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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210202
DTSTAMP:20230128T141945Z
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SUMMARY:Death Anniversary for Edith Baird (née Winter-Wood) (??-??-1859 01-ii-1924)
DESCRIPTION:We remember Edith Baird (née Winter-Wood) \nEdith Elina Helen Winter-Wood was born\, probably in 1859*\, to Thomas Winter-Wood\, a writer and poet\, and Eliza Ann (née Sole) Winter-Wood in Boulogne\, France. \n(*Despite 22nd February 1859 appearing in Wikipedia we are unable to locate a primary source for this date. Contemporary secondary sources always just gave 1859 as her year of birth. Census records imply that she was born between April 1859 and March 1860. Her marriage record from 1st December 1880 describes her as being ‘of full age’: at least 21 years old\, so born before December 1859. However\, her death record from 1st February 1924 gives her age as 63\, implying that she was born between February 1860 and January 1861. Either her death record is incorrect or she added a couple of months to her age when she married. ) \nMany secondary and tertiary sources incorrectly give the Winter-Wood family home of Hareston Manor (now a venue for weddings) near Brixton\, Plymouth\, Devon as her birthplace. \nHareston Manor near Plymouth\nThe family was resident in Boulogne in at least 1858 (as discussed below) and a UK birth certificate for Edith does not appear to exist. Having said that\, a French birth certificate has yet to be located. Both Brian Denman and Chris Ravilious are satisfied that Edith was born in Boulogne and various census records attest to this. Ed: both Richard James and myself (JEU) have examined the evidence carefully and Boulogne would appear to be correct. \nThomas Winter-Wood was born in Har(e)ston\, Devon in 1819 and was himself a strong player having been educated at Plympton Grammar School (now known as Hele’s School). Thomas was the son of John Wood-Winter who\, in 1824\, reversed the order of the family surname. Thomas sold the family estate leaving the Winter-Woods with substantial means\, with each family member able to pursue their leisure interests whilst retaining a number of domestic staff. \nThomas Winter-Wood (1819-1905) in 1903.\nThomas taught all of his family to play chess and Edith learnt at an early age. Both Edward J and Carslake W also learnt early on\, Edward (aged 11 in 1858) played members of Boulogne Chess Club giving them rook odds and ten years later Edward joined London Chess Club. \nAccording to Tartajubow : \n“(Edward) played in several tournaments and in blindfold simuls he drew two games against Lowenthal and one against Blackburne. In 1878 he joined the Croydon Chess Club and once in one of their tournaments scored 23-7. He also enjoyed success in many other club tournaments\, correspondence chess and problem solving tournaments. Many of his problems appeared in leading publications of the day.” \nand\, also according to Tartajubow : \n“Her other brother\, Carslake W. Wood (1849 – 1924)\, lived with his mother’s brother\, Major Sole of the 5th Militia of West York\, in Torquay. While travelling Europe with the Soles\, he also developed a taste for painting and on many occasions donated his paintings as prizes in chess tournaments.” \nThe Doge’s Palace\, Venice 1880s by Carslake W Winter-Wood\nAccording to F. R. Gittins (in The Chess Bouquet 1897): \n“The moves came to her\, as she says\, by a kind of instinct before she was out of her first decade. She did not\, however\, commence composing problems until some years after her marriage\, which took place in 1880\, to Deputy Inspector-General W. J. Baird\, M.D.\, R.N.\, whose distinguished services have been mentioned in despatches and rewarded with four medals and two clasps. Eight years later she composed her first problem\, and commenced a wonderful series of successes\, having gained eleven first\, nine second\, and six third prizes\, and been honourably mentioned nine times.” \nEdith Baird (née Winter-Wood)\nAccording to the old ChessDevon web site (sadly only available via the WayBack Machine) \n“In 1893\, for instance\, she entered The Hackney Mercury 3-mover tournament\, with a limit of 6 pieces. Most of the great composers of the time had entered\, – B. G. Laws\, P. H. Williams and James Raynor among them\, but she won 1st prize. As one American critic observed\, ‘The fact that the tourney assumed an almost international character rendered the triumph of the distinguished lady victor as noteworthy as it was creditable’.” \nHere is this first prize (1): \nBaird\, Edith Elina Helen\nHackney Mercury\, 1893\n1st Prize \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nThe problem solutions may be found at the foot of this article. \nShe very quickly progressed and was soon producing problems that were described as being “exceedingly pretty” and which ‘displayed unmistakable aptitude for the intricacies of chess.’ Her work 700 Chess Problems was published by Henry Sotheran Ltd in 1902 and took her 14 years to complete.” \nSeven Hundred Chess Problems. Selected from the compositions of Mrs. W. J. Baird\, WJ Baird\, 1902\nSeven Hundred Chess Problems\n700 Chess Problems may be downloaded from here. \nEdith also had a brief career in chess competitions in the 1890s\, winning the 1897 Sussex Ladies Championship without losing a game. \nFew samples of her play survive\, but they show her to be a proficient player with\, as you might expect from a problemist\, a keen tactical eye. In this game she finishes neatly with a queen sacrifice. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nIn this game\, from a blindfold simul against the London-based Dutch organist and chess master Rudolf Loman (1861-1932)\, she uses a tactic to reach an equal ending. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nAccording to the 1871 census the Winter-Wood household lived at “Hareston”\, Tavistock Road\, Croydon\, Surrey and consisted of Thomas (52 and Landowner)\, Eliza (44) plus Edith’s brothers Edward J (23 and Banker) and Carslake W (22 and retired banker)\, Marie A (17)\, Edith (11) plus three (!) domestic servants. \nIn 1880 (‘of full age’) Edith married the Deputy Inspector-General of Fleets and Hospitals\, William James Baird\, MD\, of the Royal Navy\, in the parish church of St George Hanover Square.  (You’ll see that she married under the surname Wood rather than Winter-Wood.) William was almost thirty years her senior\, having been born in Londonderry in 1831. The 1881 census found them in lodgings in Durham House\, Hotspur Street\, Tynemouth\, North Tyneside: presumably William was there in connection with his work.  Later the same year\, their only child\, Lilian Edith Baird\, was born in the same place. \nWilliam and Edith’s marriage recorded in the Parish Register of St George Hanover Square\nWilliam Baird and Edith (Winter-)Wood’s marriage bonds\nLilian would become a child prodigy whose first problem was published before she was 10 years old. She was also an accomplished poet and painter like her mother. Although she had over 70 problems published by the age of thirteen\, Lilian gave up chess composing while still in her teens. \nLilian Edith Strong (née Baird)\n(Lilian merits a full article in this place in her own right : added to ToDo list!) \nBy 1891 William had retired and the family had settled in Brighton living at 14 College Terrace\, where they employed a servant\, Louisa Howard (23). In 1901 the census enumerator found them at the same address\, their servant now being Lilian Millard (25). \n14 College Terrace\, Brighton\, East Sussex. BN2 0EE\nWilliam died in 1907\, and Lilian had married in 1910: the 1911 census found Edith living in a boarding house named Mountcoombe in Surbiton. The house no longer exists\, but its name\, minus a letter\, survives in Mountcombe Close\, now a location for residential flats. Shortly afterwards\, she joined her brothers in Paignton\, Devon\, close to her family’s ancestral roots. \nReturning to Edith’s family\, by the time of the 1881 census the Winter-Wood household (bar Edith) had relocated to “Mariestead”\, Netley Abbey\, Southampton and had shrunk to Thomas\, Eliza and a mere two servants. Edith gave this address when she married William Baird. \nEdith Baird (née Winter-Wood)\nIn the 1891 census the Winter-Wood household consisted of Thomas (72)\, Eliza (64) plus Edith’s brothers Edward (43) and Carslake (42) all of whom were described as “living on means”. They had returned to three domestic servants : Mary Scoble (65)\, Carrie Stephens (22) and Kate Truman (just 12). They lived at 14\, The Crescent\, Plymouth\, PL8 2AP. Nothing remains of this property\, it would appear. By 1901\, the family had moved again\, to “Kenwick”\, Paignton\, Devon. They were back down to two servants: Florence Gagg (18) was the housemaid and Sarah Chambers (59) the cook. Thomas died in 1905\, and the 1911 census gives their address as “Hareston”\, Totnes Road\, Paignton. Eliza\, Edward and Carslake’s servants were now Laura Ellen Gagg (25 – presumably related to Florence) and Sarah Tulley. \nIn an interview with the Westminster Gazette (1st September 1894) Edith was asked why chess has always been a man’s game. \n“Frivolous and fashionable women would begrudge the time and thought it requires; busy mothers of families could not\, of course\, spare time for it\, and the great majority of unmarried girls have not\, I’m afraid\, the necessary patience. Then\, too\, it is\, I must confess\, an unsociable game. It is most suitable for quiet and reflective people\, and for invalids. It seems always to have attracted clever strategists like military and naval commanders\, and also great politicians. I wish girls would take to it more\, because it is such excellent mental discipline\, and brings out one’s patience. It would also be a useful corrective to the tendency to jump at conclusions which many women have. The great charm is that it is a home accomplishment. A woman is not expected to leave her fireside for the sake of chess. It is a stable kind of amusement for which she never need sully her womanliness or her good reputation. Many of the outdoor sports\, innocent and healthy enough\, lead to a great deal of flirtation and general frivolity.” \nF.R. Gittins (op. cit.) described her as follows: \n“Mrs. Baird\, however\, is something more even than the Queen of Chess-problem composers. She is\, for example\, an enthusiastic and skilful archer\, and\, living as she does in Brighton\, has for some time been a prominent member of the Furze Hill Archery Club\, of which she is a member of the committee\, and in which\, she has\, for two years in succession\, taken the medal for the highest aggregate score of the season. She also paints and illuminates charmingly\, and has a pretty inherited talent for writing verse. Her book of illuminations\, in fact\, is described as “so chaste and delicate in design as to recall the ancient illuminated books which are treasured in museums and art galleries.” In politics she is a staunch Liberal\, while the modern movement against all cruelty to animals – whether inflicted under the name of sport or in the interests of science – finds in her one of its most ardent champions.  