BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//British Chess News - ECPv6.17.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:http://britishchessnews.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for British Chess News REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:UTC BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:UTC DTSTART:20190101T000000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200716 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200717 DTSTAMP:20210708T141006Z CREATED:20200131T000043Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210708T141006Z UID:3070-1594857600-1594943999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Lawrence Cooper (16-vii-1970) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Lawrence Cooper (16-vii-1970) \nLawrence was born in Stone\, Staffordshire and attend Walton High School\, Stafford. \nLawrence Cooper\, Demis Hassabis\, Cathy Hasslinger and Dharshan Kumaran in around 1986. Possibly at a Lloyds Bank event.\nHe became a FIDE Master in 1989 and then an International Master in 2001. \nLawrence was awarded the FIDE International Organiser title in 2011 and the FIDE Arbiter title in 2016. \nTim Dickinson and Lawrence Cooper at the 2012 London Chess Classic\, Olympia\nHis peak rating was 2430 in January 1988. \nLawrence plays for Wood Green in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL)  plus Newport (Shropshire)\, Stafford\, Bushbury and Worcestershire CCA in other competitions. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nLawrence Cooper (centre with trophy) being presented with 1992 BCF Counties Championship trophy by WIM Cathy Forbes. Others in the group include Michael Gough\, Alan A Smith\, Gerald Acey\, Mike P Townsend\, Malcolm Armstrong\, Martin Costley\, Alan Crombleholme\, Graeme N Buckley\, Paul Wallace\, Mark A . Wheeler\, Dave Carless\, Darren P Wheeler\, Keith Thompson\, Ralph MA Allen and Graham Smith\n\nFull caption in image below\nFull caption for above 1986 BCF Junior Squad group photograph\n\n  \nIM Lawrence Cooper\, photography by Fiona Steil-Antoni\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-lawrence-h-cooper-16-vii-1970/ CATEGORIES:Arbiter,Birthday,British Championships,Organiser,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Coo01643.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200716 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200717 DTSTAMP:20210710T142702Z CREATED:20200402T173018Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210710T142702Z UID:3978-1594857600-1594943999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Michael Barnes (16-vii-1965) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Michael H Barnes (16-vii-1965) \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-michael-h-barnes-16-vii-1965/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2016-17-Gambit-CC-576x1024-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200716 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200717 DTSTAMP:20230217T193732Z CREATED:20200716T220105Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230217T193732Z UID:7479-1594857600-1594943999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Raaphi Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009) DESCRIPTION:We remember Raaphy(i) Persitz who passed away on Wednesday\, February 4th\, 2009. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, Number 3 (March)\, pp. 130-134 by John Saunders we have this detailed obituary: \nRaaphy Persitz\nA tribute to a great friend of British chess\, by John Saunders\nRaphael Joseph Arie (Raaphy) Persitz (26 vii 1934\, Tel Aviv – 4 ii 2009\, Tel Aviv) \n28th December 1955: Israeli chess player Raaphy Persitz in play at the International Chess Congress at Hastings. (Photo by Folb/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)\nRaaphy Persitz\, one of the strongest players resident in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s and also one of BCM‘s most popular contributors\, has died aged 74. Raaphy was born in Tel Aviv\, the grandson of Shoshana Persitz (1893-1969)\, a publisher who became an early member of the Knesset\, the Israeli parliament. Raaphy became Israel’s first junior champion in 1951 and shortly afterwards came to study PPE (Philosophy\, Politics and Economics) at Oxford University where he was a member of their very strong chess team and a close friend of Leonard Barden and others. \nRaaphy Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009). 26 year-old Raaphy Persitz at the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad playing on board four for Israel. He scored +6\, =2\, -4.\nOne of his most publicised feats was to win his Varsity match game and also a county match against Hugh Alexander on the same day (see the May 1954 or March 2004 issues of the magazine for further details). Raaphy played three times in the Varsity match and also represented England in three Students Olympiads in the mid-1950s. He represented Israel in the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad on board four\, and also played twice in the Hastings Premier\, in 1955-56 and 1968-69\, the latter being his swansong in competitive chess as he turned his attention to a career in banking which took him first to Switzerland and eventually to his home town of Tel Aviv. As a player his best result was probably finishing third behind Reshevsky and Szabo at the first major international tournament held in Israel\, Haifa/Tel Aviv 1958. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nDespite giving up competitive play\, Raaphy never lost his love of the game and remained an avid reader of magazines and follower of the game until the end of his life. And\, of course\, he remained a perceptive and humorous writer on the game though his output was much lower than in the 1950s. The news of his death came as a particular shock to me as\, only a couple of weeks previously\, he had sent me a fax saying how moved he had been by the tribute I had writ- ten to Bob Wade in the January 2009 issue of BCM. That was typical of his kindness to wards me which dated back to when I took my first tottering steps as BCM editor in 1999. We never actually met in person but spoke occasionally on the telephone and exchanged faxes (Raaphy didn’t seem to communicate by email). \nRaaphy Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009)\nAs a long-time reader of the magazine I had enjoyed his Student’s Corner column contributions. The column had been initiated by Abe Yanofsky in the early 1950s and Raaphy had inherited it in 1958. I was particularly delighted when\, in 2004\, after I had written about his 1954 feat in winning his Varsity match game and a county match against English number one CHO’D(Hugh) Alexander on the same day\, Raaphy consented to write another column (which appeared in the May 2004 issue of BCM). I never succeeded in getting him to write another one but it was such a pleasure to have him write for the magazine during my spell as editor. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n(Regarding the above game there is a note from Sally Simpson on chessgames.com as follows: \nRaaphi Persitz agreed to play for Oxford v Cambridge in London and also on the same day for Oxon v Gloucester in a county match in Swindon. \nThis is the second game\, he won both games. \nBe aware that Bruce Hayden in ‘Cabbage Heads and Kings’\, which is where I got this game from\, mentions this but also added that these games took place on the same day as the 1954 Grand National (won by Royal Tan). This is wrong as the Grand National that year was run on the 10 April. \nI think that maybe Bruce saw the score of the games with the two games a day story in a Sunday newspaper covering Saturdays Grand National and perhaps got the dates mixed up. \n) \nThe fax he sent me on 7 January 2009 seems particularly poignant now but it is a good example of Raaphy’s kindness and self-deprecating humour. Here is the full text: \n“Dear John\, I was moved by your wide-ranging obituary of Bob Wade in the BCM[January 2009\, p34l. I dare say you did justice to his contributions and devotion to chess\, spanning well over half a century. I have several pleasant recollections of conversations and over-the-board encounters with Bob. One such tussle\, a hard-fought draw\, was reproduced by Bob\, with comments (in the Student’s Corner) in a book containing his eventful games. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nAnother\, somewhat less felicitous\, recollection harks back to a game we contested at Ilford\, where\, in extreme time trouble\, I blithely played Rxh7+\, expecting …Qxh7\, but overlooking the simple …Kxh7\, leaving me a whole rook down with no compensation\, whereupon I duly resigned. What impressed me at the time was the lightning speed with which Bob reacted to my ill-fated blunder – as if it were nothing but inevitable… \nWith warmest wishes for a healthy\,\nhappy\, fruitful 2009. Raaphy.” \nI had hoped to publish the above as a Letter to the Editor but\, sadly\, it must now appear as part of Raaphy’s obituary. The draw with Bob Wade referred to in the fax was played in Dublin in 1962 and featured in Student’s Corner in BCM in the December 1966 issue on page 356. It seems appropriate to reproduce the game here in tribute to these two recently departed and much-loved chessplayers. \nNotes by Persitz\nUnlike the majority of games that have\, over the years\, appeared in the Student’s Corner\, the following dour struggle between Bob Wade (White) and myself (Black)\, from Dublin\, 1962\, is in no way outstanding: it does not contain any brilliant combinations; it is not a positional masterpiece; it is certainly not devoid of mistakes. Nor is it amusing\, or original\, or of theoretical interest or particularly instructive. Yet (with the aid of the interspersed comments) it ought to give the student a pretty shrewd and realistic idea of the stuff competitive chess is made of: the endless number of laborious variations that have to be examined; the annoying little threats that must be attended to; the treacherous pitfalls to be sidestepped; the technical hurdles to be surmounted; the frustrating little details\, indifference to which may be fatal; in brief\, the drudgery that has become part and parcel of contemporary tournament practice\, without which success is unimaginable. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nRaaphy Persitz Tributes\nLeonard Barden: Raaphy was probably my best friend at Oxford – certainly so among chessplayers. We played hundreds of blitz games in the junior common room at Balliol and later for some months in 1957 we shared a London flat\, analysing Russian championship games over breakfast. He was a wonderful man to know\, bright\, witty\, gentle\, sympathetic and knowledgeable. \nLeonard Barden (centre) with Raaphi Persitz\, JB Sykes\, OI Galvenius and DM Armstrong\, Ilford\, May\, 1953\nA tribute by Amatzia Avni: Ordinary people have a mixture of good qualities and bad ones. After 20 years of friendship with the late Raaphy Persitz I can attest that he was a distinct type: one sided\, positive-only; pure gold. \nI first met him in 1989. I had just written my first chess book (in Hebrew) and was searching for someone to write me an introduction. The word was that Persitz was back in town\, after long years abroad. Having seen glimpses of his amazing linguistic skills\, I contacted him and he agreed immediately. He didn’t know me\, hadn’t read a single sentence of the book\, yet he didn’t hesitate: “yes\, sure\, I’ll be glad to”. \nThat was typical Persitz: always ready to help\, unconditionally. The introduction\, needless to say\, was a sheer delight\, a class or two above the rest of the book. In later years he gave me a hand several times polishing my texts and making them more reader-friendly to English-speaking readers. Somehow he seemed to know what I wished to express better than I did. His suggestions enabled me to convey my meaning in a clear and precise manner. \nRaaphy was modest and reserved. Once I called him and realized he was upset. “My mother had passed away some weeks ago\,” he said. I was puzzled why he didn’t tell me the sad news at the time. “I didn’t want to bother you” was his reply. \nA couple of years ago I stumbled upon Bruce Hayden’s old book Cabbage Heads and Chess Kings. One of the book’s chapters was headed “Raaphy Persitz star or comet?”. I learned that\, in the 1950s\, Persitz gained bright victories in England\, against Penrose\, Alexander\, Milner-Barry and others. Searching a Chessbase database I found out that he also done battle with some out- standing international players. Yet\, in all our meetings and hundreds of hours of conversation\, he never said a thing about that! \nPersitz was a master of understatement. I learned that if I wrote “very fine” or “extremely strong”\, the ‘very’ and ‘extremely’ would fly out of the window. If I made a firm stand on a certain issue\, he would add “probably”\, “apparently’ or “it may be argued that”\, because it was indeed only an opinion\, not a fact. Over time\, following his line of thought made me improve the way I expressed myself and thought about chess. \nPersitz’s distinctions in chess\, in linguistics and in journalism are evident to anyone who ever read his chess books and articles. He also excelled at economics\, but I am unqualified to comment on this. \nGod bless you\, Raaphy. I feel privileged to have known you. Amatzia Avni. \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-raaphi-persitz-26-vii-1934-04-ii-2009/ CATEGORIES:2023,British Championships,History,Player,Remembering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_0903-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200717 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200718 DTSTAMP:20210710T141954Z CREATED:20200411T125437Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210710T141954Z UID:4426-1594944000-1595030399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Nigel Povah (17-vii-1952) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes IM Nigel Edward Povah all the best on his birthday\, July 17th in 1952. \nNigel Povah\, from Knightmare\, Volume 2 (1976-77) drawn by Chris Jones.