Category Archives: British Championships

2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Player, Players, Title Norms, Tournament, UKCC

Happy Birthday IM Marcus Harvey (24-vii-1996)

July 24, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Marcus Ross Harvey born on this day (Wednesday, July 24th) in 1996. Killing Me Softly by the Fugees was top of the hit parade.

Marcus was born in Oxford and attended The Marlborough School, Woodstock, Oxfordshire and then (in 2014) at The University of Southampton he studied mathematics.

Originally playing for Bicester Marcus now represents Witney Chess Club in local leagues.

Marcus first played in the British Championship in 2011 (Sheffield).

Marcus Harvey at the 2013 King's Place Rapidplay, courtesy of John Upham Photography — Marcus Harvey at the 2013 King’s Place Rapidplay, courtesy of John Upham Photography

Originally playing for Oxford he now plays for Wood Green in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) and Southampton University in the Southampton League.

Marcus playing IM Yang-Fan Zhou at the 2013 Delancey UKCC Terafinal at Loughborough Grammar School. Courtesy of John Upham Photography.

In 2014 Marcus won the title of “Strat” (the overall Terafinal winner) of the 2014 Delancey UK Chess Challenge at Loughborough Grammar School.

Marcus Harvey at the 2013 Delancey UKCC Terafinal at Loughborough Grammar School, courtesy of John Upham Photography.

Marcus has a FIDE rating of 2440 and an ECF grading of 240.

2014 Delancey UKCC Terafinal winner, Marcus Harvey at Loughborough Grammar School. Courtesy of John Upham Photography

In 2018 he won the Witney Open outright with 4/5 and, in the same year, was runner-up to David Howell in the UK Blitz Open with 12.5/15 and a of 2589.

In 2019 he was =1st (with Mark Hebden) in the 4NCL Easter Open in Stevenage. Later that year Marcus was losing semi-finalist (to Gawain Jones) in the London Classic Blitz Knockout.

Marcus, on home ground, won the 43rd Kidlington Open in 2020 and followed this with and is the current 2020 English Online Blitz Champion beating IM Andrew Greet, FM Jonah Willow, IM Ameet Ghasi and IM Andrew Horton in the final.

In the Pro chess league he represents UK Lions.

Marcus Harvey’s FIDE rating profile according to Megabase 2020

On 6th November 2019 we reported that Marcus had obtained his second International Master norm at the recent (October 2019) Hull 4NCL International Congress by scoring 4.5/9 with wins over IM Andrew Greet and IM Richard Palliser.

On July 17th 2021 Marcus was joint winner with IM Peter Roberson in the 1st Chessfest Decode Rapidplay with an impressive 6/6 and a TPR of 2911.

Marcus overcame Rory McLean, Theo Koury, Steven Coles, FM Alexis Harakis, CM Jonathan Pein and rapidplay / blitz specialist IM Ameet Ghasi to share first place.

Over the 19th – 23rd August 2021 Marcus played in the Wood Green Invitational round-robin event at Oddfellows Hall, Stafford.

Marcus scored 6/9 and secured his second International Master Norm and a TPR of 2532.

<img class=” wp-image-18696″ src=”http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/untitled_wgi.jpg” alt=”Wood Green Invitational Round-Robin event at Oddfellows Hall, Stafford. August Bank Holiday Weekend, 2021″ width=”654″ height=”229″ /> Wood Green Invitational Round-Robin event at Oddfellows Hall, Stafford. August Bank Holiday Weekend, 2021

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend of 2021 Marcus played in the Northumbrian Masters GM Tournament at the splendid Marriott MetroCentre, Gateshead scoring 6/9 and TPR of 2559 and earing his fourth IM norm. His standard play rating of 2451 (September 2021) is sufficient and now only requires the next FIDE Congress to ratify the IM title.

Marcus enjoys playing the Smyslov-Larsen opening with white

and the classical French and the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

It is clear that Marcus is now surely a strong candidate for England’s next Grandmaster.

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2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday GM Tony Kosten (24-vii-1958)

July 24, 2020 John Upham Leave a comment

We wish Tony Kosten best wishes on his birthday, this day (July 24th) in 1958.

