989, he beat Kasparov in a televised speed tournament, and then went on to win the event.
In the April 2007 FIDE list, Speelman had an Elo rating of 2518, making him England’s twelfth-highest-rated active player.
In the 1989–1990 cycle, Speelman qualified by placing third in the 1987 interzonal tournament held in Subotica, Yugoslavia. After beating Yasser Seirawan in his first round 4–1, and Nigel Short in the second round 3½–1½, he lost to Jan Timman at the semi-final stage 4½–3½.
In the following 1990–93 championship cycle, he lost 5½–4½ in the first round to Short, the eventual challenger for Garry Kasparov’s crown.
Speelman’s highest ranking in the FIDE Elo rating list was fourth in the world, in January 1989.
{[%evp 0,75,37,17,47,46,80,54,58,28,28,28,55,55,68,26,46,51,10,9,24,10,8,6,6,
-10,9,8,-84,-60,-51,-72,-72,-220,-7,-7,141,144,250,329,329,261,261,233,334,334,
288,237,241,218,211,242,234,203,215,175,191,175,185,198,317,272,279,284,295,
295,299,273,266,276,280,280,276,328,308,355,405,412]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Sicilian Najdorf} 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 $5 {MC: An
idea of Polugaevsky The variations It leads to insanely sharp positions and
looks rather unsound, but no one has refuted it definatively.} (7… Be7 8. Qf3
({Whereas} 8. e5 $6 {here} dxe5 9. fxe5 Nfd7 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 $15 {does not
achieve very much for White.}) 8… Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6
12. g5 Nd7 13. f5 Bxg5+ 14. Kb1 Ne5 15. Qh5 Qd8 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. fxe6 g6 18.
exf7+ Kxf7 {is the main line in 2020.}) 8. e5 {is critical} dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 {
[%cal Gc7e5]} 10. Qe2 (10. exf6 Qe5+ {regains the piece.}) 10… Nfd7 11. O-O-O
Bb7 12. Qg4 ({An alternative here is} 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qg4 Nc5 15.
Bxb5+ Nc6 (15… axb5 16. Nxb5 {is too dangerous for Black to contemplate.} Qc8
17. b4 Nc6 $13) 16. Ne4 $5 axb5 (16… Nxe4 17. Qxe6+ Be7 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19.
Bxc6+ $18) 17. Nf6+ Kf7 18. Rhf1 Kg7 19. Rd7+ Nxd7 20. Nh5+ gxh5 21. Bf6+ {
with a strong attack. Fritz 17 asseses it as = !}) 12… Qxe5 {[#]} 13. Bxb5 {
A regulation sacrifice to clear lines for an attack against Black’s uncastled
king.} axb5 14. Rhe1 h5 15. Qh4 Qc5 16. Qg3 {[#]} Be7 {A critical moment.} ({
After the game} 16… h4 {was suggested as an improvement, but there are
pitfalls here too.} {One possible line is} 17. Bxh4 g5 18. Bxg5 Qxg5+ 19. Qxg5
Bh6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 (20… Bxg5+ 21. Nxg5+ {favours white.}) 21. Rxe6+ Kf7 22.
Re7+ Kf8 23. Rf1+ {and white wins.}) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nf5 {Now Black has to
give up his queen. Although he retains more than a nominal material equivalent,
the mobility of White’s queen soon reduces his position to a shambles.} exf5
19. Rxe7+ Kxe7 20. Qd6+ Kd8 21. Nxb5 $18 Bxg2 22. Qg3 Bc6 23. Qxg7 Re8 24. Qg5+
f6 25. Qxf6+ Re7 26. Nc7 Kxc7 27. Qxe7 Rxa2 28. Rd4 Ra1+ 29. Kd2 Rf1 30. Qd6+
Kb7 31. Rb4+ Kc8 32. Rc4 Kd8 33. Rxc6 Nxc6 34. Qxc6 Rf2+ 35. Kc3 Rxh2 36. Qf3
h4 37. Qxf5 h3 38. Qg5+ Kc8 39. Qg8+ Kb7 40. Qg3 Rg2 41. Qxh3 {and Black
resigned.} 1-0[/pgn]
Jonathan Speelman in happy mood
Writing
He has written a number of books on chess, including several on the endgame, among them Analysing the Endgame (1981), Endgame Preparation (1981) and Batsford Chess Endings (co-author, 1993).
Among his other books are Best Games 1970–1980 (1982), an analysis of nearly fifty of the best games by top players from that decade, and Jon Speelman’s Best Games (1997). Today he is primarily a chess journalist and commentator, being the chess correspondent for The Observer and The Independent and sometimes providing commentary for games on the Internet Chess Club.
Jonathan Speelman and Daniel King share headphones at the 2013 FIDE Candidates event in LondonTilburg 1978, Tony Miles & Jonathan Speelman, Master Chess Publications, 1978Riga Interzonal 1979, AJ Miles & J Speelman, Batsford, 1979, ISBN 0 7134 3429 5
Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Analysing the Endgame. Batsford (London, England). 142 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-1909-2.
Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Analysing the Endgame. Batsford (London, England). 142 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-1909-2.
Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Endgame Preparation. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 177 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-4000-3.
Speelman, Jonathan (1981). Endgame Preparation. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 177 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-4000-3.
Speelman, Jon (1982). Best Chess Games, 1970-80. Allen & Unwin (London, England; Boston, Massachusetts). 328 pages. ISBN 978-0-04-794015-6.
Speelman, Jon (1982). Best Chess Games, 1970-80. Allen & Unwin (London, England; Boston, Massachusetts). 328 pages. ISBN 978-0-04-794015-6.
Speelman, Jon; Livshits, August (1988). Test Your Endgame Ability. BT Batsford (London, England). 201 pages. ISBN 0-7134-5567-5
Speelman, Jon; Livshits, August (1988). Test Your Endgame Ability. BT Batsford (London, England). 201 pages. ISBN 0-7134-5567-5
Speelman, Jon (1992). New Ideas in the Caro-Kann Defence. BT Batsford (London, England). 155 pages. ISBN 0-7134-6915-3.
Speelman, Jon (1992). New Ideas in the Caro-Kann Defence. BT Batsford (London, England). 155 pages. ISBN 0-7134-6915-3.
Speelman, Jonathan; Tisdall, Jon; Wade, Bob. (1993). Batsford Chess Endings. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 448 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-4420-9.
Speelman, Jonathan; Tisdall, Jon; Wade, Bob. (1993). Batsford Chess Endings. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 448 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-4420-9.
Speelman, Jon (1997). Jon Speelman’s Best Games. B.T. Batsford (London, England). 240 pages. ISBN 978-0-7134-6477-1.
Modern Defence. Everyman, 2000
Speelman, Jon (2008). Jon Speelman’s Chess Puzzle Book. Gambit Publications Ltd. 143 pages. ISBN 978-1-904600-96-1.
Speelman, Jon (2008). Jon Speelman’s Chess Puzzle Book. Gambit Publications Ltd. 143 pages. ISBN 978-1-904600-96-1.Jonathan Speelman
In 2026 the BBC released a edition of the 1975 Master Game previously thought to be lost:
We remember WIM Eileen Betsy Tranmer who passed away on September 26th, 1983.
Eileen Tranmer
She was the first English woman to be awarded by FIDE the Woman’s International Master title in 1950.
“From The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by Klein and Winter :
Miss E. Tranmer was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1910, and learned chess at the age of six. She did not take it up seriously, however, until 1936. Under the tuition of W. Winter she has made notable progress, and her performances include a second prize in the British Correspondence Championship 1944, as well as first prize in one of the subsidiary tournaments at Hastings, 1945.