\nNigel was born in Wandsworth\, London. \nHe became a FIDE Master in 1980\, an International Master in 1983 and an International Correspondence Master in 1983. He became England’s 7th ICCF GM in 1989. His predecessors were : \n210048 Markland\, Peter Richard ENG GM 1984\n210060 Penrose\, Dr. Jonathan ENG GM 1983\n210178 Webb\, Simon ENG GM 1983\n210011 Clarke\, Peter Hugh ENG GM 1980\n210029 Hollis\, Adrian Swayne ENG GM 1976\n210062 Richardson\, Keith Bevin ENG GM 1975 \nNigel has been Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons. \nNigel Povah\, circa 1979\nNigel has played for Streatham & Brixton Club (see the Andrew Martin video below) and was part of this very strong London club which developed many original opening ideas. \nNigel was a strong opening theoretician and developed ideas in the Sicilian Lasker-Pelikan\, Sveshnikov and English Openings amongst others. \nKnightmare magazines are a valuable source of information about the club and it’s members. \nBelow we have the game Berg-Povah\, Wijk aan Zee\, 1979 annotated by Streatham & Brixton team mate\, IM Andrew Martin : \n\nNigel continues to play for Guildford in the Surrey League and in the Surrey Border League as well as Guildford in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). \nNigel started the highly successful 4NCL teams sponsored by his company Guildford A&DC (Assessment & Development Consultants) and the 4NCL team(s) are now run by Roger Emerson and Julien Shepley having taken a back seat since June 2017. \nHis peak rating was 2385 in January 1980 aged 28. \nNigel is married to Gill and has a daughter Lucy and a son\, Jonathan. \nIn recent times Nigel has been playing more nationally and internationally and and has become a specialist in the Accelerated London System (with 2.Lf4) and is a regular on the International veterans circuit. \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 an article written by Richard W. O’Brien from British Chess\, Pergamon Press\, 1983 : \n“Nigel Povah was for the majority of the seventies a chess professional. He mixed playing with teaching in various schools and also coached individuals. He is a BCF qualified coach. Danny King (our second youngest international master) and the late Ian Wells were two who clearly benefited from his teachings. \nOn the playing front he won numerous congresses including Hammersmith 1970\, Paignton 1974\, LARA 1974\, Evening Standard 1974\, LARA(again) 1978 and Charlton 1979. In 1975 he won the SCCU Championship and again in 1976. He first played in international tournaments in 1973 when as one of the weaker players in the tournament he produced excellent annotations for the bulletin\, even for the games he lost. These were the first signs of becoming a chess writer. To date he has shared first place in four international tournaments Robert Silk 1976\, Malta 1976\, Malta(again) 1979 and Wijk aan Zee Master Reserves 1979. It can be seen that 1979 was a good year. He also shared 4th place in the British Championship and represented\nEngland at senior level against Denmark in the same year. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHis road to the lM title has been long and hard. On several occasions he got close to the norm requirement just to fail. At Lloyds Bank in 1978 and 1980 and Lewisham 1981 he got the necessary three norms. Had he then ceased playing (with an Elo of 23751 he would automatically have had the lM title confirmed at Lucerne in 1982. He however continued playing and became the victim of some complicated and\, with respect\, unfair FIDE regulations\, and his title was delayed until 1983. Clearly had the General Assembly met between January 1982 and June 1982 he would have been awarded the title at least a year earlier! \nHe has written several books-Chess Training published by Faber\, English:Four Knights Batsford\, How to Play the English Batsford and was co-author of Sicilian: Lasker-Pelikan Batsford. These last three Batsford publications indicate his interest in current theory. Two of the games which follow- v Berg (see 16…Rb8) and v Speelman (see 12 NgS)certainly confirm this. The Streatham and Brixton club owe much to Nigel Povah in becoming one of the strongest clubs in the country. At one time an average second division side (London league) they have since won the league and been in contention more than once. For several years he was one of the main three organisers at the club and even today still continues to play for them and is currently their National Club match-captain although he now lives some twenty miles away in Guildford. \nIn 1979 he organised the First Regency International at Ramsgate. In conjunction with Ian Josephs (sponsor) and Bob Wade (controller) this has become a highly successful annual event. \nNow married\, his wife Gill presented him with a daughter Lucy shortly after the completion of the Regency International in 1982. \nHe now works for ICL as training consultant and limits his over the board chess to club chess for Streatham. \nHe has recently taken up postal chess and in 1983 after competing in the BPCF Jubilee he became a correspondence International Master. \nHe has a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Occupational Psychology.” \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nStreatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten\, Mark Hedben\, Daniel King\, Nigel Povah (Captain)\, Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team\nAccording to Chess Training : “Two of his pupils were members of England’s victorious 4-man team in the World Under-16 team event.” \nHere is his Wikipedia entry : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nSicilian Lasker-Pelikan\nChess Training : Nigel Povah\nEnglish : Four Knights\nHow to play the English Opening\nAssessment Centres and Global Talent Management\nIM Nigel Povah\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-nigel-edward-povah-17-vii-1952/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Organiser,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/bcc_3663_lv.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200717 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200718 DTSTAMP:20210710T142153Z CREATED:20200720T093008Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210710T142153Z UID:7616-1594944000-1595030399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Dr. Julian Farrand QC (Hon) (13-viii-1935 17-vii-2020) DESCRIPTION:BCN mourns the passing of Dr. Julian Farrand (13-viii-1935 17-vii-2020). He was 84 years of age. \nJulian Thomas Farrand was born August 13th\, 1935 in Doncaster in the West Riding of Yorkshire. \nDr. Farrand QC(Hon)\, formerly the Insurance Ombudsman\, became the Pensions Ombudsman\, and he had been a Law Commissioner and a University Professor of Law at the University of Manchester where he was Dean of the faculty. \nMost recently he lived in Morpeth\, London\, SW1. \nDr JULIAN FARRAND Pensions Ombudsman COMPULSORY CREDIT: UPPA/Photoshot Photo UKWT 011879/A-32a 31.07.1996\nHis first recorded game in Megabase 2020 was white at the 1968 British Championships in Bristol against life-long friend CGM Keith Bevan Richardson. Together with Raymond Brunton Edwards\, Julian and Keith were long-time trustees of the BCFs Permanent Invested Fund (PIF). \nJulian played for Pimlico\, Cavendish and Insurance in the London League and he maintained a standard play grading of 172A in 2020 as well as a FIDE rating of 1943 for standard play. He also played in the London Public Services League\, the Central London League and the City Chess Association League. He made regular appearances in the Bronowski Trophy competition and the World Senior’s Team Tournament. \nHis (according to Megabase 2020) peak Elo rating was 2238 in April\, 2004 aged 69. It is likely to have been higher than that if it was measured. \nJulian joined Barbican following its merger with Perception Youth to become Barbican Youth in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). \nHis favourite openings with white were : The Richter-Veresov Opening in later years and the English/Barcza Opening in earlier times. \nWith Black he enjoyed the Czech System and the Lenningrad Dutch. \nHis son\, Tom\, is a strong player and a successful barrister with expertise in Intellectual Property Rights\, Trademarks and Copyright law. \nHis wife (married in 1992)\, Baroness Hale of Richmond\, served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2020\, and serves as a member of the House of Lords as a Lord Temporal. \nJulian Farrand with Lady Hale at a Buckingham Palace reception. Photo : Press Association\nMemorial messages have been posted on the English Chess Forum and many will\, no doubt\, follow. Included are older games from John Saunders not found in the online databases. \nIn 2015 Julian (together with fellow trustees Keith Richardson and Ray Edwards) received the ECF President’s Award for services to the Permanent Invested Fund. \nHere is the citation from the 2015 award : \n“Julian is best known as the first-ever English ombudsman (in insurance). He is the husband of law lord Baroness Hale. I (SR) first met him at about the age of 12 year old when playing for my school. He is about four years older. Both Ray and Julian are members of the Book of the Year Committee and have been reviewing books for this purpose for many years. Both are quite strong chess players\, indeed playing for England in the same team in the European 60+ Team Championship in Vienna 11-20 July 2015. Keith was to have been a member of the same team\, but his wife’s ill-health forced him to withdraw.” \nHere is an obituary from The Times of London \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 an obituary from Stewart Reuben \nProf. Julian T Farrand at the King’s Place Rapidplay\, 2013\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\nLove All Risks by Julian Farrand\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-prof-julian-t-farrand-13-viii-1935-17-vii-2020/ CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/JUA3900.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200719 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200720 DTSTAMP:20210710T142950Z CREATED:20200401T143331Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210710T142950Z UID:3930-1595116800-1595203199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (19-vii-1968) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant best wishes on her birthday\, July 19th 1968 \nHere is her extensive Wikipedia entry \nGM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant\nGM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-ketevan-arakhamia-grant-19-vii-1968/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/JB4_7612.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200723 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200724 DTSTAMP:20210710T143352Z CREATED:20190823T190033Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210710T143352Z UID:1120-1595462400-1595548799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Sir George Thomas\, 7th Baronet (14-vi-1881 23-vii-1972) DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of Sir George Alan Thomas\, 7th Baronet (14-vi-1881 23-vii-1972) \nSignature of GA Thomas from a Brian Reilly “after dinner” postcard from Hastings Christmas Congress\, 1945-1946\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (BT Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek : \n“British international master\, born in Constantinople (previously Byzantium and currently Istanbul : Ed.) His mother (Lady Edith Margaret Thomas : Ed) was one of the strongest English women players\, winner of the first Ladies tournament at Hastings 1895. \n(Ed : his father was Sir George Sydney Meade Thomas) \nThomas was an all-round athlete who excelled at tennis\, hockey and badminton as well as chess. He captained the English badminton team and was All England Badminton Singles champion from 1920 to 1923.” \nSir George Alan Thomas : “During his playing career\, he won 78 national titles in the United Kingdom and a further 12 French titles; he also competed in 29 out of 30 English internationals\, winning 50 matches in the process.”\nHere is an excellent article (albeit stating GT was a Grandmaster and was president of the British Chest Federation!) from the National Badminton Museum. \n\n“Thomas won the British chess championship twice\, in 1923 and 1934 and represented England in the Olympiads of 1927 where he tied with Norman Hansen for the best score – 80% on board 3\, 1930\, 1931\, 1935\, 1937 and 1939. \nPassenger list from RMS Alacantra showing Sir George Thomas arriving at Buenos Aires on September 19th\, 1939\nEntry for Sir George Thomas from above image.\nIn international tournaments his greatest successes were 1st at Spa (ahead of Tartakower) and =1st at Hastings 1934/5 (tied with Euwe and Flohr\, ahead of Capablanca and Botvinnik). \nSir George Thomas\, British Chess Champion\, Southsea Congress\, 1923 Photograph by Gilbert N Fulcher\, Southsea\nHe was known for his keen sense of sportsmanship and for his ability to encourage and inspire younger players. He served for many years on the BCF Junior selection committee and was for a time Games Editor of the British Chess Magazine. FIDE awarded him the titles of international master (1950) and International Judge (1952). (article by Ray Keene)” \nBritish chess champion Sir George Thomas playing at the Annual British Chess Federation Championship in Yarmouth\, England\, July 11th 1935. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)\nThomas with the White pieces was predominantly a Ruy Lopez devotee. \nWith the Black pieces against 1.e4 he defended the Lopez and the Queen’s Gambit Declined was his favourite versus 1.d4 \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale 1972 and 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master (1950)\, International Judge (1952) and British Champion in 1923 and 1934. All England Badminton Singles Champion\, All England Badminton Doubles Champion\, Wimbledon tennis player and county hockey player. \nSir George Thomas was born in Constantinople on 14th June 1881. His mother\, Lady Thomas\, won the first ever ladies’ tournament\, which was held in conjunction with the Hastings International Chess Tournament of 1895. \nHe learned the moves at the age of 4\, and as a boy met many of the world’s leading players\, including Steinitz\, Lasker\, Tchigorin and Pillsbury\, in his mother’s drawing-room. \nApart from serving as a subaltern in the Army during the 1914-1918 war\, Sir George has devoted his life to sport. He played tennis at Wimbledon\, played hockey for Hampshire\, captained the English Badminton team and was All England Badminton Singles Champion from 1920-1923 and doubles champion nine times. \nSir George Thomas And Brian ReillySir George Thomas (left)\, leader of the British chess team\, playing Irishman Brian Reilly at the Easter Chess Congress\, Margate\, April 24th 1935. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)\nSir George played chess for England regularly from 1910 to 1939. He played for the British Chess Federation in the Chess Olympiads of 1927\,1930\, 1931\, 1933\, 1935\, 1937 and 1939\, and captained the team which withdrew from the Buenos Aires Olympiad in 1939 on the out-break of war. \nA Brian Reilly “after dinner” postcard from Margate 1936.\nThe Grand Hotel\, Cliftonville\, Margate. Venue for the Margate tournaments.\nHis first appearance in the British Championship was in he came 2nd. He also came 2nd in 192l and in 1923 won the first time\, thus becoming British Chess Champion and\nBadminton Champion in the same year. Sir George’s best performance was at Hastings 1934-1935\, when he came =1st. In the last round he needed only a draw against R. P. Michell to come lst\, ahead of Euwe\, Capablanca\, Flohr and Lilienthal\, but he lost and had to be content with sharing lst prize with Euwe and Flohr. \nNice Masters\, 1931. Standing : Daniel Noteboom\, Abraham Baratz\, George Renaud (Organiser)\, John J O’Hanlon\, Marcel Duchamp\, Brian Reilly (winner)\, Seated : Eugene Znokso-Borovsky\,\, Arpad Vajda\, Sir George Thomas\, Jacques Mieses\, Stefano Roselli del Turco\, Jacob Adolf Seitz. British Chess Magazine\, 1931\, page 201\nDuring his career he has beaten Botvinnik\, Flohr and and drawn with Nimzowitsch\, Rubinstein and Capablanca. He been noted for his sportsmanship and for his interest in and encouragement of young players. \nPartie d’échecsSir Georges Thomas\, le célèbre joueur d’échecs britannique\, jouant contre sa plus jeune adversaire âgée de 8 ans\, à Londres\, Royaume-Uni le 24 octobre 1934. (Photo by Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)\nSince his retirement until the last few years\, Sir George continued to attend tournaments as a spectator. \nHe is the author of The Art of Badminton\, published in 1923. \nThe Art of Badminton\nHe died on 23rd July 1972 in a London nursing home.” \nHere is Part II of GM Matthew Sadler’s appreciation of Sir George. \nMost interestingly we have this this splendid article from Neil Blackburn (SimaginFan) on chess.com \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nSir George Alan Thomas (14-vi-1881 23-vii-1972)\nand here is Part III of Matthew Sadler’s article \nSir George Alan Thomas\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld : \n“English player. International Master (1950)\, International Arbiter (1952)\, British champion 1923 and 1934. His mother\, who taught him chess\, was winner of one of the first women’s tournaments\, Hastings 1895\, He played in more than 80 tournaments and achieved his best result at Hastings 1934-5 (about category 9)\, when he scored +6-1—2 to share first prize with Euwe and Flohr ahead of Botvinnik and Capablanca. Thomas played in seven Olympiads from 1927 to 1939\, and in the first the highest percentage score was made by him ( + 9=6) and the Dane Holgar Norman-Hansen (1899- ) (+11=2—2). A leading English player for more than 25 years\, Thomas fought many battles at the famous City of London club\, winning 16 of the annual championships from 1913-14 to 1938-9. In his sixty-ninth year he gave up competitive chess when\, after a hard game\, ‘the board and men began to swim before my eyes\,’ He continued his active interest in junior events and his visits\, now as a spectator\, to chess events. \n\nA man of few words\, imperturbable\, of fine manners. Sir George Thomas was respected throughout the chess world for his sportsmanship and impartiality\, and his opinion was often sought when disputes arose between players. The inheritor of both a baronetcy and private means\, he\ndevoted his life to games and sports. Besides his chess he was a keen hockey player\, a competitor in international lawn tennis (reaching the last eight at Wimbledon on one occasion)\, and winner of about 90 badminton titles\, notably the All-England men’s singles championship which he won four times\, from 1920 to 1923.” \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-sir-george-alan-thomas/ CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Honours,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/gathomas_radio_1-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200724 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200725 DTSTAMP:20210724T113420Z CREATED:20191106T163952Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210724T113420Z UID:1792-1595548800-1595635199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Marcus Harvey (24-vii-1996) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to FM Marcus Ross Harvey born on this day (Wednesday\, July 24th) in 1996. Killing Me Softly by the Fugees was top of the hit parade. \nMarcus was born in Oxford and attended The Marlborough School\, Woodstock\, Oxfordshire and then (in 2014) at The University of Southampton he studied mathematics. \nOriginally playing for Bicester Marcus now represents Witney Chess Club in local leagues. \nMarcus first played in the British Championship in 2011 (Sheffield). \nMarcus Harvey at the 2013 King’s Place Rapidplay\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\nOriginally playing for Oxford he now plays for Wood Green in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) and Southampton University in the Southampton League. \nMarcus playing IM Yang-Fan Zhou at the 2013 Delancey UKCC Terafinal at Loughborough Grammar School. Courtesy of John Upham Photography.\nIn 2014 Marcus won the title of “Strat” (the overall Terafinal winner) of the 2014 Delancey UK Chess Challenge at Loughborough Grammar School. \nMarcus Harvey at the 2013 Delancey UKCC Terafinal at Loughborough Grammar School\, courtesy of John Upham Photography.\nMarcus has a FIDE rating of 2440 and an ECF grading of 240. \n2014 Delancey UKCC Terafinal winner\, Marcus Harvey at Loughborough Grammar School. Courtesy of John Upham Photography\nIn 2018 he won the Witney Open outright with 4/5 and\, in the same year\, was runner-up to David Howell in the UK Blitz Open with 12.5/15 and a of 2589. \nIn 2019 he was =1st (with Mark Hebden) in the 4NCL Easter Open in Stevenage. Later that year Marcus was losing semi-finalist (to Gawain Jones) in the London Classic Blitz Knockout. \nMarcus\, on home ground\, won the 43rd Kidlington Open in 2020 and followed this with and is the current 2020 English Online Blitz Champion beating IM Andrew Greet\, FM Jonah Willow\, IM Ameet Ghasi and IM Andrew Horton in the final. \n\nIn the Pro chess league he represents UK Lions. \nMarcus Harvey’s FIDE rating profile according to Megabase 2020\nOn 6th November 2019 we reported that Marcus had obtained his second International Master norm at the recent (October 2019) Hull 4NCL International Congress by scoring 4.5/9 with wins over IM Andrew Greet and IM Richard Palliser. \nOn July 17th 2021 Marcus was joint winner with IM Peter Roberson in the 1st Chessfest Decode Rapidplay with an impressive 6/6 and a TPR of 2911. \nMarcus overcame Rory McLean\, Theo Koury\, Steven Coles\, FM Alexis Harakis\, CM Jonathan Pein and rapidplay / blitz specialist IM Ameet Ghasi to share first place. \nMarcus enjoys playing the Smyslov-Larsen opening with white \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nand the classical French and the Nimzo-Indian Defence. \nIt is clear that Marcus is now easily of IM strength and surely is a strong candidate for England’s next 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\nFM Marcus Ross Harvey\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-marcus-ross-harvey-24-vii-1996/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/JUZ_3490.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200724 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200725 DTSTAMP:20210719T075735Z CREATED:20200410T131551Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210719T075735Z UID:4344-1595548800-1595635199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Anthony Kosten (24-vii-1958) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of GM Anthony Cornelis Kosten (24-vii-1958) \nTony was born in North Eastern Surrey\, and eventually relocated to France where he now resides. \nTony is married to Gyongyver Kosten-Forintos\, the daughter of Hungarian Grandmaster Győző Forintos. \nStreatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten\, Mark Hedben\, Daniel King\, Nigel Povah (Captain)\, Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nTony played for Lower Earley and played in the Berkshire League and for Streatham & Brixton in the National Club competition. \nHe was =3rd in the 1982 British Championship in Torquay (won by Tony Miles) \nHe was =2nd in the 1984 Robert Silk Young Masters. \nHe won the Berkshire Chess Association Quickplay title in 1985. \nTony was runner-up to Yuri Balashov at Minsk 1986. \nHe won Naujac 2000 with 7.5/9 \nTony won many other events : See his Wikipedia entry for details. \nTony Kosten (fourth from left) at a NatWest Bank sponsored event\nTony is the founder of chesspublishing.com\, a subscription based web site specialising in cutting edge opening theory with many contributors. \nHe plays for Guildford in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is registered as a member of the French federation. He also plays for Schott Mainz in the German Team Championship. \nAccording to Megabase 2020 his highest FIDE rating was 2551 in July 2002 at the age of 44. \nWith the white pieces Tony prefers the Ruy Lopez and Giuoco Piano with the English coming a close second. \nWith black Tony defends the Lopez and the Nimzo-Indian defence. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nTony Kosten\nWinning Endgames\, Crowood\, 1987\nWinning with the Philidor\, Batsford\, 1992\n101 Tips to Improve your Chess\, Batsford\, 1996\nThe Dynamic English\, Gambit\, 1999\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-anthony-cornelius-kosten-24-vii-1958/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/JEU0004.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200725 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200726 DTSTAMP:20210725T144451Z CREATED:20200725T153156Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210725T144451Z UID:7849-1595635200-1595721599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Julian Hodgson (25-vii-1963) DESCRIPTION:We send best wishes to GM Julian Hodgson on his birthday\, this day July 25th in 1963. \nJulian Michael Hodgson was born in Hammersmith\, West London son of (Ronald) George Hodgson and Johanna Hodgson (née Birch). \nJulian has claimed to be a descendent of George Jeffreys\, 1st Baron Jeffreys and we are looking to establish this claim following further research. \nJulian attended St. Paul’s School (See below) and then attended The University of Leicester for one year. \nJulian married Lizette and David Norwood was his Best Man. \nJulian and Lizette Hodgson\n(Curiously both Felice and Gaige state Julian was born in Saint Asaph in Wales.) \nJulian Hodgson\nHarry Golombek wrote this about Julian in a 1980 Dataday chess diary : \n“I think that the first time I saw Julian Hodgson in play was some four years ago in a London tournament. Upon my arrival Leonard Barden told him that he must now be careful how he played as Golombek was watching. \nJulian and Nigel Short play Korchnoi in a simul. Leonard Barden observes.\n“Who”\, enquired the twelve-year old Julian\, “is Golombek?” \nNeil Carr and Julian Hodgson at the 1976 Lloyds Bank Match by Telex\, London – New York. From BCM\, volume XCVI (96) Number 11 (August)\, Page 494. The venue was the Bloomsbury Hotel\, London. Photo courtesy of Lloyds Bank.\nI felt grateful at the time that he did not say who or what is Golombek but I tell this story chiefly to show the cheerful insouciance with which Master Hodgson treated all comers whether chess masters or chess rabbits. \nJulian playing Simon L Triggs. Event and photographer unknown\nJulian astonishing maturity as a player has been impressive ever since at the age of ten\, he won the Southern Counties Under 14 Championships in 1973. Since then he has acquired a host of such championships culminating in the British Under-21 Championship in 1977. \nStreatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten\, Mark Hedben\, Daniel King\, Nigel Povah (Captain)\, Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team\nPerhaps his most remarkable performance so far has been his equal 3rd in a strong challengers section at Hastings where he scored 7.5 out of 10. 