Tony was born in North Eastern Surrey, and eventually relocated to France where he now resides.

Tony is married to Gyongyver Kosten-Forintos, the daughter of Hungarian Grandmaster Győző Forintos.

Streatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten, Mark Hedben, Daniel King, Nigel Povah (Captain), Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team ! — Streatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten, Mark Hedben, Daniel King, Nigel Povah (Captain), Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team

Tony played for Lower Earley Chess Club in the Berkshire League and for Streatham & Brixton in the National Club competition.

He was =3rd in the 1982 British Championship in Torquay (won by Tony Miles)

He was =2nd in the 1984 Robert Silk Young Masters.

He won the Berkshire Chess Association Quickplay title in 1985.

Tony was runner-up to Yuri Balashov at Minsk 1986.

He won Naujac 2000 with 7.5/9

Tony won many other events : See his Wikipedia entry for details.

Tony Kosten (fourth from left) at a NatWest Bank sponsored event

Tony is the founder of chesspublishing.com, a subscription based web site specialising in cutting edge opening theory with many contributors.

He plays for Guildford in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is registered as a member of the French federation. He also plays for Schott Mainz in the German Team Championship.

According to Megabase 2020 his highest FIDE rating was 2551 in July 2002 at the age of 44.

With the white pieces Tony prefers the Ruy Lopez and Giuoco Piano with the English coming a close second.

With black Tony defends the Lopez and the Nimzo-Indian defence.

Here is his Wikipedia entry

Winning with the Philidor, Batsford, 1992

101 Tips to Improve your Chess, Batsford, 1996

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2024, British Championships, Deaths, Player, Players, Remembering

Remembering IM Andrew Whiteley (09-vi-1947 07-vii-2014)

July 7, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

BCN remembers IM Andrew Jonathan Whiteley (09-vi-1947 07-vii-2014)

Andrew Whiteley

Andrew was born on Monday, June 9th, 1947 in Birmingham, West Midlands to Denys Edward Hugh Whiteley (1914 – 1987) and Muriel Sutton (1919 – 1967). Andrew had two siblings, Robert N (Birmingham, 1944) and Angela M (Oxford 1952).

Denys Edward Hugh Whiteley (1914 - 1987, from Ancestry.co.uk — Denys Edward Hugh Whiteley (1914 – 1987, from Ancestry.co.uk

Andrew completed his education at Magdalen College School, Oxford and then in law at Pembroke College, Oxford.

Andrew and friends at the NatWest Bank Young Masters

“Whiteley’s school chess record is an outstanding 63/65: Andrew Whiteley is captain and top board of a very strong U18 team of: A Whiteley, H Morphy, MN Crombie, MM Daube, A Hawkins and AH Smith.”

Some of the participants in the Paul Keres display on November 25th, 1962, at St Pancras Town Hall, London WC1. Back row : AJ. Whiteley, D, Floyer, PJ Collins, PJ Adams, RC Vaughan, KB Harman, D. Parr, DNL Levy, Front row : MV Lambshire, AE Hopkins (selector) Paul Keres, Miss D. Dobson, RE Hartley, BC Gillman, WR Hartston and PN Lee. Photograph by AM Reilly. Source : BCM, 1963, page 13

Andrew was joint (with WR Hartston) Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1967-68 season.

His highest Elo rating was 2395 in January 1977 at the age of 29 and played for King’s Head in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).

Andrew was former President of the Middlesex County Chess Association (1985-87) and Deputy (1984-85 & 1987-88).

Andrew Whiteley playing board two in the London - Belgrade Telex Match on April 3rd, 1976 from the St. James Hotel, Buckingham Gate. Sourced from BCM, Volume XCVI (96), Number 5, page 192. Photographer probably Freddy Reilly. — Andrew Whiteley playing board two in the London – Belgrade Telex Match on April 3rd, 1976 from the St. James Hotel, Buckingham Gate. Sourced from BCM, Volume XCVI (96), Number 5, page 192. Photographer probably Freddy Reilly.

He became a FIDE Master in 1980 at the age of 33. His last major tournament was Cappelle Le Grand in 1988 (see photograph below).

Magnus Magnusson presents Andrew Whiteley (right) with the BCF County Championship trophy as Captain of the Middlesex team in 1986.