Besides the déclassement derived from chess\, she is also a great believer in girls making themselves independent of marriage\, from a monetary point of view\, by having a definite occupation. When it is added that she never allows chess\, painting\, or any other favourite pursuit to occupy her time until all the domestic matters of home have been seen to\, we have said sufficient to show how finely-rounded and complete a life this brilliantly clever woman leads. It is only left to add that her manner is kind and  charming\, and that she is thoughtfulness and considerateness itself to all her friends. She is\, moreover\, the most loving of mothers\, and has been heard to declare that if anything were to happen to “Lily”\, she would never compose another chess problem.” \nEdith was also an avid bicyclist who was known to have ridden 25 miles (on one of those old style bicycles) to discuss an adjourned chess game. \nEdith Elina Helen Baird\nOn Friday\, February 1st\, 1924 Edith passed away. The probate record is dated April 29th and was granted to Herbert Percy Strong\, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian Army\, who was Lilian’s husband. The initial value of the effects was £18110 5s 7d which was subsequently resworn to £16627 13s 11d. \nProbate record for Edith Baird (1924)\nBoth Sunnucks and Golombek are silent on Edith. This is somewhat surprising since Anne liked to mention female players and problemists. \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nEDITH ELINA HELEN (née Winter Wood) (1859-1924)\, British problem composer. Her parents\, two brothers\, and daughter were all good players or clever problemists. \nShe composed over 2\,000 problems which were not profound but were noted for their soundness; only a dozen or so were faulted. Her Seven Hundred Chess Problems was published in 1902. She became deeply absorbed in retractors\, and her other book The Twentieth Century Retractor appeared in 1907. They are two of the most beautiful chess books ever to appear\, printed and bound by the King’s printer Henry Sotheran\, and sold at less than cost. \nThe Twentieth Century Retractor\nThe Twentieth Century Retractor\, Chess Fantasies\, and Letter Problems: Being a Selection of Three Hundred Problems\, Mrs WJ Baird\, London: Henry Sotheran and Co. 1902.\nThe Twentieth Century Retractor may be read online here. \nThe dedication for The Twentieth Century Retractor was somewhat unusual : \n“Dedicated to\nThe Sun\nThe Glorious Orb which\nAnimates and Beautifies\nThe Earth\nBy Giving It\nWarmth\, Light and Life” \nand Edward Winter discusses the beauty of the book in Chess Note 3164. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XLIV\, (44\, 1924)\, page 103 we have this brief obituary notice written by RC Griffth : \n“We much regret to hear of the death\, at Paignton\, on February 1st\, of Mrs. W.J. Baird\, much of the distinguished of women problem composers throughout the world. As our problem editors will no doubt deal fully with her work and her triumphs\, we shall say no more here that she took a keen interest in chess over-the-board also\, and in 1897 secured the county championship  of Sussex among players of her own sex. By birth she was a Winter-Wood and thus a member of a distinguished West of England chess family” \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XLIV\, (44\, 1924)\, page 125 we have this obituary written by RC Griffth : \n“A deep shadow has been cast over the chess world by the death of Mrs. W.J. Baird\, which occurred on 1st February last at Paignton. The end was most unexpected\, but it is a comfort to her relatives that the passing away was peaceful. She was the daughter of Mr. T. Winter-Wood\, who and whose family have been identified with chess for generations. She was born in 1859 and composed her first problem in 1888\, and it was not long after this date that she was given the title of the “Queen of Chess\,” since not only did she distinguish herself in a happy way as a prolific composer\, but proved a valiant opponent over the board\, testified by her securing the ladies’ championship of Sussex in 1897. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Two (2) \nAmong her other accomplishments were painting\, particularly illuminating\, poetry (which may have been inherited from her gifted father) and archery\, in which sport she was skilful. Her chess problems were generally of the light texture order never profound\, but always pleasing to the ordinary solver. She must have composed over 2\,000 problems of one sort or another\, and this large output in about thirty-five years could not be conducive to highest results. Her problem tourney honours were numerous\, though she did not as a rule see these\, generally entering her problems to oblige admiring conductors of competitions. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Two (3) \nIn 1902 she published Seven Hundred Chess Problems and in 1907 The Twentieth Century Retractor\, Chess Fantasies and Letter Problems\, 320 illustrations (Sotheran & Co.). Both were editions de luxe. Mrs. Baird was credited with the being the originator of the complicated retractor of which she was a proficient exponent\, but since she ceased composing these fancies\, interest in them has waned. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Three (4) \nDuring the last few years her activity\, after a period of quiescence has been marked\, her attention being directed principally to ‘Mutates’ and Picture or Letter Problems. In addition to the enthusiasm which\, shown by her actual work\, she has generously promoted several competitions\, one still current in the Morning Post\, particulars of which we announced last month. A remarkable feature of the deceased’s problems was their soundness less than one per cent. being cooked after leaving her hands\, evidence of painstaking application! \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Three (5) \nThere is now\, since the decease of Mrs. Baird’s father\, Mr. T. Winter-Wood and her brother\, Mr. E.J. Winter-Wood\, only Mr. Carslake Winter-Wood left to represent the family in the chess circle\, Mrs. Strong\, her daughter\, who at one time promised to emulate her mother\, having apparently abandoned the game and its problems. There can be no question that Mrs. Baird stood in front of all lady composers\, her nearest rival probably being the late Mrs. T. B. Rowland\, and indeed a number of her compositions rank high in the world’s collection. We have not space this month to quote specimens\, but hope to do so next issue. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Three (6) \nSince the above was in type we have been informed of the sudden death of Mr. Carslake Winter-Wood on the 24th February.” \nThe Late Mrs. W. J. Baird\, \nThe Masters said:- \n“Lay by the board\, the problem is not sound;\nThere’s none can solve unless a Morphy’s found.”\n* * *\nA knight I saw\, his royal head bowed;\nMethought a bishop moved and prayed aloud.\nThe Queen\, alas\, and their attendants gone\,\nOnly did the Kings linger sadly on.\nAnd roaming far afield a Rook forlorn\,\nAnd here and there a long-forgotten pawn.\n“Oh! is there none who can this problem solve?”\n“Seek her round who our highest hopes revolve”\nAnd so we brought it to our ‘Problem Queen’\nWho faced the field with heart and eye serene.\n* * *\n“Go leave me now and I will rest awhile\,”\nThen hand outstretched and swift triumphant smile :\n“The Bishops move! with him the key\,” she cried –\n“Life’s problem solved at last! I’m satisfied.” \nM.S.M. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n \nWhite retracts his last move; then plays. Black moves so that White can mate at once. (7) \n(Please note that there are factual errors in most of the sources quoted below.) \nHere is her Wikipedia entry \nHere is more from chessproblem.net \nArticle from Tartajubow (but the author mistakenly conflates Edith and Lilian) on Edith Baird and other Bairds \nQueens of Problem Chess by Satanick Mukhuty from chessbase.com \nMore from Sarah Beth Durst (aka BatGirl)\, quoting from Gittins. \nVia the Wayback Machine Chess Devon have this excellent article \nBritish Chess News would like to thank Brian Denman for providing a file of Edith Baird’s games\, and Tim Harding\, for sending us the pdf of The Chess Bouquet. \nSolution to problems: \n(1) \n1.Qg7! (2.Qc7#)\n1…Kc6 2.c5 Kxc5 3.Qc7#\n1…Kxc4 2.Qd4+ Kb3 3.Qb4#\n1…Kb6 2.Sb5 Ka6/Ka5\, Kc6/Kc5 3.Qa7\, Qc7#\n1…Kd6 2.Sb5+ Ke6\, Kc7/Kc5 3.Sd4\, Qc7# \n(2) 1.Bg2 \n(3) 1.Qb2 \n(4) 1.Qh8 \n(5) 1.Nc1 \n(6) 1.Rd8 \n(7) White retracts Nd5xRb6\, then 1. Nd6 Rc6 2. Nb7# \n  \n  \n Save as PDF
URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-for-edith-elina-helen-baird/
CATEGORIES:2023,Composer,Death Anniversary,History,Problemist,Remembering,Writer
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/BairdEdith-2.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210204
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210205
DTSTAMP:20210130T184442Z
CREATED:20190823T181358Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210130T184442Z
UID:1096-1612396800-1612483199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Sir Jeremy Morse (10-xii-1928 04-ii-2016)
DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of Sir Jeremy Morse\, (10-xii-1928 04-ii-2016) \n Save as PDF
URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-sir-jeremy-morse/
CATEGORIES:Composer,Death Anniversary,History,Problemist
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210210
DTSTAMP:20220209T140215Z
CREATED:20190822T164913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220209T140215Z
UID:1006-1612828800-1612915199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Cecil De Vere (14-ii-1846 09-ii-1875)
