British Chess News

Birthday of GM Stewart Haslinger (25-xi-1981)
2020-11-25
Birthday of GM Stewart Haslinger (25-xi-1981)
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Birthday of FM Nicholas Frost (28-xi-1983)
2020-11-28
Birthday of FM Nicholas Frost (28-xi-1983)
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Birthday of WIM Teresa Needham (30-xi-1965)
2020-11-30
Birthday of WIM Teresa M Needham (30-xi-1965)
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Birthday of GM Simon Williams (30-xi-1979)
2020-11-30
GM Simon Williams
Best wishes to GM Simon Williams on his fortieth birthday, this day (November 30th) in 1979.
Simon was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 2001-02 (shared with Simon Knott) and the 2006-07 season.
His Wikipedia entry is here
GM Simon Williams
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Birthday of IM John Hawksworth (06-xii-1963)
2020-12-06
We wish happy birthday to IM John Hawksworth born on Friday, December 6th, 1963.
John Crofton Hawksworth was “born in Brighton, England, in December 1963 to Robert Marshall Hawksworth and Norah Connor Hawksworth née Crofton. He was baptised at St Saviour’s Church of England church in Pimlico, London, in 1964.[1]”
This was written about John who was 15 just prior to the Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display in 1979 :
“Bradford Grammar and Bradford. Rating 194. Yorkshire under-18 champion.”
He was awarded the IM title in 1986.
According to ChessBase his highest FIDE rating was 2370 in January, 1990 aged 27 which was the last year of serious competition at the 77th British Championships in Eastbourne.
He then pursued a highly successful career in the financial sector and is currently the Chief Economist for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
IM John Crofton Hawksworth (standing,far left)

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IM John Crofton Hawksworth (standing, second from right)
At the Lloyds Bank Masters : Front (l-r) : Joel Benjamin, Ian Wells, Rear : Peter Morrish, Stewart Reuben, Richard Beville, Gary Senior, Richard Webb, John Hawksworth, Andrew King, Nigel Short, Mark Ginsburg, Daniel King, David Cummings, Erik Teichmann, John Brandford and Micheal Pagden
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Birthday of WGM Dr. Jana Bellin (09-xii-1947)
2020-12-09
Happy birthday WGM Dr. Jana Bellin on this day (December 9th) in 1947.
Jana Malypetrova
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale, 1970 & 1976), Anne Sunnucks :
“International Woman Master (1969), Czech Woman Champion in 1965 and 1967 and British Woman Champion since 1970.
Jana Malypetrova
Jana was born in Prague on the 9th December 1947 and learned to play chess at the age of eleven. She made her first appearance in the international field when she played 2nd board for Czechoslovakia in Women’s Chess Olympiad in Oberhausen in 1966. In the same year she represented Czechoslovakia in the Zonal tournament at Varna and came 11th.
Jana Malypetrova
She is now married to the British International Master, William Hartston, and played 1st board for England in the Women’s Chess Olympiad in Skopje in 1972 and represented England in the Zonal tournament in Wijk aan Zee in 1973 in which she tied for 1st place. In the same year she came =6th in the Interzonal Tournament. She is a doctor.”
Jana & Bill Hartston celebrate a family double at the British Championships in 1973 at Eastbourne
From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE :
“Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, but moved to England in 1970 after her marriage to WR Hartston. Czechoslovak Woman champion in 1965 and 1967 (under her maiden name of Malypetrova) and British Ladies champion in the five years 1970 to 1974. International Woman master since 1969.”
Bill and Jana Hartston are shown with some of their many chess sets. CHESS, August 1973, page 323
From British Chess (Pergamon Press, 1983) Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson :
Hastings International Chess Congress 21 year old Jana Malypetrova From Czechoslovakia And Vassily Smyslov From Russia. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Fresco/ANL/Shutterstock (1876232a)
“Jana Miles was born 9 December 1947 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She moved to England when she married Bill Hartston. Divorced from Hartston in 1978, she subsequently married Tony Miles.
Hastings International Chess Congress 21 year old Jana Malypetrova From Czechoslovakia And Vassily Smyslov From Russia. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Fresco/ANL/Shutterstock (1876232a)
She was Czech woman champion in 1965 and 1967 and has regularly been the British Ladies Champion since moving to this country. She is a doctor of medicine.”
Bill and Dr, Jana Hartston (née Malypetrova)