1977 was a good year for him and here\, from the Lloyds Bank Silver Jubilee Tournament of that year is his fine win over a strong opponent : \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 entry (written by Richard W O’Brien) in British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983\, Botterill\, Levy\, Rice and Richardson) : \n“Following a series of excellent results Julian\, at the tender age of 11\, became the second youngest ever to play in an international tournament when he took part in the London Chess Club International Invitation tournament in September 1974. Only Reshevsky had been younger. Julian’s first opponent was Michael Woodhams\, an Australian international who had just scored 15.5/18 in the recent Olympiad (Nice) \nThe following year he became the youngest player ever to win the London Amateur Championship. A year later he reached a grading of 200 (BCF)\, only Reshevsky\, Pomar\, Karpov and Kasparov had done so at an earlier age. \nBy now he was at St. Paul’s School\, which was in the process of becoming one of the strongest chess playing schools in the country. In 1977 he shared first place with WN Watson (also St. Paul’s) in the British U21 Championship. Progress was however not as fast as had at one time been anticipated \n\nIt was at Ramsgate\, late in 1980 before his first IM norm. A month later he finished second in the Hastings Challenger. Other good results followed in 1981. First he was selected for the Glorney Cup and shortly afterwards did well to come fourteenth in the British Championship (Morecambe). He represented England in the World Youth Team championships scoring 4/6. His second IM norm followed when he shared fifth place at Manchester in the same year. Good results in weekend congresses meant that he finished fourth in the Leigh Grand Prix. The year had finished with Julian needing a draw in the last round at Ramsgate to get his title. He lost and was to wait another 12 months to achieve his final norm. \nThe England Team from the 1990 Novi Sad Olympiad : John Nunn\, Jon Speelman\, Julian Hodgson\, David Anderton OBE (Captain)\, Nigel Short\, Michael Adams and Murray Chandler\nWhen the final norm came it arrived out of the blue. With a score of 2.5/5 at Lewisham in November 1982 the chances seemed remote\, 3.5/4 was required against a strong field and it even seemed doubtful whether he could actually play those he needed to play. He scored 2.5/3 and now had to play Jon Tisdall\, who still had a chance of winning the tournament. \nJulian finished second equal in the tournament behind Jim Plaskett who had beaten him earlier. \nJulian Hodgson\nThe next six weeks saw Julian come equal first in the Pergamon sponsored British Lightning championship\, a highly creditable sixth in the Nightflight International at Brighton (equivalent to an IM rating) and second place yet again in the Hastings Challengers. \nJohn Delaney plays Julian Hodgson at the Bath Zonal Tournament in 1987\nEarlier in 1983 he scored 6.5/9 at Lugano\, probably Europe’s strongest ever Swiss (Swiss !) tournament\, losing narrowly to Jan Timman. \nJulian Hodgson. Event and photographer unknown.\nHe left Leicester University after just one year preferring to concentrate on chess. \nFM Andrew Whiteley\, IM Julian Hodgson and FM Byron Jacobs at Cappelle Le Grand\, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler\nHe plays fairly regularly for Streatham & Brixton Chess Club which encouraged juniors for several years. Daniel King is another junior who also played frequently for Streatham. ” \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\nThis is what was written about Julian prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display : “St Paul’s and Shepherds Bush. Rating 210. Standard London Amateur Champion at age 12\, 1975. \nStandard London under-18 champion\, 1976. British under-21 co-champion\, 1977. Youngest ever to beat two grandmasters in successive games\, 1978.” \nJulian Hodgson drawn by Rupert van der Linden\nJulian was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1997-98 season. \nJulian has claimed that he is a descended from the (in)famous “hanging judge” Jeffries ! \n\nJulian is the in-house chess teacher at Westminster School. \nHere is his Wikipedia entry : \nGM Julian Hodgson\nAside from more formal achievements\, he developed a sharp\, relentless\, attacking style of play and against lesser opponents this frequently resulted in devastating quick wins\, earning him the epithet “Grandmaster of Disaster”. \nHans Ree plays Julian Hodgson at the Cannes Team Tournament\, 1992\nHodgson’s greatest legacy as a chess player may however lie in his resurrection of an almost forgotten opening system. The Trompowsky Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) had floundered in the doldrums for many years\, prior to his adoption and development of the opening. In interviews\, he reveals that this was born out of laziness and a reluctance to learn established chess opening theory. It soon became his weapon of choice with the white pieces\, leading to a surprising popularisation of the system\, the spawning of a whole generation of devotees and ironically\, a number of theoretical guides\, containing a high quota of Hodgson’s own games and analysis. Indeed\, his expert treatment of the system once prompted fellow grandmaster Joe Gallagher to write that it should be renamed the Hodgson–Trompowsky Attack\, a view shared by many other masters. A chess journalist once wrote that Hodgson put the ‘romp’ into Trompowsky. \nA related\, but more obscure version of the system (1.d4 d5 2.Bg5)\, has been dubbed by some the Hodgson Attack and by others the Pseudo-Trompowsky or Queen’s Bishop Attack. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nand \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nJulian\, Dominic Lawson and Matthew Sadler\nChess Traveller’s Quiz Book\, Julian Hodgson\, Cadogan Press\, 1996\, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1857440300\nAttack with Julian Hodgson\, Book No.1\nAttack with Julian Hodgson\, Book No.2\nQuick Chess Knockouts\nJulian Hodgson drawn by Rupert van der Linden\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/happy-birthday-gm-julian-hodgson-25-vii-1963/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/mum_6136_lv.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200726 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200727 DTSTAMP:20210725T154922Z CREATED:20200409T084318Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210725T154922Z UID:4243-1595721600-1595807999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of WFM Jessica Gilbert (30-i-1987 26-vii-2007) DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of WFM Jessica Laura Corey Gilbert (30-i-1987 26-vii-2007) \nFrom Find A Grave by by Peterborough K: \n“Professional Chess Player. A native of Croydon\, England\, Gilbert became the youngest person ever to win the Women’s World Chess Federation Master Title. \nA talented chess player since the age of 8\, she also won the Women’s World Amateur Championship when she represented England in 1999 at the age of 11. \nIn a career that spanned over seven years she played in over 153 matches in such events as the Gibtelcom Chess Festival\, the 7th European Championship\, Ilsan 1st\, 37th Chess Olympiad\, Hastings Chess Congress\, Hastings Master Op\, Coventry Op\, and the Gausdal Byggern Masters. \nOn July 26\, 2006\, while in Pardubice\, Czech Republic\, to play in the Czech Open\, she mysteriously fell to her death from the balcony of her room on the eighth floor of the Hotel Labe. Gilbert was only 19 years old.” \nInteresting article by Alexander Barron \nHere is Jessie’s entry from Chessgames.com \nHere is Jessie’s extensive Wikipedia article. \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-wfm-jessica-laura-corey-gilbert-26-vii-2007/ CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/15076311_115763532095.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200727 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200728 DTSTAMP:20210727T105805Z CREATED:20200409T175701Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210727T105805Z UID:4281-1595808000-1595894399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of Demis Hassabis CBE FRS FREng FRSA (27-vii-1976) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to Demis Hassabis CBE FRS FREng FRSA (27-vii-1976) \nFrom https://achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/ : \nDemis Hassabis\, the eldest of three\, was born in London on July 27\, 1976\, to a Greek Cypriot father and a Chinese Singaporean mother. \n(Originally his surname was spelt Hassapis and his brother George retained his.) \n“Demis Hassabis was born in London\, England. He is of both Greek and Chinese ancestry; his father came from Cyprus\, his mother from Singapore. Demis and his family moved frequently as his father pursued a variety of business and creative ventures. \nDemis was four years old when he saw his father and an uncle playing chess and asked them to teach him the game. He took to it quickly and was soon beating both of them. He showed a precocious aptitude for all games employing logic and strategy. ” \nDemis Hassabis\nWhen 13 (in 1989) Demis achieved a FIDE rating of 2300 which\, at the time\, was the second highest rating for his age.  First highest was Judit Polgar. \nDemis was SCCU Under-18 champion in 1989 and was presented with the “old Trophy” according to the SCCU report. \nLawrence Cooper\, Demis Hassabis\, Cathy Haslinger and Dharshan Kumaran in around 1986. Possibly at a Lloyds Bank event.\nDemis was a Candidate Master and brother of George Hassapis. \nDemis started off with Hampstead Junior Chess Club. \nHe then played for Barnet Knights\, Queens College College Union and Finchley chess clubs. \nDemis Hassabis courtesy of Cathy Rogers\nAccording to Tryfon Gavriel : \nDemis wrote a hit computer game called “The theme park”\, that was at the top of the charts for six months and sold than more 3.5 million copies. He also did quite well in the 1997 Mind Sports Olympiad. \nDemis Hassabis\, IMMO KLINK/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES\nHassabis returned to academia to obtain his PhD in cognitive neuroscience from University College London (UCL) in 2009 supervised by Eleanor Maguire. He sought to find inspiration in the human brain for new AI algorithms. \n\nDanny Gormally wrote (in March 2014) this : \n“Demis Hassapis is a former chess prodigy who recently sold his company to Google for £400 million. Demonstrating that if you have the brainpower to be good at chess\, you are far better off putting that intelligence to use in some other activity where you might actually get rewarded. Then in fairness\, even most strong chess players aren’t as bright as Demis.” \n\nDemis was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018 \nIn May 2021 Demis was cited by Dominic Cummings in his evidence to the  Commons Heath\, and Science and Technology committees as having played an important contribution  to managing and understanding the PHE and NHS data during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. \nHere are his listed games \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-demis-hassabis-27-vii-1976/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Honours,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/untitled-2.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200727 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200728 DTSTAMP:20210727T110050Z CREATED:20200410T165411Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210727T110050Z UID:4364-1595808000-1595894399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Graham Lee (27-vii-1953) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Graham David Lee (27-vii-1953) \nFM Graham Lee 2282 v WIM Eva Jiretorn 2155 alongside WIM Regina Pokorna 2352 v WIM Christin Anderson 2173.\nFM Graham Lee\, courtesy of Cathy Rogers\nGraham Lee (second from left) and a victorious Wood Green team. Trophy presented by Magnus Magnusson\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-graham-david-lee-27-vii-1953/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DB_Graham_Lee.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200731 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200801 DTSTAMP:20210731T120436Z CREATED:20200408T184817Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210731T120436Z UID:4207-1596153600-1596239999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Nigel Davies (31-vii-1960) DESCRIPTION:We send best wishes to GM Nigel Davies on his birthday\, this day (July 31st) in 1960. \nNigel Rodney Davies was born in Southport\, Merseyside. \nHe lived in the Wirral\, Merseyside\, moved to Sidcup and then to St. Helen’s\, Merseyside where he resides with his chess playing son\, Sam who is ECF 1928A currently. \nIn July 2020 Nigel graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Computing from Edge Hill University. \nNigel Davies (centre) at a Lloyds Bank event\nHe became an FIDE Master in 1980\, an International Master in 1982 and a Grandmaster in 1993. \nNigel Davies\nHe won the British Under-21 Championship in 1979 (Chester) and the British Rapidplay Championship in 1987. \nNigel receives a much welcome prize (in Manchester) from Miss Benedictine in 198?