DESCRIPTION:We remember Cecil Valentine De Vere (14-ii-1846 09-ii-1875) \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nCecil Valentine De Vere\, pseudonym of Valentine Brown\, winner of the first official British Championship tournament organized by the British Chess Association in 1866. He learned the game in London before 1858 and practised with Boden and the Irish player Francis Burden (1830-82). De Vere played with unusual ease and rapidity\, never bothering to study the books. His features were handsome (an Adonis says MacDonnell)\, his manner pleasant\, his conduct polite. He “handled the pieces gracefully\, never “hovered” over them\, nor fiercely stamped them down upon the board … nor exulted when he gained a victory…in short\, he was a highly chivalrous player.’ So wrote Steinitz who conceded odds in a match against De Vere and was soundly beaten\, (See pawn and move.) De Vere’s charm brought him many friends. \nAt about the time that he won the national championship his mother died\, a loss he felt deeply\, “The only person who ever cared for me”. \nReceiving a small legacy he gave up his job. which Burden had obtained for him at Lloyds the underwriters\, and never took another. He entered some strong tournaments but always trailed just behind the greatest half-dozen players of his time. His exceptional talent was accompanied by idleness and lack of enthusiasm for a hard task. On the occasion of the Dundee tournament of 1867 he took long walks in the Scottish countryside with G. A. MacDonnell\, who writes that a ‘black cloud’ descended on De Vere. It may have been the discovery that he had tuberculosis; more probably he revealed to the older man a deep-rooted despair\, the cause perhaps of his later addiction to alcohol. \nIn 1872 Boden handed over the chess column of The Field to provide him with a small income; but in 1873 the column was given to Steinitz on account of De Vere’s indolence and drunkenness. At the end of Nov\, 1874 his illness took a turn for the worse\, he could hardly walk and ate little. His friends paid to send him to Torquay for the sea air\, and there he died ten weeks later. He had failed to nourish a natural genius in respect of which\, according to Steinitz\, De Vere was “second to no man\, living or dead*. \nCecil Valentine De Vere (14-ii-1846 09-ii-1875)\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks : \nFirst official British Chess Champion\, Cecil de Vere was born on 14th February 1845 (in Montrose\, Angus\, Scotland : Ed.) and was taught to play chess when he was 12 by a strong London player\, Francis Burden. By the time he was 15\, he was a regular visitor to “The Divan” on a Saturday afternoon. \nAt the age of 19 De Vere played a number of games against MacDonnell winning the majority of them. So great was his promise that the City of London Chess Club raised a purse for a match between him an Steinitz\, Steinitz giving the odds of a Pawn and a move. De Vere won. \nIn 1866 the first British Championship\, organised by the British Chess Association was held. De Vere won\, ahead of MacDonnell and Bird\, and so became the first British Champion at the age of 21. \nThe following year in the Paris 1867 tournament\, he was 5th out of a field of 13\, and he tied for 3rd prize in the Dundee Congress\, ahead of Blackburne\, having beaten Steinitz in their individual game. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nWhile he was in Dundee\, De Vere learned that he was suffering from Tuberculosis. The news changed his whole life. Having recently inherited a few hundred pounds\, he gave up his job at Lloyd’s and started living on his capital\, determined to enjoy the few years he had left. He continued to play chess\, but his performances were marred by his newly acquired addiction to the bottle. \nDe Vere was once described as “A Morphy without book knowledge”. His talent was great enough for him to be able to take on the leading masters of the day without any study or preparation\, but more than that is needed to reach the top. De Vere lacked the strength of character and health to fulfill his early promise. He died a few days before his thirtieth birthday. \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess by Harry Golombek : \nThe first official British Champion and a player of great promise who might well have attained world fame had he not be carried off by that nineteenth-century British scourge\, tuberculosis\, before he attained the age of thirty. \nMost of the details of his life are to be found in the writings of G.A. MacDonnell\, who met him when De Vere was fourteen and was so struck by his good looks as to refer to him as “Adonis”. \nHis first tournament success came in 1866 at the London Congress organised at the St. George’s Club in the first few days and then in other venues by the British Chess Association. De Vere played in two events\, a Handicap tournament and a Challenge Cup event which was in fact the first British Championship tournament. \nThe Handicap tournament was run on the same lines as London 1851\, i.e. it was a knock-out event with matches of three games\, draws not counting. De Vere met Steinitz in round 1 and lost by 2-1. \nThe first British championship tournament was an all-play-all event in which the ties were decided by the first player to win three games and in which the championship went to the winner of the biggest number of games. De Vere was an easy winner with 12 wins\, followed by MacDonnell and J.I. Minchin 6\, H.E Bird 3 and Sir John Trelawney 0. \nThus De Vere was the first British Champion and at that age of twenty-one. A photograph of him about this time shows that he bore a remarkable likeness to the international master John Nunn\, who won the European Junior championship a hundred years after De Vere’s death. \nDe Vere confirmed his position as a leading British player by coming first in another tournament in 1866 at Redcar in North Yorkshire. This was an event open to all British amateurs and among his opponents were Owen\, Thorold and Wisker. \nIt was in the following year that he commenced his career in international chess. In the important double-round tournament at Paris he occupied an honourable fifth place out of 13 players. At Dundee (the third congress of the British Chess Association) he finished equal 3rd with MacDonnell\, below Steinitz but beating him in their individual game and coming ahead of Blackburne. \nIt was during his visit to Scotland (he went to stay with relatives after the tournament) that he learnt he was afflicted with consumption. This knowledge\, together with the death of his mother\, drove him to drink which was to accelerate his end. \ninheriting a few hundred pounds\, presumably from his mother\, he gave up his post at Lloyd’s and decided to live on his capital together with such additional sums as he could earn from chess. \nIn this respect his addiction to drink proved a handicap. For example\, he held the post of chess editor of The Field in 1872 but lost it after some eighteen months through inattention to work. \nMeanwhile he continued to show his great talent for the game. Defending the title of British Champion in a very strong field at the next British Chess Association congress (1868/9) he cam equal first with Blackburne but lost the play-off at the London Club in March 1869. \nIn 1870 at the very strong Baden-Baden double-round tournament\, he came equal sixth with Winawer but was much outdistanced by Blackburne who came third with 3.5 more pints than De Vere. But already his illness was taking a strong hold on him. At his next and last appearance in a tournament of note. London 1872\, he tied with Zukertort and MacDonnell =3rd out of 8 players. In the play-off for third and fourth prizes he lost to MacDonnell and scratched to Zukertort\, Later in the year he did tie for first place with Wisker in a weaker British championship tournament and\, with De Vere now clearly ill\, Wisker had an easy victory in the play-off. \nAt his last appearance at a chess event\, a match at the City of London Club between that Club and Bermondsey\, he looked a dying man. A subscription was made to send him to Torquay but it was too late and he died within five days of his thirtieth birthday. \nHere are some of his games at chessgames.com \nThe English Chess Forum contains a brief discussion initiated by John Townsend (Wokingham) of manuscripts attributed to CdV. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nThe English Morphy?: The Life and Games of Cecil De Vere\, First British Chess Champion by Owen Hindle & Robert H. Jones\n Save as PDF
URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-cecil-de-vere/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,Player
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210213
DTSTAMP:20260817T135454Z
CREATED:20201216T164542Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135454Z
UID:12500-1613088000-1613174399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Robert Combe (16-viii-1912 12-ii-1952)
DESCRIPTION:Robert Forbes Combe (16 August 1912 – 12 February 1952) \nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Forbes_Combe \n Save as PDF
URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/remembering-robert-combe-16-viii-1912-12-ii-1952/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200114
DTSTAMP:20230213T142309Z
CREATED:20200417T141944Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230213T142309Z
UID:4742-1578873600-1578959999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Geoffrey Diggle (06-xii-1902 13-ii-1993)
DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of Geoffrey Harber Diggle (06-xii-1902 13-ii-1993) \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \n Save as PDF
URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-geoffrey-harber-diggle-06-xii-1902-13-ii-1993/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Journalist,Player,Remembering,Writer
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210215
DTSTAMP:20220214T190050Z
CREATED:20200410T131908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220214T190050Z
UID:4346-1613260800-1613347199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of IM Čeněk Kottnauer (24-ii-1910 14-ii-1996)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers IM Čeněk Kottnauer (24-ii-1910 14-ii-1996) \nČeněk Kottnauer was born in Prague on Thursday\, February 24th\, 1910. Čeněk was employed in the Ministry of Education in Prague. \nWhilst playing in the Lucerne International tournament (28-xii-1952 03-i-1953) he sought political asylum : \nFrom the Milwaukee Journal\, January 3\, 1953 we have \n“Czech Chess Star Asks for Asylum \nLucerne\, Switzerland – Cenek Kottnauer\, 42\, Czecho-Slovakian chess champion and an employee of the ministry of education in Prague\, announced Saturday that he would not return to Czech-Slovakia and would request political asylum in Switzerland. Kottnauer had been participating in a chess tournament. \nHe said that the political situation in his country had grown “more and more critical” and he wanted “to leave before it is too late”. He said that he had been divorced recently and had no children in Czech-Slovakia”. \nIn a January 2009 post to the English Chess Forum Leonard Barden wrote : \n“Cenek Kottnauer defected from Czechoslovakia during the Lucerne New Year tournament of 1952-3 (I am precise on this because I was present). His wife Daniela joined him there\, having been smuggled from Prague in the boot of a diplomat’s car. Kottnauer had been a water polo player of international standard before 1939 so came into serious chess only his mid-30s. He made his name with his good showing in the Prague v Moscow match of 1946 and his Bxh7+ win then against Kotov. He competed in great tournaments like Groningen 1946 and Moscow 1947; his first visit to England was in 1947 when the Czech team came here. \nČeněk Kottnauer plays Friedrich Sämisch during the Duras Memorial in Prague. December 7th 1942\, The game was a Slav drawn after 42 moves\nIn the 1940s he had a job in the Czech sports ministry but got implicated in the purges following the Slansky trial. He also believed that Pachman and Opocensky were involved in the campaign against him.” \nČeněk married Daniela (née Horska\, also Czech\, having met in Austria) and they had a son Daniel VR Kottnauer. Daniela was born in 1934 and was 24 years younger than Čeněk. She died on February 20th 2008 in a hospice in Essen\, Germany close to where Daniel currently resides.  