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Sir Philip Stuart Milner-Barry OBE presents Dr. Jana Hartston with the ? prize
From Wikipedia :
“Jana Bellin (née Malypetrová; born 9 December 1947) is a British, formerly Czechoslovak chess player. She was awarded the Woman International Master chess title in 1969 and the Woman Grandmaster title in 1982.
Moment of concentration for reigning women’s champion of Great Britain Jana Hartston and some of the 30 Post Officer players – all men who challenged her at postal headquarters London on September 6. Jana beat seven, drew with sixteen and lost to seven.
Bellin was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She was the Czech Women’s Champion in 1965 and 1967 under her maiden name of Malypetrová. After her marriage to William Hartston she moved to England in 1970 and won the British Women’s Championship in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 (after a play-off), and 1979.
Moment of concentration for reigning women’s champion of Great Britain Jana Hartston and some of the 30 Post Officer players – all men who challenged her at postal headquarters London on September 6. Jana beat seven, drew with sixteen and lost to seven.
She has fifteen appearances in the Women’s Chess Olympiads, representing Czechoslovakia in 1966 and 1969 and England thirteen times from 1972 through 2006, seven times on first board.
Moment of concentration for reigning women’s champion of Great Britain Jana Hartston and some of the 30 Post Officer players – all men who challenged her at postal headquarters London on September 6. Jana beat seven, drew with sixteen and lost to seven.
At the Olympiad she earned individual silver medals in 1966 and 1976, a team bronze medal in 1968 with the Czechoslovakian team, and a team silver in 1976 with England.
British Speed Chess Championship Grandmaster Nigel Short Playing Chess In The Park With L-r Susan Arkell Sheila Jackson And Dr Jana Miles. Courtesy of Shutterstock

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“Bellin is a medical doctor specialising in anaesthetics, and works in intensive care at Sandwell General Hospital, West Bromwich, England.
Jana with Sheila Jackson to her left
She is also Chairman of the FIDE Medical Commission, which supervises drug testing of chess players.
British Speed Chess Championship Grandmaster Nigel Short Playing Chess In The Street With Woman Grandmaster Dr Jana Miles : Credit : Shutterstock
Bellin was married first to International Master William Hartston, then to Grandmaster Tony Miles, and after that to International Master Robert Bellin. She and Bellin have two sons: Robert (born 1988) and Christopher (born 1991).[citation needed]
Dr. Jana Bellin
She is the granddaughter of thrice Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Jan Malypetr. and cousin of author and human rights campaigner Jiří Stránský.
WGM Dr. Jana Bellin, Courtesy of John Upham Photography
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Birthday of FM Peter Batchelor (10-xii-1996)
2020-12-10
Best wishes to FM Peter Batchelor on his birthday.
Peter J Batchelor was born on Tuesday, December 10th, 1996. “Breath” by The Prodigy was the UK Number One Single. His father is the player Guy Batchelor.
Peter’s first recorded rapidplay event was on the 17th of July 2005 in the Barnet Knights Under-9 tournament where he scored 4/6 and his first (!) standard play event was on August 20th 2005 being the British Land UK Terafinal which was not such a happy result.
His first published ECF grading was 56E in July 2006 at the age of ten with a rapidplay grading of 57A.
Peter played league chess in the Middlesex and London Leagues playing initially for Willesden & Brent and then with Wanstead & Woodford both with his father Guy.
Peter attended the Capital City Academy which is a “specialist sports and arts Academy in Willesden, North West London, in the borough of Brent.” He has returned there post-graduation to teach chess and run the school chess club.
Peter studied mathematics at the University of Warwick and now lives in London.
According to Ben Purton : “I captain Peter in the 4NCL chess league, he is one of the most professional and talented players on my squad. He is extremely smart and nice to be around. Peter would be an asset to any organisation in the future and any graduate scheme would be foolish not to take such a person on.
I have seen him grow in to one of the best U21 chess players in the UK and hope to see him gain his IM title soon.”
Peter became a FIDE Master in 2015 and, according to Felice and Megabase 2020 his peak FIDE rating was 2365 in December 2016.
FIDE rating profile for Peter Batchelor according to Megabase 2020
Peter plays for Grantham Sharks in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
With the white pieces Peter plays the Queen’s Gambit and the Trompowsky Attack.
As the second player Peter plays the Classical variation of the Caro-Kann and the Alartortsev Variation.
On chess.com Peter plays under the nom de plume of Pbatch.
Peter Batchelor, 4NCL Final weekend, 2014, Courtesy of John Upham Photography

