British Chess News

Birthday of IM Max Devereaux (05-v-1976)
2021-05-05
IM Maxim Leo Devereaux is now known as IM Maxim Barth Stanford and is registered with the Norwegian Federation
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Marcus Harvey (24-vii-1996)
2020-07-24
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to FM 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
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.
Marcus enjoys playing the Smyslov-Larsen opening with white

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.

and the classical French and the Nimzo-Indian Defence.
It is clear that Marcus is now easily of IM strength and surely is a strong candidate for England’s next Grandmaster.

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

FM Marcus Ross Harvey
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Anthony Kosten (24-vii-1958)
2020-07-24
Birthday of GM Anthony Cornelis Kosten (24-vii-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
Here is his Wikipedia entry
Tony played for Lower Earley and played 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.

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Tony Kosten
Winning Endgames, Crowood, 1987
Winning with the Philidor, Batsford, 1992
101 Tips to Improve your Chess, Batsford, 1996
The Dynamic English, Gambit, 1999
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Nigel Davies (31-vii-1960)
2020-07-31
We send best wishes to GM Nigel Davies on his birthday, this day (July 31st) in 1960.
Nigel Rodney Davies was born in Southport, Merseyside.
He lived in the Wirral, Merseyside, moved to Sidcup and then to St. Helen’s, Merseyside where he resides with his chess playing son, Sam who is ECF 1928A currently.
In July 2020 Nigel graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Computing from Edge Hill University.
Nigel Davies (centre) at a Lloyds Bank event
He became an FIDE Master in 1980, an International Master in 1982 and a Grandmaster in 1993.
Nigel Davies
He won the British Under-21 Championship in 1979 (Chester) and the British Rapidplay Championship in 1987.
Nigel receives a much welcome prize (in Manchester) from Miss Benedictine in 198?
He won The Regency Ramsgate Masters 1980, Wrexham 1994, Katrineholm 1995 and the Blackpool Hilton Premier in 2003.
Nigel Davies
Nigel publishes his Chess Improver Blog and Tiger Chess for online training. The ECF lists this as his main club.

In 2015 Nigel transferred his international allegiance from England (the English Chess Federation) to Wales (Welsh Chess Union). He maintains an ECF standard play rating of 2448E.
William Watson, Jonny Hector, Alexander Khalifman, Jonathan Tisdall and Nigel Davies at the 1991 Watson, Farley, Williams tournament in London.
His peak FIDE rating was 2530 in January 1995 at the age of 35.
Here is one of Nigel’s favourite games
Nigel Davies, seated, second from right, event unknown
In 2015 Nigel contributed to an article by Guardian journalist, Stephen Moss entitled “Grandmaster crash: the inside story of how English chess pawned its future”
GM Nigel Davies
Here is his Wikipedia entry
Here is an article : Fight against the solid Caro-Kann opening with the Caro Krusher – GM Nigel Davies
Nigel’s repertoire with White is wide including Queen’s Gambit, King’s Indian Attack, English/Reti and the Ruy Lopez.
As black Nigel’s repertoire is also varied and difficult to pin down. The Modern Defence is a favourite and is the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Nigel is an active user of Twitter and may be found @GMNigelDavies
In 2020 the Welsh Chess Union successfully endorsed Nigel’s application to FIDE to become a FIDE Senior Trainer which he became in 2021:
Nigel Davies, FIDE Senior Trainer
Nigel has had many books and DVDs published :
The Chess Player’s Battle Manual. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-7043-7
The Power Chess Program. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8415-2.
The Grünfeld Defence. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-239-3.
The Veresov. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857443356.
The Dynamic Reti. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857443523.
The Trompowsky. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1857443764.
King’s Indian Attack. Hamburg: ChessBase. ISBN 978-3-86681-071-6.
Starting Out: The Modern. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857445664.
Play the Catalan. Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman Publishers plc). ISBN 9781857445916.
Save as PDF