Below was written by BCM editor James Pratt in Volume CXXXIV (134), Number 8 (August) page 417-8 :

“Unfailingly courteous, formally dressed, retired London solicitor, British Master, Andrew Jonathan Whiteley (9 vi 1946 Birmingham – 8 vii 2014) has died. The son of an Oxford professor, AJW was British U21 Champion of 1965. He tied, with Hans Ree, for first in the European Junior in 1965/6.

Hans Ree (left) and Andrew Whiteley (right) examine the European Junior Trophy for 1965/6 in which they tied for first.

The following game first appeared in the Games Department column of Harry Golombek in British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXXVI (1966), Number 3 (March), page 148. It was game #14,118.

He scooped the Silver medal at the British in 1971 and in 1976. Andrew often worked selflessly at his office in the mornings, commuting to key games after lunch. He rose to be No. 3 or 4 in England and, always a loyal team man, shone in Olympiads. Belatedly, having turned his back on the law, in 1988, he became an IM. He was also a BCF Arbiter and Middlesex County organiser. In 2008, he won the English Senior Championships aged 61.

His was a classical chess style. RIP.”

Andrew Whiteley at the Nice Olympiad of 1974.

Here is his Wikipedia entry

Andrew Whiteley commentating on Kasparov vs Karpov

Here is a excellent obituary from his old school, Magdalen College.

FM Andrew Whiteley, IM Julian Hodgson and FM Byron Jacobs at Cappelle Le Grand, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler

Here is an obituary from Stewart Reuben on behalf of the English Chess Federation

Andrew Whiteley receives the Rosebowl trophy from John Poole

Since 2014 King’s Head Chess Club has held an annual blitz tournament in memory of Andrew featuring many of England’s top players.

Andrew Whiteley faces David Howell whilst Jimmy Adams records the moves, photograph courtesy of Mark Huba

Here is a discussion of Andrew on the English Chess Forum

IM Andrew Whiteley at the first 4NCL weekend of 2012 in November.

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2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday IM Robert Bellin (30-vi-1952)

June 30, 2020 John Upham 2 Comments

BCN sends IM Robert Bellin best wishes on his birthday, this day (the 30th of June) in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

His first tournament that appears in MegaBase 2020 was the British Under-14 championship.

He was 1st= in the Islington U18 tournament in 1970 with Sergio Mariotti ahead of Michael Stean, John Nunn and a very young Tony Miles

Robert Bellin (middle row, second from left))

Robert was awarded the IM title in 1977. He was outright British Champion in 1979 in Chester having tied first equal (with six others) in 1974 in Clacton. The play-off was won by George Botterill.

From the BCF 1979-80 Year Book of Chess : Robert Bellin, the new British Champion, explains the secret to the Mayor of Chester (?) and to David Anderton, BCF President

His best international success was in 1981 in Shanghai coming clear first overall.

His highest Elo rating of 2440 was achieved in 1980 at the age of 28.

Robert Bellin with Leonard Barden and Stewart Reuben at the 1978 Aaronson Masters in London

Robert plays for 4NCL Cheddleton.

He was a member of the Under-65 seniors world championship winning team in 2019.

Robert is married to WGM Dr. Jana Bellin and they have two sons.

Robert Bellin, British Champion, CHESS, Volume 45, Numbers 827-28, page 27.

Queen's Pawn : Veresov System — Queen’s Pawn : Veresov System

Mastering the King's Indian Defence — Mastering the King’s Indian Defence

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2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Player, Players

Happy Birthday IM Matthew Wadsworth (27-vi-2000)

June 27, 2020 John Upham 5 Comments

BCN wishes IM Matthew Wadsworth Happy Birthday this day (June 27th).

Previously we reported:

IM Matthew Wadsworth, one of England’s most promising young players, has earned his first Grandmaster norm from his excellent performance in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). Matthew, who is twenty, has a current FIDE standard play rating of 2413 and is ranked 34th amongst the active players in England (by FIDE rating) earning his FM title in 2016 and IM title in 2019.