\nHe won The Regency Ramsgate Masters 1980\, Wrexham 1994\, Katrineholm 1995 and the Blackpool Hilton Premier in 2003. \nNigel Davies\nNigel publishes his Chess Improver Blog and Tiger Chess for online training. The ECF lists this as his main club. \n\nIn 2015 Nigel transferred his international allegiance from England (the English Chess Federation) to Wales (Welsh Chess Union). He maintains an ECF standard play rating  of 2448E. \nWilliam Watson\, Jonny Hector\, Alexander Khalifman\, Jonathan Tisdall and Nigel Davies at the 1991 Watson\, Farley\, Williams tournament in London.\nHis peak FIDE rating was 2530 in January 1995 at the age of 35. \nHere is one of Nigel’s favourite games \nNigel Davies\, seated\, second from right\, event unknown\nIn 2015 Nigel contributed to an article by Guardian journalist\, Stephen Moss entitled “Grandmaster crash: the inside story of how English chess pawned its future” \nGM Nigel Davies\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nHere is an article : Fight against the solid Caro-Kann opening with the Caro Krusher – GM Nigel Davies \nNigel’s repertoire with White is wide including Queen’s Gambit\, King’s Indian Attack\, English/Reti and the Ruy Lopez. \nAs black Nigel’s repertoire is also varied and difficult to pin down. The Modern Defence is a favourite and is the Nimzo-Indian Defence. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nNigel is an active user of Twitter and may be found @GMNigelDavies \nIn 2020 the Welsh Chess Union successfully endorsed Nigel’s application to FIDE to become a FIDE Senior Trainer which he became in 2021: \nNigel Davies\, FIDE Senior Trainer\nNigel has had many books and DVDs published : \nThe Chess Player’s Battle Manual. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-7043-7\nThe Power Chess Program. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8415-2.\nThe Grünfeld Defence. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-239-3.\nThe Veresov. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857443356.\nThe Dynamic Reti. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857443523.\nThe Trompowsky. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1857443764.\nKing’s Indian Attack. Hamburg: ChessBase. ISBN 978-3-86681-071-6.\nStarting Out: The Modern. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857445664.\nPlay the Catalan. Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman Publishers plc). ISBN 9781857445916.\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-nigel-rodney-davies-31-vii-1960/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/nigel-davies.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200731 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200801 DTSTAMP:20210710T144415Z CREATED:20200731T001056Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210710T144415Z UID:3900-1596153600-1596239999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Jacob Aagaard (31-vii-1973) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to GM Jacob Aagaard (31-vii-1973) \nJacob was born in Hørsholm in Denmark. \nHe became an International Master in 1997 and a Grandmaster in 2007. \nHis peak FIDE rating was 2542 in May 2010 aged 36. \n\nJacob is the owner of publishing house\, Quality Chess and works with IM Andrew Greet. \nGM Jacob Aagaard takes on all-comers!\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nJacob’s publications include : \n (1998). Easy Guide to the Panov-Botvinnik Attack. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-563-3.\n (2000). Easy Guide to the Sveshnikov Sicilian. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-280-9.\n (2001). Dutch Stonewall. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-252-6.\n (2001). Excelling at Chess. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-273-1.\n (2002). Queen’s Indian Defence. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-300-4.\n and Esben Land (2002). Meeting 1.d4. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-224-3.\n (2003). Excelling at Positional Chess. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-325-7.\n (2004). Excelling at Chess Calculation. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-360-8.\n (2004). Excelling at Combinational Play. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-345-5.\n (2004). Excelling at Technical Chess. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-364-6.\n (2004). Starting Out: The Grunfeld. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-350-9.\n (2004). Inside the Chess Mind. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1857443578.\n (2006). Practical Chess Defence. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-91-975244-4-5.\n (2008). The Attacking Manual: Basic Principles. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-91-976004-0-8.\n (2008). The Attacking Manual 2: Technique and Praxis. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-91-976004-1-5.\n (2012). Grandmaster Preparation – Calculation. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-31-6.\n(2012). Grandmaster Preparation – Positional Play. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-27-9.\n (2013). Grandmaster Preparation – Strategic Play. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-29-3.\n(2013). Grandmaster Preparation – Attack & Defence. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-70-5.\n(2014). Grandmaster Preparation – Endgame Play. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-27-9.\n (2017). Grandmaster Preparation – Thinking Inside the Box. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-35-4. \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-jacob-aagaard-31-vii-1973/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/JUZ_2827-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200801 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200802 DTSTAMP:20210801T175847Z CREATED:20200401T105351Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210801T175847Z UID:3915-1596240000-1596326399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Rawle Allicock (01-viii-1970) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Rawle Anthony Allicock (01-viii-1970) \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-rawle-anthony-allicock-01-viii-1970/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200803 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200804 DTSTAMP:20210801T180718Z CREATED:20190822T165409Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210801T180718Z UID:1008-1596412800-1596499199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Captain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872) DESCRIPTION:BCN Remembers Captain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872) \nCaptain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872)\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld : \n“Inventor of the Evans gambit\, for about half a century one of the most popular attacking weapons. He was born in (Musland Farm in the parish of Saint Dogwells\,) Pembroke\, Wales\, went to sea at the age of 14\, was employed by the Postal Department from about 1815\, and rose to the rank of captain four years later. In 1824\, soon after taking command of the first Royal Mail steam packet to sail from Milford Haven to Waterford\, and while aboard\, he invented his gambit. Evans was a keen player. He gathered a small chess circle in Waterford\, and when on leave in England played chess in London\, notably in 1826 when he showed his gambit to Lewis and McDonnell\, and in 1838 when he played a long series of games with Staunton at the Westminster Chess Club. In Jan. 1840 he was pensioned off on account of ill-health. He went to Greece\, became captain of a steamer that sailed the Mediterranean\, and returned to London at the end of 1842. During the next 13 years there are several accounts of his presence in London\, and then he settled abroad. He died and was buried in Ostend\, \nEvans claimed to have solved the three pawns problem (See below) \, which\, however\, had already been solved by others. His claim to the invention of tri-coloured lighting for ships has not been verified independently\, although he is known to have investigated the subject. For this invention he states that the Tsar of Russia gave him a gold chronometer\, and that he also received money. For a more detailed life of Captain Evans see British Chess Magazine\, 1928\, pp\, 6-18.” \nThe Evans Gambit is a variation of the Giuoco Piano or Italian Game : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nWhen Evans originally devised his gambit the move order was slightly different : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nin which White sacrifices the b-pawn for increased central control and development viz : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“Inventor of the Evans Gambit\, an opening described by a player in the last century as ‘A yellow fever attack : if you live through the initial stages and avoid any carelessness that may bring on a relapse\, you will come out alright’. \nCaptain Evans discovered the gambit in about 1824. It was a favourite opening during the last century and was adopted by a number of leading players including La Bourdonnais and Morphy. \nFor some years Commander in H.M. Royal Mail Packet Service on the Milford and Waterford station\, Captain Evans later became Commander in the P.& O. Company’s service and agent for the Royal Mail Steampacket Company\, Port Grande. On retirement he lives for many years in Holland and Belgium. \nThe story is told of how\, in 1870\, the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia\, brother of the Tsar\, was visiting Bruges when he heard that the inventor of the Evans Gambit was living in Ostend. Being a keen chess player he invited Evans to play a game. When Evans had won\, the Grand Duke turned to his adversary and said : ‘I believe you invented the Evans Gambit ?’\, ‘Yes’ replied Evans ‘and it’s not the only thing I’ve invented for which you have not paid me.’ ‘What’s the other?’ asked the Grand Duke.\nEvans then explained that he was the inventor of the ship’s lights which were being used by the Russian Navy\, in which the Grand Duke held the rank of Admiral. Several months later Evans was invited to the Russian Consulate in Ostend\, where he was handed a letter from the Grand Duke\, a gold chronometer\, a gold chain and a draft of money\, ostensibly in payment for the Russia’s rights to use the captain’s invention in her ships. ” \nEnjoy this interesting article from “Introuble2” on chess.com \nEvans analyzed the “Little Game of Chess” (an endgame composition involving only two kings with three pawns each) \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nto independently discover that it actually won for the player who moves first\, not drawn as had been believed for over a hundred years. \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek we have : \n“After his retirement Evans went to live abroad and eventually found a haven is Ostend and there\, ill\, and almost blind and in very straightened circumstances\, he dictated a letter on 22 March 1871\, which was published in the Gentlemen’s Journal supplement for June 1872\, along with an appeal for him organised by George Walker. The letter gives the authentic facts of his life and is worth quoting in full\, if only to refute various unfounded reports about a meeting with the Tsar’s brother\, or according to that rich source of misinformation\, the Rev GA MacDonnell\, that the Evans Gambit was discovered off the coast of Africa by a middle-aged lieutenant in the Royal Navy -perhaps the reverend gentleman was confusing Waterford with the Canary Islands. \nThe letter runs : \nWilliams Davies Evans is a native of Pembrokeshire\, South Wales\, and was born on 27 January 1790. He commenced a naval career at the age of fourteen. He was about twenty-eight years of age when he first learnt the moves of the game of Chess. Having the advantage of frequent practise with Lieut H. Wilson\, R.N.\, who was a player of some reputation in his time\, beside corresponding on the subject of the game with the late Mr. W. Lewis\, and also with George Walker\, the able Chess Editor of Bell’s Life \, he made a rapid progress in the game. Captain Evans received at first the odds of a Rook from Lieut. Wilson. After a continuance of play for some years\, the odds were greatly reduced\, until ultimately Captain Evans succeeded in defeating his formidable antagonist playing even. \nAbout the year 1824\, being then in command of a Government Mail Steamer\, the passages between Milford Haven and Waterford were favourable to the study of the game of Chess and at this time he invented the Gambit\, which bears his name. The idea occurred to him while studying a narration of Giuoco Piano in Sarratts’s Treatise on Chess. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nCaptain Evans was the first who gave to the world a true solution of that very difficult end game\, the King and three Pawns unmoved against King and three Pawns also unmoved. This position was handed down to us through a period of some centuries as a drawn game\, but Captain Evans proved that the first player can always win. \nCaptain Evans acquired some celebrity as “Inventor of the System of Tri-Coloured Lights for Ships to Prevent Collisions at Night”\, which has been adopted by all nations possessing a marine. For this invention the English Government awarded him the sum of £1\,500 \, and the Czar of Russia a gold pocket chronometer\, value £160\, together with a donation of £200. \nThe subscription that amounted to over £200 was too late. He died in 1872 and was buried in Ostend where his grave bears the inscription : \nTo the sacred memory of William Davies Evans\, formerly Commander in the Post Office and Peninsular and Oriental Steam Services\, Superintendent In the Royal Mail Shipping Company\, and inventor of the system of tri-coloured light for shipping. Also well known in the Chess World as the author of the Evans Gambit \nBlue Plaque for Captain WD Evans\nHere is his Wikipedia entry. \nRead here of the Plaque in Wolfscastle \nBlue Plaque for Captain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872)\nPlay The Evans Gambit (co-author Tim Harding). Cadogan. ISBN 1-85744-119-2.