Death Anniversary of CM David Anderton OBE (02-viii-1941 01-iv-2022)
2022-04-01
BCN remembers CM David Anderton OBE who passed away on Friday, April 1st, 2022 aged 80.
In the 1977 New Years Honours List, Civil Division, David was awarded the OBE. The citation read simply : “For services to Chess”
David William Anderton was born in the district of Walsall, Staffordshire, West Midlands. His mother’s maiden name was Coltart and David resided in Walsall.
David was married to Doreen in 2005.
David Anderton (rhs) congratulates Sir Philip Stuart Milner-Barry for winning the “Board of Honour ” game versus Edward Lasker 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
David was an Honorary Life Vice-President of the English (formerly British) Chess Federation.
John Nunn, David Anderton and Jonathan Speelman
“David won the ECF President’s Award in 2009 following his stepping down as ECF legal expert. This is the citation from the 2010 ECF Yearbook :
“As this is Gerry Walsh’s last year as President it was considered appropriate that he be allowed to choose someone receive the award. Gerry has worked with David for all his time with BCF and ECF and has selected him due to his tireless and selfless devotion to both the BCF and ECF over many years.
David Anderton OBE, ? and Teresa Needham
Most of you will know David and will agree that this is a well deserved award. It is fair to state that David’s assistance over the years has been invaluable and that without it many areas of the Federation would have found it difficult, if not impossible to operate.
Jim Plaskett with David Anderton OBE at the 1983 Benedictine International (Manchester)
Since my election David has been a constant friend and confidante. He has invariable given sound advice throughout my term of office. It was John Wickham who rang me and suggested that due to my length of tenure, a special award might be in order.
Jim accepts the 1981 Grand Prix shield from David Anderton OBE
After years of selfless and generous devotion serving as ECF President, International Director, Captain of the England Team and legal adviser, this seems to be a fitting tribute.
From the Praxis Bath Zonal Tournament of 1987. David Anderton OBE is second from right
David’s advice both legal and general, has been invaluable in such matters as the John Robinson legacy and the change of name from BCF to ECF Limited, and I certainly hope that this advice will continue.
Gerry Walsh”
Bob Wade OBE, Murray Chandler MNZM and David Anderton OBE
David is a FIDE Candidate Master (CM).
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
With the White pieces David exclusively plays 1.d4 aiming for a Queen’s Gambit and main lines.
With Black David plays the Winawer and the Classical French plus the Lenningrad Dutch.
Mrs. Joan Agar; Chairman of Leigh Interests, presents the Leigh trophy (for 1981) to Mark Hebden. Left, David Anderton, BCF President; on the right Malcolm Wood, Leigh’s Chief Executive. BCM, 1981, page 104
Here are his games.

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

DW Anderton OBE plays BH Wood MBE in 1981 in a Blitz tournament outside of the National Film Theatre. Photograph courtesy of John Saunders
During 1989-93 David was an Executive Board Member of FIDE.
The England Team from the 1990 Novi Sad Olympiad : John Nunn, Jon Speelman, Julian Hodgson, David Anderton OBE (Captain), Nigel Short, Michael Adams and Murray Chandler
In 2002 David was awarded the title of International Master by the ICCF (correspondence chess)
In 2015 David stood down from all of his roles within the ECF.
David Anderton OBE, Paul Bazalgette (Senior Partner at Philips & Drew) and Tony Banks (GLC Arts & Recreation Department) at the 1982 Philips and Drew Kings Tournament Opening Ceremony. Photograph by Clive Field
David has won the British Seniors Championship in 2003 (shared), 2005, 2007 (shared), 2009 (shared) and 2011.
Here is a potted biography from The Express and Star Newspaper
David Anderton OBE at the 2019 British Championships in Torquay, courtesy of John Upham Photography
David is Head of Regulatory Law at Anson’s Solicitors. He is also Secretary of the Erasmus Darwin Foundation (03270753) and Director of Unionist Buildings Ltd., Wallsall Conservative Investments Ltd. and Wallsall Unionist Holdings Ltd.
CM David William Anderton OBE
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Sam Franklin (03-viii-1994)
2020-08-03
Birthday of FM Samuel Gideon A Franklin (03-viii-1994)
FM Samuel GA Franklin from the Varsity Match, 9th March 2014, courtesy of John Upham Photography
FM Samuel GA Franklin from the London Chess Classic, 29th December 2013.
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Angus Dunnington (09-viii-1967)
2020-08-09
Birthday of IM Angus Dunnington (09-viii-1967)
Angus James Dunnington was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, his mother’s maiden name was Townend.
He has lived in Castleford, West Yorkshire and most recently in Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire.
Angus became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master in 1991.
Angus has been a recipient of a Chess Journalists of America award and was chess correspondent for The Yorkshire Post. He has been an Olympiad trainer.
Angus has played for 4NCL White Rose and his peak FIDE rating was 2450 in January 1996, aged 29.
He won Toulouse 1993 with 6.5/9, we was first equal (3) in the London Agency tournament on 1997 with 6/9, we was equal first in the 1999 Hampstead IM tournament with 6.5/9.
As White Angus prefers a Reti style double fianchetto, the King’s Indian Attack and also the Queen’s Gambit and is an expert on the Catalan and KIA.
As Black Angus essays the Modern Defence for most of the time.
His most recent ECF grading was 212E in 2005 and was 232A in 1996.
In 2018 after a lengthy absence Angus made a welcome return to the Scottish Championship Open with a strong =3rd place.