Daniel has been a pianist and singer for 30 years\, an event manager for 19 years and a coach and VIP limousine driver for 5 years and may be found on LinkedIn. \nČeněk  became a British citizen on 16th December 1960 when he obtained naturalisation certificate BNA64338. \nIn 1965 Čeněk and Daniela were living at Flat 2\, 7-8 Bathurst Street\, London\, W2. \n7-8\, Bathurst Street\, London\, W2\nIn Kings\, Commoners and Knaves (Russell Enterprises\, 1999)\, page 108\, Edward Winter wrote : \n“The obituaries of Čeněk Kottnauer (1910-1996) have\, in common with all of the encyclopaedia entries on him\, been strangely wanting in pre-1940s references to his chess career. Czech magazines of the 1930s contain occasional games by ‘Kottnauer’ (no forename or initial given)\, including the following : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nSource : Československý šach\, January\, 1932\, page 9. The score was also given\, with notes\, by Vera Menchik\, on page 153 of the April 1932 issue of The Social Chess Quarterly. ” \nFrom Šachový Týdeník\, 25th February\, 2010 that Čeněk was twice Prague lightning champion. \nIn 1943 Čeněk was a clear first overall with 10.5/13 in the Zlin tournament. \nCrosstable for the Zlin (Czechoslovakia) 1943 tournament\nČeněk Kottnauer plays Svetozar Gligorić during the Chigorin Memorial\, Moscow\, November 26th 1947.\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984)\, David Hooper & Ken Whyld : \nInternational Master (1950)\, International Arbiter (1951)\, a Czech player who emigrated to England in 1953 and was naturalised in 1960. He played in Olympiads for Czechoslovakia (1950*\, 1952)\, on the second occasion making the best score (+10=5) on the fourth board\, and in two Olympiads for England (1964\, 1968). In 1961 he won the Beverwijk Masters tournament (not the concurrent grandmasters event) with a clean score\, a fine achievement. \n*Ed : In fact\, this is not true since Czechoslovakia did not send a team to Dubrovnik 1950.  This was the last year the event was limited to sixteen countries. \nCrosstable for Beverwijk 1961\nConsulting the 2nd edition (1992) of Hooper & Whyld may cause disappointment since there is no entry for CK. \nČeněk Kottnauer from Šachový Týdeník\, 25th February\, 2010\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale 1970 & 1976)\, Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master (1950) and International Judge (1951). \nBorn on 24th February 1910. Kottnauer represented Czechoslovakia in the 1952 Olympiad in Helsinki. In the years after the war his successes in international tournaments included 3rd at Beverwijk 1947\, =2nd at Vienna 1947\, 4th at Bad Gadstein 1948 and 1st at Lucerne 1953. \nCrosstable for Lucerne 1952/1953\nAfter the Lucerne tournament he sought political asylum in Switzerland. He later settled in England and became a naturalised British citizen. He played for the British Chess Federation in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1968. \nKottnauer has played in the British Championship twice. In 1961 he came =4th\, and in 1962 he came =3rd.” \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977)\, Harry Golombek OBE (entry written by Bill Hartston): \n“Born in Czechoslovakia\, Kottnauer played for that country in many events including the 1952 Olympiad. He emigrated in 1953 and subsequently took British nationality\, representing England in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1968. Awarded FIDE titles of international master in 1950 and International Judge in 1951. Winner of Lucerne 1953 International tournament. \nČeněk Kottnauer plays Frans Kuijpers during the 1964 Anglo-Dutch match at Vlissingen on September 19th\nCo-author with TD Harding and GS Botterill of The Sicilian Sozin\, Batsford\, London\, 1974.” \nThe Sicilian Sozin\, TD Harding\, GS Botterill\, C. Kottnauer\, Batsford\, 1974\nFrom British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983) we have this insight from Tim Harding : \n“At a time when home-grown International Masters were thin on the ground in Britain (the 1950s and 1960s) this Czech-born IM brought a lot of valuable experience to BCF teams. \nAmsterdam 1950\, first day; Gideon Stahlberg versus Cenek Kottnauer Date: November 11\, 1950\nAfter emigrating to England in 1953\, he became naturalized and subsequently represented the BCF in the Tel Aviv\, 1964 and Lugano\, 1968\, Olympiads. On board one in 1964 he scored +8 =7 -3 (63.9%) on board two below Penrose in 1968 (with some board one games) he scored 41.7: +3 =5 -4. \nČeněk Kottnauer\nWhen FIDE rating lists appeared in the early 1970s\, Kottnauer was listed at 2370 but by this time had more or less retired from active play at the top level\, although he took (and still takes) a keen interest in coaching promising young players\, He was one of the most regular and most valuable coaches at the one-day junior training events organised by the London Chess Association at the Mary Ward Centre in Bloomsbury\, London in the mid-1970s. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer\, event unknown\nAt this time he also wrote many articles for his friend Grandmaster Pachman\, who had been freed to live in West Germany where he became editor of Schach-Archiv\, and also made a major contribution to the Batsford opening theory work. The Sicilian Sozin\, written in collaboration with George Botterill and Tim Harding\, and published in 1974. \nLubomir Kavalek & Čeněk Kottnauer from Šachový Týdeník\, 25th February\, 2010\nKottnauer’s most active years as a player were however 1946-53; in the year that he came to England he took first prize in the Lucerne\, 1953 International tournament. Had he been a professional player throughout the the 1950s\, there is little doubt that he would have become a grandmaster. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nAs early as the end of the war\, when regular play resumed\, he was almost of that strength (as wins against Kotov and Smyslov in the February\, 1946 Prague v Moscow match showed) but lacking in experience at the top level\, which told against him at Groningen\, 1946\, when he was placed 13th with 9 points out of a possible 19 in a very strong field.  This was the first great post-war tournament\, with nine Master and eleven Grandmasters (including Botvinnik and former world champion Euwe). \nPlayers at the 1946 Groningen Tournament\nAlso in 1946 Kottnauer scored wins against Simagin (in Prague) and Levenfish (in Leningrad) and was clearly one of the up-and-coming stars in a strong Czech team that included Filip and Pachman.  In 1950 he was one of the first players to be awarded the FIDE title of International Master. \nThe following year he was also made a FIDE International Judge (now known as FIDE Arbiter). \nUnfortunately there was no Czech representation at the Dubrovnik\, 1950 Olympiad\, but in 1952\, one of his last appearances for Czechoslovakia\, Kottnauer achieved a remarkable record playing board four (below Filip\, Pachman and Sajtar) at the Helsinki Olympiad. He went through unbeaten with ten wins and five draws (83.3%) and easily won the board prize. \nKottnauer shortly thereafter came to England where he eventually made a successful career as an executive with Trust House Forte’s hotel group; he has also helped with the BBC overseas service Czech-language broadcasts. He lives in West Central London with his wife and their son. \nThe following is undoubtedly Kottnauer’s most famous win. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nand here we have the same game analysed by Tryfon Gavriel : \n\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXVI (116\, 1996)\, Number 4 (April)\, pp 202-203 we have this obituary by Bernard Cafferty : \nČeněk Kottnauer\, the Czech/British IM\, and the first chess defector died in St. Margaret’s Hospital\, London\, on 14th February after heart trouble and abdominal cancer. \nA giant of a man\, a fine athlete and swimmer\, he was born on 24th February 1910 and came to prominence in the 1942 tournament in Prague in which Alekhine took part. He extended the great man to 70 moves before resigning. His wins against Kotov and Smyslov in the Moscow-Prague match of 1946 and his 13th place in the great Groningen tournament of the same year confirmed his status\, as did his excellent showing for Czechoslovakia in the 1952 Olympiad at Helsinki (+10=5-0 on fourth board). He also took part in the 1947 Chigorin Memorial in Moscow\, and won a tournament at Lucerne in early 1953\, the same year in which he emigrated to Britain. \nHoogovens\, Beverwijk\, 1962. In the opening round (played 11th January)\, Theo van Scheltinga (Netherlands) faces Čeněk Kottnauer (England\, formerly ČSSR). (Photo credit: W. van Rossem\, ANEFO\, via http://gahetna.nl. Courtesy of Douglas Griffin\nOn this form he would have gained the GM title had he continued playing\, but he had to take a full-time job (with Trusthouse Forte) to support his family. \nČeněk had met his much younger wife in Austria\, though she too was Czech. They had a son. The master’s appearences were therefore limited to London League matches and other sporadic events. That he had lost none of his skill was shown when he played top board for England at the 1964 Tel-Aviv Olympiad (Penrose was not available) and made +8=7-3. His only other big event was the Lugano Olympiad of 1968 when he was on second board and made +3=5-4. \nThe 1964 England Olympiad (Tel Aviv) Team : Owen Hindle\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Peter Clarke\, Michael Franklin\, Norman Littlewood & Michael Haygarth\nČeněk (pronounced CHEnek) Kottnauer was one of the early professionals in the German Bundesliga; on a visit to his Bayswater flat in 1995 by Murray Chandler and myself\, Čeněk told us about the great transport difficulties he had in those days. He mentioned that he had recently had a heart bypass operation and showed us the medication he had to take on a regular basis\, opining that after Golombek and Milner-Barry he would be the next to go. \nHugh Alexander\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Michael Franklin and Owen Hindle\nČeněk was involved in junior coaching in London for many years\, wrote extensively for the Dutch and German press and in recent years was a regular visitor to the Lloyds Bank Masters to see old friends and acquaintances. Amongst those he coached were Julian Hodgson\, William Watson and Dharshan Kumaran\, as well as Stuart Conquest. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer in Argentina during the 1981 World Under-16 Championship\nIn Stuart’s case he came regularly to Hastings to do the coaching which was financed by the Slater Foundation and by Lloyds Bank. \nThe fruit of his effort was Stuart’s 1981 World U-16 title in Argentina\, where Čeněk’s great physical strength came in handy when the huge trophy had to be carried back to Britain. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer with Stuart Conquest during the World Under-16 Championship in Argentina.\nAll his pupils and friends will attest to his wonderful manner. A great personality has left us.” \nAccording to Leonard Barden “Čeněk’s students included Demis Hassabis\, then aged six.   