BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//British Chess News - ECPv6.17.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://britishchessnews.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for British Chess News REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:UTC BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:UTC DTSTART:20190101T000000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201222 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201223 DTSTAMP:20211222T110618Z CREATED:20191212T144348Z LAST-MODIFIED:20211222T110618Z UID:2341-1608595200-1608681599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM David Eggleston (22-xii-1987) DESCRIPTION:Best Wishes to IM David Eggleston on his birthday. \nDavid 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. \nThere 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. \nDavid currently resides in Durham and plays for Durham City in the North East League and for Cheddleton in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). \nDavid became a FIDE Master in 2007 and an International Master in 2013. \nAccording to ChessBase David’s peak FIDE rating was 2434 aged 26 in December 2013. However\, this could easily be surpassed. \nHe has a plus score against Keith Arkell\, James Jackson\, Peter Sowray and Chris Ward to name but a few. \nIM David James Eggleston\nWith 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. \nAs the second player David plays the Najdorf and the Nimzo-Indian Defence. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nDavid has one book\, published in July 2014 : Hacking up the King published by Mongoose Press : \nHacking Up The King\nIM David James Eggleston\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-david-james-eggleston-22-xii-1987/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/JB4_7645-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201225 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201226 DTSTAMP:20201224T161521Z CREATED:20191212T161528Z LAST-MODIFIED:20201224T161521Z UID:2345-1608854400-1608940799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Graeme Buckley (25-xii-1971) DESCRIPTION:BCN sends best wishes to Graeme Buckley on his birthday. \nGraeme Noel Buckley born on Saturday\, December 25th\, 1971 in Wolverhampton\, West Midlands. \nHis first chess club was Bushbury which is also known as Bilston Sports & Social Club Ltd. His father David is the long time club President. \nGraeme’s first recorded games in Megabase 2020 were at the 1987 British Championship in Swansea were he scored a modest 4/11. \nGraeme 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. \nGraeme became a FIDE Master in 1994 and an International Master in 1995. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHe has played for Midland Monarchs and Wood Green in 4NCL\, Surrey CCA\, Wimbledon 4NCL Guildford and Bushbury (in Wolverhampton) \nAccording to ChessBase Graeme reached his highest FIDE rating in July 2003\, aged 32 of 2420. \nGraeme teaches chess in many Surrey Schools and in conjunction with Susan. \nGraeme has been a director of Surrey County Chess Association for four years resigning in 2011. \nGraeme was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2009-10 season \nAccording to Easy Guide to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted\, Cadogan\, 1998 : \n“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.” \nWith the white pieces Graeme playa the Queen’s Gambit nowadays with Nf3 appearing before c4 having flirted with the Trompowski in the early days. \nAs 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! \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nMultiple Choice by Graeme Buckley\nEasy Guide to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted by Graeme Buckley\nTrends in the Trompovsky\, Vol. 4\nIM Graeme Buckley\, Surrey Open\, 2013\, courtesy of John Upham Photography\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-graeme-noel-buckley-25-xii-1971/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/JEU0590-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201228 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201229 DTSTAMP:20260817T135536Z CREATED:20210201T132752Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135536Z UID:13692-1609113600-1609199999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Frank Parr (17-xii-1918 28-xii-2003) DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of Frank Parr (17-xii-1918 28-xii-2003) \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-frank-parr-17-xii-1918-28-xii-2003/ CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201230 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201231 DTSTAMP:20201229T175730Z CREATED:20200412T131219Z LAST-MODIFIED:20201229T175730Z UID:4543-1609286400-1609372799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Jonah Willow (30-xii-2002) DESCRIPTION:Happy Birthday to FM Jonah