By profession Miss Tranmer is a musician and has played principal clarinet in the Scottish and Sadler’s Wells Orchestras.”
From British Chess Magazine, Volume CIII (103, 1983), Number 11 (November), page 482-83 (presumably written by Bernard Cafferty) :
“Eileen Tranmer died in hospital at Ticehurst on September 26th after a long illness. Born in Scarborough, May 5th 1910, she was a professional clarinet player and played in a number of prominent British orchestras till forced to retire by deafness.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (3880870a) Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Chess Champion Pictured Here Playing A Clarinet In The Orchestra While Appearing At The Theatre Royal Glasgow.
One of the leading British players in the two decades after the war, Eileen won the British Ladies Championship in 1947, 1949 (with a 100% score), 1953 and 1961, and played in the British Championship at Buxton, 1950. Her international record was sparse, as was the case with nearly all English players of that period. Nevertheless, she made her mark in the 1949-50 first post-war Women’s World Championship where she finished 5-7th in a field of 16, beating Bykova, again, and finished 7th in the field of 16.
37th Hastings International Chess Congress, 1962. USA Ladies champion Lisa Lane (L) playing against British Champion Eileen Tranmer
We are grateful to WCM Dinah Norman for sending us these memories :
“Eileen Tranmer was one of the best English chess lady players of her generation.
I only played her once at Oxford in an International Ladies Tournament held between 24 July and 1 August 1971. Eileen totally outplayed me and I lost the game.
Eileen was a member of Acton Chess Club where there were three active lady players at that time. They were Jean Rogers, Olive Chataway and Eileen. Eileen lived in Acton then.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (3880957a) Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Chess Champion. Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Chess Champion.
Eileen was a professional musician and had to stop playing when she became deaf which was dreadful for her.
In 1969 Eileen, Rowena Bruce and I were selected to play in the Ladies Chess Olympiad Team in Lublin, Poland. Sadly Eileen was taken ill just before the event so Rowena and I had to play all 13 rounds without a break. I was on Board 1 and at the end Rowena and I were exhausted and I had to withdraw from a tournament in the Czech Republic without playing a game. The food in Poland was awful so we said never again!
Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (3880958a) Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Champion Chess Player Pictured Playing Some Of The Glasgow Ladies Chess Club At The Green’s Playhouse Cafe Glasgow. Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Champion Chess Player Pictured Playing Some Of The Glasgow Ladies Chess Club At The Green’s Playhouse Cafe Glasgow.
Eileen was very friendly with Harry Golombek. The expectation among the lady chess players was that they would get married but she never did. Harry did not drive and Eileen was very kind driving Harry and his elderly mother around.
Very sadly Eileen’s brother was killed in a car crash and after that Eileen suffered mental problems. Eileen lived near John and Jean Rogers and John said Eileen would turn up at their home in the middle of the night wanting to play chess.
At Hastings 1959-1960 : Yugoslavia’s red-haired Milanka Lazarevic and Britain’s Eileen Tranmer ran away with the Premier Reserves (afternoon event).
The last time I saw Eileen was at Paignton. Her friend Olive Chataway brought her to Paignton and Eileen played in the bottom tournament and did badly. Eileen did not recognise myself or Rowena which was very sad.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (4745287a) Miss Eileen Tranmer 43-year-old British Women’s Chess Champion. Box 556. Miss Eileen Tranmer 43-year-old British Women’s Chess Champion. Box 556.
Eileen later left Acton and moved to Tring. Eileen was a pleasant and modest person and was well liked. She had a good sense of humour.”
From the obituary in The Times of London we learn that her last few years were over-shadowed by an illness that preyed on her mind.
We take the following game from the August 1944 issue of BCM. The game was played in the BCCA Championship, and curiously enough there was an enquiry about that event to the BCF only a short while ago – a Georgian journalist wishes to quote that wartime performance as an early example of success by a woman in male chess company! ”
Gerald Abrahams in Not only Chess, wrote about Eileen (Chapter 18 : What Achilles Saw Among Women) as follows :
“To revert to the British Ladies, they were joined in the late 1930s by a very able pupil of Miss Menchik, the Yorkshire Clarinettist Eileen Tranmer; a woman whose chess I have seen to express some admirable qualities of mind and character. I had the privilege of watching her is Moscow in 1949-50, when, handicapped by influenza of a particularly virulent kind – what the Russians call “grippe” – she won some five or six consecutive games, to finish in the prize list of the new official Women’s World Championship. There had been two championships before, which Vera has won easily. Since Vera had unhappily perished in the Blitz, they looked at Moscow for her successor.”
We remember WIM Rowena Bruce who died this day (September 24th) in 1999.
Rowena Mary Dew was born on Thursday, May 15th, 1919 in Plymouth, Devon. Her father was Clement Warner Harvey Dew and her mother was Mary Jane Rowe.
The Bruce and Dew families circa 1923. Rowena is at the front and on the right aged around four years. Source : ancestry.co.uk
She married Ronald Mackay Bruce in July 1940 when she was 21 years old.
Her father Clement Warner Harvey passed away on 7 October 1957 in Plymouth, Devon, at the age of 79. Her mother Mary Jane passed away on 3 August 1958 in Cornwall at the age of 73. Her husband Ronald Mackay passed away in April 1991 in Plymouth, Devon, at the age of 87. They had been married 50 years.
From The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by Klein and Winter :
“Mrs RM Bruce was born in Plymouth in 1919, and learned chess at the age of twelve. She won the Girls’s World Championship in 1935 and the British Ladies Championship in 1937. During the war she served with the WVS in Plymouth. Apart from chess, she is interested in music and plays the cello.
Rowena practising the cello. Courtesy of Keverel Chess
She is married to RM Bruce, who is a well-known Plymouth player.”
In 1984 both Rowena and Ron received the BCF President’s Award for Services to Chess.
From British Chess (Pergamon Press, 1983) by Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson :
“I was taught by my Mother Mrs. May Dew, when recovering from a mastoid operation in 1930, and I joined Plymouth Chess Club on 5th November 1931, aged 12.5.
I started receiving chess tuition from the Plymouth Match Captain, Ronald Bruce in 1934. (Married him in 1940!).
I won the Girls’ World Championship in 1935. I won the British Ladies’ Championship for the first time in 1937, and again in 1950, 1951, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1962 and 1963. I tied for first place in 1955, 1967 and 1969.
I represented Great Britain in the West European Zonal tournament held in Venice 1951, where I finished 2nd. This qualified me to represent Great Britain in the Candidates tournament held in Moscow in 1952. I finished 12th out of 16.
World Chess Championship (Women) 1952 Candidates Tournament
In 1952 we adopted a little girl – Rona Mary.
Other tournaments abroad included zonals in Italy, Yugoslavia and Germany, and Olympiads in Germany, Poland and Bulgaria.
This last-named ended in disaster because I collapsed with a stroke during my second game. Obviously my chess playing was affected, but I was indeed fortunate to make a fairly good recovery.
WIM Rowena Mary Bruce at the 1952 Moscow Candidates tournament
I returned to competitive chess playing a year later but, in the meantime, several young players have surged forwards, and that British Ladies’ Championship seems to have become much more difficult to win !