He once told me that Dharshan Kumaran\, then seven\, was the more talented of the pair  but that Demis was also ‘very clever and tricky’ ” \nDaniel tells us that Nigel Short visited his family home for coaching and we believe that both Anita and Mira Rakshit were CKs students. Doubtless there were many more… \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nLeonard added : \n“After he retired he did chess coaching and\, although never named in the BCF’s list of coaches\, was the most successful of all in terms of achievements by those he taught. He normally did weekly sessions of a couple of hours and got results through his challenging and sceptical approach to ideas from his pupils. \nKottnauer pupils included Hodgson\, Watson\, and Kumaran\, who all became grandmasters. When he came to our junior invitation tournaments in the mid-seventies I used to give a prize of a game and session with him to exceptional talents. So he played Nigel Short in spring 1975 (probably Short’s first one-to-one with an IM) and was enthusiastic about his promise. \nIn 1981 when Stuart Conquest was going to the the world U16 championship in Argentina Cenek coached him for several months beforehand and went with him to the event. No news reports were available during the tournament so the first I knew was when Cenek phoned me on his return to London and complained that he was tired having to carry this enormous trophy home (Stuart had broken his arm before the event and played in a sling) and how the food had been terrible but that Eliskases\, who was involved in the organisation\, had sworn him to secrecy. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer in Argentina during the 1981 World Under-16 Championship\nI used to visit him a couple of times a month for talk and blitz sessions and have warm memories. A great guy\, and a significant figure in the long departed English chess boom.” \nHere is an excellent article from Tim Harding originally  on chesscafe.com but now via the Wayback Machine. \nHere is an obituary from Bill Hartston \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nAnd finally\, according to chessgames.com : \n“Cenek Kottnauer was born in Prague. He was awarded the IM title in 1950 and became an International Arbiter in 1951. Kottnauer played the Helsinki Olympiad 1952 on board 4 for Czechoslovakia\, scoring +10 =5 -0. In 1953 he won the Lucerne international tournament. That same year\, he emigrated to England\, and eventually became a naturalized citizen and played for England in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1968. In the 1970s he became one of England’s top coaches of young players.” \n Save as PDF
URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-im-cenek-kottnauer-24-ii-1910-14-ii-1996/
CATEGORIES:Arbiter,Coach,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210215
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210216
DTSTAMP:20260817T135447Z
CREATED:20190822T151519Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135447Z
UID:973-1613347200-1613433599@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of IM Hugh Alexander CMG CBE (15-ii-1974)
DESCRIPTION:We remember Hugh Alexander who passed away on Friday\, 15-ii-1974. The death was registered in the Borough of Cheltenham.  Currently his burial / cremation site is unknown. \nConel Hugh O’Donel Alexander was born on Monday\, April 19th\, 1909 in Cork\, Munster\, Republic of Ireland. \nSignature of CHO’D Alexander from August 1970\nHugh’s parents were Conel William Long Alexander (1879-1920) and Hilda Barbara Alexander (née Bennett) (1881-1964) who married in Hook Church\, Hampshire. His father was a Professor of Civil Engineering from County Donegal and his mother was the daughter of a timber merchant and was from Birmingham. \nHugh’s father moved to Hook in Hampshire. At some point they returned to Cork and then relocated to Birmingham. \nIn the 1911 Irish census aged two Hugh was recorded as being a Presbyterian.  The household consisted of his father\, mother and two servants Maud McAuliffe (19)  from County Cork and Johanna Hanlon (20) from Cork City all living at 20\, Connaught Avenue\, Cork. \nAt the time of the census all members of the household were capable of reading and writing apart from Hugh who was recorded as “cannot read”. \nand Hugh’s father signed the Return as follows : \nSignature of Hugh’s father on 1911 Irish census Return\n20 Connaught Avenue\, Cork\, Ireland\nHugh attended Londonderry College and then went to King Edward’s School\, Birmingham. \nHugh married Enid Constance Rose Crichton Neate (1900-1982) in October 1934 and the marriage was registered in the district of Westminster\, Middlesex. \nAccording to Rodric Braithwaite : \n“Enid\, was an equally striking personality. She was descended from one of the defenders of the Eureka Stockade\, the “birthplace of Australian democracy”. She was educated at the Sorbonne\, a formidable dialectician\, art historian and collector. In her later years she returned to Australia\, where she was endlessly hospitable to passing Russian chessplayers\, and to itinerant musicians\, including my own father.” \nHugh and Enid had a son Michael (19 June 1936 – 1 June 2002) who became the foreign policy secretary to Margaret Thatcher and the UK ambassador to NATO. Here is Michael’s obituary. \nMichael married Traute Krohn. Michael and Traute gave Hugh a grandson\, Conel Alexander who is a Cosmochemist at the Earth and Planets Laboratory\, Carnegie Institution for Science\, Washington. \nConel M. O’D. AlexanderStaff Scientist\nPrior to the second world war Alexander was officially employed by John Spedan Lewis in his Department store in Oxford Street. When he returned from Buenos Aires (“good air”) from the 1939 Olympiad he travelled aboard the RMS Alcantara. Here is the entry in the passenger list for September 19th\, 1939 : \nPartial passenger manifest for the RMS Alcantara for September 19th\, 1939. Alexander is passenger #23.\nand here is Alexander’s entry in detail. Note that his occupation is described as “Drapery Manager” : \nPartial passenger manifest for the RMS Alcantara for September 19th\, 1939. Alexander is passenger #23.\nHugh sailed from Buenos Aires\, Argentina in September 1939 to arrive at Southampton September 19th 1939. The ship was the Alcantara operated by Royal Mail Lines Ltd hence the RMS Alcantara. \nRMS Alcantara off Rio de Janeiro between 1934 and 1939 by Kenneth Shoesmith\nAccording to Wikipedia : “RMS Alcantara was a Royal Mail Lines ocean liner that was built in Belfast in 1926. She served in the Second World War first as an armed merchant cruiser and then a troop ship\, was returned to civilian service in 1948 and scrapped in 1958. \nPorts of the voyage were : Buenos Aires; Montevideo; Santos and Rio de Janeiro and Hugh’s official number was 148151 and he travelled 2nd class. His proposed destination residential address was \n316\, Rodney House\, Dolphin Square\, London\, SW1 \nAccording to Wikipedia : “The proximity of Dolphin Square to the Palace of Westminster and the headquarters of the intelligence agencies MI5 (Thames House) and MI6 (Vauxhall Cross) has attracted many politicians\, peers\, civil servants and intelligence agency personnel as residents.” \nDolphin Square. London\, SW1\nThere was some discussion of Drapery Manager in another place. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XCIV (94\, 1974)\, Number 4 (April)\, pp. 117-120 by PS Milner-Barry : \n“A proper assessment of Hugh Alexander\, who died on February 15th 1974 must await a later issue. But I think he might have been pleased to see our last game published\, and I give the score of it below\, with notes based on our usual analysis immediately after the game. Over the past 45 years\, ever since he went to Cambridge\, we played whenever opportunity offered serious games with clocks. \nConel Hugh O’Donel Alexander\nBefore the war they were played mostly at my mother’s house in Cambridge\, and after the war and my own marriage at our house in Blackheath. When he moved to Cheltenham the opportunities became fewer but no year ever passed without two or three such games\, usually at Easter or Christmas. \nAlexander always used to say\, it was certainly true of me\, that this was the kind of chess that he enjoyed most. The games were conducted with the utmost vigour\, though not without a good deal of propaganda on both sides. I suppose he won in the proportion of about two to one\, but the disparity in strength never became one-sided. Nearly all the games opened 1 P-K4\, P-K4; he played the Lopez when I allowed him. (I usually played the Petroff or Philidor)\, and I played a mixture – in the early days the Vienna and latterly mostly the King’s Gambit. On the whole Black did better than White for both of us. \nCHO’D Alexander plays PS Milner-Barry\nThe only concession we made to advancing years was that latterly we contented ourselves with four hour sessions and 36 moves\, instead of 40 in 5 hours. We thought we had done enough for honour by then\, and the games were usually finished in the time. \nHugh stayed with us the weekend before Christmas\, when this game was played. He looked ill\, but he was very cheerful and as good company as ever. He loved a good argument\, and as my family so too\,- the evening meal was its usual lively affair! I am myself a man of peace\, and intellectually lazy; so in deference to my feelings the argument was suspended\, before it became too hot. I am afraid they all thought I was a spoil-sport. It was as happy a visit as any of us could remember and it is difficult to accept there will not be another. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nAs for the game\, it was not one of our most exciting encounters. But it is quite an interesting one\, and shows Hugh playing as\nwell as ever – certainly much too well for me. But then he usually did.” \nFollowing PSMBs contribution\, in the same obituary there was this from Harry Golombek : \nC.H.O’D.  Alexander and the ‘B.C.M.’\nI have written elsewhere about Hugh Alexander both as a person and as a chess-player and I also intend to devote a forthcoming article in ‘The Times‘ on Saturday to an appraisal of his place in British Chess. Here\, however\, I would like to describe briefly his connection with this magazine over the years and to show how\nimportant his help was to the progress of the ‘BCM‘. \nIn the years immediately preceding the Second World War\, Ash Wheatcroft and I had made a determined effort to maintain and increase the role of the ‘BCM‘\, he in a managerial capacity and I as its editor. With the coming of war and the departure of both of us into the army a sort of caretaker regime had to be provided. It worked as well as could have been expected but inevitably there had been a decline both in quality and financially. When peace came\, the quality improved since it was possible to get more and better contributions but the financial aspect became almost alarming. \nThe question arose – was there a need for the magazine and if so how could that need be fulfilled with the fairly limited resources at hand. Some of us thought there was\, but the ways and means were not so clear. Of all those who thought like this Alexander was the most effective in his approach to the problems. I know that from his very youth onwards he had been convinced of the importance of the ‘BCM’ to British chess and\, being a practical idealist\, when the\ncrisis came he set about dealing with it in the most expeditious way. \nIn November 1946 he became a director of the B.C.M. and continued in that position till February 1952\, by which time the magazine had been set on a solid basis from\nwhich it was unlikely to be shaken. It was his idea that Brian Reilly be asked to act as editor and almost his first act as director was to write a letter to him inviting him to become so. Then\, in January 1947\, he himself took