Willow \nJonah 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. \nJonah’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. \nJonah Willow at the 2012 UKK Terafinal. Courtesy of John Upham Photography\nJonah’s first published standard play grade was 96D in January of 2012 : \nJonah’s ECF grading progress\nJonah has represented West Nottingham\, 4NCL Wood Green\, Nottinghamshire CA and Syston (Leicester). \nFIDE rating profile for FM Jonah B Willow from Megabase 2020\nIt 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 : \nFIDE rating for FM Jonah Willow from fide.com\nJonah has plus scores against : Mike Surtees\, Richard Pert\, Peter Shaw\, Ranesh Ratnesan\, Shreyas Royal\, Keith Arkell and Ameet Ghasi to name but a few. \nWith the white pieces Jonah is a committed 1.e4 player but he has scored 83% with 1.Nc3! \nJonah plays the unusual Chekhover Variation (4.Qxd4) in the 2…d6 Sicilian : this is an interesting alternative and is discussed by GM Ben Finegold : \n\nand \nGM Varuzhan Akobian : \n\nJonah plays the Four Knights game with white. \nAs the second player he plays the Accelerated Dragon and the Modern Benoni. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHe has his own Twitch TV channel. \nOn chess.com he is JonahWillow and his highest chess.com rating has been 2863 on April 5th 2020. \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-jonah-b-willow-30-xii-2002/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,UKCC ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/utf_9875_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210107 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210108 DTSTAMP:20210120T120552Z CREATED:20191230T113557Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210120T120552Z UID:2638-1609977600-1610063999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday for GM Luke James McShane (07-i-1984) DESCRIPTION:We send best wishes to GM Luke James McShane on his birthday\, this day (January 7th) in 1984. \nHere is Luke’s Wikipedia entry \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nLuke James McShane\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nLuke James McShane\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-for-gm-luke-james-mcshane-07-i-1984/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/jb4_8003_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210108 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210109 DTSTAMP:20210120T120750Z CREATED:20190822T161251Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210120T120750Z UID:990-1610064000-1610150399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM George Botterill (08-i-1949) DESCRIPTION:We send birthday wishes to IM George Steven Botterill born on this day (January 8th) in 1949. \nHere is his Wikipedia page \nBrian Reilly\, Ray Keene\, George Botterill\, Anatoly Karpov\, Harry Golombek and Viktor Korchnoi\nand here is his academic page \nCapa 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.\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nIM George Steven Botterill (08-I-1949)\nThe Modern Defence\, BT Batsford\, 1972\, GS Botterill and RD Keene\nThe Pirc Defence\, BT Batsford\, 1973\, GS Botterill and RD Keene\nBritish Chess\, Pergamon Press\, 1983. Editors : GS Botterill\, DNL Levy\, JM Rice and MJ Richardson\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-george-steven-botterill/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Bot01091.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210108 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210109 DTSTAMP:20220108T100057Z CREATED:20191230T114046Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220108T100057Z UID:2642-1610064000-1610150399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Keith Arkell (08-i-1961) DESCRIPTION:We send birthday wishes to GM Keith Arkell\, born this day (January 8th) in 1961. \nKeith Arkell\nHere is Keith’s Wikipedia entry \nGM Keith Arkell (ENG)\nThis was written about Keith aged 18 prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display : \n“Rednal\, Birmingham. Rating 188. 2nd Lloyds Bank junior international\, 1979.” \nKeith was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2014-15 season sharing with Jonathan Hawkins \nHere is an interview with ChessBase from 2016. \nGM Keith Arkell\n\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nArkell’s Odyssey\nArkell’s Endings\, Keith Arkell\, GingerGM\, 2020\, ISBN-10 : 1527265595\nBCN has reviewed Arkell’s Endings in depth \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-keith-charles-arkell-08-i-1961/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/jua6332_lv.