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FM Peter Batchelor at the 2013 British Championships, Courtesy of John Upham Photography
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Birthday of GM Matthew Turner (11-xii-1975)
2020-12-11
Birthday of GM Matthew James Turner (11-xii-1975)
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Birthday of GM Gawain Jones (11-xii-1987)
2020-12-11
Birthday of GM Gawain Christopher B Jones (11-xii-1987)
Gawain was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2012-13 season.
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Birthday of FM Christopher Wood (11-xii-1940)
2020-12-11
Birthday of FM Christopher Baruch Wood (11-xii-1940)
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Birthday of David Shire (13-xii-1947)
2020-12-13
Happy Birthday to David Shire.
David John Shire was born on Saturday, December 13th 1947. On the same day “Ballerina” by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra hit #1 on the Billboard Best Sellers in Stores record chart.
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Birthday of Colin Sydenham (13-xii-1937)
2020-12-13
Birthday of Colin Peter Sydenham (13-xii-1937)
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Birthday of IM Brandon Clarke (14-xii-1995)
2020-12-14
Happy Birthday Wishes to IM Brandon George I Clarke born on this day (December 14th), 1995. “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson was the UK Number One single.
In the 2003 London Junior Championships he was =13 with 4/7
In July 2004 he secured his first published standard play grading of 84D and 62D for rapid play. His first recorded rapid play tournament was on the 4th of October 2003 being the Mini Squad Under 8s. In this event he beat a certain Jamie Horton who had a grading of 45D at the time.
In 2006 Brandon won outright the London Under 12 title with 7.5/9. Marcus Harvey was a runner-up. This situation was repeated one year later.
In 2009 Brandon won the LJCC Under-16 title this time with Akash Jain as runner-up. His TPR for a score of 5/6 was 199.
Brandon was a chess scholar at Wellington College, Berkshire and was part of the strongest school / college team to play in the National Schools competition for many years that included James Holland, Felix Jose Ynojosa-Aponte, Alexander Galliano, Latefah Meesam-Sparkes, Akash Jain, Adrian Archer-Lock and latterly William Foo and Richard Zhu. Despite being easily the strongest team they were denied the title by the antiquated age handicapping rules.
FIDE rating profile for Brandon Clarke according to MegaBase 2020
He became an International Master in early 2019 and plays much chess in Australia, New Zealand and England having lived in the USA for some time after leaving Wellington College.
Aged 24 Brandon has achieved his highest FIDE rating of 2445 and it shows every sign of increasing.
IM Brandon Clarke, British Championships (Major Open), Torquay 2019, Courtesy of John Upham Photography
With the White pieces Brandon is almost exclusively an e4 player with occasional forays with the Queen’s pawn. Against the Najdorf he prefers 6.Bg5 and allows the Marshall against the Ruy Lopez.
As the second player he plays the Najdorf and the King’s Indian Defence most of the time.
Brandon has his own YouTube Channel.
On Chess.com he plays under the handle of Biranidun with a blitz rating of 2847.