Matthew could leapfrog to Grandmaster status with further norms and by increasing his live rating to 2500. The IM title was ratified at the FIDE Congress, 2nd quarter PB 2019, 27-30 June, Baku, Azerbaijan when his live rating had topped 2400.

Matthew with father Jim at the 2012 Surrey Congress

Matthew’s first ECF grade was 66A in 2007 (aged 7) and he played for Maidenhead in local leagues, St. Pirans’s School and then Reading School.

Matthew at the 2013 British Championships in Torquay

Matthew is reading Economics at Queen’s College, Cambridge and rows for the college team.

Matthew joined 4NCL at an early age and played for AMCA (Andrew Martin Chess Academy) soon rising the ranks to the AMCA first team and he currently represents the Guildford 2 team in Division One of the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). Matthew’s 4NCL results for the 2018-19 season were :

1. Fodor, Tamas Jr, draw
2. Ashton, Adam G, win
3. Gonda, Laszlo, draw
4. Kulon, Klaudia, win
5. Holland, James P, win
6. Stewart, Ashley, win
7. Ledger, Andrew J, win
8. Plat, Vojtech, loss
9. no game
10. Jackson, James P, win
11. no game

giving a performance of 7/9

Matthew at the 2014 British Championships in Aberystwyth

One of the undoubted highlights of Matthews 2018 chess year was his draw with Oxford domiciled GM Hou Yifan, three times Women’s World Champion from China during the annual Varsity match, Matthew representing Cambridge.

Recently Matthew has joined forces with IM Adam C Taylor, IM Ravi Haria and others to form makinggrandmasters.com

In 2021 Matthew supported Guildford Chess Club in its 125th Anniversary event by being part of the simultaneous display team:

IM Matthew Wadsworth at the Guildford Chess Club 125th Anniversary event on September 11th, 2021. Courtesy of John Upham Photography

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2024, Batsford, Birthday, British Championships, Hastings, Player, Players, Translator, Writers

90 today! Happy Birthday FM Bernard Cafferty (27-vi-1934)

June 27, 2020 John Upham 8 Comments

BCN wishes FIDE Master Bernard Cafferty best wishes on his 90th birthday, June 27th in 1934.

Bernard Cafferty, location, date and photographer unknown

On 14th December, 1968, Bernard gave a simultaneous exhibition held at Anglesey School, Burton. He played 17, won 16 and lost 1 to Trevor Bould who was already Burton Champion, photograph from http://www.derbyshirechess.btck.co.uk/History/Exhibitions, photographer unknown

Bernard was born in Blackburn, Lancashire (his mother’s maiden name was Croft) migrating to Birmingham and now resides in Hastings, East Sussex and is a member of Hastings & St. Leonards Chess Club.

Sunnucks notes that he was British Junior Champion in 1952, British Correspondence Champion in 1959 and British Lighting Champion in 1966. He wrote a thesis on Chess in Schools for his University Education Diploma and is now a schoolmaster. His contribution to Anne’s Encyclopedia was on Education and Chess.

He was editor of British Chess Magazine from 1981 to 1991 and continued as Associate Editor until 2011 when FM Steve Giddins took over.

Here is the 1981 announcement (written by Harry Golombek, Chairman of Directors) of his appointment in the British Chess Magazine, Volume CI (101), Number 3, March, page 82 :

British Chess Magazine, Volume 101, Number 3, Page 82

Here is his extensive Wikipedia entry

Bernard won the BCF President’s Award in 1991.

In the December 2010 issue (Volume CXXX (130), Number 12, pages 622 – 625 of British Chess Magazine there was a tribute to Bernard’s 30 years at BCM from editor FM Steve Giddins that was interview based :

British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXX (103), Number 12, December, Page 622

British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXX (103), Number 12, December, Page 623

British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXX (103), Number 12, December, Page 625

Associate Editor Bernard Cafferty,at work on the magazine in the BCM office, BCM, Volume 130, Number 8, p. 428

Here is discussion of Bernard on the English Chess Forum

Here is the BritBase collection of Bernard’s games

In 2009 Bernard was interviewed by the privately published Chess Parrot whose editor was / is Basingstoke based James Pratt (who became BCMs editor from 2011 – 2015). Here is that previously unseen interview :