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210109 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210110 DTSTAMP:20220108T163914Z CREATED:20210919T133057Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220108T163914Z UID:18870-1610150400-1610236799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Shreyas Royal (09-i-2009) DESCRIPTION: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. \nShreyas attended The Pointer School in Blackheath\, London\, SE3 whose motto is “The Lord is my Shepherd”. \nIn October 2021 BCN secured an interview with Shreyas via his father Jitendra and below is mostly from that interview: \nBCN: What caused his initial interest in chess and at what age? \nHis 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. \nBCN: Has Shreyas had any chess teachers or coaches? \n\n\nJyothi 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.\nMeszaros Gyula (Julian) who was an IM with a peak of 2465 FIDE and was an endgame master which helped him from 1800-2100.\nHis 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!\n\n\nBCN: Which chess clubs and/ or Teams does Shreyas represent? \nHe 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. \nHis first appearance in Megabase 2022 comes from the 2015 British Under-8 Championship in Coventry\, the eventual winner being Dhruv Radhakrishnan. \nProgress from those early days has only been interrupted by school examination breaks and the Covid pandemic: \nFIDE Rating progress chart for FM Shreyas Royal\nIn August 2016 in Bournemouth Shreyas scored an impressive 6/6 to win the British Under-8 Championship. \nShreyas Royal at the 2016 UKCC Delancey Terafinal in Loughborough courtesy of John Upham Photography\nBCN: What was his first memorable tournament success? \nThis was the 2016 European Schools Under-7 championship where he was runner-up without any preparation or work on chess! \nShreyas Royal at the 2016 UKCC Delancey Southern Gigafinal in Reading courtesy of John Upham Photography\nIn 2021 Shreyas was awarded the FM title by FIDE: \nFIDE FM Certificate for Shreyas Royal\nBCN: Which chess players past & present are inspirational for him? \n\n\nMagnus 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.\nGarry Kasparov played brilliant attacking chess and calculated like a machine.\nBobby 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.\nAlireza Firouzja\nFabiano Caruana\n\n\nBCN: What are his favourite openings with the White pieces? \nHe plays 1.d4 pretty much all the time. \nMegaBase 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. \nBCN: and what are his preferred defences as the second player? \nReally depends on what they play\, against every opening he has got one or two lines which he enjoys equally. \nMegabase 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. \nBCN: Does he have any favourite chess books? \nNot 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. \nBCN: Which tournaments are planned for 2022? \nWe have pencilled in a couple of norm and Open (France\, Spain\, Germany etc.) tournaments in European countries. \nBCN: What are his favourite subjects outside of chess? \nHis favourite subjects outside chess are Science\, History\, Maths with Science as his favourite\, History as his second favourite and Maths as his third favourite. \nBCN: Does Shreyas play any physical sports? \nHe does Football\, Cricket and a bit of Lawn Tennis. \nBCN: What are his plans and aspirations for the future? \nTo 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. \nHere is his personal website. \nIn late December 2021 Camberley Chess Club had Shreyas as their weekly Zoom meeting guest speaker. \nand finally three of SRs favourite games: \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nand from more recent times: \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nand finally: \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFM Shreyas Royal at the London Chess Classic\, 2021 courtesy of John Upham Photography\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-shreyas-royal-09-i-2009/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Junior ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/LCC_6153-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210112 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210113 DTSTAMP:20210120T145924Z CREATED:20200324T194039Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210120T145924Z UID:3709-1610409600-1610495999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of Martyn Corden (12-i-1951) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of Martyn John Corden (12-i-1951) \nFrom Chessgames.com \n“Martyn John Corden was Under 18 British champion in 1969 and played for England in the Siegen Olympiad in 1970.” \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-martyn-john-corden-12-i-1951/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_0742.