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In January 2019 Brandon scored a very impressive victory in the 126th (!) New Zealand Open. “The 2019 126th New Zealand Open is part of the 126th New Zealand Congress and is a 9-round Swiss event being held at the Waipuna Conference Centre in Auckland from 14-22 January 2019.”
Cross table from the 126h New Zealand Open
Brandon made a welcome return to the UK and comfortably won the 2019 Major Open in Torquay with 8.5/9 as an IM.
Brandon plays for Australia Kangaroos in the Pro Chess League.
The ECF grading web site shows his only club to be Littlethorpe (in Leicestershire) although Brandon played for Warwickshire Select in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
IM Brandon Clarke, British Championships (Major Open), Torquay 2019, Courtesy of John Upham Photography
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Birthday of IM Ian Thomas (14-xii-1967)
2020-12-14
Birthday of IM Ian Thomas (14-xii-1967)
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Birthday of IM Karl CC Mah (14-xii-1980)
2020-12-14
Birthday of IM Karl CC Mah (14-xii-1980)
IM Karl CC Mah
IM Karl CC Mah
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Birthday of FM Stephen J Cullip (16-xii-1973)
2020-12-16
Birthday of FM Stephen J Cullip (16-xii-1973)
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Birthday of FM Paul Cooksey (17-xii-1971)
2020-12-17
Birthday of FM Paul S Cooksey (17-xii-1971)
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Birthday of FM Robin Moss (21-xii-1964)
2020-12-21
Birthday of FM Robin BW Moss (21-xii-1964)
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Birthday of IM David Eggleston (22-xii-1987)
2020-12-22
Best Wishes to IM David Eggleston on his birthday.
David James Eggleston was born on Tuesday, December 22nd 1987 in Sunderland, County Durham to Ian and Janet Eggleston (née Robson). David has a brother, Thomas A, also born in 1987 who plays chess to a high standard (2178 in 2020). Thomas also plays for Durham City and for 4NCL North East England.
There is one game in Megabase between the brothers from round 5 of the Durham Open in 2003 which resulted in a 13 move draw. They shared the 1st prize with 4/5.
David currently resides in Durham and plays for Durham City in the North East League and for Cheddleton in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
David became a FIDE Master in 2007 and an International Master in 2013.
According to ChessBase David’s peak FIDE rating was 2434 aged 26 in December 2013. However, this could easily be surpassed.
He has a plus score against Keith Arkell, James Jackson, Peter Sowray and Chris Ward to name but a few.
IM David James Eggleston
With the white pieces David is a staunch e4 player playing open Sicilians, the Italian Game and 3.Nc3 versus the French and the Caro-Kann.
As the second player David plays the Najdorf and the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

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David has one book, published in July 2014 : Hacking up the King published by Mongoose Press :
Hacking Up The King
IM David James Eggleston
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Birthday of IM Graeme Buckley (25-xii-1971)
2020-12-25
BCN sends best wishes to Graeme Buckley on his birthday.
Graeme Noel Buckley born on Saturday, December 25th, 1971 in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
His first chess club was Bushbury which is also known as Bilston Sports & Social Club Ltd. His father David is the long time club President.
Graeme’s first recorded games in Megabase 2020 were at the 1987 British Championship in Swansea were he scored a modest 4/11.
Graeme married IM Susan Lalic in Sutton, Surrey in 2001 and they reside in Sutton. They have two daughters, Lucy and Emma who attend Nonsuch High School for Girls following in the footsteps of their mother.
Graeme became a FIDE Master in 1994 and an International Master in 1995.