The Chess Parrot, XXVI, Winter/Spring 2009, page 26-5

FM Bernard Cafferty at the 2014-15 Hastings Congress, courtesy of John Upham Photography

A Complete Defence to 1P-K4: A Study of Petroff's Defence (2nd ed.), Pergammon Press, ISBN 0-08-024088-7, 1967 — A Complete Defence to 1P-K4: A Study of Petroff’s Defence (2nd ed.), Pergammon Press, ISBN 0-08-024088-7, 1967

Spassky's 100 Best Games, Bernard Cafferty, BT Batsford, 1972, ISBN 0-7134-0362-4. — Spassky’s 100 Best Games, Bernard Cafferty, BT Batsford, 1972, ISBN 0-7134-0362-4.

Tal's 100 Best Games. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-2765-5. — Tal’s 100 Best Games. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-2765-5.

Chess with the Masters. Chess Player. ISBN 0-900928-95-6.

English Opening, The Chess Player, 1977, ISBN 0-900928-92-1

A Complete Defence to 1d4: A Study of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, Pergammon Press, ISBN 0-08-024102-6 — A Complete Defence to 1d4: A Study of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Pergammon Press, ISBN 0-08-024102-6

Play for Mate (1990), DV Hooper and Bernard Cafferty, ISBN-13: 978-0713464740

Play The Evans Gambit (co-author Tim Harding). Cadogan. ISBN 1-85744-119-2.

The Soviet Chess Championships. Batsford. ISBN 1-85744-201-6.

B.C.M. Classic Reprints, number 22: 1923 - 1932 An Anthology, Cafferty, Bernard, 1986. ISBN 978-0-900846-45-8. — B.C.M. Classic Reprints, number 22: 1923 – 1932 An Anthology, Cafferty, Bernard, 1986. ISBN 978-0-900846-45-8.

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2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Player, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday IM John Cox (22-v-1962)

May 22, 2020 John Upham Leave a comment

BCN sends best wishes to IM John James Cox on his birthday, this day, in 1962.

John was born in Altrincham, Trafford, Greater Manchester and moved to Shropshire at the age of three.

John attended Eton College playing top board in the Sunday Times National Schools Competition during the 1977 – 1979 period.

John read classics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and played in the 1982, 1983 and 1984 varsity matches for Oxford versus Cambridge.

He became a FIDE Master in 1982, an International Master in 2002 and obtained a peak rating of 2423 in January of 2006.

John is a solicitor, owning his own practice of 30 years.

He is an expert bridge player and an amateur rock climber / mountaineer.

John plays for Cavendish in the London League, Hackney in other leagues and Barbican in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).

From the excellent Shropshire Chess web site we have :

“Probably the best home reared player to come out of the county, John Cox started to play at age 6 with his father Jeff (see above) joining Shrewsbury Chess Club at age 7. At age10 he became joint Shropshire lightning champion. He was 16 when he won the 1979 county championship though much of his early success was outside the county. He gained his first FM norm at the 1980 Lloyds Bank Masters where he became the first Shropshire player to beat a GM (see below), also drawing with IM’s Ligterink and Pytel. In 1981 he gained his third norm and the FM title at Ramsgate together with his first IM norm. Though now based in London, he is still a regular visitor to the local Wrekin Congress.”

Here is his Wikipedia entry

John Cox (first from left) at a Lloyds Bank event.

John Cox (left, rear) at a Lloyds Bank Varsity match

IM John Cox, courtesy John Upham Photography

Starting Out : Alekhine's Defence — Starting Out : Alekhine’s Defence

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2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Chessbase, Players, Writers

Many Happy Returns IM Andrew Martin (18-v-1957)

May 18, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

BCN wishes IM Andrew Martin many happy returns on his birthday (18-v-1957)

From ChessBase :

Andrew David Martin (born 18th May 1957 in West Ham, London) is an English chess player with the title of international master. Martin has won various national and international tournaments. He has been playing for years in the Four Nations Chess League, at present (July 2009) for Wood Green Hilsmark Kingfisher, previously for the Camberley Chess Club. Martin received his title as international master in 1984. He earned his first grandmaster norm in the British Championship of 1997 in Brighton. Martin was a commentator on the chess world championship between Kasparov and Kramnik in 2000.
On the 21st February 2004 Martin set a new world record for simultaneous chess.