\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-captain-william-davies-evans/ CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/227230562.jpg.gallery.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200803 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200804 DTSTAMP:20210803T163522Z CREATED:20200409T080423Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210803T163522Z UID:4233-1596412800-1596499199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Sam Franklin (03-viii-1994) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Samuel Gideon A Franklin (03-viii-1994) \nFM Samuel GA Franklin from the Varsity Match\, 9th March 2014\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\nFM Samuel GA Franklin from the London Chess Classic\, 29th December 2013.\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-samuel-ga-franklin-03-viii-1994/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/JUA3938.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200804 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200805 DTSTAMP:20260817T141108Z CREATED:20200411T222002Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T141108Z UID:4509-1596499200-1596585599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Laurence Webb (04-viii-1970) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Laurence E Webb (04-viii-1970) \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-laurence-e-webb-04-viii-1970/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/LOC01940.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200807 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200808 DTSTAMP:20260817T135743Z CREATED:20200411T184802Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135743Z UID:4496-1596758400-1596844799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Mike Waddington (07-viii-1966) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Michael P Waddington (07-viii-1966) \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-michael-p-waddingham-07-viii-1966/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200809 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200810 DTSTAMP:20210802T084332Z CREATED:20200408T212410Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210802T084332Z UID:4215-1596931200-1597017599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Angus Dunnington (09-viii-1967) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of IM Angus Dunnington (09-viii-1967) \nAngus James Dunnington was born in Wakefield\, West Yorkshire\, his mother’s maiden name was Townend. \nHe has lived in Castleford\, West Yorkshire and most recently in Lockerbie\, Dumfriesshire. \nAngus became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master in 1991. \nAngus has been a recipient of a Chess Journalists of America award and was chess correspondent for The Yorkshire Post. He has been an Olympiad trainer. \nAngus has played for 4NCL White Rose and his peak FIDE rating was 2450 in January 1996\, aged 29. \nHe won Toulouse 1993 with 6.5/9\, we was first equal (3) in the London Agency tournament on 1997 with 6/9\, we was equal first in the 1999 Hampstead IM tournament with 6.5/9. \nAs White Angus prefers a Reti style double fianchetto\, the King’s Indian Attack and also the Queen’s Gambit and is an expert on the Catalan and KIA. \nAs Black Angus essays the Modern Defence for most of the time. \nHis most recent ECF grading was 212E in 2005 and was 232A in 1996. \nIn 2018 after a lengthy absence Angus made a welcome return to the Scottish Championship Open with a strong =3rd place. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\nIM Angus Dunnington\, photograph by Gisbert Jacoby\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nThe Ultimate King’s Indian Attack\, 1993\nPawn Power !\, 1994\nWinning with the Catalan\, 1997\nEasy Guide to the Reti Opening\n101 Winning Chess Strategies\, 1999\nWinning Unorthodox Openings\, 2000\nMastering the Middlegame\, 2001\nChess Psychology\, 2003\nNimzo-Indian Rubinstein: Complex Lines with 4e3\, 2004\nBlunders and How to Avoid Them\, 2004\nIM Angus Dunnington\, photograph by Cathy Rogers\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-angus-dunnington-09-viii-1967/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,Poker,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IMG_0776.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200810 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200811 DTSTAMP:20210814T095816Z CREATED:20200411T130005Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210814T095816Z UID:4429-1597017600-1597103999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Michael Rahal (10-viii-1970) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of IM Michael A Rahal (10-viii-1970) \nMichael Anthony Rahal was born in Aldershot\, Hampshire to Spanish parents. His mother’s maiden name is Vives Escoda. Michael attended Salesian College in Farnborough. Previously the strongest player from Aldershot may have been Michael Antony Pagden. \nHe became a FIDE Master in 1994 and an International Master in 1999. \nHis peak FIDE rating was 2431 in January 2005. \nHe is a Spanish resident. \nHere is his YouTube Channel \nHis handle on the Internet Chess Club is “mikerahal” \n.With the white pieces Michael prefers the Spanish(!) Opening \nWith the black pieces Michael plays the French Winawer and the Classical Dutch. \nSmash the Sicilian with the Smith-Morra Gambit – Michael Rahal (PC-DVD)\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-michael-a-rahal-10-viii-1970/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/maxresdefault.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200810 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200811 DTSTAMP:20260811T101706Z CREATED:20200411T222530Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260811T101706Z UID:4514-1597017600-1597103999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Andrew Webster (10-viii-1973) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of IM Andrew A Webster (10-viii-1973) \nAndrew became a FIDE Master in 1991 and an International Master in 1993 \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-andrew-a-webster-10-viii-1973/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200812 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200813 DTSTAMP:20210805T102719Z CREATED:20190822T222527Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210805T102719Z UID:1016-1597190400-1597276799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Bill Hartston (12-viii-1947) DESCRIPTION:IM William Hartston\, FIDE Candidates\, 2013\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\nOn the “glorious twelfth” of August we celebrate the birthday of one of England’s most popular chess players and writers\, IM Bill Hartston. \nWilliam Roland Hartston was born in Willesden\, Middlesex on Tuesday\, August 12th\, 1947. His father was William Hartston\, a significant member of the Royal College of Physicians who was married to Mary Rowland. Bill has a sister. \nBill Hartston\nHe studied at the City of London School and then studied mathematics at Jesus College\, Cambridge and graduated with a BA in 1968 and an MA in 1972\, but did not complete his PhD on number theory. \nAn early Bill Hartston\, event unknown\nWhile studying for his PhD at Cambridge\, Hartston developed an intricate system for balancing an entire chess set on top of a single rook. Here is an article with an explanation letter from Bill. \nBill married Dr. Jana Malypetrova in January\, 1970 in Cambridge. In 1978 Bill married Elizabeth Bannerman\, also in Cambridge and from that marriage he had two sons\, James and Nicholas. \nBill and Dr. Jana Hartston (née Malypetrova)\nBill became an International Master in 1972 and his highest FIDE rating was 2485 in January 1979. \nWith the white pieces Bill almost exclusively played 1.e4 and the Ruy Lopez. \nWith the black pieces Bill played the Sicilian Taimanov and the Czech Benoni. \nBill plays his trusty Sicilian Taimanov against an unknown opponent\nBill is a self-proclaimed follower of Prof. AJ Ayer (See the Acknowledgements in “Soft Pawn”) Clint Eastwood and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. \nBill and Jana Hartston are shown with some of their many chess sets. CHESS\, August 1973\, page 323\nBill was the chess correspondent of The Independent and The Mail on Sunday. He was also a regular presenter and commentator for television. He worked with Jeremy James on the BBC’s Master Game. \nThe Master Game\, Series 6&7 with Jeremy James and Bill Hartston\nBill is an industrial psychologist. \nCuriously the 1984 edition of the usually reliable The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper and Whyld does not have an entry for the twice British Champion : was this simply an oversight ? Jana is also not mentioned. \n\nBill wrote about himself in British Chess (Pergamon\, 1983) : \n“To summarise more than 20 years of playing competitive chess in a few hundred words is an impossible task. My attitude to the game has changed a great deal\, especially in recent times\, but I have always enjoyed and felt at home in the tense and lively atmosphere of chess tournaments\, whether as a competitor\, spectator or journalist. \nCaption as per photograph below\nCaption for above photograph\nI consider myself lucky to have been a ‘promising junior’ just at the time when chess was beginning to be taken seriously as a sport in England. The English team consisted mainly of amateurs and there were clear opportunities for anyone willing to work at the game. As a result of the changing attitudes to the game in this country\, the development between 1965\, when I first played for the national team\, and 1975 was far greater than in any other decade. One statistic which I have always found personally amusing is that I progressed from youngest player in 1967 for the Clare Benedict tournament to become the oldest in the 1971 team. From promising junior to veteran in four years = is this a record ? \nBill Hartston commentating on games from the Phillips & Drew King’s 1982\nSince my second British Championship win in 1975\, I have been writing more and playing less. I always realised that I was not going to become a sufficiently strong player to be happy just wandering round the tournament circuit\, but giving up chess entirely is\, of course\, unthinkable. I believe now that the time is ripe for chess to be presented to far wider audiences and I like to think that some of what I do will help in that aim. If the Master Game television series and “Soft Pawn” cannot sell chess to the masses then nothing will.” \nBill was always a keen supporter of junior chess. Here at the Teachers Assurance National Schools Championships in 1980\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHarry Golombek wrote the following in a 1980 Dataday chess diary : \n“Hartston played hardly at all during the period from my last entry of him in the 1977 diary and that little\, though respectable\, was hardly the performance of an active master. His equal 3rd to 5th at the big Aaronson’s Masters Tournament (a swiss system event with 72 players) did not really affect his rating and indeed he finished up without changing his Elo rating at all. \nNevertheless\, this glimpse of his true powers was impressive as can be seen in the following game which was played in the 6th round of the Aaronson tournament.” \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess(Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master (1972) and British Champion (1973) William Hartston was born in London on the 12th August 1947. He was taught to play chess by his father when he was seven and five years later joined Enfield Chess Club. His results in junior events included 1st in the London Boys’ Under 16 Championship and 2nd in the British Boys’ Under 15 Championship in 1962 and =2nd in the British Boys Under 18 Championship in 1963. \nBill had a keen interest in computer chess and technology\nIn 1965\, Hartston made his first appearance in the British Championship and came =5th. In the same year he won the Ilford and Paignton Premier tournaments. Playing on board 3 for England in the 1966 Olympiad. Hartston scored the best result of any British player\, 66.7%. In the Olympiad of 1970\, he had the best overall score on board 3\, 12.5 out of 16 and in the Olympiad of 1972 he won the prize for the 3rd best score on board 2\, 12.5 out of 18. In 1972 he narrowly failed to qualify for the Interzonal tournament\, when he came 3rd in the Zonal tournament at Vranjacka Banja.” \nMike Basman plays Bill during the play-off for the 1973 British Championship\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek : \n“British International Master and twice British Champion. Hartston was born in London and his early chess was played there.