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He has played for Midland Monarchs and Wood Green in 4NCL, Surrey CCA, Wimbledon 4NCL Guildford and Bushbury (in Wolverhampton)
According to ChessBase Graeme reached his highest FIDE rating in July 2003, aged 32 of 2420.
Graeme teaches chess in many Surrey Schools and in conjunction with Susan.
Graeme has been a director of Surrey County Chess Association for four years resigning in 2011.
Graeme was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2009-10 season
According to Easy Guide to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Cadogan, 1998 :
“Graeme Buckley caused a stir in his first year as a professional player securing his International Master title in a matter of months, quickly followed by his first grandmaster norm. More recently he has been involved in some major coaching projects. In 1996 he was manager of the English youth team, who achieved the impressive double of winning both the Glorney and Faber Cups.”
With the white pieces Graeme playa the Queen’s Gambit nowadays with Nf3 appearing before c4 having flirted with the Trompowski in the early days.
As the second player he plays the Sicilian Scheveningen, the King’s Indian and not the Queen’s Gambit Accepted despite authoring a book about it!

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Multiple Choice by Graeme Buckley
Easy Guide to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted by Graeme Buckley
Trends in the Trompovsky, Vol. 4
IM Graeme Buckley, Surrey Open, 2013, courtesy of John Upham Photography
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Birthday of WIM Rita Atkins (25-xii-1969)
2020-12-25
BCN wishes Happy Birthday (and seasonal greetings) to WIM Rita Atkins (25-xii-1969)
Rita Zimmersmann was born on Thursday, December 25th 1969 in Hungary.
She became a Women’s International Master in 1992.
Her peak FIDE rating according to Felice was 2225 in January 1998 aged 29, however according to MegaBase 2020 her peak rating was 2280 in July 1992 aged 23.
Rita has played for the Cambridgeshire CCA and 4NCL Blackthorne Russia.
Rita’s first recorded game in Megabase 2020 was runner-up the 5th Schoeneck Under-18 Girl’s Open with 5.5/7.
In 1990 she was =runner-up with 6/9 in the Aarhus Women’s tournament.
She was =1st in the Budapest Women’s IM tournament securing a norm.
Crosstable for the 1991 Budapest IM Women’s tournament

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In 1992 she became Hungarian Women’s champion with 8/11 :
Crosstable for 1992 Hungarian Women’s Championship
With the white pieces Rita both 1.e4 and 1.d4 playing open Sicilians, the Trompowsky Attack and the Accelerated London System.
As the second player she plays the Sicilian Four Knights, the Modern Benoni and recently, the Czech System.
WIM Rita Atkins, Courtesy of John Upham Photography
In 1997 Rita relocated to England and played in her first 4NCL weekend for Slough. She married IM Michael Hennigan and settled in London.
By 2014 Rita had transferred to Blackthorne in the Four Nations Chess League and had become Rita Atkins.
In the last few years Rita has become active in the field of chess education and has combined her interests of mathematics and chess especially in the teaching of children. She has presented at various London Chess Conferences and works with John Foley within ChessPlus.
WIM Rita Atkins at the 2016 London Chess Conference : The Didactics of Chess, Courtesy of John Upham Photography.

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Birthday for IM Vaidyanathan Ravikumar (26-xii-1959)
2020-12-26
Vaidyanathan Ravikumar (“Ravi” to his friends) was born in Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India on Saturday, December 26th, 1959. On this day Nelson Rockefeller announced that he would not seek the Republican Party nomination for 1960.
Ravi credits his father N. Vaidyanathan for help with his early chess development.
An early image of Vaidyanathan Ravikumar from page 81 of Ulf Andersson’s Decisive Games
In 1978 Ravi won the Asian Junior Championships in Tehran and was awarded the International Master title as a consequence. Ravi was India’s second International Master : Manuel Aaron was the first in 1961.
“Ravi” at the 2013 UKCC Terafinal at Loughborough Grammar School, Courtesy of John Upham Photography
His earliest recorded game in Megabase 2020 was from the 3rd of September 1978 and was from the World Under-20 Championships in Graz, Austria. The event was won by Sergei Dolamatov and Ravi finished =25th on 6.5/13. The following year (Norway, 1979) Ravi improved to =12th with 7.5/13 and the title was won by Yasser Seirawan. James Plaskett was =3rd.
Ravi at the UKCC Southern Gigafinal 2014 at the Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
By now ( 1979) Ravi had graduated from The University of Madras with a degree in commerce and relocated to England seeking more playing opportunities. He played in his first Lloyd’s Bank Open in 1979.
Ravi and IM Andrew Martin providing the commentary for the 2015 British Championships in Warwick. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
Ravi made his first appearance for India in an Olympiad at Valetta, Malta 1980. In 1981 he was runner-up to Bjarke Sahl in the 6th North Sea Cup followed by a creditable equal 10th in the 68th British Championships at Morecambe won by Paul Littlewood. In round eight he played this attractive game against Daniel King. Notes by PC Griffiths :

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IM Vaidyanathan Ravikumar v. Vassily Smyslov, Lloyds Bank Open, round 6, 30th August 1981. The game was drawn in 33 moves.
In 1982 Ravi scored a creditable =3rd at the 1982 British Championships (Mile’s year) in Torquay including wins over Basman, Muir and Plaskett :
Cross table for the 1982 British Championship in Torquay
1983 included an excellent win over James Tarjan at the Lloyds Bank Open but Danny King got revenge for his 1981 defeat!

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Ravi at the closing ceremony of the 2014 British Championships at Aberystwyth. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
Ravi’s second Olympiad appearance for India came at Thessaloniki, Greece in 1984. This year provided Ravi’s highest FIDE rating of 2415 in January.
IM Vaidyanathan Ravikumar and friends at the 1990 NatWest Young Masters
Ravi continued to be active as a player until 2000 when he started a career in coaching. He was the National Coach of the Emirates for eight years and has accompanied the ECF junior chess team to World Youth Chess Championships in 2014, held in Al Ain, UAE.
Ravi at the 2014 British Championships at Aberystwyth. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
According to Spectrum Chess Calculation : “He is an experienced chess coach and provides chess coaching in 10 schools in Hertfordshire”
His first book was Karpov’s Best Games, Chess Check, 1984.
Following that Ravi wrote a biographical work on Ulf Andersson :
Ulf Andersson’s Decisive Games, IM Vaidyanathan Ravikumar, Peja International, 1985.
and then
Play the Benko Gambit, Vaidyanathan Ravikumar, Pergamon Press, 1991
followed by
The Closed Sicilian, Vaidyanathan Ravikumar, Tournament Chess, 1993
Chess Tactics Quiz Book, Chess Check, Vaidyanathan Ravikumar, 2004
and most recently
Spectrum Chess Calculation, Vaidyanathan Ravikumar, Chess Check, 2011
There were also works on Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman as well as works on the Caro-Kann Defence.
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Birthday of FM Nicholas Thomas (29-xii-1966)
2020-12-29
Birthday of FM Nicholas Thomas (29-xii-1966)
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Birthday of FM Jonah Willow (30-xii-2002)
2020-12-30
Happy Birthday to FM Jonah Willow
Jonah B Willow was born in Nottingham on Monday, December 30th 2002. Jacob was the most popular boy’s name in 2002. “Lose Yourself” by Enimem was number one.
Jonah’s first recorded graded standard play tournament was the 2010 Delancey UK Chess Challenge Terafinal and his first recorded rapidplay event was the Nottingham Rapidplay in 2011.
Jonah Willow at the 2012 UKK Terafinal. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
Jonah’s first published standard play grade was 96D in January of 2012 :
Jonah’s ECF grading progress
Jonah has represented West Nottingham, 4NCL Wood Green, Nottinghamshire CA and Syston (Leicester).
FIDE rating profile for FM Jonah B Willow from Megabase 2020
It is a little curious as to the reason for the rating profile to halt at the end of 2018 since Jonah has played plenty of FIDE rated games since. Compare the above with :
FIDE rating for FM Jonah Willow from fide.com
Jonah has plus scores against : Mike Surtees, Richard Pert, Peter Shaw, Ranesh Ratnesan, Shreyas Royal, Keith Arkell and Ameet Ghasi to name but a few.
With the white pieces Jonah is a committed 1.e4 player but he has scored 83% with 1.Nc3!
Jonah plays the unusual Chekhover Variation (4.Qxd4) in the 2…d6 Sicilian : this is an interesting alternative and is discussed by GM Ben Finegold :

and
GM Varuzhan Akobian :

Jonah plays the Four Knights game with white.
As the second player he plays the Accelerated Dragon and the Modern Benoni.

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He has his own Twitch TV channel.
On chess.com he is JonahWillow and his highest chess.com rating has been 2863 on April 5th 2020.
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Birthday of IM Dagne Ciukšyte (01-i-1977)
2021-01-01
Birthday of IM Dagne Ciukšyte (01-i-1977)
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Birthday of FM Stuart Fancy (02-i-1959)
2021-01-02
Birthday of FM Stuart Fancy (02-i-1959)
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Birthday for GM Luke James McShane (07-i-1984)
2021-01-07
We send best wishes to GM Luke James McShane on his birthday, this day (January 7th) in 1984.
Here is Luke’s Wikipedia entry

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Luke James McShane

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Luke James McShane
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Birthday of IM George Botterill (08-i-1949)
2021-01-08
We send birthday wishes to IM George Steven Botterill born on this day (January 8th) in 1949.
Here is his Wikipedia page
Brian Reilly, Ray Keene, George Botterill, Anatoly Karpov, Harry Golombek and Viktor Korchnoi
and here is his academic page
Capa vs Corzo Rerun ? Nigel Short had 1977 British Champion George Botterill on the ropes at The National Bank of Dubai Open. In the photo Nigel is considering 42 Rh5 The champ just escaped with a draw.

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IM George Steven Botterill (08-I-1949)
The Modern Defence, BT Batsford, 1972, GS Botterill and RD Keene
The Pirc Defence, BT Batsford, 1973, GS Botterill and RD Keene
British Chess, Pergamon Press, 1983. Editors : GS Botterill, DNL Levy, JM Rice and MJ Richardson
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Birthday of GM Keith Arkell (08-i-1961)
2023-01-08
We send birthday wishes to GM Keith Arkell, born this day (January 8th) in 1961.
Keith Arkell
Here is Keith’s Wikipedia entry
GM Keith Arkell (ENG)
This was written about Keith aged 18 prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display :
“Rednal, Birmingham. Rating 188. 2nd Lloyds Bank junior international, 1979.”
Keith was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2014-15 season sharing with Jonathan Hawkins
Here is an interview with ChessBase from 2016.
GM Keith Arkell

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Arkell’s Odyssey
Arkell’s Endings, Keith Arkell, GingerGM, 2020, ISBN-10 : 1527265595
BCN has reviewed Arkell’s Endings in depth
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Birthday of FM Shreyas Royal (09-i-2009)
2021-01-09
BCN sends birthday wishes to FM Shreyas (known as “Shrey” by his friends) Royal born on Friday, January 9th, 2009. “Hallelujah” by Alexandra Burke was number one in the UK hit parade.
Shreyas attended The Pointer School in Blackheath, London, SE3 whose motto is “The Lord is my Shepherd”.
In October 2021 BCN secured an interview with Shreyas via his father Jitendra and below is mostly from that interview:
BCN: What caused his initial interest in chess and at what age?
His initial interest in chess was capturing or as he used to call it ‘eating’ pieces but as he grew more mature, he loved that there were so many possibilities in chess, so much still left to explore! At the Age of 6 he learnt and got an interest in chess.
BCN: Has Shreyas had any chess teachers or coaches?

Jyothi Lal N. with a peak of 2250 FIDE but is very knowledgeable and helped from just above beginner to 1800. He was Shreyas’s first coach.
Meszaros Gyula (Julian) who was an IM with a peak of 2465 FIDE and was an endgame master which helped him from 1800-2100.
His Current Coach is GM John Emms with a peak of around 2600 FIDE, he is an expert in many fields such as Positional Play, Openings, Strategic chess etc and has also made a big impact on how to prepare against opponents. He had helped him from 2100-2300 so far in just under a year!

BCN: Which chess clubs and/ or Teams does Shreyas represent?
He represents SV Erkenschwick from Germany and Wasa SK from Sweden for online events as he has joined them during the pandemic. He started his 4NCL career with KJCA Kings in January 2019 but now mainly represents Wood Green which he has played for in online events in and will also represent them in the upcoming 4NCL weekends.
His first appearance in Megabase 2022 comes from the 2015 British Under-8 Championship in Coventry, the eventual winner being Dhruv Radhakrishnan.
Progress from those early days has only been interrupted by school examination breaks and the Covid pandemic:
FIDE Rating progress chart for FM Shreyas Royal
In August 2016 in Bournemouth Shreyas scored an impressive 6/6 to win the British Under-8 Championship.
Shreyas Royal at the 2016 UKCC Delancey Terafinal in Loughborough courtesy of John Upham Photography
BCN: What was his first memorable tournament success?
This was the 2016 European Schools Under-7 championship where he was runner-up without any preparation or work on chess!
Shreyas Royal at the 2016 UKCC Delancey Southern Gigafinal in Reading courtesy of John Upham Photography
In 2021 Shreyas was awarded the FM title by FIDE:
FIDE FM Certificate for Shreyas Royal
BCN: Which chess players past & present are inspirational for him?

Magnus Carlsen, world champion and broke many FIDE records also is an inspiration for most of this generation. He likes his slow grinding and almost winning from any opening or ending. This is his favourite player of all time.
Garry Kasparov played brilliant attacking chess and calculated like a machine.
Bobby Fischer played a similar style to Kasparov but was more talented than both Magnus and Kasparov in his opinion as he worked all by himself at a time in the USA when chess was not so popular while for the Russians, they had brilliant coaches and had one good player after the other. He rates him a bit lower because Fischer quit competitive chess a bit too early and could not reach the heights he was worthy of.
Alireza Firouzja
Fabiano Caruana

BCN: What are his favourite openings with the White pieces?
He plays 1.d4 pretty much all the time.
MegaBase 2020 has 294 games with 1.d4 and one solitary 1.g3 from March 2021. The 1.d4 games feature main line Queen’s Gambit / Catalan type positions championing 5.Nge2 against the King’s Indian Defence and the exchange variation against the Grunfeld.
BCN: and what are his preferred defences as the second player?
Really depends on what they play, against every opening he has got one or two lines which he enjoys equally.
Megabase 2022 informs us that Shreyas defends the main line Closed Variation of the Ruy Lopez and main line Giuoco Piano. Previously he essayed the Sicilian Najdorf.
BCN: Does he have any favourite chess books?
Not really as he is not such a big fan of chess books, but he likes My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer. Fundamental Chess Endings and Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations.
BCN: Which tournaments are planned for 2022?
We have pencilled in a couple of norm and Open (France, Spain, Germany etc.) tournaments in European countries.
BCN: What are his favourite subjects outside of chess?
His favourite subjects outside chess are Science, History, Maths with Science as his favourite, History as his second favourite and Maths as his third favourite.
BCN: Does Shreyas play any physical sports?
He does Football, Cricket and a bit of Lawn Tennis.
BCN: What are his plans and aspirations for the future?
To become a world chess champion one day, but it’s very expensive to even get to the level of IM! Currently we are looking for sponsors who can help support Shreyas to get there.
Here is his personal website.
In late December 2021 Camberley Chess Club had Shreyas as their weekly Zoom meeting guest speaker.
and finally three of SRs favourite games:

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and from more recent times:

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and finally:

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FM Shreyas Royal at the London Chess Classic, 2021 courtesy of John Upham Photography
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