He faced 321 chess players at the same time. His result was: 294 wins, 26 draws and only one loss. Martin is known as a professional chess teacher and head trainer of the English youth team. He trains eight schools (Yateley Manor, Aldro, Millfield, Sunningdale, Waverley School, St Michael’s Sandhurst, Wellington College, Salesian College). Martin is a chess columnist, an author of chess books and the author of various instructional videos. He was the publisher of the series Trends Publications. Martin lives in Sandhurst, England, is married and the father of two daughters and two sons. His present Elo rating is 2423 (as of July 2009).

The above is somewhat inaccurate and out of date. Andrew came from East Ham rather than West Ham. He was the editor rather than the publisher of Trends Publications and he lives in Bramley, Surrey with his partner Naomi.

On July 23rd 1981 a world record attempt of continuous blitz games was undertaken at the National Film Theatre in London with much support of the membership of London Central YMCA.

Yours Truly (John Upham) plays Andrew Martin at the NFT

Andrew now plays for Camberley and Guildford clubs in the Berkshire and Surrey Border Leagues and is former member of East Ham, Ilford, London Central YMCA (CentYMCA), Wood Green and Barbican clubs.

Andrew plays JJ Ady whilst Simon LeBlanq observes at the London Central YMCA

Andrew has written many books starting as Editor of the “Trends Series” for Tournament Chess owned by Richard W. O’Brien (Not of The Crystal Maze). He has authored numerous DVDs for Foxy Videos and ChessBase and has a YouTube Channel focused on young and improving players called “Andrew Martin – Chess Explorations“.

Below Andrew annotates his game (with black) versus GM Stephen Gordon from 4NCL in 2005 :

Andrew’s first book as author was this one:

Winning With the King's Indian, Caissa Publishing, Andrew Martin, 1989 — Winning With the King’s Indian, Caissa Publishing, Andrew Martin, 1989

Here is one his favourite games:

Trends in the Slav Defence, Tournament Chess, Andrew Martin, 1990

Here is a second memorable game :

Alekhine's Defence, 2001 — Alekhine’s Defence, 2001

King's Indian Battle Plans, 2004 — King’s Indian Battle Plans, 2004

First Steps : Queen's Gambit, 2016 — First Steps : Queen’s Gambit, 2016

First Steps : King's Indian Defence, 2019 — First Steps : King’s Indian Defence, 2019

and finally this game was very pleasing :

Chess Hacker, Andrew Martin, Thinkers Press, 2019

Play the Budapest Gambit, Andrew Martin, Everyman Chess, May 2021, ISBN-13 : 978-1781945889

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2024, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday GM Matthew Sadler (15-v-1974)

May 15, 2020 John Upham Leave a comment

BCN wishes GM Matthew Sadler all the best on his birthday, this day, in 1974.

From Wikipedia :

“

Sadler won the British Championship in 1995 at the age of 21 and again in 1997 (jointly with Michael Adams).[2] He represented England in the 1996 Chess Olympiad, scoring 10½/13 and winning a gold medal for the best score on board four (England finished fourth), and also played in 1998 scoring 7½/12. He made 7/9 on board four for England at the European Team Chess Championship in Pula in 1997.[3] His was the best individual score of the five-man English team and so contributed significantly to England’s first (and to date only) gold medal in a major competition.

Anatoli Vaisser vs Matthew Sadler, Cappelle-la-Grande, 1991

For several years, he was the book reviewer for New in Chess magazine and also wrote books and articles for other chess magazines. In 2000, his book Queen’s Gambit Declined (published by Everyman) was awarded the British Chess Federation’s book of the year award.[4]

. Queen’s Gambit Declined. Everyman. ISBN 978-1857442564.