over the editorship of the games department\, an arduous task which he fulfilled with great competence and the utmost conscientiousness until May 1949 when the heavy work of the Civil Service department of which he was head compelled him to hand over the Games Section to me. \nBefore\, however\, that he gave up this post he\, again in the most practical way possible\, rendered the ‘BCM‘ another service. He wrote a book giving a selection of the games from the last period of Alekhine’s life and generously donated half the royalties to the ‘BCM‘ in order to bolster up its slender finances. \nAlekhine’s Best Games of Chess : 1938-45\, CHO’D Alexander\, G. Bell and Sons\, 1966 ISBN 4-87187-827-9\nEven after he had to give up official connection with the magazine he retained a strong interest in its welfare. So\, even though this recognition is belated and posthumous\, I thought it was right to afford readers the possibility of joining with me in thanking High Alexander for all that he did in this respect in especial. At any rate\, such matters should be on record for the chess historian. \nFrom The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by E.Klein and W.Winter : \n“CHO’D Alexander was born in Cork in 1909 and learned chess at the age of ten. He was educated at King Edward School\, Birmingham\, where he exhibited early prowess by winning the Birmingham Post Cup. In 1927 he won the British Boy’s Championship. During his student days\, from 1928 to 1932\, he was a convincing champion of Cambridge University. Subsequently he competed in five British Championships\, winning the title in 1938. He also played in several international tournaments\, his outstanding performance amongst these being Hastings in 1938\, where he shared second and third prizes with Keres\, following Reshevsky who won the tournament\, and ahead of Fine and Flohr. In 1939\, in the England-Holland match\, he had the satisfaction of defeating the ex-World Champion\, Dr. Euwe\, in a sensational games\, drawing the return game. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nA brilliant mathematician\, he took a first at Cambridge and chose a scholastic career\, joining a well-known public school (Winchester College). From there\, via a short spell in a business appointment (John Lewis)\, he entered the service of the Foreign Office\, where\, during the war years\, his valuable work earned him the OBE. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHe plays imaginative and courageous chess and is never afraid of the wildest complications.” \nIM Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander CMG CBE (19-iv-1909 15-ii-1974). Source : The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XCIV (94\, 1974)\, Number 6 (June)\, pp. 202-204 by PS Milner-Barry : \nWith the death of Hugh Alexander at the age of 64\, British chess has lost the outstanding figure of the past forty years. His active playing career over some thirty years included two victories in the British championship and regular appearances in all representative teams from l93l-58\, except when the nature of his Civil Service\nduties prevented him from travelling behind the Iron Curtain. During the whole of the period after the war he was the regular top board for the England team. In the Hastings international congress he twice won the Premier tournament\, on the second occasion tying with Bronstein. His victories in this series included two world champions (Euwe and Botvinnik) and numerous others in the Grandmaster class. He was an outstanding example\, like H.E.Atkins and Dr. Milan Vidmar\, of the amateur who could combine an exacting professional life of great responsibility and distinction with success in competitive international chess at the highest level and with the increasing professionalism of the game and the demands of knowledge and research that it makes upon the masters\, this was much more difficult in Hugh’s time than in an earlier age. \nIt was indeed in the international field that his fame will principally rest. On the British championship scene\, although he always did well before the War\, and won convincingly at Brighton in 1938 in a strong field\, his record did not match his abilities. He never established anything like the superiority over his contemporaries that Atkins in a former age and Penrose in a later achieved. He won the championship again\, in 1956\, but that was a weak year when the Moscow Olympiad took first claim on the leading British players. It was not that he cared less – like all the great players he hated losing\, though he was the most magnanimous of opponents – but that he seemed to require the stimulus of the great occasion\, and of a world famous name on the other side of the board\, to bring out the best in him. \nThe BCF Team at the Amsterdam Olympiad 1954. Left to right : Barden\, Clarke\, Penrose\, Wade\, Golombek (board three) and Alexander\nAlexander was perhaps the only English player of his day whom the Grandmasters would have treated as on a level with themselves. On his day he was liable to beat any of them\, and they were well aware of it. In his younger days he was very much the gay cavalier\, and a brilliant combinative and attacking player with a touch of genius. Latterly he lost some of this elan\, and adapted his style to the responsibilities of the B.C.T. top board. His opponents too\, with a healthy respect for his powers\, were less inclined to give him opportunities. He was as capable of the dead-bat technique as anybody\, and to that extent (to my way of thinking anyway) his games became less interesting\, with quick draws making a higher contribution to his top-board results than in earlier years. But none the less he was the anchor-man of the British team until his retirement after the 1958 Olympiad. \nKick Langeweg plays Hugh Alexander in the Anglo-Dutch Match of October 7th \, 1961. Peter Clarke (right) is playing Johan Teunis Barendregt and Harry Golombek observes\nIt was a great pity he gave up the game over the board at 50. He had years of good chess in him. But I think he felt he had scaled all the peaks he could scale\, and that he was finding top-class competitive chess a burden difficult to reconcile with his Civil Service work and the prospect of a gradual and inevitable decline in his powers did not appeal to him. I made many efforts to tempt him back to the arena\, but to no avail. I do not think he ever seriously regretted his decision\, and in his last years he immensely enjoyed correspondence chess. \nIn 1964\, Alexander became non-playing captain of the B.C.F. team\, and held that role continuously until after the Siegen Olympiad in 1970. \nHugh Alexander\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Michael Franklin and Owen Hindle\nIt was rather a disappointing period for British chess\, and the results\, while we were rebuilding a young team\, could not – even with Penrose’s outstanding efforts at top board – have been expected to be favourable. But he threw himself wholeheartedly into all the work sponsored by the B.C.F. and the Friends of Chess to find and develop talent in the younger generation\, and before he died the fruits of these labours were beginning to appear. He would have been proud indeed to have witnessed our recent triumph in the Anglo-German match. \nAs a captain he was\, of course\, immensely liked and respected by his team. My impression was that he took his responsibilities almost too seriously\, and agonised too\nmuch over his decisions about whom to play and whom to rest. Nevertheless on balance he thoroughly enjoyed the work\, and certainly\, in spite of his innate modesty\, he\nwas never one to be disturbed by ill-informed or irresponsible criticism\, of which he had his share. \nConel Hugh O’Donel Alexander playing Alberic O’Kelly de Galway in a publicity shot before the start of the Hastings Premier.\, probably Hastings 1953-54\, the year Alexander tied first with Bronstein : thanks to Leonard Barden\nI suppose his most famous tournament result was his equal first with Bronstein at the Hastings Christmas Congress of 1953. Coming at a time when we were gloomily resigned to British players bringing up the rear in international tournaments\, this created a great sensation. \n\nThe game with Bronstein lasted over 100 moves and Alexander won a most difficult Queen and Pawn ending by impeccable technique. \nHugh Alexander plays David Bronstein during Hastings 1954\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nStaged publicity picture of David Bronstein vs Hugh Alexander at Hastings 1953\nHe went on with the Black pieces to massacre Tolush\, the other visiting Russian Grandmaster. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nImmense interest was created by this event. The popular press carried diagrams of the successive phases of the Bronstein saga. It was reported on the radio. By comparison with the furore created by the Spassky/Fischer match\, it was no doubt small beer\, but for those days the publicity was tremendous\, and Alexander became the\nhero of the hour. \nIt was entirely characteristic of him that this adulation did not go to his head. He kept everything in proportion\, and encouraged everybody else to do the same. He said all the right things about Bronstein\, but he did not claim\, as one tends to do on these emotional occasions\, that international sport was a panacea for friendship between the nations. Altogether it seemed to me an impeccable performance both on and off the board. \nChess\, CHO’D Alexander\, Pitman\, 1954\nIt is as a player that Hugh would\, I think\, have best wished to be remembered; and I have left myself little room to say anything about him as a journalist and writer. We are blessed\, as readers of the B.C.M. will know\, with many good and interesting writers on the game. But Hugh had\, I believe\, exceptional talents as a journalist. In his columns in the ‘Sunday Times‘\, and latterly the ‘Financial Times‘\, he set a very high standard. He always had something fresh and original to say\, especially\, I think\, to the intelligent amateur rather than the expert; and he said it in a way that was both disarmingly modest and yet lively and entertaining. The warmth of his personality came out clearly both in his writing and in his public speaking – both were entirely natural and wholly without amour-propre. \nHis articles gave great pleasure to a wide circle\, and many who never met him in the flesh must have felt that they had come to know him as a person. Similarly his book on the Spassky-Fischer match \nFischer v. Spassky : Reykjavik 1972\, CHO’D Alexander\, Penguin\, 1972\n(like the ‘Book of Chess’\, which was written in the last year of his life) is an extremely vivid\, as well as scholarly\, piece of writing. It is almost impossible to believe that it was completed\, within days of the conclusion of the match\, by a man apparently under sentence of death throughout its progress. \nA book of Chess\, CHO’D Alexander\, Harper & Row\, 1973\nNow that it has come\, the loss of Hugh Alexander to British chess and chessplayers\, alike as player\, writer\, administrator and friend\, is immeasurable. \nFrom CHESS\, Volume 39 (1974)\, Nos. 693-94\, March\,  p.162 by BH Wood : \nThe death of Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander deprived English chess