\, where he became London Boy (Under-16 Champion in 1962. \nHe was educated at the City of London School and Jesus College\, Cambridge\, where he took a degree in mathematics. \nIt soon became clear that he was one of the leading young players in England and a rivalry developed between him and Raymond Keene in which first one and then the other obtained the upper hand. \nAfter a number of near misses he won the British Championship at Eastbourne in 1973 and again at Morecambe in 1975. \nJana & Bill Hartston celebrate a family double at the British Championships in 1973 at Eastbourne\nInternationally he has already had a distinguished career and has been especially good and consistent in his representation of England at the Olympiads. At Havana in 1966 he scored 66.7% on board 3 but did not play at Lugano in 1968. Again on board 3 at Siegen in 1970 he obtained the best score on board 3 with 78.1%. At Skopje 1972 he fulfilled the second norm of the international master title with 12.5 points out of 18 on second board. Playing on first board at Nice 1974 he attained 52.7% and had a most meritorious and well fought draw with the World Champion\, Karpov. \nBill Hartston draws with Anatoly Karpov at Nice 1974\nHe achieved a breakthrough in the field of international tournament chess when he came third in a strong Premier tournament at Hastings 1972/3 \nHastings\, England\, 4th January 1972\, Chess\, Russian Grand Master Viktor Korchnoi (right) is pictured in a match with William Hartston (UK) during the 47th Hastings International Chess Tournament (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)\nand in 1973 he scored a first at Alicante. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHis best tournament result came three years later when he won 1st prize at Sarajevo 1976. \nSarajevo 1976 Crosstable from English Chess Explosion (1980)\nHis style of play is sound and competent in all the spheres of the game. That he can be brilliant when necessary he demonstrated his beautiful brilliancy game against the Finnish grandmaster Westerinen at Allicante in 1973. He has a fine\, broad knowledge of the openings and has written a number of articles and books on that theme. \nBill was always a keen supporter of junior chess. event unknown.\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nDanish chess grandmaster Bent Larsen (1935 – 2010\, left) takes on English player William Hartston (right) during the annual Hastings International Chess Congress\, UK\, 13th January 1973. Larsen won the game. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)\nA lucid and entertaining writer\, he has also appeared with success in BBC Television chess programmes. \nBill Hartston at a promotional event\nAmong his chief works are : \nThe Benoni\, London\, 1969\nThe Grunfeld Defence\, London\, 1971\nThe Best Games of CHO’D Alexander (with H. Golombek)\, Oxford\, 1976.” \nIn modern times Bill has made regular appearances with World Cluedo champion\, Josef Kollar on Channel Four’s Gogglebox with a pair of painted breasts as background. \nHere is his Wikipedia article \nSee his entry from the Jewish Lives Project \nThe King’s Indian Defence\, 1969\nThe Benoni\, 1969\nHow to Cheat at Chess\, 1976\nThe Best Games of C.H.O’D. Alexander\, 1976\nThe Grünfeld Defence\, 1977\nBenoni\, 1977\nKarpov-Korchnoi\, 1978\nSoft Pawn\, 1980\nThe Phillips & Drew King’s Chess Tournament\, 1980\nThe Penguin Book of Chess Openings\, 1981\nThe Psychology of Chess\, 1984\nShort vs Kasparov\, 1993\nThe Kings of Chess\, 1995\nThe Guinness Book of Chess Grandmasters\, 1996\nWilliam Hartston\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-william-hartston/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,History,Journalist,Player,Writer END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200814 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200815 DTSTAMP:20210812T112950Z CREATED:20200414T001037Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210812T112950Z UID:4419-1597363200-1597449599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Malcolm Pein (14-viii-1960) DESCRIPTION:BCN sends IM Malcolm Pein best wishes on his 61st birthday. \nIM Malcolm Pein at the King’s Place Rapidplay 2013\, photograph courtesy of John Upham\nMalcolm Bernard Pein was born in Liverpool (South). South Lancashire and his mother’s maiden name is Max. (Gaige\, Felice and chessgames.com all incorrectly have Malcolm L. Pein). \nMalcolm Pein\nThis was written about Malcolm aged 19 just prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display : \n” London University and Liverpool\, Rating 199. British under-18 co-champion\, 1977. Currently No.1 player for London University.” \nMalcolm hard at work\nMalcolm studied Chemical Engineering at University College\, London entering in September 1978. He won The University of London championship in February 1979. \nHe became an International Master in 1986 and is a FIDE Delegate (for England) and an International Director. \nMalcolm’s peak rating was 2450 in January 1992 at the age of 32. \nMalcolm Pein (third from right) and a victorious Wood Green team. Trophy presented by Magnus Magnusson\nWith the white pieces Malcolm prefers the Queen’s Gambit almost exclusively with 1.e4 rarely seeing the light of day scoring 62% \nAs the second player\, Malcolm champions the Pirc\, Modern and Grunfeld defences scoring 49% which MegaBase 2020 claims is “above average”. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nIM Malcolm Pein at the Bristol heat of the British Blitz Qualification event in 2019\nIn addition to his newspaper column and magazine editorial\, Malcolm has written a number of chess books and booklets\, including : \nGrunfeld Defence (Batsford\, 1981) – ISBN 978-0713435948\nBlumenfeld Defence [with Jan Przewoznik] (Everyman\, 1991) – ISBN 978-0080371337\nDaily Telegraph Guide to Chess (Batsford\, 1995) – ISBN 978-0713478143\nThe Exchange Grunfeld [with Adrian Mikhalchishin] (Everyman\, 1996) – ISBN 978-1857440560] \nNigel Short’s Chess Skills (1989)(was ghost written by Malcolm)\nMalcolm won the ECF President’s Award in 2017: \n“Malcolm Pein’s contribution to English Chess is well known. He is CEO of Chess in Schools and Communities\, has been largely involved in the organisation of the London Chess Classic and is currently the ECF’s Delegate to FIDE and International Director. On top of all that he is also an IM\, writes the ‘Daily Telegraph’ Chess Column\, and edits CHESS Magazine.” \nIM Malcolm Pein at the London Chess Classic 2013\, photograph courtesy of John Upham\nMalcolm is also owner (and a director) of the London Chess Centre (a company incorporated on May 1st 1997) which has relocated to 44\, Baker Street\, former home of the British Chess Magazine retail premises. This was purchased from Stephen Lowe and Shaun Taulbut in 2010 when the leasehold on the Euston Road premises expired. Another director is Henry Gerald Mutkin who is the main organiser of the annual Varsity match. \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nMalcolm has a son\, Jonathan who is a strong player and he resides in London\, NW7. \nJonathan and Malcolm Pein at the 2016 Michael Uriely Memorial Tournament\nMalcolm Pein & Dominic Lawson\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-malcolm-bernard-pein-14-viii-1960/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Organiser,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/bct_4297_lv-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200815 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200816 DTSTAMP:20210812T112913Z CREATED:20200411T124913Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210812T112913Z UID:4422-1597449600-1597535999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM John Pigott (15-viii-1957) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes IM John Pigott all the best on his birthday (15-viii-1957) \nJohn Christopher Pigott was born in Croydon\, Surrey and his mother’s maiden name was Fletcher. \nIn 1975 John was selected by the BCF junior selectors and travelled with Jonathan Speelman and Peter J Lee (Hampshire) to the 8th Biel International Open in Switzerland. Leonard Barden wrote in the October 1975 British Chess Magazine (the cover was of Geller and Smyslov) : \n“17-year-old John Pigott’s 8.5/11 included wins against IM Kluger\, IM Messing and the 1975 Budapest Champion Rajna and earned him 2\,000 Swiss francs in prize money. The three English juniors who competed\, Pigott\, Speelman and Lee were chosen by the BCF junior selectors and travelled to Switzerland with the help of grant from the Slater Foundation and the London Chess Club.” \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nJohn represented England at the 1975 Anglo-Dutch match (25th and 26th of October) scoring 0.5/2 versus Paul van der Sterren. The game scores appear to either have been lost on not recorded. \n\nIn 1976 John scored 4.5/5 in the Surrey Open and shared the 3rd\, 4th and 5th prize. \nThe caption is in the photograph below\nThe caption is in the photograph above\nJohn became a FIDE Master in 1984 and an International Master in 2017\, a gap of some 33 years! \nJohn plays for Little Heath\, 4NCL Barbican\, Hon Members LCCL and King’s Head chess clubs. \nAfter a sojourn from chess John returned to the ECF grading list in January 2015 with a grading of 269F attracting some attention. \nHis highest FIDE rating was 2419 in February 2018 at the age of 61. \nWith the white pieces John plays the Queen’s Gambit and the Giuoco Piano. \nAs the second player John enjoys the Sicilian Najdorf and the Nimzo Indian Defence. \nJon Speelman’s Agony Column #40 \n\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-john-christopher-pigott-15-viii-1957/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/49460423371_c7279152fb_b.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200815 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200816 DTSTAMP:20260811T102336Z CREATED:20200411T181253Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260811T102336Z UID:4474-1597449600-1597535999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Andrew Smith (15-viii-1959) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to FM Andrew Smith (15-viii-1959) \nAndrew became a FIDE Master in 1994 and is registered with the Irish Chess Union. \nHis highest FIDE rating was 2310 in July 1994 at the age of 35. \nFM Andrew Smith\, photographer unknown\nHe plays for Bourne End Chess Club in the Buckinghamshire League and in the Berkshire League. \nAndrew also plays for 4NCL Barnet Knights (he has played for Atticus)\, Buckinghamshire CCA in the Chiltern League and Hon Members LCCL. \nHe has won the Berks & Bucks Congress in 2018 and 2016 (joint) and he became Berkshire Individual Champion as a direct consequence winning the Cadogan Cup. \nWith the white pieces Andrew is (almost) exclusively a 1.e4 player favouring the Centre Game \nand as the second player Andrew plays the Philidor Defence and the Benoni. \nHe is known to favour “enterprising” variations such as the Mason Variation of the Philidor\, the Haldane Attack versus the French and other such exotica. \nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXXII (132)\, Number 7 (July) front cover features FM Andrew Smith from the final 4NCL weekend of the 2011-2012 season\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFM Andrew Smith at the 2019 Keith Richardson Memorial\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-andrew-p-smith-15-viii-1959/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/bct_4670_lv.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200820 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200821 DTSTAMP:20210820T094736Z CREATED:20190822T152431Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210820T094736Z UID:977-1597881600-1597967999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of Leonard Barden (20-viii-1929) DESCRIPTION:Ninety-two today is Leonard Barden\, born Tuesday\, August 20th\, 1929. \nHis mother’s maiden was Bartholomew and she became Elise EM Barden when she married Leonard’s father who was William C Barden and in 1939 they lived at 89\, Tennison Road\, Croydon. \n89\, Tennison Road\, Croydon\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek OBE: \n“British Master and joint British Champion 1954. Barden was born in Croydon and learned to play at his school\, Whitgift\, which became a frequent producer of fine players. \nIn 1946 he tied for first place in the London Boys Championship and in the following year he tied with Jonathan Penrose for first place in the British Boys Championship\, but lost the play-off. \nIn 1952 he came first at Paignton ahead of the Canadian Grandmaster Yanofsky and he reached his peak in 1954 when \, after tieing for first place with the Belgian Grandmaster O’Kelly de Galway at Bognor\, he tied for for first place in the British Championship at Nottingham with A. Phillips. The play-off was drawn and so the players became joint champions. \nAlan Phillips and Leonard Barden are joint British Champions of 1954 in Nottingham\, photographer unknown\nHe played for the BCF in four Olympiads from 1952 to 1962 and then abandoned competitive chess\, applying all his energies to writing (he is chess correspondent of the Guardian\, the Financial Times\, the Evening Standard and the Field\, and has written many books on the game. \nHe has also developed two special interests\, in junior chess and in grading\, working with utmost persistence and energy in both of these fields. \nLeonard authored a series of articles on what was to become the Yugoslav Attack versus the Sicilian Dragon. Source : British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 7 (July)\, page 208\nAmongst his best works are : a A Guide to Chess Openings\, London\, 1957; The Ruy Lopez\, Oxford\, 1963; The King’s Indian Defence\, London\, 1968.” \nDisappointingly  Sunnucks Encyclopedia does not mention Barden at all and and surprisingly Hooper and Whyld’s usually excellent Oxford Companion only from a connection with Jim Slater. \nLeonard Bardens’ Evening Standard column ends after 63 Years \nSignature of LW Barden from a Brian Reilly “after dinner” postcard from Southsea 1951.