Latterly a resident of Amersfoort, Sadler returned to chess in 2010 to play in a rapidplay tournament held in nearby Wageningen. He won the event with a perfect score of 7/7, finishing ahead of grandmasters Jan Timman, Friso Nijboer and Daniel Fridman. In August 2011, Sadler continued his resurgence by winning the XIII Open Internacional D’Escacs de Sants, scoring 8½/10, ahead of several grandmasters including Jan Smeets. Right thereafter, in October 2011, he went on to compete in the Oslo Chess International; participants included ten other grandmasters, among them Sergei Tiviakov, Jon Ludvig Hammer and Sergey Volkov, all being 2600+ rated. Sadler won convincingly, with 8/9 points and a performance rating of 2849. Going into 2012, the gain in rating points elevated him to fourth rank amongst active English players and also lifted him back into the World Top 100.”

Matthew Sadler plays Anatoly Karpov at the Amber Rapid in 1998. The game was drawn.

Matthew was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1989-90 and 1993-94 seasons.

One of Matthew’s favourite games is this quick win against Ladislav Stratil Jr. from the Oakham Young Masters :

Matthew Sadler

In a January 2012 interview, Sadler stated that chess was now primarily a “hobby” for him.[5] While relishing his return to tournament play, Sadler noted that he was now an amateur, and would not be coming back as a professional. He contrasts his present lighthearted attitude with his demeanor during his time as a professional, when he was “working ten hours a day and incredibly intensively”.

Here is a second favourite game of Matthew’s versus Eran Liss at Budapest, 1993 :

and thirdly this game of Matthew’s vs Jan Smeets is another favourite :

The Slav. Everyman. ISBN 978-1901259001.

The Semi-Slav. Everyman. ISBN 978-1901259087.

Tips For Young Players. Everyman. ISBN 978-1857442311.

. Queen's Gambit Declined. Everyman. ISBN 978-1857442564. — . Queen’s Gambit Declined. Everyman. ISBN 978-1857442564.

Study Chess With Matthew Sadler. Everyman. ISBN 978-1857449907.

Chess For Life. Gambit. ISBN 978-1910093832.

Game Changer. New In Chess. ISBN 978-9056918187.

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2024, 4NCL, Arbiting, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships

Happy Birthday IM Jack Rudd (13-v-1979)

May 13, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

BCN wishes a Happy Birthday to IM Jack Rudd (13-v-1979)

Jack Timothy John Rudd was born in Scunthorpe and the family moved to the West Country in 1981/82. Jack became a FIDE Master in 2006 and an International Master in 2008 (confirmed in 2009). He became a FIDE Arbiter (FA) in 2012 and an International Arbiter (2014) in 2014.

Jack achieved his highest Elo rating of 2385 in April 2007 at the age of 28.

Jack plays for “West is Best” in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL), Somerset Chess Association and Barnstaple in local leagues.

Jack has selected two of his favourite games as follows :

IM Jack Rudd, photograph courtesy of John Upham Photography

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British Chess News

Category Archives: British Championships

Happy Birthday IM Marcus Harvey (24-vii-1996)

Happy Birthday GM Tony Kosten (24-vii-1958)

Remembering IM Andrew Whiteley (09-vi-1947 07-vii-2014)

Happy Birthday IM Robert Bellin (30-vi-1952)

Happy Birthday IM Matthew Wadsworth (27-vi-2000)

90 today! Happy Birthday FM Bernard Cafferty (27-vi-1934)

Happy Birthday IM John Cox (22-v-1962)

Many Happy Returns IM Andrew Martin (18-v-1957)

Happy Birthday GM Matthew Sadler (15-v-1974)

Happy Birthday IM Jack Rudd (13-v-1979)

Upcoming Events

Birthday of FM Nicholas Frost (28-xi-1983)

Death Anniversary of IM Robert Wade OBE (10-iv-1921 29-xi-2008)

Birthday of WIM Teresa Needham (30-xi-1965)

Birthday of GM Simon Williams (30-xi-1979)

Death Anniversary of A(lfred) Christopher Reeves (19-ii-1939 03-xii-2012)

Birthday of IM John Hawksworth (06-xii-1963)

Death Anniversary of John Fuller (12-v-1928 08-xii-2004)

Birthday of WGM Dr. Jana Bellin (09-xii-1947)

Birthday of FM Peter Batchelor (10-xii-1996)

Death Anniversary of Joseph Blake (11-xii-1951)

We focus on the British Chess Scene Past & Present !