{First published in The Ladies Chess Review, April, 1978. Secondly published
in British Chess, Pergamon Press, 1983. It is a sobering thought to
realise that some of our readers were not even born 28 years ago! This game
was played in round two and, for a a very brief, I was in the lead, with a win
in the first round over Reischer of Austria. Sadly, I lost my next five
games, which proved too big a handicap. I eventually finished with 5 points
out of a possible 15, in 12th place. Rubtsova finished with 8 points, in equal
8th place. She became Women World Champion in 1956. I did not meet her again
for another 20 years. In november, 1972 the East European Zonal tournament was
staged in Pernik, Bulgaria. Olga Robtsova was one of the controllers; I was
representing England but collapsed with a stroke during the second round. One
of my constant visitors in the hospital was Olga Rubtsova…. I wonder if she
has ever remembered this game!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2
Nbd7 6. h4 {Not a common choice !} (6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O e5 8. Be3 c6 9. d5 c5 10.
Ne1 Ne8) 6… c5 7. d5 Ne5 8. h5 h6 9. hxg6 fxg6 10. Qc2 g5 {Forced. If I do
not do something about it, White will play f4, followed by e5 with a good game.
} 11. f4 $6 (11. Nf3) 11… gxf4 12. Bxf4 a6 13. O-O-O Nfg4 14. Rf1 Qa5 15. Nf3
Bd7 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Bh5+ Kd8 18. Be2 $15 {[#] It seems a pity to waste time
retreating this bishop. Possibly it should not have gone to h5 in the first
place. This is the crucial part of the game and suddenly White’s pieces just
do not fit or work together.} b5 19. Nb1 (19. Kb1) 19… bxc4 (19… Qxa2) 20.
Bxc4 $6 (20. Na3) 20… Nxc4 21. Qxc4 Bb5 (21… Rb8) 22. Qb3 (22. Bd2) 22…
Bxf1 23. Rxf1 Qb5 {Simple chess !} 24. Rf3 Rb8 25. Na3 $2 (25. Qxb5 axb5 26.
Ra3 Bf6 $19) 25… Qxb3 26. axb3 Kd7 27. Nc4 Rhf8 28. Kc2 Rb4 29. Bd2 Rxf3 30.
gxf3 Rb8 31. Ne3 h5 32. Be1 Bf6 33. Nf5 Rg8 34. Bg3 Rg5 35. f4 Rg4 $19 {[#]}
36. e5 {White’s position is lost anyway, but this move just hastens the end.
Possibly whe was in time trouble. – 28 years is a long time to think back.}
dxe5 37. fxe5 Bxe5 38. Bxe5 Rg5 39. Kd3 Rxf5 40. Ke4 Rxe5+ 41. Kxe5 h4 {
and White resigned.} 0-1[/pgn]
BCN is grateful to WCM Dinah Norman for sending us these memories :
“Rowena Mary Bruce (need Dew) was born on 15 May 1919 and died in Plymouth in 1999. Rowena was the youngest of 3 children born to Harvey and Mary Dew. Mary Dew was a member of the Plymouth Chess Club and tried unsuccessfully to get her 2 sons interested in the game but Rowena was the only child who was interested.
When Rowena was 10 her mother organised private lessons for her with the Plymouth Champion, Ron Bruce. At the age of 21 Rowena married Ron Bruce and it was a very successful and happy marriage. They had an adopted daughter Rona who had no interest in Chess. Rowena had to wait until she was 21 before she could marry Ron. Rowena lived in Plymouth all her life.
Rowena and Ron married in July 1940. Ron and Rowena cemented a formidable playing and organising partnership which benefited chess in Devon for almost half a century.
A stern-looking Rowena offers advice to one of the juniors at the WECU Congress, Easter 1951, in the analysis room at the Penolver Hotel, Newquay. Courtesy of Keverel Chess
After the War Rowena was one of the leading quartet of British Lady players which included Elaine Pritchard (née Saunders), Anne Sunnucks and Eileen Tranmer. In 1951 Rowena played in the Ladies Zonal in Venice and qualified for the Candidates in Moscow to be played the following year.
AT the age of 53 she qualified for the East European Zonal in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1972. Sadly in Round 2 of that event she collapsed at the board with a major cerebral haemorrhage which left her right side paralysed. By sheer force of will after many months of convalescence she taught herself to speak and walk again. She had to give up playing her cello which was awful for her.
Ladies Chess Tournament Fenny Heemskerk, Rowena Mary Bruce (née Dew), Donner, Architect Date: January 12, 1953 Personal name: Architect, , Bruce, R., Donner, , Heemskerk, Fenny Institution name: Block Chess Tournament – Image ID: 2ARK3JK
The steely determination with which she followed her 75 year chess career and her recovery from serious illness belied her gentle nature. She was a modest, kind and gracious person who always thought the best of others.
She won the British Ladies title 11 times.
I shared the title with her in 1967 and 1969 after 2 play offs. She was a very pleasant and sporting opponent.”
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks :
“International Woman Chess Master and winner of the British Ladies Championship on 10 occasions.
She was taught to pay chess by her mother, who was the Devon Lady Champion, after a mastoid operation when she was 10. In 1931 she joined Plymouth Chess Club, where she met R. M. Bruce, the Devonshire Chess Captain, who coached her and was largely responsible for later success. She married him in 1940.
Opening Ladies Danlon chess tournament in Amsterdam, v.l.n.r. T. Roodzant, F. Heemskerk, I. Larsen, L. Timofeeva, E. Rinder, R. Bruce Date: October 21, 1959 Location: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Keywords: group portraits, chess Person Name: Bruce, Rowena Mary, Heemskerk, Fenny , Larsen, I., Rinder, Elfriede, Roodzant, Toos, Timofeeva. Lidia – Image ID: 2AW6KHJ
In 1935 she won the Girls’ World Championship and two years later the British Ladies’ Championship for the first time. She has won the title outright or been joint holder on 10 occasions in 1937, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1967.
Mrs Bruce has represented Great Britain in matches against the USSR and the Netherlands and the British Chess Federation in qualifying tournaments for the Women’s World Championship. In Venice in 1951 she came 2nd in the Western European Qualifying Tournament for the Women’s World Championship and thereby qualified for the Candidates tournament in 1952, when she came 12th out of 16.
Rowena at the 1952 Moscow Zonal tournament. Courtesy of Keverel Chess
Apart from chess, her hobbies are music, gardening and bridge.
She is principal ‘cellist in the Plymouth Orchestral Society.”
{[%evp 0,19,19,-17,-7,-5,3,-5,14,12,25,17,14,-15,6,-18,14,21,21,12,21,23]} {
First published in The Field. Secondly published in BCM, 1954, October, page
361. Game #11,640 Secondly published in British Chess, Pergamon Press, 1983.}
1. g3 {This is quite playable, especially for White, who can, at will, revert
to various types of openings. Here we can transpose into a King’s Indian
Defence, in which White has the option, for what it is worth, of developing
the KKt at e2.} Nf6 2. Bg2 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. d4 d6 6. e4 e5 7. Nge2 (
7. Nf3 Bg4 {would set some problems for White.}) 7… Nbd7 8. O-O exd4 9. Nxd4
Re8 {We now have a position which is to be found in the normal modern version
of the King’s Indian Defence.} 10. f3 {This natural move turns out badly and
White’s king’s position ultimately proves weak on the opened black diagonal.} (
10. h3 Nc5 11. Re1 a5 12. Qc2 c6 13. Be3 a4 14. Rad1 Qa5 15. Bf4 Bf8 16. Nf3)
10… c6 11. Be3 Qa5 $146 (11… a5) 12. Nb3 Qh5 (12… Qa6) 13. Qxd6 $6 {
[#] An unwise capture by which white leaves the conduct of affairs to her
opponent. The White Queen now becomes a target and White will have to
concentrate on her defence, instead of being free to formulate a plan.} Ne5 $1
14. g4 Bxg4 $1 {A fine sacrifice. After the next move, White’s King’s Bishop
is attacked and there is threat of mate. Meanwhile the Queen is shut out of
the game.} 15. fxg4 Nfxg4 16. Bf4 Rad8 $19 17. Qa3 Nxc4 ({Much better is} 17…
g5) 18. Qxa7 {White has nothing better than to seek compensation in pawn
captures.} Nd2 {Again, very well played} (18… Rd3) 19. h3 $6 ({for if} 19.