\nHere is an in-depth article from Edward Winter \nLeonard Barden’s Blunder Theory from Kingpin Magazine \n54-Year-Old Chess Record established in 2009 \nFrom Wikipedia : \n“Leonard William Barden (born 20 August 1929\, in Croydon\, London) is an English chess master\, writer\, broadcaster\, organizer and promoter. The son of a dustman\, he was educated at Whitgift School\, South Croydon\, and Balliol College\, Oxford\, where he read Modern History. \nTravel Chess2nd January 1951: British chess champions Jonathan Penrose and Leonard Barden prepare their openings over breakfast in the Yelton Hotel before the 9.30 am round start at Hastings 1950-51. (Photo by Walter Bellamy/Express/Getty Images)\nHe learned to play chess at age 13 while in a school shelter during a World War II German air raid. Within a few years he became one of the country’s leading juniors.[1] He represented England in four Chess Olympiads. Barden played a major role in the rise of English chess from the 1970s. As a chess columnist for various newspapers\, his column in London’s Evening Standard is the world’s longest-standing chess column. \nLeonard Barden (seated\, second from right) Before Botvinnik’s 1981 Pergamon Press clock simul against England juniors\, the final competitive event of the Patriarch’s career.Standing: Stuart Conquest\, Neil Dickenson. Gary Lane\, Alan Byron\,Daniel King\, John Hawksworth\, Pergamon editor.Seated: Julian Hodgson\, Byron Jacobs\, Mikhail Botvinnik\, Leonard Barden\, Bernard Cafferty.\nIn 1946\, Barden won the British Junior Correspondence Chess Championship\, and tied for first place in the London Boys’ Championship. The following year he tied for first with Jonathan Penrose in the British Boys’ Championship\, but lost the playoff. \nBarden finished fourth at Hastings in 1951–52. In 1952\, he won the Paignton tournament ahead of the Canadian future grandmaster Daniel Yanofsky. He captained the Oxfordshire team which won the English Counties championship in 1951 and 1952. \nBarden making a move at Southend 1955.\nIn the latter year he captained the University of Oxford team which won the National Club Championship\, and he represented the university in the annual team match against the University of Cambridge during his years there. In 1953\, he won the individual British Lightning Championship (ten seconds a move). \nThe following year\, he tied for first with the Belgian grandmaster Albéric O’Kelly de Galway at Bognor Regis\, was joint British champion\, with Alan Phillips\, and won the Southern Counties Championship. \nLeonard Barden vs Victor Korchnoi\, Leipzig Olympiad\, 1960\nHe finished fourth at Hastings 1957–58\, ranked by chessmetrics as his best statistical performance. In the 1958 British Chess Championship\, Barden again tied for first\, but lost the playoff match to Penrose 1½–3½. \nLeonard Barden (centre) with Raaphi Persitz\, JB Sykes\, OI Galvenius and DM Armstrong\, Ilford\, May\, 1953\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nLWB observes analysis between David Rumens and Murray Chandler from Brighton 1980. Photograph courtesy of John Upham.\nHe represented England in the Chess Olympiads at Helsinki 1952 (playing fourth board\, scoring 2 wins\, 5 draws\, and 4 losses)\, Amsterdam 1954 (playing first reserve\, scoring 1 win\, 2 draws\, and 4 losses)\, Leipzig 1960 (first reserve; 4 wins\, 4 draws\, 2 losses) and Varna 1962 (first reserve; 7 wins\, 2 draws\, 3 losses). The latter was his best performance by far. \nLeonard Barden (left) and Murray Chandler display the Lloyds Bank Trophy which the 19-year old New Zealander won ahead of 3 Grandmasters and 10 International Masters for his finest international success up to 1979. in the Lloyds Bank Masters\nBarden has a Morphy number of 3\, having drawn with Jacques Mieses in the Premier Reserves at Hastings 1948–49. Mieses drew with Henry Bird in the last round of Hastings 1895\, and Bird played a number of games with Paul Morphy in 1858 and 1859. \nEngland’s under-12 junior teams finished first and second in the international Eumig Cup\, 1981.Front row: Peter Morrish (organiser)\, Jimmy Hockaday\, Darren Lee\, Neil Fox\, Neil Carr. Second row: James Howell\, Stuart Conquest\, Teresa Needham. Far right: LB.\nIn 1964\, Barden gave up most competitive chess to devote his time to chess organisation\, broadcasting\, and writing about the game. He has made invaluable contributions to English chess as a populariser\, writer\, organiser\, fundraiser\, and broadcaster. \nLeonard Barden at Bob Wade’s 80th birthday party\, 2001.\nHe was controller of the British Chess Federation Grand Prix for many years\, having found its first sponsor\, Cutty Sark. He was a regular contributor to the BBC’s Network Three weekly radio chess programme from 1958 to 1963. His best-known contribution was a consultation game\, recorded in 1960 and broadcast in 1961\, where he partnered Bobby Fischer against the English masters Jonathan Penrose and Peter Clarke. This was the only recorded consultation game of Fischer’s career. The game\, unfinished after eight hours of play\, was adjudicated a draw by former world champion Max Euwe. Barden gave BBC television commentaries on all the games in the 1972 world championship. From 1973 to 1978 he was co-presenter of BBC2’s annual Master Game televised programme. \nJulian and Nigel Short play Korchnoi in the Evening Standard 1976 simul. Leonard Barden observes.\nAs of 2021\, his weekly columns have been published in The Guardian for 65 years and in The Financial Times for 46 years. A typical Barden column not only contains a readable tournament report\, but is geared toward promoting the game. His London Evening Standard column\, begun in summer 1956\, is now the world’s longest running daily chess column by the same author\, breaking the previous record set by George Koltanowski in the San Francisco Chronicle. Koltanowski’s column ran for 51 years\, 9 months\, and 18 days\, including posthumous articles.” \nLeonard Barden (Linda Nylind of the Guardian)\nLeonard wrote this on the English Chess Forum in 2021 : \n“I retired after Ilford 1964 when I finished a poor last in the England Olympiad team qualifier\, returned at Hammersmith 1969 (equal 2nd behind Keene) and then played around 6-8 weekenders a year until 1972. My overall performance level between early 60s and early 70s dropped from around 225 to 215 BCF\, so I wasn’t encouraged to pursue the comeback further.” \nLeonard was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1953-54 season. \nLeonard Barden\, Stewart Reuben and Michael Franklin at the 1978 Aaronson Masters\nLeonard reveals this as his best 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\nLeonard has authored or co-authored a number of highly regarded books\, most of which are highly instructional to this day: \nA Guide to Chess Openings (1957)\, \nA Guide to Chess Openings\nHow Good Is Your Chess? (1957)\, \nHow Good is Your Chess ?\nChess (1959)\,\nIntroduction to Chess Moves and Tactics Simply Explained (1959)\, \nAn Introduction to Chess Moves and Tactics Simply Explained\nModern Chess Miniatures (with Wolfgang Heidenfeld\, 1960)\,\nErevan 1962 (1963)\,\nThe Ruy Lopez (1963)\, \nThe Ruy Lopez\nThe Guardian Chess Book (1967)\, \nThe Guardian Chess Book\nAn Introduction to Chess (1967)\, \nAn Introduction to Chess\nThe King’s Indian Defence (1969)\, \nThe King’s Indian Defence\nChess: Master the Moves (1977)\,\nGuide to the Chess Openings (with Tim Harding\, 1977)\, \nGuide to the Chess Openings\nLeonard Barden’s Chess Puzzle Book (1977) (a collection of his Evening Standard columns)\, \nLeonard Barden’s Chess Puzzle Book\nThe Master Game (with Jeremy James\, 1979)\, \nThe Master Game\nHow to Play the Endgame in Chess (1979)\, \nHow to Play The Endgame in Chess\nPlay Better Chess (1980)\, \nPlay Better Chess\nBatsford Chess Puzzles (2002)\, \nBatsford Chess Puzzles\nOne Move and You’re Dead (with Erwin Brecher\, 2007) : Can you supply an image? \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-leonard-william-barden/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Organiser,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/barden05.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200820 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200821 DTSTAMP:20200819T095735Z CREATED:20190824T152338Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200819T095735Z UID:1186-1597881600-1597967999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825 20-viii-1874) DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825 20-viii-1874) \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984) by David Hooper and Ken Whyld : \n“One of the strongest English players during the 1850s\, He made little impression in his one and only tournament\, London 1862\, but is remembered for having scored more wins than anyone else in friendly play against Morphy in 1858. He reduced his corpulence by 130 pounds in ten months and as a result died. ” \nHe is perhaps most well know for having a reasonable score against Paul Morphy of -19 +8 which was a lot better than most ! \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\nAccording to chessgames.com : \n“Thomas Wilson Barnes was one of the strongest English players in the 1850s. His only tournament appearance was in London 1862 but he did not do himself justice. He’s best remembered for having more wins against Paul Morphy in friendly play than anyone else. Being overweight he decided to reduce his size\, but the loss of 130 pounds in 10 months was more than his system could handle and resulted in his death in 1874.” \nThe Barnes Opening\, was played by T. W. Barnes. This opening move has no particular merit but he liked to avoid book lines\, to which end he\nsometimes answered 1 e4 by 1…f6. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHe died at 68\, Cambridge Street\, Pimlico. \nHis death was registered in the St George\, Hanover Square district. \nHe was buried on August 25th\, 1874 in Brompton Cemetery (plot number 76449). According to the burial records he had a “Private Grave” the plot of which had coordinates of 113.3 x 18.3 relative to the NE corner of the cemetery. Also “no extra depth” was required meaning his depth was 5ft whereas some are at 17 foot down with others above. \n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-thomas-wilson-barnes/ CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Thomas_Wilson_Barnes.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200821 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200822 DTSTAMP:20260811T104024Z CREATED:20200411T122812Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260811T104024Z UID:4412-1597968000-1598054399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of WCM Dinah Norman (née Dobson) (21-viii-1946) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to Dinah Norman on August 21st\n\nDinah Margaret Dobson was born on Wednesday\, August 21st 1946 in Exeter\, Devon. Her parents were Leslie and Barbara Dobson (née Hayward).\n\nSome of the participants in the Paul Keres display on November 25th\, 1962\, at St Pancras Town Hall\, London WC1. Back row : AJ. Whiteley\, D\, Floyer\, PJ Collins\, PJ Adams\, RC Vaughan\, KB Harman\, D. Parr\, DNL Levy\, Front row : MV Lambshire\, AE Hopkins (selector) Paul Keres\, Miss D. Dobson\, RE Hartley\, BC Gillman\, WR Hartston and PN Lee. Photograph by AM Reilly. Source : BCM\, 1963\, page 13\n\nDinah became a WCM in 2002.\n\nAccording to chessgames.com : “Dinah Margaret Norman Dobson is a WCM. She was British champion (w) in 1967 (=Rowena Mary Bruce\, Oxford)\, 1968 (Bristol) and 1969 (=Rowena Mary Bruce\, Rhyl).”\n\nDinah Dobson 22-year-old Champion British Chess Player Deep In Thought During Chess Competition In Hastings. Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock\n\nDinah played on board three (i.e. 1st reserve) for England in the third FIDE Women’s Olympiad in Oberhausen\, Germany in 1966 and in 1969 she played board 1 in Lublin\, Poland.\n\nEnglish Chess Champion Dinah Dobson Playing Against Two German Boys During Lunch-break At Chess Competition In Hastings. Box 658 221121512 A.jpg.English Chess Champion Dinah Dobson Playing Against Two German Boys During Lunch-break At Chess Competition In Hastings. Mandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock\n\nShe played in the 1968 Anglo-Dutch match on the Ladies board\, which\, at that time\, did not count in the overall match result.\n\nThe Annual International Chess Championship opened today at Hasting. Dinah “Dobson\,” “23\,” of Northwood Middlesex. December 1969\n\nNow (1071) living in Northwood\, Middlesex\, she married Danny Wright in Westminster and in 1983 she married Ken Norman in Richmond.\n\nDinah Wright (third from right) playing in the 1971 British Ladies Championship in Palatine School\, Blackpool. Courtesy of Lancashire Evening Post.\n\nDinah has been a member of Crowthorne Chess Club and has played in the Berkshire League. She has represented 4NCL Iceni and Guildford in other competitions.\n\nAccording to Megabase 2020 her highest FIDE rating was 2085 in July 1990 at the age of 44. However\, it would have been higher than this in the late 1960s and 1970s had ratings been established then.\n\nDinah Norman at the 2017 Keith Richardson Memorial organised by Camberley Chess Club. Courtesy of John Upham Photographic\n\n\nWith the white pieces she has essayed the Colle-Koltanowki Opening for many years and as the second player she has played the Caro-Kann\, Smyslov Variation and the Semi-Slav Defence.\n\n\nDinah Norman with Sandra Richardson at the 2017 Keith Richardson Memorial organised by Camberley Chess Club\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Save as PDF URL:http://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-dinah-margaret-norman-nee-dobson-21-viii-1946/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,History,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bcc_3660-lv.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR