Happy Birthday Malcolm Barker (21-iv-1934)
2020-04-21
Happy Birthday Malcolm Barker (21-iv-1934)
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Gary Kenworthy (22-iv-1957)
2020-04-22
Happy Birthday FM Gary Kenworthy (22-iv-1957)
Gary was born in Bradford and became an FIDE Master in 2002 and achieved a peak rating of 2315 in July 1994.
In 1994 Gary represented London in a match with Paris over nine boards and has played from London Central YMCA (CentYMCA) and Barbican in the London Chess League and in the BCF National Club competition.
In 2003 he was runner-up (to Kidami Sundararajan) in the Ron Banwell Masters in Blackpool.
Gary has played for King’s Head in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) and now plays for Mindsports.
In 2019 Gary joined the England Chess Coaching Team. He founded Bletchley Junior Chess Club and Chess School.
He has been board 1 for Milton Keynes and Open University First team. He is board 1 for the Bedfordshire County Chess Team and has retained the Bedfordshire Individual County Chess Championship Title. In 2019/2020 he was board 1 for the Leighton Buzzard Chess Club.
Gary Kenworthy, inaugurator of the new M25 Congress series, on his way to victory in the Spalding Quickplay. Earlier in the summer he defeated Grandmaster Michael Adams, photograph by Francis Bowers
Gary is a former Director of Chess Coaching for the (then) British Chess Federation (BCF).
Gary lives in Fenny Stratford, Milton Keynes and is an IT consultant and local councillor. He has been a former Director of the BCF.
Gary Kenworthy (holding board) at a BCF National Club Final (1992)

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Gary Kenworthy at the 2012 UKCC Terafinal
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM John Nunn (25-iv-1955)
2020-04-25
BCN wishes GM John Nunn Happy Birthday (25-iv-1955)
From The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Harry Golombek :
British International master and European Junior Champion, 1975. Born in London, Nunn learned chess at the age of four and soon revealed a great aptitude for the game.

Graham Ladds and John Nunn. See full caption below.
Supplied caption for above picture.
He came 6th in the Norwich Junior international tournament in 1970 and went up to Oxford University to take a mathematics degree at a very early age. He played on top board for the University from 1972-6 and is now preparing for a doctorate there.
John DM Nunn
He won the European Junior Championship and with it the international master title in Groningen in 1975. In that year too he was equal first in the IBM Master tournament, and at London in 1975 he reached an international master norm coming 5th in the international tournament there. He played on bottom board at the Haifa Olympiad 1976 and scored 64.2%
GM John Nunn
From The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld :
English player. International Grandmaster (1978), British champion 1980. He went to Oxford at the unusually young age of 15, graduated in 1973. Gained his B.Sc. the following year and his
doctorate in 1978.
GM John Nunn

A Junior Research Fellow, he lectured in mathematics until 1981 when he became a professional player. By then he had already achieved several good results in international tournaments: Budapest 1978, first; Hastings 1979-80, first (4-5 = 10) equal with Andersson; Baden-bei-Wien 1980, category 12, third (+5=10) after Spassky and Belyavsky: Helsinki 1981, first (+5 = 6) equal with Matulovich; and Wiesbaden 1981, first (+6=3). In the category 12 Wijk aan Zee tournament 1982, Nunn came first ( + 5=7 — 1) equal with Balashov ahead of Tal, Hubner, and Timman and at Helsinki 1983 he came second (+5 = 6) after Karlsson.
Maia Chiburdanidze and John Nunn from Lloyds Bank, 1985
Possessing a remarkably quick sight of the board, Nunn is an expert solver: he made the second highest individual score in the world team solving championship, 1978, and won the solving championship of Great Britain in 1981.
Lubomir Kavalek and John Nunn
Here is an excellent article from ChessBase
Polugayevsky-Nunn European team championship :

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

GM John Nunn

Here is his Wikipedia entry
46th USSR Chess Championships 1978, RD Keene, JDM Nunn, RG Wade, Master Chess Publications, 1978, ISBN 0 906634 00 8

The Benoni for the Tournament Player
Solving in Style
The Complete Pirc
Secrets of Rook Endings
Secrets of Pawnless Endings
New Ideas in the Pirc Defence
Beating the Sicilian 3
The King Hunt
Secrets of Grandmaster Chess
Secrets of Practical Chess
Nunn’s Chess Openings
John Nunn’s Chess Puzzle Book
101 Brilliant Chess Miniatures
Learn Chess
Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings
Understanding Chess Move by Move
John Nunn’s Best Games
Endgame Challenge
Tactical Chess Endings
Learn Chess Tactics
Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games
Grandmaster Chess Move by Move
Understanding Chess Endgames
Nunn’s Chess Endings
Understanding Chess Middlegames
Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Chess Endgame Workbook for Kids
GM John Nunn
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Lawrence Trent (28-iv-1986)
2020-04-28
Birthday of IM Lawrence Adam Trent (28-iv-1986)
IM Lawrence Trent
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Jonathan Hawkins (01-v-1983)
2020-05-01
Birthday of GM Jonathan Hawkins (01-v-1983)
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Richard York-Weaving (01-v-1994)
2020-05-01
Birthday of FM Richard York-Weaving (01-v-1994)
Richard weaving at the 2012 UKCC Terafinal, Loughborough Grammar School
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM David Ledger (03-v-1967)
2020-05-03
Birthday of FM David J Ledger (03-v-1967)
David was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2004-05 season sharing the title with Tim Hebbes, his brother Steve Ledger and the late Peter Poobalasingam.
Save as PDF

Birthday of WIM Dr. Ruth Sheldon (03-v-1980)
2020-05-03
Happy Birthday WIM Dr. Ruth Sheldon (03-v-1980).
Ruth was born in Manchester and became a WFM in 1993 and WIM in 1996. Her peak rating was 2310 in July 1999.
She was World U12 Vice Champion in 1992, World U14 Champion in 1993 and World U18 Champion in 1998.
She is a lecturer in Religion and Social Science at King’s College, London
WIM Dr. Ruth Sheldon
Here is her rather brief Wikipedia entry.
Ruths’s partial Chessbase record
WIM Dr. Ruth Sheldon during a county match (full caption below)
Caption to photograph above

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Joe Gallagher (04-v-1964)
2020-05-04
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to GM Joseph Gerald Gallagher (04-v-1964)
Streatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten, Mark Hedben, Daniel King, Nigel Povah (Captain), Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team
Here is his Wikipedia entry
GM Joseph Gerald Gallagher

GM Joe Gallagher

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

GM Joe Gallagher
Winning With the King’s Gambit, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-6944-7
Beating the Anti-Sicilians, Batsford/Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 0-8050-3575-3
Beating the Sicilian 3
Beating the Anti-King’s Indians, Batsford/International Chess Enterprises, ISBN 1-879479-36-2
The Trompovsky, Chess Press, ISBN 1-901259-09-9
101 Attacking Ideas in Chess, Gambit Publications, ISBN 1-901983-20-X
The Magic of Mikhail Tal, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-266-0
Starting Out: the Caro-Kann, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-303-9
Starting Out: King’s Indian, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-234-2
Starting Out: The Pirc/Modern, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-336-5
Play the King’s Indian, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-324-1
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Danny Gormally (04-v-1976)
2020-05-04
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to GM Daniel William Gormally (04-v-1976)

Danny won the Southern Counties (SCCU) championship in the 2002-03 and 2010-11 (sharing with David Howell) seasons.
Here is a ChessBase interview with Danny
Danny Gormally Caption Competition
and another interview from Chessbase

GM Danny Gormally

Danny Gormally with the ? Trophy
Insanity, Passion and Addiction

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Koby Kalavannan (05-v-2002)
2020-05-05
Birthday of FM Koby Kalavannan (05-v-2002)
Save as PDF

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

Birthday of Dr. Tim Harding (06-v-1948)
2020-05-06
From chessgames.com :“Timothy David Harding was born in London. He has been playing both over-the-board and correspondence chess since the 1960s. Harding played on the Irish team at the 1984 FIDE Olympiad in Thessaloniki, scoring 50%. In 2002 he achieved the title of Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess. He is also a Candidate Master (2015).
As a chess historian, Harding has authored dozens of books on chess since 1973. He is also the author of the “The Kibitzer”, a popular chess column published at ChessCafe.com.
(Tim Harding’s homepage – http://www.chessmail.com/timsite)”
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to Timothy David Harding (06-v-1948)
From Wikipedia :
“Timothy David Harding (born 6 May 1948 in London)[1] is a chess player and author with particular expertise in correspondence chess. He published a correspondence chess magazine Chess Mail from 1996 to 2006[2] and authored “The Kibitzer”, a ChessCafe.com column from 1996 until 2015.[3] In 2002, he was awarded the title Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess by the International Correspondence Chess Federation. Harding has lived in Dublin since 1976,[2] writing a weekly column for The Sunday Press from then until 1995.
In 2009, Harding received a PhD degree in history from University of Dublin, with his thesis on correspondence chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824–1914.[4]
He is credited with coining the name Frankenstein–Dracula Variation in his 1975 Vienna Game book.”
Timothy David Harding (06-v-1948)
Tim has written / co-authored at least forty chess books and here is a selection :
The Velimirovic Attack, Sozin Sicilian, TD Harding and RG Wade, Chessman Publications Ltd., 1969.
Counter gambits by Timothy D. Harding (1974)
Sicilian:…e5 by TD Harding & PR Markland
The Sicilian Sozin, TD Harding, GS Botterill, C. Kottnauer, Batsford, 1974
Sicilian Richter-Rauzer
The Leningrad Dutch, BT Batsford, Tim Harding, 1976
Colle, London and Blackmar-Diemer Systems, BT Batsford Ltd, Tim Harding, 1979
French: MacCutcheon and Advance Lines, Batsford, 1979
French: Classical Lines, Batsford, 1979
Queen’s Gambit Declined : Semi-Slav, Tim Harding, BT Batsford Ltd., 1981
Guide to the Chess Openings
British Chess Literature to 1914 : A Handbook for Historians
Eminent Victorian Chess Players
Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Tyson Mordue (07-v-1961)
2020-05-07
Birthday of FM Tyson A Mordue (07-v-1961)
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Gavin Crawley (08-v-1963)
2020-05-08
Birthday of IM Gavin Crawley (08-v-1963)
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Stuart Hutchings (08-v-1951)
2020-05-08
Birthday of FM Stuart James Hutchings (08-v-1951)
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Neil Bradbury (09-v-1964)
2020-05-09
Birthday of IM Neil H Bradbury (09-v-1964)

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Jack Rudd (13-v-1979)
2020-05-13
Birthday of IM Jack Rudd (13-v-1979)
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM John Cooper (14-v-1954)
2020-05-14
Birthday of IM John Grantley Cooper (14-v-1954)
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Matthew D Sadler (15-v-1974)
2020-05-15
Birthday of GM Matthew D Sadler (15-v-1974)
Save as PDF

Birthday of Mark Crowther (16-v-1966)
2020-05-16
Birthday of TWIC founder, Mark Crowther (16-v-1966)
From Wikipedia :
The Week in Chess (TWIC) is one of the first, if not the first, Internet-based chess news services. It is based in the United Kingdom.
TWIC has been edited by Mark Crowther since its inception in 1994.[1] It began as a weekly Usenet posting, with “TWIC 1” being posted to Usenet group rec.games.chess on 17 September 1994.[2] Later it moved to Crowther’s personal web site, then to chesscenter.com in 1997,[3] and in 2012 it moved to theweekinchess.com.[4]
It contains both chess news, and all the game scores from major events.
TWIC quickly became popular with professional chess players, because it allowed them to quickly get results and game scores, where previously they had relied on print publications.[5]
TWIC still exists as a weekly newsletter, although for important events the TWIC website is updated daily. It remains a popular site for up-to-date chess news.[6]
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM James Clifford Howell (17-v-1967)
2020-05-17
GM James Clifford Howell
Birthday of GM James Clifford Howell (17-v-1967)
GM James Howell
From Wikipedia :
James Clifford Howell (born May 17, 1967) is an English chess grandmaster and author. He earned his international master title in 1985 and his grandmaster title ten years later, in 1995. He reached his peak rating in July 1995, at 2525.[1] He became inactive in 1996.
James Howell as Junior British Chess Captain at Goldmark Books Chess Challenge, London England 27 May 1986, Upingham Community College, Kasparov played the BCF Junior Squad. Photo from Alamy
Oxford’s IM James Howell (l) shapes up against Cambridge’s FM Graham Burgess on top board in the Lloyds Bank Varsity match which Cambridge won 5.5 – 2.5. The players reeled off 19 moves of Yugoslav King’s Indian theory before Howell established a dominant B vs N which won the Lloyds Bank trophy for the best Oxford game. Photograph by Lloyds Bank.
Here is a game from the European Junior Championship in 1985. The opponent was Mark R. Burgess :

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

James Howell (fourth from left) in 1978 Varsity match winning Oxford Team. James was from Jesus College.
James Clifford Howell (rear, fourth from left)at a Lloyds Bank event
Essential Chess Endings
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Alan Pollard (17-v-1947)
2020-05-17
Birthday of FM Alan Pollard (17-v-1947)
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM Andrew Martin (18-v-1957)
2020-05-18
Birthday of IM Andrew Martin (18-v-1957)
From ChessBase :
Andrew David Martin (born 18th May 1957 in West Ham, London) is an English chess player with the title of international master. Martin has won various national and international tournaments. He has been playing for years in the Four Nations Chess League, at present (July 2009) for Wood Green Hilsmark Kingfisher, previously for the Camberley Chess Club. Martin received his title as international master in 1984. He earned his first grandmaster norm in the British Championship of 1997 in Brighton. Martin was a commentator on the chess world championship between Kasparov and Kramnik in 2000.
On the 21st February 2004 Martin set a new world record for simultaneous chess.