of one of its most vivid characters. Born l9th April 1909\, he learnt chess at the age of 8. \nFrom a Londonderry college he went to King Edward’s School\, Birmingham\, where as a schoolboy he won the Birmingham Post cup\, which carries with it the unofficial championship of Staffordshire\, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Going on to Cambridge\, he not only won the University championship four years in succession\, but picked up first-class honours. He won the British championship in 1938. \nIn 1939 I found myself on a boat with him bound for the Chess Olympiad in Buenos\nAires. He was team captain with Sir George Thomas\, P. S. Milner-Barry and H. Golombek\nother distinguished members of the team. \nLeft to right Baruch H Wood\, Philip Stuart Milner-Barry\, Vera Menchik (playing in the women’s world championship held concurrently with the Olympiad which she won with 17 wins and 2 draws)\, Sir George Thomas\, Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander and Harry Golombek. England withdrew after their preliminary group due to the outbreak of war despite qualifying for the top final. Thanks to Leonard Barden\nWar broke out after about six rounds. With typical determination\, Alexander jettisoned chess for patriotism\, caught a boat home\, volunteered for service on disembarking\, and within a few weeks had attained the rank of colonel in British Intelligence. He remained attached to Intelligence and the Foreign Office until his\nretirement a few months ago. As a curious consequence of this commitment\, though he settled in to the team captaincy for the British Chess Federation in the biennial chess Olympiads and participated in many chess events abroad\, he was never allowed to travel anywhere behind the iron Curtain. \nHis fame certainly did\, however. In the radio match\, Britain v USSR in 1946\, the most important event in British chess for a decade before and after\, he found himself pitted against Mikhail Botvinnik\, then at the height of his powers and destined to hold the world championship for 14 years. The first game he lost; the second he won\, in superb style. His great adversary was outplayed. \nHe had some great years at Hastings. A 120 move victory over Bronstein with a queen and pawns endgame stretching over l3 hours through 3 days\, earned headlines in the national press unequalled until the Spassky-Fischer furore of 1972\, won him first place in 1954 and started him with a chess column in the Sunday Times. He was equal with Bronstein\, above O’Kelly\, Matanovic\, Olafsson\, Teschner\, Tolush\, Tartakover\, Wade and Horne. \nHastings illustrated Alexander’s weaknesses as well as his strengths. Twice he won the premier tournament there\, only to finish among the tail-enders the year after. Only once more was he to win the British champ- ionship; in a rather weak field\, entering at the last minute with typical opportunism. \nHe was a brilliant conversationalist and speaker\, a fine bridge player\, a master mathematician\, an expert on codes\, a first-class journalist and writer. Among varied other interests were croquet and philately. He threw himself wholeheartedly into anything he did. His organization\, “The Friends of Chess”\, provided generous financial support for a wide range of chess events. A few days before his death he was full of plans for the future\, including a big History of British Chess. He burnt himself out. The world of chess is a poorer and duller place without him.” \nFrom Chessgames.com : \n“Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander was born in Cork\, Ireland. Awarded the IM title in 1950 at its inception and the IMC title in 1970\, he was British Champion in 1938 and 1956. \nDuring the Second World War\, he worked at Bletchley Park with Harry Golombek and Sir Philip Stuart Milner-Barry\, deciphering German Enigma codes and later for the Foreign Office. Alexander finished 2nd= at Hastings (1937/38) tied with Paul Keres after Samuel Reshevsky and ahead of Salomon Flohr and Reuben Fine. He held Mikhail Botvinnik to an equal score (+1\, -1) in the 1946 Anglo-Soviet Radio Match\, and won Hastings (1946/47) while finishing equal first at Hastings (1953/54). He represented England on six Olympiad teams. Alexander was also an author of note. He passed away in Cheltenham in 1974.” \n1st August 1933: C H O D Alexander playing Sultan Khan during the British Chess Championships at Hastings in Sussex. (Photo by Douglas Miller/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nInternational Master (1950)\, International Correspondence Chess Master (1970). Born in Cork\, he settled in England as a boy. In spite or because of his intense application at the board his tournament performances were erratic. From about 1937 to the mid 1950s he was regarded as the strongest player in Great Britain\, although he won only two (1938\, 1956) of the 13 British Chess Federation Championships in which he competed; he played for the BCF in six Olympiads from 1933 to 1958. Holding a senior post at the Foreign Office\, he was not permitted to play in countries under Soviet control or influence; but when he did compete abroad he achieved only moderate results. His best tournament achievement was at Hastings 1937-8 when he was second (+4=5) equal with Keres after Reshevsky ahead of Fine and Flohr; but he is better remembered for his tie with Bronstein for first prize at Hastings 1953-4. He won his game against Bronstein in 120 moves after several adjournments\, and the outcome became a kind of serial in the press\, arousing great national interest in the game. Alexander was the author of several books on chess\, notably Alekhine’s Best Games of Chess 1938-1945 (1949) and A Book of Chess (1973). \nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks : \nFor many years the chess correspondent of The Sunday Times\, The Spectator (pseudonym Philidor) and the Evening News. There was probably no “chess name that was better known to the non-chess-playing element of the British public than that of Hugh Alexander. His victory over Russian Grandmaster David Bronstein at Hastings in 1953\, after a struggle which lasted for 120 moves and took 13 hours\, made chess front page news in the British press. \nBorn in Cork on 19th April 1909\, Alexander picked up the game at prep school at the age of 8. In 1926 he won the Boy’s Championship\, later to be recognised as the British Boy’s Championship\, at Hastings. After coming down from Cambridge University\, where he won the university championship four times\, Alexander taught mathematics at Winchester College from 1932 to 1938. He later joined the Foreign Office. \nCaption as per photograph\nOne of the few British players who might have reached World Championship class if he had chosen to devote sufficient time to the game\, Alexander was at his best when he faced a top class opponent. \nDuring his chess career\, he scored victories over two World Champions Botvinnik and Euwe\, and he beat a number of other Grandmasters\, international tournaments were all at Hastings where he came =2nd in 1938 with Keres\, half a point behind Reshevsky and ahead of Fine and Flohr; 1st in 1947 and =1st with Bronstein in 1953. In 1951 tournament he came =5th.His other hobbies included bridge\, croquet and philately\, He was the Author of Alekhine’s Best Games of Chess 1938-1945 (Bell)\, Chess (Pitman) and joint author with T.J. Beach of Learn Chess; A New Way for All (Pergamon Press); \nLearn Chess : A Complete Course\, TJ Beach and CHO’D Alexander\, Everyman Chess\, 1994\nA Book of Chess (Hutchinson) 1973; The Penguin Book of Chess Positions (Penguin) 1973. \nThe Penguin Book of Chess Positions\, CHO’D Alexander\, Penguin\, 1973\nHere is an interesting article on his film appearance. \nHere is his detailed Wikipedia entry \nAccording to C.N. 10817 Hugh lived at various addresses when working at GCHQ : \n\nBrecken Lane\, Cheltenham.\n28 King’s Road\, Cheltenham\, GL52 6BG.\n\n\n28 King’s Road\, Cheltenham\, GL52 6BG\n\nOld Bath Lodge\, Thirlestaine Road\, Cheltenham\, GL53 7AS.\n\n\nAlexander on Chess\, CHO’D Alexander\, Pitman\, 1974\nThe Best Games of C.H.O’D. Alexander\nGolombek and Hartston\, The Best Games of C.H.O’D. Alexander (1976). \n Save as PDF
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CATEGORIES:2023,British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Honours,Player,Remembering,Writer
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SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Charles Tomlinson (15-ii-1897)
DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of Charles Tomlinson (15-ii-1897) \n Save as PDF
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SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Brian Harley (27-x-1883 18-v-1955)
DESCRIPTION:Brian Harley (27-10-1883 18-v-1955)\, from chesscomposers.com and Chess Notes\nDeath Anniversary of Brian Harley (27-x-1883 18-v-1955) \nFrom chesscomposers.com : \n“Brian Harley composed mostly two- or threemovers and wrote many books to make chess problems more popular: for instance his “Mate in Two Moves” inspired Geoff Foster’s first steps into problemdom.\nHarley’s “The Modern Two-move Chess Problem” written in collaboration with Comins Mansfield is probably the best known of his efforts. \nBrian Harley was the inventor of the term “mutate” for the block problems with changed mates. He was the president of the British Chess Problem Society from 1947 until 1949. In his honour\, each year the British magazine “The Problemist” awards the best twomover problem with the “Brian Harley” award.” \nand Edward Winter writes about Brian Harley (scroll down a little).  \nHere is BHs obituary from British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXV\, Number 9\, pages 284 – 287 written by S. Sedgwick : \n“With the death of Brian Harley on May 18th\,1955\, the chess problem is the poorer by an authoritative exponent\, and a writer of unusual clarity and popular appeal. His sudden passing at his home at Bognor Regis will be mourned. by a very wide circle of friends; to his wife and son\, with whom he enjoyed an enduring happiness\, we extend our deep-felt sympathy. \nBorn at Saffron-Walden\, Essex\, on October 27th\,1883\, Harley was educated at Wellingborough and Haileybury. Qualifying as an actuary he entered the National Provident Institution\, in whose employment\, apart from War Service\, he passed his professional life\, until his retirement in 1947.  \nAs a player he had initially a considerable reputation\, above that enjoyed as a problemist. Two books\,  Chess and its Stars and Chess for the Fun of it\, reflect this aspect of his chess work. When playing was eventually renounced for problems he still retained his love of annotation\, bringing to this a wide knowledge\, larded by the apt witticism and an approach that was neither superficial yet avoided the pitfalls of pedantry. \nChess and its Stars\nHis first problem appeared at the age of fifteen\, in 1898. Whilst Harley’s early period has some noteworthy items\, it lacks the verve and distinction of his later output\, following his awakening of interest in the mutate in 1916_and the fertile years following his appointment as Chess Editor of The Observer\, London\, in 1919. In England under the lead o[ Phillip Williams in the Chess Amateur\, the mutate had sprung into\,popularity during and after the Great War\, with Harley among its ardent exponents. He continued the cult in his Observer column\, where he did much to popularize it. It is possibly symbolic that when Williams died in 1922 his travelling board and men should pass to Harley; it would be difficult to find a comparable instrument that has witnessed the genesis of so much concentrated chess devilry\, implicit in all mutates\, as this board used first by Williams and then by Harley. \nIn July\, 1919\, Harley published his system in the Good Companion folder. This paper\, the outcome of much thought\, attempted to evaluate the constituent parts of a chess problem on a semi-mathematical basis. Point values were set down for the elements in White keys\, Black defences thereto\, and the resultant White mates\, the summation giving values for comparison with other works similarly treated. In an accompanying paper on the block-change it was here that Harley introduced the term “mutate\,” the word passing\, without cavil\, into the current idiom. Under the evocative power of Harley’s work and pen his Observer feature from 1919 onwards has come to rank with the great columns of the past. No composer of substance was absent from its pages and the result is a collection of works and descriptive criticism that has enriched the chess literature of the world. Early on\, Harley came to know the late Godfrey Heathcote\, and the welcome presence of the great composers name in the column gave it a sublimity possessed by no other comparable English journal. Harley’s comments on his contributors work was one of the many attractive features of his column. He kept the popular approach very much in mind without unduly over-weighting it; this\, blended with a brand of humour all his own (often literary in character)\, and a grasp of essentials drove home the salient points of a problem to the uninitiated solver with a peculiar vividness. He could ‘be incisive when wanted\, technical when he pleased\, his gentle rebuke for the inferior production or undetected flaw could not be other than well taken\, authoritative without ostentation\, his succinct criticisms are now legendary to be treasured and repeated when the occasion demands. An incorrigible faddist in his regard for the short threat in the three-mover\, Harley seldom admitted this type to his pages\, pleading aversion by solvers. He conducted over one hundred solving contests during his column’s life; these weekly battles of wits affording enormous pleasure to all concerned. \nChess for the Fun of It\nTo his column came the established composer and the hesitant\, possibly young\, beginner. To this last group Harley gave every encouragement and unreservedly of his advice and help. There must be few British composers who have not felt his benefit directly\, through the medium of his wonderful letters\, lit all the way through by the warm glow of an endearing personality. \nHarley’s constructive powers brought him to the front rank of the world’s composers. His output of 450 includes long range work in four and five moves and in later years\, sui-mates. In the chess-men he found a pliable medium for the realization of an unusual vision and creative gift. In the two-mover he gave to the mutate much substantial and classic work. He appears to have given to this type more specialized attention than any other in the two-move field. Elsewhere in this length his work covers a wide variety of themes with a strong liking for task renderings. A composer with few serious constructive foibles\, his mode of expression\, in consequence suffered little. His was not the temperament to linger with one theme and squeeze it dry. One or two renderings of the theme on hand and he would pass to the next. Hence the diversity of his work which imbues it with especial charm. To underline this point one could indicate\, almost at random\, Harley’s entries in the multimate tourney of the Cleveland Chess Bulletin. Certainty the theme had few attractions for him but his entries showed how superbly such problem ideas could be clothed. \nIn the three-mover Harley has graced both sides of the aesthetic fence\, and that with distinction\, giving equally to the strategic and model-mate.genre. His friendship with Heathcote however influenced him considerably here and one is inclined to the view\, that in this length\, Harley held firmly to the eternal values in chess art. In both types Harley attained especially in task renderings\, rare heights of complexity and construction. His lighter mood showed to the full-to the incipient solver much of the low cunning of which the three-mover is capable. \nHe came to the sui in the late forties. When Heathcote was convalescing in London\, following an operation\, Harley took some specimens with him when he visited his friend The ensuing discussion stimulated Harley to further experiments and the authentic touch of the great master of technique is evident in his work here also. Harley gave many of his works to his own “Observer” column but did not neglect the other sources of publication. To quote his own words his ideal problem was “a mixture of art\, science\, humour\, and puzzlement.” His best work shows brilliantly his love for the integration of the beautiful and the true inner essence and spirit of chess. \nHis contribution to the literary and technical side of chess problems outside his journalistic work is seen in his two books Mate in Two (1931) and Mate in Three (1943).\nMate in Two is stamped with all Harley’s inimitable style and remains a mine of information for all levels. Standing\, as it does\, mid-way between the old and the new\, the book\, apart from an absorbing chapter on changed play\, reflects and even labours under the influence of the “Good Companion” period. Harley in later editions to a certain extent remedied this deficiency and the book\, now long out of print\, lies on our shelf\, its fundamentals unimpaired\, as one of the classic expositions in the art. Mate in Three\, written from a’ narrower viewpoint\, proved another successful publication. Here Harley entered more controversial ground\, crossing swords. with hitherto established theory. The book\, although not evoking absolute technical authority\, gives a broad and eloquent outline\, written from the artistic standpoint\, of three-move work fundamentally\, with few significant omissions. Made memorable by the inclusion of many works both by Harley and Heathcote\, the book is that of a true artist\, and is of great importance theoretically as the one modern work devoted to this length by an English author. \nA further important contribution to chess problem theory was his thesis on “Black Correction” read before the British Chess Problem Society on November 29th\, 1935. In the mid thirties\, this thesis\, more than anything else\, was instrumental in precipitating a flood of work on correction and associated ideas. Readers of this magazine will recall this period\, and I trust that this short recapitulation will still the tiresome arguments regarding the choice between “correction” and “continued defences.” Harley’s choice is at once apt and descriptive and it should not be forgotten that here\, he touched upon White Correction\, an esoteric aristocrat\, greeted by ten years or so of utter silence before systematic investigation by the moderns. \nElected President of the British Chess Problem Society in 1947-1949 it so happened that I was its Secretary at the time. We exchanged hundreds of letters on problematic subjects\, the scope of his knowledge always affording surprise. The Society benefited enormously from his advice and counsel\, and during the somewhat delicate situation arising from the arbitration in the two-move section of the 1948 Olympic Tourney it was with alacrity that one turned to a mind of the calibre of Harley. Coming to the man he was widely read\, a Latin scholar\, and his knowledge of Dickens was above average; a keen bridge player\, an instrumentalist (piano)\, all the varied facets of his character would come out at some time in his chess writings. His physical presence at any gathering gave it stature. Of medium height\, lovable\, somewhat dapper\, the shrewd contemplative face of this chess Barrie with its ever present cigarette holder and fund of anecdote has enriched and enlivened many a dull Committee Meeting. \nMate in Two Moves\nOn the death of Anthony Guest in 1925\, Harley succeeded as Problem Editor of the Morning Post until 1932. In addition he was Problem Editor of Empire Review\, 1923-1926\, and Time and Tide\, from 1951 until his death. Lesser appointments included several technical journals where he acted under pseudonyms. Amusing were the anagrammatical pseudonyms used occasionally for composing in Hilary Bream and Harry Blaine. \nBrian’s integrity and character endeared him to innumerable correspondents and solvers. Most of us nourish a characteristic Brian Harley story; one must suffice here. It concerns the time when Brian was introduced to the late Sir John Simon who made the delightful response “l need no introduction for I meet him every Sunday and for years hive wrestled with his problems\, eventually solving them in the House of Commons.” For this weekly enrichment of our lives we have much to thank him for. \nIn middle life Brian married Ella Margaret Beddall; there is one son\, Nigel. With his wife\, Brian shared many problematic triumphs and it was to her that his various\nbooks were dedicated.  \nMate in Three Moves\nBefore closing this brief review of Brian’s achievements a word should be said regarding the summary end of his work in the Observer and a tribute paid by one of his many solvers in this column. On the former it will be regarded with universal regret by all problemists that no arrangements have been made to continue Brian’s incomparable’work in the journal he  served with such distinction. Regarding the latter am very grateful to Halford W. L. Reddish\, Esq.\, for an appreciation that admirably epitomizes the feelings of us all on this melancholy occasion. \nMr. Halford Reddish writes- \n“l am one of thousands of solvers\, from the expert to the merest tyro\, who will miss our weekly battle with Brian Harley in the Observer. In the world of chess and chess problems his name and fame are secure. His characteristically titled Chess for the Fun of It is a delightful exposition of the game: his Mate in Two Moves and Mate in Three Moves are classics in their particular field. \nTo those of us who knew Brian personally his passing leaves an unfillable gap. I had known him and admired him and loved his witty\, cheery\, kindly personality for many years. He was one of those rare beings who became a close friend even before our first meeting-for we had corresponded for a long time before we first came face to face. And although chess and chess problems were our primary link he had many other interests which kept him young and keen in mind after his retirement from business and which enlarged and enriched his correspondence. It is typical of him that no letter came from him without some mention of his dear wife\, who shared to the full his varied interests. To her and to his only son to the deep sympathy of his many friends.” \n Save as PDF
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