Nxd2 Bd4+ {wins the queen.} 20. Qxd4 Rxd4 21. h3) ({Better was} 19. Qxb7 Be5
20. Bxe5 Nxf1 21. Rxf1 Nxe5 22. Qa7 $14) 19… Nxb3 20. hxg4 Qxg4 21. Be3 {
White was still threatened with the loss of the queen.} Nxa1 22. Rxa1 Rd7 $19 {
[#] Counting heads, Black now has rook and two pawns for two pieces and the
white king is still in an unenviable position.} 23. Na4 $2 ({Better was} 23.
Rf1) 23… Red8 24. Rf1 b5 25. Qc5 bxa4 26. Qxc6 h5 27. Qxa4 h4 28. Kh1 Rd1 29.
Bg1 ({If} 29. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 30. Bg1 Bd4 {etc}) 29… Rxf1 30. Bxf1 h3 31. Qc2 Qf3+
32. Kh2 Be5# {A neat finish. Mrs. Bruce won the match of six lively and
interesting games by 4-2.} 0-1[/pgn]
An obituary (presumably written by John Saunders) appeared in the British Chess Magazine, Volume CXIX (119, 1999), Number 11 (November), page 584 :
“Rowena Bruce died peacefully at home on 23 September following a long illness. Rowena Mary Dew was born in Plymouth on 15 May 1919, and she was taught the game at the age of 10, while she was convalescing from surgery, by here mother Mary Dew, herself a very able player who had been Devon Ladies’ Champion.
Rowena joined the Plymouth Chess Club, where she met her future husband, Ron Bruce, himself a strong player. She won the World Girls’ Championship in 1935 and the British Women’s title two years later. Rowena married Ron in 1940 and won the British title under her married name ten more times (seven outright and three jointly) between 1950 and 1969.
She represented Great Britain in matches against the USSR and the Netherlands. She qualified for the Women’s World Championship by coming 2nd in the Western European Zonal in Venice, and in the subsequent Candidates tournament in Moscow in 1952 she came 12th out of 16. She was awarded the women’s international master title in 1951.
Rowena locking horns with her friend Fenny Heemskerk, who finished in a magnificent 2nd place. Courtesy of Keverel Chess
The contribution to chess that Rowena and Ron Bruce made to national, west country and Devon chess was well recognised at the highest level, and when the British Chess Federation instituted a new award in 1983, the President’s Award for Services to Chess, they won it jointly in only its second year. Ron died in 1991.
Rowena was a past president of the Devon County Chess Association and the West of England Chess Union and continued playing for Devon until about four years ago when her increasing frailty made it impossible for her to travel to away matches.
Her other accomplishments included music : she was a principal cellist in the Plymouth Orchestral Society. She also partnered husband Ron in strictly non-competitive bridge for many years. She leaves a daughter Rona and three grand-children.”
WIM Rowena Mary Bruce
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsfords, 1977) by Harry Golombek :
“International Woman master and eleven times British Ladies champion or co-champion.
At the age of fifteen in 1935, Miss Dew won the girls World championship and two years later, still under he maiden name, se won the British Ladies championship at Blackpool. Thereafter she won the championship under her married name in 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1969.
Her best international result was a 2nd in the 1951 Western European Zonal tournament, qualifying for the Women’s Candidates tournament in Moscow 1952, where she came 12th/16. She has represented England in a number of team events, has excellent combinative powers, but lacks steadiness in strategy.”
Rowena (far left) during the 1952 Moscow Candidates tournament. Courtesy of Keverel Chess
David Hooper (seated right) in play at the West of England Championships in Bristol, Easter, 1947. His opponent , ARB Thomas , was that year’s champion. Among the spectators is Mrs. Rowena Bruce, the 1946 British Ladies’ Champion. BCM, Volume 118, #6, p.327. The others in the photo are L – R: H. V. Trevenen; H. Wilson-Osborne (WECU President); R. A. (Ron) Slade; Rowena Bruce; Ron Bruce; H. V. (Harry) Mallison; Chris Sullivan; C. Welch (Controller); F. E. A. (Frank) Kitto.
“Rowena Mary Bruce (15 May 1919 – 24 September 1999), née Dew, was an English chess player who held the title of Woman International Master (WIM, 1951). She was an eleven-time winner of the British Women’s Chess Championship (1937, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1969).
Biography
From the end of the 1930s to the end of the 1960s, she was one of England’s strongest women chess players. In 1935, she won the FIDE World Girls Championship. Rowena Mary Bruce won the British Women’s Chess Championship eleven times: 1937, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1969[1]. In 1952, in Moscow, she participated in the Women’s Candidates Tournament where she took 12th place[2]. In 1951, she was awarded the FIDE Woman International Master (WIM) title.
On 21 June 1946, Bruce played (and lost) a “radio chess” match against Lydmilla Rudenko. Bruce was one of two women who were part of a twelve member British team who played in a four day tournament. The British team played their moves in London while the Russian team played their moves in Moscow.”
Rowena with Spassky and the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman Pascho.
“Rowena Mary Bruce played for England in the Women’s Chess Olympiads:
In 1966, at second board in the 3rd Chess Olympiad (women) in Oberhausen (+5, =5, -2) where she won an individual silver medal, and
In 1969, at second board in the 4th Chess Olympiad (women) in Lublin (+5, =3, -6).
From 1940 to 1991 she was married to Ronald Bruce (1903–1991)”
BCN remembers Hugh Blandford who was a British composer.
Hugh Francis Blandford was born on Wednesday, January 24th in 1917 in South Stoneham, Southampton, Hampshire, England.
On this day Ernest Borgnine was born and an earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude struck Anhui Province, China, causing 101 deaths.
Hugh’s father was the Rev Albert Francis Blandford and his mother was Alice Rhoda Crumpton Evans. Hugh had two younger brothers, Philip Thomas. and Evan Arthur.
The family moved to Jamaica and he spent his early childhood there until he was nine years old when they sailed from Kingston, Jamaica with his family to Bristol on board the SS Carare (Elders & Fyffes Line) :
Passenger Manifest (part) for SS Carare , 30th May 1926.
His mother Alice Rhoda Crumpton passed away on 19 July 1964 in Minehead, Somerset, at the age of 79.
His father Rev Albert Francis passed away in December 1967 in Somerset at the age of 79.
He had three children during his marriage to Marjorie Cox.
In 1961 he was awarded the title of “International Judge of the FIDE for Chess Composition”
CM Bent wrote the following obituary in the British Chess Magazine, Volume CI (101, 1981), Number 12 (December), page 532 :
“The modest and self-effacing composer who formerly conducted our Studies column from 1951-1972 died in September. His work as a metallurgist and his family responsibilities allowed him to make periodical contributions over a long span and to offer us many of his own original compositions.
His style, as with his manner, was essentially quiet and it was a rarity for him to compose anything other than wins.
His last voluntary labour was to compile an index for E.G. of all studies published there to date. His loss to the world of of studies will be greatly felt.
