Tag Archives: British

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

Leave a comment

We remember IM Robert Graham Wade OBE who passed away on November 29th, 2008.

In 1979 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Civil Division Bob Wade was awarded the OBE. The citation read simply : “For services to Chess”

He won the BCF Presidents’s Award in 1986.

In the Foreword to the 2009 ECF Yearbook, President Gerry Walsh wrote :

“As I started this report I had just heard the sad news that IM Bob Wade had died aged 87. I first met Bob at one of the Whitby Congresses and in 1972 he played in the Teeside GM Tournament where I recall he beat the three Hungarian players Portisch, Bilek and Sax (ed : aged 51).”

Geurt Gijssen wrote in Chesscafe.com :

“I received the sad news that Bob Wade passed away at the age of eighty seven. He played his last tournament in London in August. When I was young I read about his exploits as a chess player, and he was the arbiter in many important chess events. I met him in 1993 when I was the organizer of the first part of the match Karpov – Timman, played in The Netherlands in three different cities: Zwolle, Arnhem, and Amsterdam. He was the only member of the Appeals Committee and Bob was always present watching the games in the playing hall. He gave me invaluable advice about all elements of the match venues. It was very clear that he was an experienced chess player and arbiter, and I learned many things from him. May he rest in peace.”

From the 1952 Ilford Congress (30 May - 2 June) and originally published in BCM, July 1952, page 187. (l-r) : Harold Israel, Alan Phillips, Bob Wade, Otto Friedman, Abe Yanofsky, Alfred William Bowen and Harold Meek. Thanks to John Saunders and Leonard Barden
From the 1952 Ilford Congress (30 May – 2 June) and originally published in BCM, July 1952, page 187. (l-r) : Harold Israel, Alan Phillips, Bob Wade, Otto Friedman, Abe Yanofsky, Alfred William Bowen and Harold Meek. Thanks to John Saunders and Leonard Barden

Wade was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 1956-57, 1957-58 and 1964-65 seasons.

From the Preface of The World Chess Championship : 1951 by Lionel Sharples Penrose we have :

“Mr. Wade is also passionately devoted to the game. Before coming to Europe, he was three times champion of New Zealand. He had played in tournaments in England but his chief successes have been on the Continent. At Venice in 1950, he obtained a high place in a very severe contest in which some of the strongest Russia, Czech, Dutch, French, Italian, North and South American players took part. Much of his time is occupied in chess organising and teaching. He is an acting vice-president of the F.I.D.É and in this official capacity he attended the match in Moscow, which is the subject of this book.”

IM Bob Wade
IM Bob Wade

Simon Spivak & Paul McKeown have researched the earliest part of Bob’s life as follows:

“On May 20th, 1919, Thomas Graham Wade, aged 27, Sergeant in the NZ Expeditionary Force, repatriated with honour from war-time service in Egypt, Gallipoli and France, married Amy Lilian Neave, aged 21, in South Dunedin. A New Zealander of Scots and English descent, his family was Graham from Montrose. The family name, Wade, came from Marshall George Wade, the soldier and engineer who led the Hanoverian forces against the Scots at the time of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and was immortalised in the original third verse of the British national anthem:

Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.

May he sedition hush and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King.

IM Bob Wade
IM Bob Wade

Robert Graham Wade, known in the Scots manner to his family as Robin, and later to his many friends as Bob, was their first child, born April 10th, 1921, at Dunedin. Over the next few years he was joined by sisters, Lilian, Agnes, Betty, June, his brother Ted and finally by his youngest sister Amy. The family lived for a number of years at Portobello.

At that time, Portobello was a scattered community of about 150 people with three shops and a pub on the Otago Peninsula. Bob attended Portobello Primary School, a small country school, finished “dux” or top of class, and then attended the King Edward Technical High School at Stuart Street in Dunedin.”

IM Bob Wade
IM Bob Wade

In The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984 & 1996), Hooper & Whyld:

“Wade Variation, 147, also known as the Modern Variation, in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Meran Variation, from Bogoljubow-Wade, Oldenburg, 1949;

1239 in the French Defence, introduced by Wade in a match against Schmid in 1950.

Hooper & Whyld go on to write :

“New Zealand-born Robert Graham Wade (1921- ) won the championship of his homeland three times before moving to England as a young man, He won the British Championship twice and trained many English players.”

Aside from the two variations mentioned by Hooper & Whyld there are other Wade Variations :

which Jim Plaskett dubbed the “Sidestep Variation”

and

which is the Pytel-Wade Variation of the Scandinavian Defence.

Anne Sunnucks wrote in The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale, 1970 & 1976) :

“International Master (1950 Ed: actually 1954), International Judge (1958), New Zealand Champion three times and British Champion in 1952 and 1970.

Bob Wade was born in New Zealand on 10th April 1921 and is a professional chess player. He has lived in England for many years and has played regularly for the British Chess Federation team in Chess Olympiads. He has played a prominent part in coaching schemes for juniors and is largely responsible fpr recent successes of English juniors in international events.

He is chess correspondent of Associated Newspapers and Independent Television News and editor of a series of books on Contemporary Chess Openings published by Batsford.

Author of a number of books on the game, his publications include books on the World Championship of 1951, 1957 (ed : this book was, in fact, by Golombek) and 1963, the first in collaboration with W. Winter; The Closed Ruy Lopez (Batsford, 1970) in collaboration with LS Blackstock and PJ Booth: World Chess Championship (Batsford, 1972) in collaboration with S.Gligoric; Games of RJ Fischer (Batsford, 1972) in collaboration with KJ O’Connell and Soviet Chess (Neville Spearman, 1968).

Wade was a member of the FIDE Laws Commission from 1950 to 1952.”

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE :

“International Master who was born at Dunedin, New Zealand, but came to live In England in 1946 and has represented both countries on different occasions. He has nearly always done well in British Championships and won the title in Chester in 1952 and again at Coventry in 1970. He had played for the British Chess Federation at the Olympiads of 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960 and 1962, winning the shortest game of the Varna Olympiad in that year in nine moves against Anton Kinzel of Austria

He played for the New Zealand team at the 1970 Olympiad at Siegen but returned to the BCF team at Skopje in 1972.

His best individual international results were a fifth place at Venice 1950 and again fifth at the Masters section of the Capablanca Memorial at Cienfuegos in Cuba in 1975. Possessor of a sharp clear-cut style of play, he once drew a match with the West German grandmaster Lothar Schmid with neither side drawing a game, though this was before Schmid received the grandmaster title.

He has done much valuable work in England teaching the young, and was responsible for the text of a highly successful television series in 1975.

His main books are : Soviet Chess, London, 1967; Botvinnik-Bronstein Match 1951 (in co-operation with W. Winter), London, Toronto 1951; Match Petrosian-Botvinnik, London, 1963; Sousse 1967, The Chess Player, Nottingham, 1968.”

From British Chess (Pergamon Press, 1983) we have this article from George Botterill :

“In the Birthday Honours list of 1979 Bob Wade was awarded the OBE for his services to chess. Few rewards can have been more thoroughly earned. For some reason, Bob has always been held in greater esteem abroad than in the country for which he has done so much. But they many players who have turned to him fro advice or who have simply enjoyed his hospitality, which is always ungrudgingly available to fellow chess players, know the measure of his dedication to the game.

Theodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953. Bob held TT to a draw to secure first place.
Theodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953. Bob held TT to a draw to secure first place.
Theodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953. Bob held TT to a draw to secure first place.
Theodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953. Bob held TT to a draw to secure first place.

Wade was born in Dunedin, a third generation New Zealander of Scots and English ancestry. He started a a career as a civil servant in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Having won the New Zealand Championship in 1944 and 1945 he was sent over to participate in the British Championship of 1946. The result was not exactly a success – a mere 3.5 points out of 11. But Bob was not to be disheartened so easily. Feeling he was capable of better things, he took leave of absence in 1947 and did the circuit, such as it then was, of chess tournament in Europe and North America.

Bob giving a simul in Leeds in the 1950s
Bob giving a simul in Leeds in the 1950s

When he returned to New Zealand he found that he had been transferred to another department in a civil service reorganisation. The new job was not so congenial. He stuck it out for 6 months – during which time he won the New Zealand Championship for a third time – and then handed in his resignation to take up the precarious life of a chess professional.

IM Bob Wade
IM Bob Wade

Settling in Britain he soon gained the IM title (ed : 1954). But even in those days when still a young man Wade did not concentrate exclusively on his own playing career. In 1949 he went to the FIDE congress and was one of the five people – the others were BH Wood, Ragozin, Zubarev and Rogarde – who collaborated on the writing of the official rules for the game.

Bob Wade OBE, Murray Chandler MNZM and David Anderton OBE at the 1986 Dubai Olympiad. Photograph by Frits Agterdenbos
Bob Wade OBE, Murray Chandler MNZM and David Anderton OBE at the 1986 Dubai Olympiad. Photograph by Frits Agterdenbos

He also served as a member of the commission that determined who the original holders of international titles would be. When you consider that Wade was also on the 1950 commission that decided the composition of the World Championship Interzonals, it becomes apparent that this man played a significant part in the shaping the structure of modern international chess.

Bob at a CentYMCA event with Neil Carr, Mike Wills, Aaron Rose and Jon Ady
Bob at a CentYMCA event with Neil Carr, Mike Wills, Aaron Rose and Jon Ady

Although rarely at the top in international tournaments, Wade was always a very dangerous player, capable on his day of beating anybody in the world. He won the British Championship twice at Chester in 1952 and at Coventry in 1970.

Bob playing Kick Langeweg at IBM 1961.
Bob playing Kick Langeweg at IBM 1961.

In recent years Wade has put his main energies into junior training and organisation and also into his work as the editor of Batsford’s highly productive and extremely successful series of chess books.

Bob with John Nunn and Boris Spassky at the GLC Masters
Bob with John Nunn and Boris Spassky at the GLC Masters

It is hard to say in what department one should place Wade’s greatest contributions to British Chess. Living through what is retrospect look to have been the Dark Ages of British chess – the 1950s and 1960s – he has demonstrated that even in a social and cultural environment that made playing chess economically ‘impossible’ profession to follow it was still possible to dedicate a life to chess, if one had the determination.

Leonard Barden, Henry Mutkin, Adrian Hollis and Bob Wade observe Nick Ivell vs Ken Regan at the 1983 Varsity match
Leonard Barden, Henry Mutkin, Adrian Hollis and Bob Wade observe Nick Ivell vs Ken Regan at the 1983 Varsity match

During those years he was really the only British Player who regularly active in international tournaments. Since then he has been constantly active as an author, editor and adviser, always working to transform Britain into a country more congenial to good chess.

Bob at the demo board at London Central YMCA chess club.
Bob at the demo board at London Central YMCA chess club.

But we suspect that he might regard this role as trainer and coach as the most important thing of all. He is, quite appropriately the British Chess Federation’s Chief National Coach.

Bob doing one of the things he loved best : teaching
Bob doing one of the things he loved best : teaching

If one had to choose a single best game from Wade’s whole tournament career, it would probably be this one.

George Botterill

Dr. Fazekas (left) playing Bob Wade at an Ilford Congress, photographer unknown
Dr. Fazekas (left) playing Bob Wade at an Ilford Congress, photographer unknown

In the January 2009 issue of British Chess Magazine John Saunders wrote a ten page obituary as follows :

British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43
British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), #1 (January), pp. 34-43

Leonard Barden wrote this obituary

Here is Bob’s Telegraph obituary.

John Saunders interviewed Bob at his Blackheath home and wrote this extensive article for the 1999 British Chess Magazine.

His detailed results in Olympiads, from olimpbase.org, follow.

Amsterdam 1954, England board 4, 6/12 (+4−4=4);
Moscow 1956, England board 3, 6½/14 (+2−3=9);
Munich 1958, England 1st reserve, 7/14 (+5−5=4);
Leipzig 1960, England 2nd reserve, 6/11 (+4−3=4);
Varna 1962, England 2nd reserve, 6/12 (+4−4=4);
Siegen 1970, New Zealand board 2, 9/15 (+7−4=4);
Skopje 1972, England board 3, 7½/14 (+4−3=7).
Wade won several middle-strength Master events in the British Isles: Ilford 1957 and 1968, Paignton 1959, Dublin 1962, and Southend-on-Sea 1965.

Wade was generally no more than a middle-ranking player in strong international tournaments. His other highlights against high-standard international-level competition include:

tied 4–5th at Haifa/Tel Aviv 1958 on 7½/13 (winner Samuel Reshevsky);
3rd at Bognor Regis 1959 on 7/10 (winner Erno Gereben);
5th at Reykjavík 1964 on 7½/13 (winner Mikhail Tal);
tied 4–5th at Málaga 1966 on 7/11; (winners Alberic O’Kelly de Galway and Eleazar Jiménez);
6th at Briseck 1971 on 7/13 (winner Gideon Barcza);
5th at Cienfuegos ‘B’ 1975 on 10/17; (winners Julio Boudy and Amador Rodriguez);
tied 7–12th in the World Senior Championship, Bad Woerishofen 1992, on 7½/11 (winner Efim Geller).
Wade was the only British player to have faced Bobby Fischer in tournament play (outside of Olympiads). They met three times, with Wade drawing one game and losing the other two.

His detailed wikipedia entry may be found here

Bob was an active and wrote (or co-wrote) around 16 books as follows :

The World Chess Championship, W.Winter & RG Wade, Turnstille Press, 1951
The World Chess Championship, W.Winter & RG Wade, Turnstille Press, 1951
Chess Tactics for Beginners, RG Wade, Bott and Morrison, 1960
Chess Tactics for Beginners, RG Wade, Bott and Morrison, 1960
The World Chess Championship: 1963 Botvinnik vs Petrosian, Wade
The World Chess Championship: 1963 Botvinnik vs Petrosian, Wade
Soviet Chess, RG Wade, Neville Spearman (UK), David McKay Company, Inc, New York, 1968
Soviet Chess, RG Wade, Neville Spearman (UK) & David McKay Company, Inc, New York, 1968
Sousse 1967 : International Chess Tournament, RG Wade, The Chess Player, 1968
Sousse 1967 : International Chess Tournament, RG Wade, The Chess Player, 1968
The Closed Ruy Lopez, Wade, Blackstock and Booth, Batsford, 1970
The Closed Ruy Lopez, Wade, Blackstock and Booth, Batsford, 1970
Palma 1970 : Interzonal Chess Tournament, RG Wade and LS Blackstock, The Chess Player, 1970
Palma 1970 : Interzonal Chess Tournament, RG Wade and LS Blackstock, The Chess Player, 1970
The Games of Robert J. Fischer, Robert Wade and O'Connell, Batsford 1972, 2nd ed. 1972, reprinted 1973, First limp edition 1981, Reprinted 1985, 1981, 1989, Second edition (The Complete Games of Bobby Fischer) 1992
The Games of Robert J. Fischer, Robert Wade and O’Connell, Batsford 1972, 2nd ed. 1972, reprinted 1973, First limp edition 1981, Reprinted 1985, 1981, 1989, Second edition (The Complete Games of Bobby Fischer) 1992
World Championship Interzonals, Wade, Blackstock and Kotov, Batsford, 1974
World Championship Interzonals, Wade, Blackstock and Kotov, Batsford, 1974
The World Chess Championship, Gligoric and Wade, Batsford, 1974
The World Chess Championship, Gligoric and Wade, Batsford, 1974
The Marshall Attack, Wade & Harding, Batsford, 1974
The Marshall Attack, Wade & Harding, Batsford, 1974
Playing Chess, RG Wade, Batsford/TVTimes, 1974
Playing Chess, RG Wade, Batsford/TVTimes, 1974
Sicilian Lasker-Pelikan, 1978, Batsford, Wade, Speelman, Povah and Blackstock
Sicilian Lasker-Pelikan, 1978, Batsford, Wade, Speelman, Povah and Blackstock
Fighting Chess, Kasparov and Wade, Harper Collins, 1983
Fighting Chess, Kasparov and Wade, Harper Collins, 1983
Trends in the Reti, Volume 1, RG Wade, 1992
Trends in the Reti, Volume 1, RG Wade, 1992
Batsford Chess Endings, Speelman, Tisdall and Wade, 1993
Batsford Chess Endings, Speelman, Tisdall and Wade, 1993
Chess for Children, Ted Nottingham and Bob Wade, Sterling Juvenile, 1996
Chess for Children, Ted Nottingham and Bob Wade, Sterling Juvenile, 1996
Trends in the Reti, Volume 2, RG Wade, 1996
Trends in the Reti, Volume 2, RG Wade, 1996
Winning Chess : Tactics and Strategies, Sterling Juvenile, 2001
Winning Chess : Tactics and Strategies, Sterling Juvenile, 2001

In 2007 Ray Cannon published the following tribute :

Bob Wade : Tribute to a Chess Master, Ray Cannon & Ray Keene, Impala, 2007
Bob Wade : Tribute to a Chess Master, Ray Cannon & Ray Keene, Impala, 2007

However, Paul McKeown remains Bob’s official biographer.

IM Robert Wade OBE
IM Robert Wade OBE

Death Anniversary of Rev. John Owen (08-iv-1827 24-xi-1901)

Leave a comment

We remember Reverend John Owen who passed away on the 24th November 1901)

John Owen was born on April 8th, 1827 to John and Sarah Owen in Marchington, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.

He was baptised at Marchington, St. Peter on April 9th, 1827 by H. Bennett and their residence was recorded as “Brook House”. His father is recorded as being a gentleman.

From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld :

“English player, vicar of Hooten, Cheshire, from 1862 to 1900. In 1858, playing under the pseudonym ‘Alter’, he lost (=2-5) a match against Morphy, who conceded pawn and a move. (Hoffer attributed this poor result to Owen’s just being married.) Subsequently Owen played better. He drew a match with Kolisch in 1860 (+4-4) and at the London tournament of 1862 took third prize after Andersen (whom he defeated) and L. Paulsen ahead of Dubois, GA MacDonnell, Steinitz and Blackburne.

From 1857 to 1898 Owen played in more than a dozen tournaments, all of them in Great Britain.

He liked close openings and often played the Queen’s Fianchetto Defence, sometimes named after him, and the Larsen Opening.”

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE :

Probably, the strongest of all the chess-playing reverends of the nineteenth century. Owen came 3rd at Birmingham 1858, below Löwenthal and Falkbeer, but ahead of Saint-Amant, Staunton and Bird; but is should be pointed out that the method of play was still by the old knock-out system.

He was also =3rd with MacDonnell in the first congress of the British Chess Association at London in 1862.

He also had the distinction of losing matches to Morphy, Zukertort and Burn, though he beat Burn in a later match. He drew a match with Kolisch in 1860.

Sunnucks is silent on Owen.

According to The Complete Chess Addict (Faber&Faber, 1987), Mike Fox & Richard James :

“For the record (and because it’s so impressive) here is the most devout team of all time, If there is anything in the efficacy of prayer they’d be tough to stop :

  1. Fr Ruy Ruy López (de Segura)
  2. Fr William Lombardy
  3. Revd GA MacDonnell
  4. Revd J Owen
  5. His Holiness Pope Leo XIII
  6. His Holiness Pope Innoncent III
  7. St Teresa of Ávila (capt.)
  8. Thomas à Becket”

A much fuller biography may be found at the excellent Yorkshire Chess History web site

From Wikipedia :

“John Owen (8 April 1827 – 24 November 1901) was an English vicar and strong amateur chess master. He ranked among the world’s top ten chess players for certain periods of the 1860s. He was a major figure in English chess from the mid 1850s to the 1890s.

Owen was born in Marchington, and obtained his early schooling at Repton School, Derbyshire. In 1850 he graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, and received his M.A. from Cambridge three years later. He was ordained by the Church of England in 1851, and served as Vicar of Hooton, Cheshire from 1862 to his retirement in 1900.

In 1858 he won a chess game against the young American master Paul Morphy, the world’s best player, who was then touring Europe. ”

This led to a match between the two. Despite being given odds of pawn and the move (meaning he started the game with an extra pawn and always moved first), Owen lost the match 6–1, never winning a game.

His performance in the very strong 1862 London tournament, the first international round-robin event (in which each participant plays every other) was more impressive. He finished third, ahead of future world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, and was the only player to win against the eventual tournament winner, Adolf Anderssen. Louis Paulsen placed second. This result was arguably Owen’s top lifetime chess achievement.

Owen continued to play frequently and often successfully in British tournaments into the 1890s, and performed strongly in several matches against top British players, who were essentially chess professionals. He never competed outside the British Isles. He died in Twickenham.

Owen is the eponym of Owen’s Defence, a chess opening characterised by the moves 1.e4 b6. Owen was the first strong player to play this frequently, including in his victory over Morphy.”

Amos Burn (left) and Rev. John Owen circa 1885.
Amos Burn (left) and Rev. John Owen circa 1885.

Death Anniversary of WIM (Patricia) Anne Sunnucks (21-ii-1927 22-xi-2014)

Leave a comment

We remember WIM Patricia Anne Sunnucks who passed away this day, November 22nd, 2014, aged 87 years.

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1983), Harry Golombek OBE :

“International Woman master and British Women’s Champion 1957, 1958 and 1964. Her best international result was a 2nd in the 1954 Western European Zonal. This qualified her for the 1955 Women’s Candidates tournament, but as this held in the USSR and she was at the time serving as a Major in the British Army, the authorities would not give her leave to participate.

Miss Sunnucks has represented England a number of times in Olympiads and team matches. She has compiled The Encyclopedia of Chess, London, 1970.”

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale, 1970 & 1976), Anne Sunnucks :

“International Woman Master (1954) and winner of the British Ladies’ Championship in 1957, 1958 and 1964.

Born on 21st February 1927 Anne learned the moves at the age of 8 but did not take up chess seriously until she was 21, when she joined the same club as International Master, Imre König” whose pupil she became.

In the 1954 Western European Zonal tournament, she came 2nd and qualified for the 1955 Women’s Candidates tournament but was unable to compete.

She played for Great Britain v. the USSR in 1954 and for the British Chess Federation team in the Women’s Chess Olympiads of 1966 and 1972. She also represented the BCF in the Western European Zonal tournaments of 1963 and 1966.”

Anne Sunnucks vs Chaudé de Silans (Amsterdam, 1962)
Anne Sunnucks vs Chaudé de Silans (Amsterdam, 1962)
The Encyclopedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks
The Encyclopedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks

Anne created Camberley Chess Club in 1972. She offered to open her spacious home at 28, Brackendale Close, Camberley for weekly club nights and matches.

Anne Sunnucks (third from left) playing in the 1971 British Ladies Championship in Palatine School, Blackpool. Courtesy of Lancashire Evening Post.
Anne Sunnucks (third from left) playing in the 1971 British Ladies Championship in Palatine School, Blackpool. Courtesy of Lancashire Evening Post.

Anne was a director of BMS (?, Mothersill, Sunnucks) Chess Supplies Ltd. which retailed chess books and equipment which the grateful membership purchased !

In September 1984 in Bracknell, Berkshire Anne married Richard C Mothersill.

Anne passed away on November 22nd, 2014 at a retirement village in Meadow Park, Braintree, Essex.

From Brian Towers : It is also worth noting that she was an occasional contributor to the weekly chess ‘Magazine’ programme which was broadcast on the Third Network (the precursor to Radio 3) between Autumn 1958 and Summer 1964.

According to Megabase2020, her highest Elo rating was 2045 but we suspect it was in reality, quite a bit higher.

In 1972 Anne was awarded with a FIDE Medal of Merit.

WIM Patricia Anne Sunnucks
WIM Patricia Anne Sunnucks

For much of her early chess life Anne was coached by IM Imre (Mirko) König.

WIM Patricia Anne Sunnucks
WIM Patricia Anne Sunnucks
Full Caption
Full Caption

From Wikipedia :
Patricia Anne Sunnucks (21 February 1927 – 22 November 2014[1]) was an author and three-times British Women’s Chess Champion (1957, 1958, 1964). During her chess career she was always known as Anne Sunnucks.

She was educated at Wycombe Abbey School[2], Buckinghamshire. Although she learned how to play chess at the age of 8, she did not play seriously until the age of 21, when she joined the same chess club as Imre König, who became her tutor. By finishing tied for second place in the 1953 British Women’s Championship she became one of three British representatives in the 1954 Western European Zonal.

Sunnucks earned the Woman International Master title by placing second in the 1954 Western European Zonal. Although this result qualified her to play in the next event in the Women’s World Championship sequence, she was a major in the Women’s Royal Army Corps and the authorities would not allow her to travel to the USSR where the 1955 Women’s Candidates tournament was being held. Sunnucks represented England several times in Olympiads and team matches, including Great Britain vs. USSR 1954, the Anglo-Dutch match in 1965, and top board for the British Chess Federation (BCF) team at the 1966 Women’s Chess Olympiad at Oberhausen. She participated in the Women’s World Championship cycle two more times, representing the BCF in the Western European Zonal tournaments of 1963 and 1966. Sunnucks won both the Army and the Combined Services Championships in 1968, and was the only woman to compete in either. Sunnucks compiled The Encyclopaedia of Chess (1970, second edition: 1976).

Her married name was Anne Mothersill.”

Birthday of Peter Lee (21-xi-1943)

Leave a comment

We wish Peter Lee all the best on his birthday.

Peter Nicholas Charles Lee was born on Sunday, November 21st in 1943 in Lambeth, London. His mother’s maiden name was Paganucci.

Peter attended Exeter College, Oxford from 1962-1966 to read mathematics followed by postgraduate statistics gaining an MA in 1969.

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

In 1963 Peter represented Oxford in the 81st Varsity Match played at the University of London Union in Malet Street on Korchnoi’s birthday (March 23rd). Peter had black on board 5 and drew with Frederick Michael Akeroyd in a King’s Gambit Declined.

Here is the winning Oxford (4-3) Team :

The winning 1963 Oxford Varsity match team : From left to right (standing): PN Lee, JWF May, GC Taylor, AIN Brodie, PD Yerbury; (sitting) JK Footner, RW Morgan. Thanks : John Saunders in Britbase.
The winning 1963 Oxford Varsity match team : From left to right (standing): PN Lee, JWF May, GC Taylor, AIN Brodie, PD Yerbury; (sitting) JK Footner, RW Morgan. Thanks : John Saunders in Britbase.

Peter moved to top board in 1964 and had white against the son of BH Wood, FM Christopher Baruch Wood and won. The match was drawn.

1965 saw a 5.5 – 1.5 Oxford victory with Peter beating Graham Arthur Winbow.

During this period Peter found time to win the British Championship at Hastings in 1965. Peter Clarke reported in the October 1965 British Chess Magazine:

“Seventy years on from the great international tournament of 1895, which sowed the seeds of the Christmas congresses. the fifty-second in the British Chess Federation’s annual series-and this too began at Hastings, 1904 – saw victory and the national title go to the youngest player ever. Peter N. Lee, of London, a twenty-one-year-old Oxford University graduate in mathematics, made light of playing in the Championship for the first time and led from start to finish. Jonathan Penrose and Norman Littlewood vied with him all the way but in the last round had to be content with draws sharing second place 1/2 point behind with 8. ”

Peter Lee
Peter Lee

Peter played at Hastings in 1965 and we can see him here in this silent movie at 1’40” in :

Peter’s final Varsity appearance as British Champion in 1966 saw another drawn match but Peter’s best Varsity result when he beat Bill Hartston with the white pieces in a King’s Indian Attack.

In world cup year Peter was selected by the BCF to represent England at the Havana Olympiad on board two below Peter Clarke in Group 4 and then Final B scoring a creditable +4=7-1.

Lugano 1968 saw Peter playing as first reserve and scoring an excellent +7=4-2 (Penrose on top board scored a wonderful 83.3% for the silver medal.

In another world cup year (1970) in his final Olympiad appearance Peter played on board four and recorded +4=9-2

Peter Nicholas Lee (to the left of RD Keene)
Peter Nicholas Lee (to the left of RD Keene)

Peter played in the British Championships again in 1967, 1968, 1971 and finally in 1972 withdrawing after five rounds following a loss to David Pritchard. This is Peter’s last recorded game in Megabase2020.

With the white pieces Peter was a committed 1.e4 fan playing 8.c3 in the Lopez and open sicilians.

As the second player he played the Sicilian Najdorf and the Dragon along with the King’s Indian.

According to Wikipedia : “Later, he turned to contract bridge, at which he has also been highly successful. He has won the English Bridge Union’s National Pairs title four times, the first time in 2003, and has also been a member of the team that won the Gold Cup, the premier teams event in Britain, in 2003 and 2011. This makes him the only person who has won British championships in both chess and bridge.”

Until 1979 he worked as a statistician to the Tobacco Research Council, in Harrogate and then in London. From 1979 to 1984 he was an independent consultant in statistics and advisor in epidemiology and toxicology to a number of tobacco, pharmaceutical and chemical companies.

He formed P N Lee Statistics and Computing Ltdin 1984 to widen these activities. Peter is a Chartered Statistician who has published over 200 papers, letters and articles, and several books.
Peter is currently a director of PNLSC based in Palmers Green, London, N13.

Peter Lee
Peter Lee

As a consultant in medical statistics and epidemiology, he has also published over 200 papers, many on the effects of tobacco on health.[2]

Peter reached a peak Elo rating of 2390 aged 47 in July 1990 according to MegaBase 2020. However, his peak playing strength was probably in or around 1971.

According to Paul Littlewood currently Peter “plays Bridge for Surrey and chess for the Athenaeum in London”.

Birthday of IM Andrew Kinsman (20-xi-2019)

Leave a comment

Best wishes to IM Andrew Kinsman born on this day Friday November 20, 1964. His mother’s maiden name was (Yvonne) Greening. Andrew has a sister Casandra Suzie Kinsman.

Andrew Peter Harry Kinsman was born in North East Surrey and grew up in Kingston-Upon-Thames near Kingston Hospital (thanks Richard James!). He was a member of Richmond Junior Chess Club.

IM Andrew Kinsman
IM Andrew Kinsman

Andrew was a member of the University of Sussex chess team in 1983 along with IM Byron Jacobs. Andrew became an editor of chess publisher BT Batsford Ltd. following in the footsteps of Bob Wade, Paul Lamford and others.

Andrew was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 1986-87 and 1991-92 seasons.

He made his first Grandmaster norm with his victory in the 1997 Owens Corning International in Wrexham.

Andrew’s peak rating was 2430 in January 1998. He played for Guildford in the Four Nations Chess League and for Wimbledon in other leagues. His last ECF grading was 222D in July 2002 and highest may have been 230B in July 2000.

He left chess and turned to poker becoming a successful player and author and was married to Pauline. They lived in Ditchling Rise in Brighton.

He joined Byron Jacobs to form Chess Press which eventually morphed into First Rank Publishing.

IM Andrew Kinsman
IM Andrew Kinsman

With the white pieces Andrew was consistently a d4 player with the occasional Nf3 thrown in. He played a “slow” Queen’s Gambit (Nf3 inserted before c4) and the Trompowski Attack for variety.

As the second player Andrew played the French Winawer and the Benko Gambit.

Andrew is registered for both Wimbledon and Guildford and represented Wuppertal in the Bundesliga. Andrew’s most recent appearance in 4NCL was the final weekend of the 2001/2 season beating JA Toothill.

He has written several books on chess (and poker) as follows :

French Winawer by Andrew Kinsman
French Winawer by Andrew Kinsman
The Benko Gambit by Andrew Kinsman & Byron Jacobs
The Benko Gambit by Andrew Kinsman & Byron Jacobs
Spanish Exchange by Andrew Kinsman
Spanish Exchange by Andrew Kinsman
Modern Benoni by Andrew Kinsman
Modern Benoni by Andrew Kinsman
Improve Your Middlegame Play by Andrew Kinsman
Improve Your Middlegame Play by Andrew Kinsman
IM Andrew Kinsman
IM Andrew Kinsman

Death Anniversary of Jim Slater (13-iii-1929 18-xi-2015)

Leave a comment

BCN remembers Jim Slater (13-iii-1929 18-xi-2015)

James Derrick Slater was born on Wednesday, March 13th, 1929. On the same day “Leon Trotsky gave his first interview to the foreign press in his apartment in Turkey, saying he was writing a book tracing the history of his opposition to Joseph Stalin and expressing a desire to go to Germany because he preferred the care of German physicians.”

He was born in Heswall, Cheshire (Wirral, Merseyside was the registration district) to Hubert Slater and Jessica Alexandra Barton.

He arrived (aged 31) in Southampton on board the Pretoria Castle as a first class passenger whilst resident in 16, Stafford Terrace, Kensington and his occupation was given as Company Director.

He died on 18th November 2015 in Cranleigh, Surrey aged 86. He had four children one of which is Mark Slater.

James Slater, Chairman Slater Walker Securities plcDirector, British Leyland. (Photo by Photoshot/Getty Images)
James Slater, Chairman Slater Walker Securities plcDirector, British Leyland. (Photo by Photoshot/Getty Images)

Jim wrote his chess autobiography as follows :

(This text was retrieved using the Wayback machine via https://web.archive.org/web/20110909053137/http://www.jimslater.org.uk/views/chess/)

“As a boy Jim Slater enjoyed playing Monopoly and draughts but his main indoor hobby was chess. He stopped playing chess after leaving school as he found it took too much time and concentration while studying for accountancy.

It was not until a colleague asked Jim to teach him to improve his game in the late 1960s that his interest in chess was rekindled. For a short while Jim joined a London chess club (Richard James reveals that this is West London Chess Club as mentioned in their internal magazine) but found he preferred correspondence chess which he could play much more conveniently when he returned home in the evening. Jim did quite well in his correspondence club, going up a few grades, until he reached a level at which it became hard work.

Jim had maintained a link with Leonard Barden, who was a British Champion and a chess correspondent. With his help Jim began subsidising the annual Hastings Tournament with a view to expanding it so that leading players would have a chance to qualify as international masters. Other countries would not invite British players to play in their tournaments until they became international masters so they were in an impossible situation. The small amount of help Jim was able to give to Hastings was arranged in a very low-key way and attracted very little publicity. The World Chess Championship would prove to be a very different proposition.

British accountant, investor and business writer Jim Slater (1929 - 2015) signing documents at a desk, UK, 11th May 1965. (Photo by Reg Burkett/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
British accountant, investor and business writer Jim Slater (1929 – 2015) signing documents at a desk, UK, 11th May 1965. (Photo by Reg Burkett/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

For the previous two decades the Russians had dominated world chess and then the West produced two exceptional players – Bobby Fischer of the USA and Bent Larsen of Denmark. In particular, Fischer had fantastic potential but he was handicapped by being extremely temperamental.

In the final rounds of the World Chess Championship the players were playing the best of ten games. In the quarter finals Fischer won six games to nil. In the semi-final Fischer was paired with Larsen and also beat him six games to nil. This had never happened before in world chess, and for the first time it looked as if the Russians were going to get a run for their money.

Personalities, Crime, pic: 3rd December 1976, Financier Jim Slater arriving at London's Mansion House Police Court to face fraud charges involving more than 4,000,000 (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Personalities, Crime, pic: 3rd December 1976, Financier Jim Slater arriving at London’s Mansion House Police Court to face fraud charges involving more than 4,000,000 (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

In the last qualifier Fischer came up against Petrosian, a brilliant defensive player. Fischer won the first game but lost the second. The next three games were drawn. It was said by some that Fischer had a bad cold and everyone wondered if he could regain his earlier momentum. After this relapse he won the next four games. This made Fischer challenger to Spassky. Spassky too was a brilliant attacking player and had been a chess genius since early childhood, so it promised to be an exceptional match.

While preparations were being made for the World Championship in Iceland, Fischer started to complain about the prize money which he thought should be doubled.
‘I was driving into London early one Monday morning in mid-July feeling disappointed that after all this build-up Fischer might not be taking on Spassky, when it suddenly occurred to me that I could easily afford the extra prize money personally. As well as providing me with a fascinating spectacle for the next few weeks it would give chess players throughout the world enormous pleasure for the match to proceed.’

Jim Slater

From The Complete Chess Addict (Faber&Faber, 1987) , Mike Fox & Richard James:

“Jim Slater, the financier and children’s author, was a strong schoolboy player. He gave up chess for finance. This turned out a very good thing for chess, since he was able to tempt Bobby Fischer (with a £50,000 increase in stake-money) into playing Boris Spassky for the world title in 1972. Here’s what the young Slater was capable of:”

Bobby Fischer Goes to War, Faber&Faber, 2004
Bobby Fischer Goes to War, Faber&Faber, 2004

From Bobby Fischer Goes to War , David Edmonds and John Eidinow, Faber & Faber,  2004 we have a fuller account as follows :

“Driving to work in London early on Monday morning, 3 July, Jim Slater was upset by a radio report on the challenger’s non-appearance in Reykjavik. Slater was a businessman who had set up his own company, Slater Walker Securities, in 1964, when he was in his mid-thirties. His partner, Peter Walker, had left the business to become a Conservative member of parliament and a government minister under Edward Heath and,later, Margaret Thatcher. At the time of the Fischer-Spassky match, the company reportedly had a controlling interest in 250 companies around the world. Supremely confident, decisive, ruthless in business, Slater had by then amassed a fortune of, in his own words,’£6 million and rising’. A gambler by nature, the one big luxury he allowed himself was to play bridge for thousands of pounds with stronger opponents.

He was also a chess fan and supporter of the game, subsidizing the annual Hastings tournament. In the years following Fischer-Spassky, he would, alongside the former British champion and journalist Leonard Barden (who provided the vision and organization), transform the state of British chess by channelling funds into junior competition. Now he decided that he could easily afford the money to send Fischer to Reykjavik – or expose the American as a coward. He would double the prize, putting an additional £50,000 ($125,000) into the pot. Arriving at his office that Monday morning, he passed on his offer through Barden, who then spoke to Marshall, giving the US attorney some background details about this championship angel. Marshall then talked to Fischer. Slater says he also telephoned his friend David Frost, who in turn rang his friend Henry Kissinger’ Kissinger then contacted Fischer. What motivated Slater?’As well as providing me with a fascinating spectacle for the next few weeks, I could give chess players throughout the world enormous pleasure’

Slater’s offer made headlines in London’s Evening Standard and his house was soon swarming with reporters. When he returned from work, he told his astonished wife,’I had a good idea on the way to the office.’The good idea was couched in challenging terms: ‘If he isn’t afraid of Spassky, then I have removed the element of money’

Here is the famous headline from the July 3rd, 1972, London edition of the Evening Standard retrieved from Edward  Winters‘ https://chesshistory.com/winter/extra/spasskyfischer.html

London Edition of the Evening Standard, July 3rd, 1972. Retrieved from https://chesshistory.com/winter/extra/spasskyfischer.html
London Edition of the Evening Standard, July 3rd, 1972. Retrieved from https://chesshistory.com/winter/extra/spasskyfischer.html

It is not altogether clear how the British offer finally persuaded Fischer. Paul Marshall certainly had a hand, initially pushing it as the answer to all Fischer’s financial demands.’But he wouldn’t accept it; he says.’His experiences with people promising things had taught him not to believe them, particularly with money. And he wanted proof. And he said no.’Marshall tried to change his mind. Phoning Barden, the attorney took his place in the gallery of callers that saved the match.’I said if I were them I would rephrase the offer. Slater should say he didn’t think his money was at risk, because Fischer was just making excuses. He should say that deep down Fischer was frightened. I said Bobby might be piqued by that challenge – and he was. I knew Bobby was very very competitive and combative and would not like to be thought of as a chicken.’ Slater denies this version of events. He maintains it was always his idea to express his offer as a taunt. He never spoke to Fischer and never received a word of gratitude from him.’Fischer is known to be rude, graceless, possibly insane,’he says.’I didn’t do it to be thanked. I did it because it would be good for chess.'”

The match between Fischer and Spassky was a most exciting one and fully up to everyone’s expectations. Fischer won the match.

A few months later, in an endeavour to help our young players, Jim Slater offered on behalf of The Slater Foundation to give a prize of £5,000 (about £75,000 in today’s money) to the first British grand master and £2,500 to the next four. Over the next few years Great Britain went from having no grand masters to twenty and became one of the strongest teams of young chess players in the world.”

Here is an obituary written by Stewart Reuben

and here is an obituary from Liberal England

Here is an item from the Slater Foundation

and here is his entry from chessgames.com which lists  one game from 1947 : “James Derrick Slater, better known as Jim Slater, was an English accountant, investor and business writer. Slater became a well-known chess patron in the 1970s, when he stepped in to double the prize fund of the Fischer-Spassky world championship match at a time when Fischer was threatening not to play, thereby enabling the match to go forward. Afterwards he provided significant financial backing for the development of young British players, many of whom later contributed to Britain becoming one of the world’s strongest chess countries in the 1980s.”

From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by Hooper and Whyld :

“British chess patron, financier, children’s author, Slater achieved wide fame in the chess world on the occasion of the Spassky-Fischer world championship match of 1972. Fischer showed reluctance to play and apparently decided to do so when Slater added £50,000 to the prize fund. Slater has also made contributions to many other chess causes and in 1973 set-up the Slater Foundation, a charitable trust which, among other activities, pays for the coaching of young players and provides help for their families if needed. Leonard Barden advises the trust on chess matters. In the 1970s, partly owing to this patronage, junior players in Britain became as strong as those in any other country.”

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek:

“An English financier, a great patron and benefactor of chess, both on a national and world level. Passionately devoted to chess from schooldays. He said that on leaving school he hesitated between the alternatives of become a chess master and of going into business, opting for the latter on the grounds that he was not sure of his chess-playing prowess.

It is perhaps a fortunate thing for chess that he did not become a chess-master, since he offer of a £50,000 increase to the stake at the match at Reykjavik in Iceland in 1972 may well have swayed Fischer into consenting to play. He established a Slater Foundation Fund which helps young English players to go and play abroad.”

Here is his Wikipedia entry

Here is a small item from Dennis Monokroussos

The Zulu Principle, Jim Slater
The Zulu Principle, Jim Slater
Investment Made Easy, Jim Slater
Investment Made Easy, Jim Slater
Return to Go, Jim Slater
Return to Go, Jim Slater
The Tricky Troggle, James and Christopher Slater
The Tricky Troggle, James and Christopher Slater
The Great Gulper, James and Christopher Slater
The Great Gulper, James and Christopher Slater

Death Anniversary of Gordon Crown (20-vi-1929 17-xi-1947)

Leave a comment

We remember Gordon Crown who died this day (November 17th) in 1947.

Gordon Thomas Crown as born on Thursday, June 20th, 1929 to James Crown (born 18th November 1899) and Hilda M Crown (born 3rd October 1900, née Sharrott).
James was a refrigerating engineer and Hilda carried out unpaid domestic duties. The birth was registered in the district of West Derby, Lancashire.

Gordon attended Holt Secondary School which is now known as Childwall Sports and Science Academy.

According to the electoral register of 1939 they lived at 8 Ingledene Road, Liverpool, Liverpool C.B., Lancashire, England. (This is L18 3HJ in this day and age.)

According to Zoopla : “This 4 bed freehold semi-detached house is located at 8 Ingledene Road, Liverpool L18 3HJ and has an estimated current value of £581,000. Ingledene Road has 19 properties on it with an average current value of £492,220, compared to an average property value of £325,035 for L18. There have been 5 property sales on Ingledene Road, L18 over the last 5 years with an average house price paid of £474,900. There are currently 108 properties for sale in L18 with an average asking price of £372,163 and 59 properties to rent in L18 with an average asking rent of £408 pw.”

8 Ingledene Road, Calderstones, Liverpool, L18 3HJ
8 Ingledene Road, Calderstones, Liverpool, L18 3HJ
Liverpool Echo 15 April 1946
Liverpool Echo 15 April 1946

Both Sunnucks and Hooper & Whyld are silent on GTC : surprising!

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE :

“Gordon Crown is one the sad might-have-beens of the world of chess. In his short life he had already shown himself to be of master strength and a potentially very great player when suddenly, at the age of eighteen, he died during an operation.

He learnt chess when aged nine and soon became one of the best players, first in Liverpool,, his home town, and then in Lancashire, of which county he won the Junior Championship three years in succession.

Crown first came into national prominence when he came second in the British Boys Championship in 1946. (Ed : the winner was John Fuller) In the Hastings Congress of 1946/7 he won first place in a strong Premier Reserves Section.

The last year of his life even saw him reaching out to international success, Playing on board 9 for Britain against The Netherlands he scored 1.5 out of 2 against L.J. Tummers. Then he won third prize in the British Championship at Harrogate. As a result of this success he was promoted to board 4 for Britain against Australia in a radio match when he beat Dr. M. Gellis.

In September 1947 he was hurried to hospital suffering from peritonitis and, being a diabetic, succumbed under the operation.

As a player he excelled in both the opening and endgame phases and possessed a style of play that stamped him as a future grandmaster. As a person he was modest, clever and a very agreeable companion. This was great loss for British and, almost certainly, world chess.”

We have reproduced his obituary from British Chess Magazine, Volume LXVII (1947), Number 12 (December), Page 387-8 and we assume that this was written by the then editor, Julius du Mont :

Obituary of Gordon Thomas Crown, part one
Obituary of Gordon Thomas Crown, part one

and

Obituary of Gordon Thomas Crown, Part Two
Obituary of Gordon Thomas Crown, Part Two

We are grateful to Leonard Barden on the identity of T.J.B. :

“Thomas John Beach, wartime RAF navigator with Distinguished Flying Cross, leading light of Liverpool chess, regular British championship player for many years, chairman of BCF junior selectors, father of a leading Midlands expert, a good and dedicated man” TJB was the father of Richard Beach who won the British Boys Under 18 title in 1961.

According to the British Chess Magazine, 1943, March, page 56 GTC lived at 8 Ingledene Road, Calderstones, Liverpool 18, England.

Gordon Thomas Crown, from CHESS, 1948, January, page 86
Gordon Thomas Crown, from CHESS, 1948, January, page 86

On 17 November 1947 he was admitted to hospital, complaining of a stomach upset. Diagnosed too late with appendicitis, complicated by his diabetes, he died in the operating theatre.

His friend (and former British champion) Leonard Barden speculates that had he lived, Crown would have become at least a strong Grandmaster, further noting that he was ” … open, friendly and modest as well as a clear and enthusiastic explainer of his chess ideas; I think he would have been like Keres or Gligoric in their countries, a model for our young players.”

Harry Golombek was similarly impressed with Crown’s play, stating that “In his short life, he had already shown himself to be of master strength and was potentially a very great player.”

We are grateful to be able to use comments from long time friend, Leonard Barden posted under the nom de plume of Roberts Partner on chessgames.com :

“As to the circumstances of Crown’s death. The finger of blame must be pointed at the family doctor for failing to make a timely correct diagnosis. On Sunday 16 November 1947 a chess friend visited the Crown home at Ingledene Road, Liverpool, and found Crown in bed. He explained that his doctor had diagnosed a stomach upset and had recommended rest. The friend and Crown played and analysed together for several hours, and Crown did not appear in any physical discomfort. But that night after the friend left his condition deteriorated and he was rushed to hospital where he died in the early morning hours of 17 November. There was also a belief among some Liverpool chess players that the hospital procedures could have been better.”

and

“On another thread some CG posters expressed surprise at the Ritson Morry v Crown game where Morry fell into a well-known opening trap.

The British championship at Harrogate in August 1947 was played in a spa building where the underfloor heating was still switched on. This coincided with one of the warmest summers on record (it was the year in which Compton and Edrich made their memorable cricket achievements for Middlesex). By the second week of the BCF congress older and overweight players (the latter group including Ritson Morry) were wilting. Ritson also had some long adjourned games, and by the time of his game with Crown in the final round was exhausted. The game finished in 15-20 minutes so by the time other players went to spectate after their opening moves there was just a reset board with no sign of the players and no indication of what had transpired. Other final round results went Crown’s way so that he finished third outright and thus got selected on a high board for the USSR match.”

Western Daily Press 22 September 1947
Western Daily Press 22 September 1947

and here is an article by ddtru (?) in chess.com : full article

We are grateful to renowned chess historian, Taylor Kingston for supplying these scans of an article from Chess Life in 1947 about Gordon Crown written by Reuben Fine :

Chess Life article about Gordon Thomas Crown, Part One
Chess Life article about Gordon Thomas Crown, Part One

and

Chess Life article about Gordon Thomas Crown, Part Two
Chess Life article about Gordon Thomas Crown, Part Two

From Wikipedia :

“Gordon Thomas Crown (20 June 1929 – 17 November 1947)[1] was a promising British chess player who died of appendicitis at the age of eighteen. He is best known for his win against the Russian Grandmaster Alexander Kotov shortly before his death.

Crown was born in Liverpool in 1929. He finished second in the British under 18 championship in 1946 and improved rapidly, winning the Premier Reserve section of the 1946/7 Hastings International Chess Congress. This led to his being placed on the reserve list for the 1947 British Chess Championship. Following the withdrawal of the defending champion Robert Forbes Combe,[2] he was allowed to play in the championship, where he finished third (Harry Golombek won).

Consequently, he was selected to play for the British team in the 1947 Britain-USSR match, where he caused a sensation by defeating the Soviet Grandmaster Alexander Kotov, though he lost the return game. He also defeated Max Gellis in a Britain-Australia radio match.”

Gordon Thomas Crown
Gordon Thomas Crown

Birthday of GM Michael Adams (17-xi-2019)

Leave a comment

We send best wishes to GM Michael Adams on his birthday, this day (November 17th) in 1971

Michael was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1996-97 season.

His Wikipedia entry is here

Michael Adams
Michael Adams

Michael, Tara and friend
Michael, Tara and friend

Death Anniversary of Edward Sergeant OBE (3-xii-1881 16-xi-1961)

Leave a comment

We remember Edward Sergeant OBE (3-xii-1881 16-xi-1961)

Edward Guthlac Sergeant was born on Saturday, December 3rd 1881 : in the same year British Chess Magazine was founded by John Watkinson.

He was born in Crowland, South Holland, Lincolnshire. The registration district was Peterborough and the inferred county was Northamptonshire. His father was William R Sergeant (aged 27) and his mother was Frances E Sergeant (aged 25). He had a sister, Hilda who was one year older. William was a registered general medical practitioner.

He was named Guthlac after a monk who “came to what was then an island in the Fens to live the life of a hermit.”

Signature of EG Sergeant from a Brian Reilly "after dinner" postcard from Margate 1936.
Signature of EG Sergeant from a Brian Reilly “after dinner” postcard from Margate 1936.

According to the 1891 census EGS was aged 9 and living with his father, mother, sister and their domestic servant Margaret A George who was their general domestic servant who hailed from Scotland. They lived at 2, Gladstone Terrace, Gateshead, NE8 4DY. This was in the Ecclesiastical parish of Christchurch.

2, Gladstone Terrace, Gateshead, NE8 4DY
2, Gladstone Terrace, Gateshead, NE8 4DY

In the 1911 census aged 29 as nephew to the head of the household (5 St Peters Terrace, Cambridge) EGS is listed as a solicitor who is single. The size of the household in 1911 was relatively modest at 12. He was living with George Edward Wherry (59, surgeon university professor) and his wife Albinia Lucy Wherry (53). Albinia Lucy Wherry was a nurse and also writer. During WWI she was stationed in Paris at the Gare du Nord where she supported British forces from 1915-18. the sub-registration district was St Andrew the Great.

According to Edward Winter in Where did they live? in April 1916 EGS was living at 39 Chichele Road, Cricklewood, London NW2 3AN, England. EGWs source for this is : Chess Amateur, April 1916, page 202.

39 Chichele Road, Cricklewood, London NW2 3AN
39 Chichele Road, Cricklewood, London NW2 3AN

1918 was an important year for Edward when he married Dorothy Frances Carter (born 1887) in Gravesend. In the same year Dorothy and Edward had a son Richard who passed away in 2014

Two years later Dorothy and Edward had a son Lewis Carter Sergeant born on January 30th 1920. The birth was registered in Paddington. Lewis lived at 3 Woodhill Court, 175 Woodhill, London, SE18 5HSL and passed away in 2004 the death being registered in Greenwich.

On the 1920 Electoral Roll, EGS was now living with Dorothy Frances Sergeant at St. Stephen’s Mansions, 5, Monmouth Road, Edmonton.

In 1923 they upped sticks and moved to 27. King Edward’s Grove, Teddington.

Sadly Dorothy passed away in 1926 at the modest age of 39.

Coventry Evening Telegraph 10 October 1933
Coventry Evening Telegraph 10 October 1933

According to the 1939 census EGS was listed as a widowed, civil servant living at 24, Gloucester Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 7DX. This would be the address that Edward saw out the rest of his life.

24, Gloucester Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 7DX
24, Gloucester Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 7DX

He shared this address with Edith Carter (born 4th May 1878) who is described as being of “Private Means” and Ada M Wenman (6th August 1881) who is described as being a “domestic”.

In 1949 he was awarded the OBE in the Birthday Honours in recognition of his 39 years’ service in the office of the Solicitor to the Board of Inland Revenue.

According to John Saunders : EGS died in the New Victoria Hospital, New Malden, Surrey, on 16 November 1961. His residence at death had been 24 Gloucester Road, Kingston Hill. Probate (26 Jan 1962) granted to Lewis Carter Sergeant, a Lieutenant-Colonel in HM Army. Effects £6,586.

E.G. Sergeant in characteristic pose v. Miss Vera Menchik at Margate, 1939
E.G. Sergeant in characteristic pose v. Miss Vera Menchik at Margate, 1939

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE :

A British master who had a long and solidly distinguished career in British chess but never quite succeeded in breaking through the barrier to international success. A civil servant by profession, he was awarded the OBE for his services in the Inland Revenue and Sergeant on Stamp Duties was regarded as an authoritative work.

Sergeant’s earliest performance in the British Championship, at the Crystal Palace in London 190, was one of his best. He came =2nd with JH Blackburne. RP Mitchell and GE Wainwright with 6.5 points, a point below the winner of the title, HE Atkins.

He was 3rd at Edinburgh in 1920 and his best result in the competition came in Brighton 193, where he came equal second with H. Golombek, a 1/2 point below the winner, CHO’D Alexander.

A stalwart supporter of the City of London Chess Club, he won its championship in two successive years, 1916 and 1917. He played for Britain against the USA in the 1908 and 1909 cable matches and also played on a high board for London against various American cities in the Insull Trophy matches in the years 1926-31.

As a player he was strongly influenced by the scientific principles of Siegbert Tarrasch and did well during the period when the Tarrasch school enjoyed its heyday. But he was at a loss when confronted with more modern methods.”

Both Sunnucks and Hooper & Whyld are silent on EGS : surprising!

EGS was a cousin of PW Sergeant.

We asked  Leonard Barden of his memories of EGS and he was kind enough to reply :

“People have different ways of expressing satisfaction with their position. Botvinnik adjusted his tie, Kasparov put his watch back on,  Sergeant rubbed his hands together….He liked to counter the Queen’s Gambit Declined in the classical way with a kind of Lasker Defence.”

From British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXXII, March, 1962, Number 3, pages 76 -80 we reproduce an obituary from Bruce Hayden entitled “E.G. Sergeant – An Appreciation” as follows :

(note the incorrect birth location presumably based on the 1891 census information)

Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part one
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part one
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part two
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part two
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part three
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part three
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part four
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part four
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part five
Edward Guthlac Sergeant, part five
Sergeant on Stamp Duties
Sergeant on Stamp Duties

Here is his Wikipedia entry