He faced 321 chess players at the same time. His result was: 294 wins, 26 draws and only one loss. Martin is known as a professional chess teacher and head trainer of the English youth team. He trains eight schools (Yateley Manor, Aldro, Millfield, Sunningdale, Waverley School, St Michael’s Sandhurst, Wellington College, Salesian College). Martin is a chess columnist, an author of chess books and the author of various instructional videos. He was the publisher of the series Trends Publications. Martin lives in Sandhurst, England, is married and the father of two daughters and two sons. His present Elo rating is 2423 (as of July 2009).
Andrew coaching students
The above is somewhat inaccurate and out of date. Andrew came from East Ham rather than West Ham. He was the editor rather than the publisher of Trends Publications and he lives in Bramley, Surrey with his partner Naomi.
On July 23rd 1981 a world record attempt of continuous blitz games was undertaken at the National Film Theatre in London with much support of the membership of London Central YMCA.
Yours Truly (John Upham) plays Andrew Martin at the NFT
Andrew now plays for Camberley and Guildford clubs in the Berkshire and Surrey Border Leagues and is former member of London Central YMCA (CentYMCA), Wood Green and Barbican clubs.
Andrew plays JJ Ady whilst Simon LeBlanq observes at the London Central YMCA
Andrew has written many books starting as Editor of the “Trends Series” for Tournament Chess owned by Richard O’Brien (Not of The Crystal Maze). He has authored numerous DVDs for Foxy Videos and ChessBase and has a YouTube Channel focused on young and improving players called “Andrew Martin – Chess Explorations“.
Andrew’s first book as author was this one :
Winning With the King’s Indian, Caissa Publishing, Andrew Martin, 1989
Here is one his favourite games :

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Trends in the Slav Defence, Tournament Chess, Andrew Martin, 1990
The Contemporary Anti-Dutch, 1990
Here is a second memorable game :

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Secret Weapons, Tournament Chess, 1991
Short, Tournament Chess, 1993
Alekhine’s Defence, 2001
The Essential Center-Counter, 2004
King’s Indian Battle Plans, 2004
The Hippopotamus Rises, 2005
Play the Benko Gambit, 2007
First Steps : Queen’s Gambit, 2016
First Steps : Caro-Kann Defence, 2018
First Steps : King’s Indian Defence, 2019
Chess Hacker, Andrew Martin, Thinkers Press, 2019
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Isaac B Sanders (19-v-1998)
2020-05-19
FM Isaac Sanders
Birthday of FM Isaac B Sanders (19-v-1998)
Isaac gained his FM title in 2014 and attained his peak rating of 2360 in April 2019 at the age of 21.
He plays for 4NCL Barbican, Hendon, Oxford University.
FM Isaac Sanders

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

FM Isaac Sanders
Save as PDF

Birthday of GM Jonathan Parker (19-v-1976)
2020-05-19
GM Jonathan Francis Parker, courtesy of John Upham Photography
Birthday of GM Jonathan Francis Parker (19-v-1976)
Jonathan Parker
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Charlie W Kennaugh (20-v-1953)
2020-05-20
Birthday of FM Charlie W Kennaugh (20-v-1953)
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Glenn L Charleshouse (21-v-1963)
2020-05-21
Birthday of FM Glenn L Charleshouse (21-v-1963)
Save as PDF

Birthday of FM Kenneth Shovel (21-v-1965)
2020-05-21
Birthday of FM Kenneth Shovel (21-v-1965)
Save as PDF

Birthday of IM John Cox (22-v-1962)
2020-05-22
IM John Cox
BCN sends best wishes to IM John Cox on his birthday, this day, in 1962.
John was born in Altrincham, Trafford, Greater Manchester and attended Eton College playing top board in the Sunday Times National Schools Competition.
He became a FIDE Master in 1982, an International Master in 2002 and obtained a peak rating of 2423 in January of 2006.
He is an expert bridge player and an amateur rock climber / mountaineer.
John plays for Cavendish in the London League, Hackney in other leagues and Barbican in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
From the excellent Shropshire Chess web site we have :
John Cox, aged 17, photographer unknown
“Probably the best home reared player to come out of the county, John Cox started to play at age 6 with his father Jeff (see above) joining Shrewsbury Chess Club at age 7. At age10 he became joint Shropshire lightning champion. He was 16 when he won the 1979 county championship though much of his early success was outside the county. He gained his first FM norm at the 1980 Lloyds Bank Masters where he became the first Shropshire player to beat a GM (see below), also drawing with IM’s Ligterink and Pytel. In 1981 he gained his third norm and the FM title at Ramsgate together with his first IM norm. Though now based in London, he is still a regular visitor to the local Wrekin Congress.”

You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Here is his Wikipedia entry
John Cox (first from left) at a Lloyds Bank event.
John Cox (left, rear)
John Cox (left, rear) at a Lloyds Bank Varsity match
IM John Cox
Starting out 1.d4 ! by John Cox
Dangerous Weapons : The Ruy Lopez
Starting Out : Alekhine’s Defence
Dealing with d4 Deviations
Starting Out : Sicilian Sveshnikov
The Berlin Wall
Save as PDF