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

IM Angus Dunnington, photograph by Gisbert Jacoby
Here is his Wikipedia entry
The Ultimate King’s Indian Attack, 1993
Pawn Power !, 1994
Winning with the Catalan, 1997
Easy Guide to the Reti Opening
101 Winning Chess Strategies, 1999
Winning Unorthodox Openings, 2000
Mastering the Middlegame, 2001
Chess Psychology, 2003
Nimzo-Indian Rubinstein: Complex Lines with 4e3, 2004
Blunders and How to Avoid Them, 2004
IM Angus Dunnington, photograph by Cathy Rogers
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Andrew Smith (15-viii-1959)
2020-08-15
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to FM Andrew Smith (15-viii-1959)
Andrew became a FIDE Master in 1994 and is registered with the Irish Chess Union.
His highest FIDE rating was 2310 in July 1994 at the age of 35.
FM Andrew Smith, photographer unknown
He plays for Bourne End Chess Club in the Buckinghamshire League and in the Berkshire League.
Andrew also plays for 4NCL Barnet Knights (he has played for Atticus), Buckinghamshire CCA in the Chiltern League and Hon Members LCCL.
He has won the Berks & Bucks Congress in 2018 and 2016 (joint) and he became Berkshire Individual Champion as a direct consequence winning the Cadogan Cup.
With the white pieces Andrew is (almost) exclusively a 1.e4 player favouring the Centre Game
and as the second player Andrew plays the Philidor Defence and the Benoni.
He is known to favour “enterprising” variations such as the Mason Variation of the Philidor, the Haldane Attack versus the French and other such exotica.
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXXII (132), Number 7 (July) front cover features FM Andrew Smith from the final 4NCL weekend of the 2011-2012 season, courtesy of John Upham Photography

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

FM Andrew Smith at the 2019 Keith Richardson Memorial, courtesy of John Upham Photography
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Alan Hanreck (23-viii-1954)
2020-08-23
Birthday of FM Alan Emile Hanreck (23-viii-1954)
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Daniel King (28-viii-1963)
2020-08-28
We offer best wishes to GM Daniel King on his birthday
Daniel John King was born on Wednesday, August 28th 1963 (the same day as the Martin Luther King “I have a dream” speech) in Beckenham, Kent.
He attended Langley Park School whose motto is “Mores et Studia” meaning “good character and learning” or “morals and study”.
Daniel has a brother Andrew (AJ King) who is also a strong player.
Daniel became an International Master in 1982 and a Grandmaster in 1989.
Daniel King
His peak FIDE rating (Felice) was 2560 in July 1990 at the age of 27.
Daniel plays for Guildford in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) and has played for Guildford in local leagues.
This was written (by Leonard Barden) about Daniel who was 15 just prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display :
“Langley Park School, Shortlands and Bromley. Rating 201. British under-14 co-champion, 1977. 2nd Lloyds Bank junior international, 1979.”
Danny was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 1983-84 and 1985-86 seasons.
According to Test Your Chess With Daniel King, Batsford, 2004 :
“Grandmaster Daniel King has been a professional chess player for 20 years. During that time he has represented his country on many occasions including an historic match victory over the Soviet Union in Reykyavik, 1990. Besides his chess career, Daniel has built up a reputation as a commentator on TV and radio,
Jonathan Speelman and Daniel King share headphones at the 2013 FIDE Candidates event in London, courtesy of John Upham Photography
and has reported on four World Championship matches and several Man vs Machine events, including the controversial Kasparov vs Deep Blue encounter in New York, 1997. He is an award-winning author of 15 books, including Winning with the Najdorf, Mastering the Spanish, and Kasparov vs Deep Blue for Batsford. ”
On April 8th, 2020 New in Chess released Sultan Khan: The Indian Servant Who Became Chess Champion of the British Empire which is Daniel’s most recent book.
According to British Chess (Pergamon, 1983) by Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson :
1977 British Under 14 Champion
1979 Lloyds Bank 6/9 (aged only 16)
1980 First Ilford Open
1981 Represented England in Glorney Cup scoring 4.5/5
1981 Fourteenth equal British Championship
1981 IM norm Manchester 5.5/9
1981 Second equal Ramsgate Regency Masters 6.5/9 IM norm with a round to spare
1982 First Equal Guernsey 6/7
1982 First Hamar IM norm and title
1982 Second equal Molde
1982 Second equal Hallsberg Junior
1982 Third equal Phillips and Drew Knights
1982/3 Tenth equal Ohra, Amsterdam 5/9
1982/3 Fifth European Junior
1983 Fourth equal Gausdal
1983 First Portsmouth Open
In the same article Daniel gave the following game as his favourite up to 1983:

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

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
Daniel King (seated, second from left)
Here is his Wikipedia entry

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

At the Lloyds Bank Masters : Front (l-r) : Joel Benjamin, Ian Wells, Rear : Peter Morrish, Stewart Reuben, Richard Beville, Gary Senior, Richard Webb, John Hawksworth, Andrew King, Nigel Short, Mark Ginsburg, Daniel King, David Cummings, Erik Teichmann, John Brandford and Micheal Pagden
Mastering the Spanish, Batsford, 1993
Kasparov v. Deeper Blue: The Ultimate Man v. Machine Challenge. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8322-9., 1997
How to Win at Chess: The Ten Golden Rules (Cadogan Chess Books), 2000
Kasparov Against the World: The Story of the Greatest Online Challenge. KasparovChess Online. ISBN 0970481306., 2000
Winning With the Najdorf. Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 0713470372., 2002
How Good Is Your Chess?. Dover. ISBN 048644676X., 2003
Test Your Chess With Daniel King, Batsford, 2004
How To Play Chess. Kingfisher. ISBN 0753419181., 2009
Chessbase Fritz Trainer
Chessbase Tutorials
Sultan Khan: The Indian Servant Who Became Chess Champion of the British Empire
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Ezra Kirk (02-ix-1996)
2020-09-02
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Ezra Kirk (02-ix-1996)

Ezra G Kirk was born on Monday, September 2nd 1996 in France.

Ezra Kirk, Sautron, 2007, Courtesy of Dominique Primel / Chessbase

Ezra attended Varndean College, Brighton and then the University of Bath to read Natural Sciences and was an intern at AIR INDUSTRIE THERMIQUE and is currently a Data Product Consultant at the Kubrick Group.

He edits chess books written by non-English speaking authors and is an accomplished musician publishing works on Spotify.

Ezra became a FIDE Master in 2013 and an International Master in 2018

His peak rating is likely to be in the future but currently is 2445 in December 2018 aged 22.

Ezra plays for 4NCL Cheddleton in the Four Nations Chess League.

IM Ezra Kirk, Tours, 2020, Courtesy of Dominique Primel / Chessbase

Here is one of Ezra’s best wins :

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

IM Ezra Kirk, Hastings 2012-2013, courtesy of John Upham Photography

Save as PDF

Birthday of WFM Sarah Longson (née Hegarty) (02-x-1988)
2020-10-02
We send best wishes to WFM Sarah Longson (née Hegarty) on her birthday this day, (October 2nd) in 1988.
From Sarah’s web site :
“I have played competitive chess since the age of 7 when I became UK U7 Girls Chess Champion and appeared on Blue Peter where I met the then world champion Garry Kasparov. Since then I have represented England in many international competitions and in 2013 won the British Ladies Championship.”
In 2016 Sarah and partner FM Alex Longson made a successful bid for ownership of the UK Chess Challenge which auctioned by the bankruptcy receiver of IM Mike Basman, the previous owner. Sarah and Alex have
WFM Sarah Longson

Save as PDF