The first prize winner below is a classic of exquisite refinement and matches the immaculate handwriting which was always such an elegant feature of his work”
Studies by Hugh Francis BlandfordSolutions to studies by Hugh Francis Blandford
“British study composer and FIDE Judge of Endgame Studies. Born on 24th January 1917. Since July 1951, Hugh Blandford has conducted the Endings Section of the British Chess Magazine. By profession a metallurgist, he was married and had two children. Of his 60 or more studies he was best known for the excelsior theme.”
From Wikipedia :
“Hugh Francis Blandford (24 January 1917 – 20 September 1981) was a chess endgame composer born in Southampton, England.[1]
He spent several years of his childhood in Jamaica with his father, the Reverend Albert Francis (Frank) Blandford, a Minister in the Congregational church, his mother and two younger brothers, Evan Arthur and Philip Thomas Blandford. All three brothers then returned to England and attended Eltham College (the School for the Sons of Missionaries) in South-east London, while their parents remained in Jamaica. He married Marjorie Cox, whom he had worked with during the Second World War.
He played chess from his schooldays and as well as playing, also started to compose original chess endings. He became known in the field of chess endgame studies for a small but elegant body of compositions, expertly edited and published after Hugh’s death by his long-standing chess endings colleague, John Roycroft.[2]
1st Prize, Springaren 1949, White to move and win
Hugh Blandford was co-inventor with Richard Guy – and, later, with John Roycroft – of the Guy–Blandford–Roycroft code for classifying studies.[3] In July 1951 he began as the endgame study editor for the British Chess Magazine.[4][5] He was made an International Judge for Chess Composition[4] in 1961.[6]
A metallurgist, he continued to compose chess endgame studies until the end of his life, dying of a heart attack in early retirement in Hatfield, England, on 20 September 1981.”
John Eric Littlewood was born in Sheffield on Monday, May 25th 1931. His mother’s maiden name was Wheeldon. He last resided in the WN8 postal area of Skelmersdale, West Lancashire.
He became a FIDE Master in 1989 at the age of 58. According to Felice (and ChessBase) his peak FIDE rating was 2395 in January 1980. However, it is certain that it would have been higher than that, in the 1960s and 1970s : more likely 2450 or possibly higher.
John, Jenny and Paul Littlewood, circa 1962. Kindly supplied by Paul Littlewood.
He coached his son Paul who became British Champion in 1981. His brother Norman was also a very strong player.
John and Paul on Skegness beach circa 1958. Kindly supplied by Paul Littlewood. George and Ringo are out of shot !
From “Chess Coaching” :
John Littlewood is a National Coach and the Director of Junior Chess to the British Chess Federation. He is a FIDE Master with national and international playing experience, and is an established chess writer, translator and journalist.
03-01-1962 37th Hastings International Chess Congress, 1962. World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik (R) playing against John Littlewood of England
From “Learn Chess 2”
“A British Master, formerly Northern Counties Champion and currently (1984) a National Coach for the British Chess Federation. John Littlewood has played for England in several international tournaments, including two Olympiads”
John Littlewood giving a simultaneous display
John wrote the “Test Your Chess” column in British Chess Magazine under the editorship of Murray Chandler
John Was Northern Counties Chess Union (NCCU) Champion in 1971, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981 : a record seven times !
{[%evp 0,95,19,38,25,7,30,29,28,3,36,3,-6,5,6,-11,12,8,22,-11,48,3,18,-3,13,-5,
28,-4,12,7,-3,-89,-57,-116,-74,-75,-2,-2,8,-50,-26,-28,-22,-93,-23,-23,-24,-32,
-20,-19,-23,-21,-20,-27,-15,-26,-13,-7,9,-11,-2,-6,11,-1,0,-7,0,-12,5,0,2,-53,
39,24,204,210,200,210,283,277,290,290,306,302,353,335,348,355,358,370,368,383,
389,361,353,350,405,362]} {This game was from round 1 of the Hastings Premier.
Before the round Tournament Judge (Arbiter) William Ritson Morry jestingly
asked John “How many unsound sacrifices are you going to make this year?” To
this he replied “None at all” So we must assume that all of the offers made to
Gligoric were completely sound despite the uncharitable scepticism of the
“knowledgeable” spectators. First annotated by WRM in February 1962 BCM, page
34 The in October 2009 BCM, page 539 by John Saunders} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 a6 (3… d6 {Steinitz Defence}) 4. Ba4 d6 {Steinitz Defence Deferred} (4…
Nf6 5. O-O d6 {Steinitz Defence Doubly Deferred or Russian Defence}) 5. c3 Nf6
6. d4 Bd7 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. Bb3 h6 11. Nf1 Bf8 12. Ng3 Bg4
$146 {[#] Not repeated since!} ({More usual is} 12… Na5 13. Bc2 c5) {
Littlewood now offered his Queen’s pawn with} 13. h3 (13. d5 Na5) 13… Bxf3
14. Qxf3 exd4 {and went for the King-side attack with} 15. Nf5 $5 $40 {and
after Gligoric took counter measures in the centre with} d5 (15… dxc3 16. Qg3
Kh8 17. Qh4 $40 {[%cal Gb3f7]}) {he tried to tempt him with a piece by} 16.
Bxh6 {Whether or not the sacrifice can be safely accepted Black preferred to
leave the analysts to decide} {and continued} Nxe4 ({If} 16… gxh6 {then
probably} 17. Qg3+ Kh8 18. exd5 Ne7 (18… Nxd5 $2 19. Rxe8 Qxe8 20. Bxd5) 19.
Nxd4 Nexd5 $17) 17. Bf4 Ne5 (17… dxc3 $142 18. bxc3 Ne5 19. Qd1 c6 $17) 18.
Bxe5 Rxe5 {John develops his last piece.} 19. Rad1 (19. cxd4 Re6) 19… Qd7 {
[%csl Gf5]} 20. Nxd4 Rae8 $15 {WRM : which not only repelled attack but also
obliged White to offer the exchange of queens. JS : Black has eschewed the
proffered material in order to reach a more than playable (arguably better)
position. Black threatens c5 and he takes over the initiative.} 21. Qg4 (21.
Rxe4) (21. a3) 21… Qxg4 ({JS : Here Fritz interjects with} 21… Nf6 22. Rxe5
{(forced)} Nxg4 23. Rxd5 Bd6 24. hxg4 Qxg4 $17 {and concludes the Black is
simply winning. It is perhaps not quite that straightforward, as White seems
to have active pieces.}) 22. hxg4 c6 {WRM : whereupon everyone expected
Gligoric to reach an advantageous ending since his Queen’s side majority was
much more valuable than White’s crippled King side.} 23. f3 Nc5 {[%cal Ge5e1]}
24. Rxe5 Rxe5 25. Bc2 g6 26. Kf2 Bg7 {Let us pause here and consider the
position….} 27. a4 {to stymie the b7 pawn.} Re7 28. a5 Be5 29. b4 Nd7 {
threatening c5 and smashing up White’s structure.} 30. Bb3 $11 Nf8 31. Rd3 (31.
g3) {WRM : and now Black played} 31… Kg7 {quite unconscious of the subtle
trap which was being laid for him.} {After} 32. Ne2 Ne6 33. c4 dxc4 34. Bxc4 {
[#]} {Black was now in time trouble and played} Nc7 {which Ritson Morry
(erroneously) gives a ?? annotation.} ({Better was} 34… Bf6) 35. f4 {Which,
at first sight, appears very strong.} Bb2 (35… Ba1 {WRM : similarly fails} {
against} 36. Ra3 {etc.} {Actually Black is OK after} Re4 37. Bxa6 Nxa6 38. Rxa1
Rxb4 $15) ({However, Black should continue} 35… Bxf4 $1 36. Nxf4 Re4 {
[%cal Ge4f4,Ge4c4]} 37. Ne6+ (37. g3 Rxc4 38. Rd7 Nd5 39. Nxd5 cxd5 40. Rxb7
Kf6 $11 {JS}) 37… Nxe6 38. Bxe6 Rxe6 39. Rd7 {and Black is OK.}) 36. Rb3 {
BCN : and the real blunder was now made by Black} Re4 $2 (36… Ba1 37. Rb1 Re4
38. Bd3 Bd4+ 39. Kf1 Re3 {and Black remains in the game according to BH Wood
in CHESS.}) 37. Bd3 $18 {and Black is lost} Bd4+ 38. Kf1 Re3 39. Nxd4 {WRM :
and “nine more moves ended Black’s misery”} Nd5 40. Kf2 Re7 {BHW : “With
characteristic calmness, Littlewood although he had plenty of time, carried on
playing at full speed. No scurrying for the adjournment!”} 41. g3 Rd7 42. Nc2
Nf6 43. Kf3 Rd5 44. g5 Ne8 45. Ne3 Rd4 46. f5 Nd6 47. Bc2 Ne8 48. f6+ {JS : In
some ways, this game does not conform to the stereotypical image of a John
Littlewood game. Though he initially tried to go for all-out attack., his
sacrificial attempts were rebuffed and it actually seems to have been his calm,
accurate positional play between moves 22 and 34 which lured his illustrious
opponent into trouble.} 1-0
[/pgn]
John won the Appleby-Frodingham Chess Club tournament in 1962 with 3.5/5 :
Appleby-Frodingham Tournament of 1962 crosstable
and then, in the same year came 3= in the British Championships with 7.5/11 :
Truncated crosstable from the 1962 British Championship in Whitby
and in 1969 in Rhyl John was unfortunate not to share the title with Dr. Jonathan Penrose after losing to Frank Parr in the final round :
Truncated crosstable of the British Championships of Rhyl 1969John Littlewood at Hastings 1963-4. Still taken from Pathe news reel footageJohn Littlewood playing Wolfgang Unzicker in round one of the 1969-70 Hastings International Congress
John won the Southport Open in 1972 and the picture below was taken shortly afterwards :
John and family following winning the 1972 Southport Open. See the BCM article below for a full caption
John won the Chorley tournament of 1977 with 7/9
Chorley 1977 tournament crosstable
JEL won the British Chess Federation’s President’s Award in 2000.
[pgn]
[Event “Christmas Congress 1961/62-37 Premier”]
[Site “Hastings”]
[Date “1962.01.03”]
[Round “7”]
[White “Bisguier, Arthur Bernard”]
[Black “Littlewood, John Eric”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “D07”]
[Annotator “John Littlewood, John Saunders, Andrew Martin & BCN”]
[PlyCount “56”]
[EventDate “1961.12.27”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “9”]
[EventCountry “ENG”]
[SourceTitle “MCL”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “1999.07.01”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “1999.07.01”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
{[%evp 0,46,20,27,19,16,27,-11,25,19,4,21,21,29,30,33,48,14,18,54,55,52,52,20,
34,22,19,32,40,28,36,-16,-21,-93,-25,-463,-463,-821,-887,-887,-868,-887,-879,
-1206,-1206,-29987,-29988,-29989,-29990]} 1. d4 {Annotations from BCM, 1962,
February, page 59 and BCM, 2009, October, page 540.} d5 2. Nf3 (2. c4 e5 {
was JELs intention.}) 2… Nc6 $1 {JL: Amusingly enough, Bisguier had played
his 2nd move to prevent the Albin Counter Gambit, and he grinned when he
thought I was still intent upon this design, However, on the spur of the
moment I decided to pay a tribute to the other two Russians in the tournament
by adopting the unusual Tchigorin Defence.} 3. c4 Bg4 4. cxd5 {A surprise for
me.} ({I had expected} 4. Qa4 {the move Alekhine had played in two games
against Colle, and I was planning to try out Bronstein’s idea of} {(after} Bxf3
5. exf3 e6 6. Nc3 {)} Nge7 $1 {followed by 7…g6}) 4… Bxf3 (4… Qxd5 5. Nc3
Qd7 6. e3 {is another possibility}) 5. gxf3 (5. dxc6 Bxc6 6. Nc3 e6 7. e4 Bb4
8. f3 f5 {As played by Tchigorin against Pillsbury (St. Petersburg, 1895)} {
then} 9. Bc4 fxe4 10. O-O $1 {JEL : (Karelov – Aronson, Lenningrad, 1958)
seems a strong continuation for White, pointed out to me recently by the young
Sheffield player JE Scholes.}) 5… Qxd5 6. e3 e5 {BCN : Justifying Nc6 and
the main raison d’être of the Chigorin Defence. JEL : I am now committed to
giving up my other Bishop for a Knight, but this sets the stage for an
interesting struggle.} (6… e6 {JEL : on the other hand, and would probably
lose.}) 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Bd2 Bxc3 {BCN : more or less forced other e4 and d5 will
happen.} 9. bxc3 exd4 {quick development is the order of the day.} ({BCN :
Nowadays Morozevic’s is the preferred idea anticipating d5 and e4.} 9… Qd6
10. Rb1 (10. Rg1 g6 11. Qb3) 10… b6 11. f4 exf4 12. e4 Nge7 13. Qf3 O-O 14.
Bxf4 Qa3) (9… Nge7 {is the older move which is less popular these days.}) (
9… O-O-O) (9… Qd7 {Richard Rapport}) 10. cxd4 Nf6 {[#] JEL : A fascinating
position, White’s two Bishops and three half-open files seem at first sight to
give him an overwhelming advantage, but matter are not so simple. Black
controls the centre and means to increase this control in the next few moves,
thereby restraining White’s weakened “huddle” of pawns. The Bishop’s need room
: it is Black’s job to see that they don’t get it. In my opinion, chances
are even. Theory, however, gives White the preference, although in the only
games I have seen quoted supporting this view, Black (Fichtl and Dückstein)
played the artificial 10…Nge7, a move based on fear.} (10… Nge7 {JEL : A
move based on fear.}) 11. Rb1 {JEL : This move is indicative of White’s
over-confidence in his position.} ({He would be better advised to see to the
centre by} 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Rad8 13. Bc3 {threatening e4. Even then,
however, Black can maintain pressure by 14….Qe6! as 15} Qe6 {as} 14. e4 Nxd4
15. Bxd4 c5 {would be obviously bad for White.}) 11… O-O (11… O-O-O {
would be very brave indeed!}) 12. Be2 Rfe8 ({Strangely enough, as I discovered
later, this same position has occurred in a game Tarrasch-Schiffers (Nuremberg,
1896), where Black here played} 12… Qxa2 {and the game continued} 13. Rxb7
Rab8 14. Rb5 Rxb5 15. Bxb5 Rb8 16. Bd3 Rb2 17. Qc1 g6 18. Bc4 {with better
end-game prospects for White. It seems more logical to complete development
before “mixing it” in this way.}) 13. O-O ({If now} 13. Rxb7 {then} Nxd4 {
is good for Black}) (13. Rg1 Qxa2 14. Rxb7 Nxd4 15. exd4 Rxe2+ 16. Kxe2 (16.
Qxe2 Qa1+ 17. Qd1 Re8+ 18. Be3 Qa5+ 19. Qd2 Qa1+ 20. Qd1 Qa5+ 21. Kf1 Qa6+ 22.
Qe2 Qxb7 $17) 16… Qa6+) 13… Rad8 {Black has now completed his development
and is ready to gobble up White’s Queen’s Rook’s pawn} 14. a4 {[%cal Gb1b5]
taking the pawn off prise and setting up ideas of Rb5.} (14. Rxb7 {would lose
to} Nxd4) 14… Rd6 15. e4 $5 {Bisguier now realises he is drifting into a
lost postion, so he courageously takes the bull by the horns.At the costs of a
pawn , he hopes to exploit the end game advanatge of the two Bishops.} (15. Rb5
Qe6 {[%cal Ge6h3]} 16. Rxb7 $2 Qh3 $19 17. f4 Nd5 {[%cal Gd6g6]}) {Fortunately
I have better than taking the d-pawn.} 15… Qh5 $1 {This strong move reveals
just how weak White’s centre pawns are.} (15… Qxd4 {Indeed, after} 16. Bf4 {
Black’s initiative is snuffed out.} Qxd1 17. Bxd1 Rd7 18. Rxb7 {I prefer
White’s game.}) 16. d5 ({If now} 16. f4 Qg6+ {and} 17. Kh1 Qxe4+) ({If} 16. e5
Rxd4 17. exf6 Red8 18. Rb2 Rxd2 $1 19. Rxd2 Qg5+ 20. Kh1 Qxd2) ({After the
game Bisguier queried his 16th move and suggested the line} 16. Be3 Nxd4 17.
Bxd4 c5 18. Rxb7 cxd4 19. Bc4 {but after} Nd7 20. Qb3 Ne5 {Black stands far
better with mate in the offing.}) (16. Rb5 Qh3) 16… Nd4 (16… Nxd5 17. exd5
Rg6+ 18. Kh1 Nd4 $19 {[%cal Ge8e2]}) 17. Rxb7 {[#] What else?.} Nxe4 $1 ({
White is lost now, whatever he plays, so he sets a little trap. If} 17… Nxd5
$2 18. exd5 Nxe2+ 19. Qxe2 Rxe2 20. Rb8+ {is mating}) {White could now resign
but sportingly decides to give the spectators their money’s worth.} 18. Bf4 ({
If} 18. fxe4 Nxe2+ 19. Kg2 Qg4+ 20. Kh1 Qf3#) ({If} 18. Rb4 Rg6+ 19. Kh1 Qh3
20. Rg1 Nxf2#) 18… Rg6+ 19. Bg3 ({If} 19. Kh1 Qh3 20. Bg3 Rxg3 21. fxg3 Nxg3+
22. Kg1 Ndxe2+ 23. Kf2 Qxh2+ 24. Ke1 Nc3+ 25. Qe2 Rxe2#) 19… Nc3 20. Qd3
Ncxe2+ 21. Kh1 Qh3 {[%cal Gh3f1]} 22. Rfb1 Rxg3 23. fxg3 Nxg3+ {and White
resigned as it is mate in 5} {For example :} 24. Kg1 Nde2+ 25. Kf2 Qxh2+ 26.
Ke1 Nc3+ 27. Qe4 Qe2+ 28. Qxe2 Rxe2# {[%csl Gc3,Ge2,Gg3] Undoubtedly this was
my best game at Hastings. At the end of the game Bisguier asked “What do you
feed this guy on : raw meat !”} 0-1
[/pgn]
FM John Littlewood at 4NCL courtesy of Helen Milligan
In 2006 John won the BCF Veterans / Seniors title for the first time repeating the feat in 2008 sharing with George Dickson.
With the White pieces John almost exclusively played 1.e4 favouring the Wormald Attack, Open Sicilians and the Rossolimo variation.
As the second player John played the Closed Ruy Lopez, the Sicilian Dragon and the Grünfeld defence.
In the following video IM Andrew Martin discusses the game Bisguier – Littlewood, 1962.
Rather than reinventing an already round wheel we reproduce the following ten page tribute in the October 2009 issue of British Chess Magazine. The tribute is by John Saunders :
How to Play the Middle Game in Chess by John Littlewood, Collins, 1974Chess Coaching by John Littlewood, The Crowood Press, 1991Learn Chess by Edward Penn and John Littlewood, Pitman House, 1980Learn Chess : Teacher’s Book, by Edward Penn & John Littlewood, Pitman House, 1980Learn Chess 2 by John Littlewood, Adam & Charles Black, 1984FM John Littlewood (25-v-1931 16-ix-2009)
We remember IM Imre (Mirko) König on the anniversary of his death, this day (September 9th) in 1992.
His “obituary” in British Chess Magazine, Volume 112 (1992), Number 11 (November), page 542 was disappointingly brief:
“RIP Imre König: The great veteran died on 9 September at his home in California. Our last link with the Hypermoderns is broken – he associated with Réti in the 1920s.” There was no detailed follow-up as you might expect. Can you imagine Brian Reilly publishing this?
From The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by E.Klein and W.Winter :
“Born in 1901 in Hungary when it still belonged to the old pre-World War I Austria, spent most of his life in Vienna, where he became a promising player at an early age. After World War I and the various geographical adjustments in the map of Europe, he became Yugoslav by nationality and represented that country three times in international team tournaments.
Imre Konig at the Mechanics’ Institute in the 1950s (Photo: Mechanics’ Chess Club Archives)
He has competed in a great number of international tournaments, some of them in this country, where he has lived since 1938. He won the Premier Reserves at Hastings, 1938, in a strong international field, finished fourth and fifth with the late Landau at Bournemouth, 1939, and shared first and second prizes with Milner-Barry in the National Chess Centre tournament, 1939. His last performance was in the London International Tournament, 1946, where he shared fourth, fifth and sixth places with Sir George Thomas and Gerald Abrahams. He is now a professional player.
König’s special strength lies in the openings, of which he has a deep knowledge.”
Imre König
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks :
“International Master (1951). Born in Kula, Hungary (now Serbia). König became a Yugoslav citizen when the territory in which he lived was ceded to Yugoslavia after the First World War. In 1938 he emigrated to England and became a naturalised British subject in 1949. He found that the English climate affected his health and in 1953 went to live in the USA.
König learnt to play chess when he was 10. In 1920, while studying at Vienna University, he met Spielmann, Tartakover and Réti, and became became interested in the hypermodern school of chess, which they represented.
IM Imre (Mirko) König (2-ix-1901 9-ix-1992)
He played for Yugoslavia in the chess Olympiads of 1931 and 1935 and came 2nd in the Yugoslav national tournament of 1922. His results in international tournaments include =4th at Bournemouth 1939; =4th at London 1946 and 2nd at Hastings 1948-49. These results do not do justice to his strength as a player. He was handicapped by a poor temperament for tournament chess, which prevented him from achieving greater success in the international field.
IM Imre (Mirko) König (2-ix-1901 9-ix-1992)
A chess professional, König was a first-class teacher of the game (Anne was a student of his), as well as being a leading theoretician. He is author of The Queen’s Indian Defence (Pitman, 1947) and Chess from Morphy to Botvinnik (Bell, 1951).”
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek:
“An international master since 1951, born at Gyula in Austro-Hungary. After the first world war König became a Yugoslav citizen and represented that country in the Olympiads of 1931 and 1935. He emigrated to England in 1938 and was naturalised in 1949. Since 1953 he has resided in the USA. Tournament results include 2nd prize at Hastings 1948/9. His publications include a monograph on the Queen’s Indian Defence, London 1947, and a longer work, Chess from Morphy to Botvinnik, London, 1951 ”
Hooper & Whyld are silent on König for some strange reason.
From Wikipedia:
“Imre König (Koenig) aka Mirko Kenig (Sept 2, 1901, Gyula, Hungary – 1992, Santa Monica, California) was a Hungarian chess master.
He was born in Gyula, Hungary, and also lived in Austria, England and the USA during the troubled times between the two world wars.
In 1921, he took 2nd in Celje. In 1920s König played in several tournaments in Vienna; he was 3rd in 1921, 14th in 1922 (Akiba Rubinstein won), 3rd-4th in 1925, 4-5th in 1926 (Rudolf Spielmann won), and 3rd-5th in 1926. He took 12th in Rogaška Slatina (Rohitsch-Sauerbrunn) in 1929. The event was won by Rubinstein. In 1929/30, he took 7th in Vienna (Hans Kmoch and Spielmann won). In 1931, he took 4th in Vienna (Albert Becker won). In 1936, he tied for 6-7th in Novi Sad (Vasja Pirc won). In 1937, he tied for 2nd-4th in Belgrade (Vasilije Tomović won).
Mirko Kenig represented Yugoslavia in the 4th Chess Olympiad at Prague 1931 (+5 –1 =2), the 6th Chess Olympiad at Warsaw 1935 (+5 –2 =8),[2] and in 3rd unofficial Chess Olympiad at Munich 1936 (+7 –4 =7).”
“In 1938, Imre König emigrated to England. In 1939, he tied for 4-5th in Bournemouth (Max Euwe won), and shared 1st with Philip Stuart Milner-Barry in Hampstead. In 1946, he took 4th in London. In 1948/49, he took 2nd, behind Nicolas Rossolimo, in the Hastings International Chess Congress.
In 1949, he became a naturalized British citizen. However, in 1953 he moved to the United States.
König was awarded the International Master title in 1951.”
Queen’s Indian Defence, König, Pitman, 1947Chess from Morphy to Botwinnik by Imre KönigChess from Morphy to Botwinnik by Imre KönigThe Right Way to Play ChessImre König by John Donaldson
We note today (September 8th) in 1854 marks the passing of Elijah Williams.
We are not aware of a verified image / likeness of Elijah Williams. Possibly the archives of Bristol based newspapers would help?
From The Complete Chess Addict (Faber & Faber, 1987, page 147-8) by Mike Fox and Richard James :
“The most boring games of all time? We turn to the London tournament of 1851, and the interminable encounters between Elijah (The Bristol Sloth) Williams and the deservedly unknown James Mucklow (‘a player from the country’ says the tournament book sniffily).
Elijah introduced the concept of Sitzkrieg into chess : he’d sit there, taking two and a half hours on a single move until his opponent dropped from boredom. The tournament book records games in excess of twenty hours (one was adjourned after a whole day, at the twenty-ninth move). Mucklow (a much worse player) was no swifter, and when they got together it must have been like watching an oil painting. (‘Both players nearly asleep,’ recorded a drowsy secretary midway through one mind-grinding marathon.)
Howard Staunton’s commentary says it all : ‘Each…exhibits the same want of depth and inventive powers in his combinations, and the same tiresome prolixity in manoeuvring his men. It need hardly be said that the games, from first to last, are remarkable only for their unvarying and unexampled dullness”
From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1983) by Hooper and Whyld :
“English player. A native of Bristol, from where he edited one of the earliest newspaper columns (Bath and Cheltenham Gazette, 1840-6), Williams gave up his job as an apothecary in 1844, moved to London, and attempted to earn a living at chess. In the London international tournament of 1851, a knock-out event, Williams defeated Lowenthal in the first round (4-2—1) but lost to Wyvill in the third and penultimate round (+3-4), He was awarded third prize after defeating Staunton (+4=1 — 3), He admired Staunton’s play and like several of his contemporaries adopted the positional style of the English school; but after this match the master never forgave his pupil, Williams played matches against Lowenthal in 1851 (+5 = 4-7), Horwitz in 1852 ( + 5 = 9—3), and Harrwitz in 1852 ( = 3—7),
and he again lost to Harrwitz in 1853.
In 1851 Williams won a handicap match against Staunton, who conceded a three-game start; of the games actually played Williams won four, drew three, and
lost six. When cholera broke out in London he posted a notice on his door offering preventive medication free. Supplies had run out when, feeling unwell, he left home for the last time; seized with violent pain when in the Strand he entered Charing Cross Hospital where he died of the disease two days later, leaving his wife and children destitute.
He wrote two books, Souvenir of the Bristol Chess Club (1846) and Horae Divanianae (1852). He also edited a chess column in The Field from Jan. 1853, when the magazine was founded, until his death.”
Souvenir of the Bristol Chess Club
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek:
“A prominent British master of the mid-nineteenth century who was famed for the slowness of his play at a period when chess clocks for important competitions had not yet come into fashion. Williams was born in Bristol where he practised as an apothecary but soon became so attached to chess (he was president of the Bristol Chess Club and also conducted a chess-column in the Bath and Cheltenham Gazette (from 8 September 1840 to 21 October 1946) that he made the game his profession.
Abandoning Bristol for London where the life of a chess professional was considerably more profitable than in the provinces, he contested a number of matches with varying success; e.g. 1846 v. Kennedy (+4-2=0) and 1852 v. Horwitz (+5-3=9). In three matches v. Harrwitz he met with decisive reverses (a total of +2-17=8) but gained a curious triumph over Staunton in 1851. Although losing on games played by +4-6=3 Williams emerged a technical victor as the result of Staunton’s rash decision to offer starting odds of three games ! This match, however, produced much fine chess.
Williams also participated in the first international tournament at London 1851 where he took third prize behind Anderssen and Wyvill. An analysis of his games from the important events of 1851 reveals that Williams had developed a most sophisticated playing style, employing positional devices which were not to
become current for a further sixty years. While in London in 1852, Williams published a collection of games under the title of Horae Divanianae being a selection of 150 games by leading masters, most of which had been played at Simpson’s Divan. He wrote the chess-column for The Field, from 1853 to 1857.
He died in London at Charing cross Hospital of cholera on 8 September 1854. we emphasize this date since the usual date given is that of I September 1854. But we are indebted to Mr. Kenneth Whyld for the information about the correct date on the death certificate which also states he was forty-four when he died.
Up to now his date of birth was not known and was assumed to have been considerably earlier. (R.D.K.)”
Sunnucks is silent on EW for an unknown reason.
From Wikipedia :
“Elijah Williams (7 October 1809 – 8 September 1854) was an eminent British chess player of the mid-19th century. He was the first president of the Clifton Chess Club, and publisher of a book of games from the Divan Club. His most notable result was at the 1851 London tournament, in which he defeated the celebrated British player Howard Staunton in the play-off for third place.
He was accused by Staunton of taking an average of 2½ hours per move during some matches, a strategy thought to cause opponents to lose their focus on the match. According to Staunton, following a particularly dilatory performance by Williams in the London 1851 tournament, a 20-minute per turn time limit was adopted for standard play the next year. However other sources contradict this viewpoint and indeed it was not uncommon for Staunton to attribute his losses to the intolerable dilatory play of his opponents. Staunton is quoted as remarking while playing against Williams, ‘… Elijah, you’re not just supposed to sit there – you’re supposed to sit there and think!'”
