BCN wishes many Happy Returns to IM Jovanka Houska (10-vi-1980)
From Wikipedia:
Jovanka Houska is an English chess player with the titles International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is an eight-time winner of the British Women’s Chess Championship.
Jovanka Houska, photographer unknown
From Chessgames.com:
“Jovanka Houska is an English IM and WGM. She is currently the highest-rated woman in England. British women’s champion in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Her brother is IM Miroslav Houska. She is the author of several books on the Caro-Kann Defense and Scandinavian Defense, and the co-author (with James Essinger) of the novel “The Mating Game.””
Jovanka was born in London and became a Women’s International Master in 1999, a Woman’s Grandmaster in 2000 and an International Master in 2005. Her peak rating was 2443 in July 2010 at the of 30.
Jovanka Houska, photographer unknown
She plays for 4NCL Wood Green and her brother is IM Miroslav Houska. Her father Mario plays for Slough.
Jovanka Houska and family membersIM Jovanka Houska, courtesy of John Upham Photography
Dangerous Weapons : Caro-KannStarting Out : The ScandinavianPlay the Caro-KannOpening Repertoire : The Caro-KannThe Mating Game
IM Jovanka Houska, courtesy of John Upham Photography
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to GM Dharshan Kumaran (07-vi-1975)
His highest Elo rating was 2505 in January 1995 at the age of 20.
Lawrence Cooper, Demis Hassabis, Cathy Haslinger and Dharshan Kumaran in around 1986. Possibly at a Lloyds Bank event.
From Wikipedia :
Dharshan Kumaran (born 7 June 1975) is an English chess grandmaster.[1] He won the World Under-12 Championship in 1986, the World Under-16 Championship in 1991, and finished 3rd equal in the World Under-20 Championship in 1994. He currently works as a neuroscience research scientist at DeepMind.[2]
Jonathan Levitt , Jon, (born in 1963) is a British chess player . In 1984 he became a FIDE International Master and in 1994 a FIDE Grand Master.
GM Jonathan Levitt, photograph by Cathy Rogers
Levitt wrote chess anecdotes on the (no longer existing) chess portal kasparovchess.com . He also has a chess column in “Oxford Today”. Levitt is also known for his talent tests and he is also a chess teacher. Moreover, he is a master in endgame studies. He takes chess photos, some of which can be seen in Wikipedia.
Jonathan Levitt in play with Michael Adams, Lloyds Bank, 1990, Philidor, 1/2-1/2
Levitt is also the author of several chess books: “Secrets of Spectacular Chess”, “Genius in Chess”, “Advice on Improving Your Game”. He also makes chess videos for the internet.
“Jonathan Paul Levitt was born in Southwark (London), England. Awarded the IM title in 1984, he is now a GM (1991) and a composer of problems. Winner of the Staunton Memorial in 2005. His notable works as an author include “Secrets of Spectacular Chess” and “Genius in Chess”.”
Jonathan achieved a peak rating of 2495 in January 1989 at the age of 26 and lives in Ipswich.
According to BCM, August 1994, page 430 in “News from the British Isles”:
“BCF International Grader, George Smith, informs us that Jonathan Levitt of North London, 2425 on the July 1994 FIDE list, has gained the GM title. This is the result of a second application by the BCF. Jonathan made his final norm in August 1990, and a conditional award was made in November of that year. Tracking back recently, it was proved that his July 1988 rating should have been 2510, taking into account two events which were rated late due to early cut-off dates. FIDE has agreed recent rulings could be applied retrospectively.”
He shared 1st place the GLC Masters in 1986 with 10.5/15 with Neil McDonald :
Jonathan Levitt, ? and Neil McDonald at the 1986 GLC Masters
GLC Masters crosstable, 1986
and was first equal with Jonathan Speelman in the Third Staunton Memorial in 2005 :
Third Staunton Memorial, 2005GM Jonathan Levitt, photographer unknown
Genius in ChessSecrets of Spectacular ChessContemplating Comedy, Jon Levitt, The Conrad Press (20 Nov. 2020), ISBN-13 : 978-1913567408GM Jonathan Levitt
“Grandmaster (2012). Won a double GM norm during the 13th European Individual Championship (2012) where he scored 6/11 and followed with another norm at the Caissa GM event in September 2012, gaining his GM title on 23 September 2012 at the age of 21 years 3 months and 21 days. (1)
Won the 3rd 4NCL Congress in July 2015. (2)
Son of Tamas Fodor Sr.”
Tamas plays for 4NCL Cheddleton, Wood Green (in the London League) and Hendon.
For the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display this was written : “Rating 213. World No.1, 13 year old. First Evening Standard under-10s, 1975. First under-14s, 1976. First under-21s, 1978.
British Men’s Lightning (10 seconds per move) champion 1978 – the youngest National Men’s Champion in chess history. Bronze medallist world under-17 championship 1979.
In simuls Nigel has beaten Korchnoi and Petrosian. World Nos. 2 and 4. Now he plays Spassky, World No.3.”
In 1978 Harry Golombek OBE wrote the following in the 1979 Dataday Chess Diary:
“The youngest and perhaps the one who will eventually make the most impression on the world of chess. Nigel Short, who at the age of 12 is London Under 21 champion, is the likeliest prospect for a world champion this country has ever seen. Certainly I cannot think of s single attribute that a prospective world champion should have that he has not got. Positional flair, steadiness of purpose, tactical ability, all these he has in profusion.
It is a blessing that he has not got a swollen head as might so easily have happened. Perhaps there is something about the game which acts as a steadying influence. At any rate, chess apart, he is just a pleasant little boy; but a pleasant little boy who can play the following game (in a county match, Lancashire v. Durham towards the end of October 1977) in a style reminiscent of Capablanca.”
Nigel had beaten the same opponent in 15 moves a year before in the same match:
Nigel Short plays Joel Benjamin at Lloyd’s Bank, 1976. 1-0, Maroczy BindAnatoly Karpov plays Nigel Short, London, Philips & Drew, French Winawer, 1/2-1/2, Stewart Reuben looking on
Nigel ShortNigel analyses with Viktor Korchnoi, unknown date and venue
Nigel Short
Nigel Short Simultaneous display at the 2012 London Chess Classic, courtesy of John Upham PhotographyNigel Short : Chess Prodigy (1981)Nigel Short’s Chess Skills (1989)New Ideas in the French Defence (1991)Winning, Nigel Short, Quality Chess, June 2021, ISBN: 978-1-78483-159-2
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Christopher Wallace Baker (29-v-1958)
Chris was born in Coventry, West Midlands and played in the Staffordshire Open in 1975 (the earliest games held in MegaBase 2020).
Chris has played for Guildford in Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
Currently Chris plays for 4NCL The ADs, Coventry Chess Academy and Battersea Chess Club.
He has been the trainer of the Welsh junior team and is a fully-qualified arbiter.
He has taught chess in many schools in the Farnham area of Surrey.
IM Chris Baker
He has authored and co-authored a number of books including the following :
A Startling Chess Opening RepertoireSimple Winning ChessLearn From Your Chess MistakesDynamic Black Opening RepertoireA Startling Chess Opening Repertoire
“One of the leading British players of his day and an eminent historian. Buckle was born in Lee, Kent on 11th November 1821., the son of a shipowner. From birth he was extremely delicate and his health prevented him from having a normal education. He was taken away from school at the age of 14 and three years later went into his father’s business. His father’s death in 1840 made Buckle independent and he gave up his business career and visited the continent for about a year, playing chess in Paris and Berlin. Going abroad again in 1843, Buckle spent most of his time studying languages and within seven years had learned to speak seven languages and to read 12 others.
Henry Thomas Buckle
Buckle rarely played chess matches, because of the intense dislike of the slow rate at which they were played in those days. However, he played a match against Kieseritzky in 1848, which he won+4 -3 =1/ After this victory, he realised that his health would not stand up to serious play and he never again attempted it. In 1851, he played a number of games with Anderssen, who considered that he was one of the strongest players he had ever met. Buckle was a regular visitor to “The Divan”, where he delighted in his favourite form of the game, giving heavy odds.
After his match with Lowenthal, Buckle turned his attention to his History of Civilisation. The first section of this work started to appear in 1857 but the major portion was published posthumously.
Buckle died of typhoid fever in Damascus on 29th May 1862.”
Henry Thomas Buckle
and from The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld :
“English player, historian. He is usually regarded as second among English players only to Staunton during the 1840s; Steinitz , however, regarded Buckle as the better player. In 1843 Buckle won a match against Staunton, who conceded pawn and move ( + 6=1), and in 1848 he defeated Kieserltzky ( + 3=3—2). He won a knock-out tournament in London 1849, defeating Williams (+2) in the second round. In 1851 Buckle defeated Lowenthal (+4=3 — 1) and held his own in a series of friendly games against Anderssen who declared him to be the strongest player he had ever met.
Henry Thomas Buckle
In his youth Buckle suffered ill-health which interfered with his schooling, and on account of which he was often sent abroad to fairer climates. Nevertheless he read widely, successfully educating himself and learning to speak seven languages. His father, a merchant, died in 1840 leaving him an ample fortune. In the 1850s Buckle largely gave up serious chess in favour of literary pursuits and began his great work, for which he is still remembered, A History of Civilization in England, the first two volumes of which were published in 1857 and 1861. At Damascus, on one of his many trips abroad, he contracted a fatal illness, allegedly crying as he died “My book! I haven’t finished my
book.”
BCN remembers FM Neil Leslie Carr (10-iii-1968 25-v-2015)
This was written about Neil aged 10 prior to the Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display in 1979 :
“Manor Junior and Barking. Rating 152. World’s best 10 year old. Standard under-10 champion, 1977 and 1978. British under-11 champion, 1978. Defeated Russian grandmaster Kotov in clock match, 1978.”
Eight year old Neil Carr of Barking, soon to become England’s youngest ever chess international. 26th August 1976. (Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
Neil played for East Ham, Ilford and then London Central YMCA (CentYMCA) chess clubs.
Neil Carr and Julian Hodgson at the 1976 Lloyds Bank Match by Telex, London – New York. From BCM, volume XCVI (96) Number 11 (August), Page 494. The venue was the Bloomsbury Hotel, London. Photo courtesy of Lloyds Bank.
Here is a game courtesy of Kingpin (Jon Manley) & the Ilford Recorder
Neil Carr (far right) at Paul Buswell’s house
Here is a tribute from long time friend and London Central YMCA fellow club member, IM Andrew Martin :
Neil Carr (front right)Neil Carr (right) with Neil Fox, Stuart Conquest, Paul Buswell and ?Neil Carr (rear right) at a BCF National Club Final (1992)Neil Carr, (foreground, right) at London’s South Bank, Peter Sowray in the background.. Photo by Clive Field, London Chess AssociationFM Neil Carr, London Chess Classic 2013, courtesy pf John Upham Photography
“International Judge of FIDE for Chess Compositions, Chandler, who was born on 21st August 1889, has composed about 125 two and three-move problems, all in traditional style. Some 30 have gained tourney honours. He was the chess editor of the Hampshire Telegraph and Post from 1911-1921 and he was a founder member of the British Chess Problem Society, Its Hon. Secretary from 1919 – 1925 and Hon. Secretary and Treasurer since 1951.
G.W.Chandler
Commended “The Problemist” 1960
White to play and mate in two moves
From The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE, John Rice writes:
“British problemist, active as a composer mainly during the 1920 and 1930s, specialising in model-mate three-movers. Best known for his work as Secretary of the British Chess Problem Society 1919-25 and as Secretary and Treasurer from 1952. International Judge (1957). “
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