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200110 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200111 DTSTAMP:20260817T141234Z CREATED:20200504T085859Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T141234Z UID:5221-1578614400-1578700799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Roland Scott (25-iii-1888 10-i-1953) DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers Roland Scott who passed away in Monte Carlo on Saturday\, January 10th\, 1953. \nRoland Henry Vaughan Scott was born in either Barnes or Holloway depending which Census record is correct. His parents were Walter Frederick Scott\, a GP who was born in April 1960 and died in 1891 when Roland was three years of age. \nHis mother was Lucie Vaughan was born in 1855 and died in October 1933. \nRoland had two sisters\, Nina Vaughan Scott and Lucie / Lucia Audrey Scott (who died before her first birthday) and a brother Guy Francis D Scott who lived until 1977. \nIn 1891 Roland lived in Tottenham\, in 1901 in Hampstead and in 1911 in St. Pancras where he was listed as a law clerk. \nIn 1917 The London Gazette lists him as a lieutenant in the Norfolk Regiment. \nThe 1920 electoral rolls for the Gospel Oak polling district lists Scott as voter #2006 living at 2\, Estelle Road\, North St. Pancras which is now in Belsize Park\, NW3 2JX. At the same address was his sister Lucie and in 1921 they were joined by brother Guy. \nIn July 1922 in the district of Brighton Roland married Irma Clareboudt. No children from the marriage are recorded. \nThe 1939 register lists Scott as “War Disabled ? Officer Retired In War 1914” (invalided from army) and Irma as a saleswoman (born 25th July 1895) living at 42\, Sherwell Lane\, Paignton\, Torquay\, TQ2 6BD. \n42\, Sherwell Lane\, Paignton\, Devon\, TQ2 6BD.\nThe April 1953 British Chess Magazine (Volume LXXIII\, Number 4\, page 101 onwards) contained this obituary from DJ Morgan: \nIt is with much regret that we record the death\, on January 10th\, at Monte Carlo\, of R. H. V. Scott. He had long been out of active chess\, but older readers will need no reminding of the 1920 British Champion\, with his quiet manner but attacking chess; one who was composure itself at the table but aggressiveness personified on the board. \nThe son of a doctor\, Scott was born in 1889. He was nineteen before taking to the game\, but a ready aptitude combined with great enthusiasm led to rapid progress. He joined the Hampstead Club in 1908\, and in his first tournament\, the Third Class\, came out first. ln the years that follow he pursued the game with much energy. \nAt the B.C.F. Congress\, Glasgow\, l9ll\, he won the only section of the First Class. In 1913 and in 1914 he was Hampstead Club Champion. In 1913 he was tenth in the British Championship\, at Cheltenham\, and equal fifth to sixth at Chester in the following year\, defeating Yates and drawing with Blackburne. \nIn 1915 he came second in the City of London Club Championship\, but won that of the Metropolitan Club. During the same year he lost a short match with Sir G. A. Thomas 1-3. The war years\, with a commission in the Norfolk Regiment\, intervened\, but chess filled his available moments. \nIn 1916 he defeated L. I. Estrin\, a young Russian who was Hampstead Champion\, 5-2 in a match. ln 1919 he lost a match with Winter at Hastings (2-4)\, and shared seventh to eighth positions with Dr. Olland (Holland) at the B.C.F. Hastings Victory Congress\, with victories over Olland\, \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nR. P. Michell\, Marchand\, and Conde. Then came the B.C.F. Edinburgh Congress of 1920\, Scott became British Champion\, losing only\nto Sir G. A. Thomas. \nIn this year he also drew a match\, 3-3\, with Marchand\, of Holland\, also at Hastings. There followed three more appearances in the championship\, Malvern\, 1921 (equal fifth to sixth); Southsea\,1923 (equal third to fourth); and Southport\, 1924 (fourth). And with this Scott passed out of British chess. Ill health and failing eyesight\, direct results of sufferings and injuries endured on active service during the war\, began to take their toll. On medical advice he sought a warmer climate\, and the Riviera henceforth became his home. \nWe find him sharing seventh to eighth positions at the Hyères Congress\, in 1926\, and coming equal fifth to sixth\, with B. Reilly (our Editor’s first international tourney we believe)\, at Hyères\, 1927. \nThe days of active play were over\, but his great interest in the game remained. Scott was a natural attacking player\, more likely\, perhaps\, to win the Brilliancy Prize than the First Prize. \nEdo rating profile for RHV Scott\nWe have given the bare outline of a career that was all too short\, one cut down\, in a sense before reaching full maturity. Contemporary records sometimes expressed the need for more stability in Scott’s chess\, but they chronicle games of his that speak forcibly of the imaginative\, refreshing\, and invigorating qualities of his play. We offer an early game\, the Brilliancy Prize winner\, City of London C.C. Championship\, 1913-14. White’s 20th move sets the game alight. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XLI (1920)\, Number 10 (October)\, page 305 we have the following report of his exploits winning the 1920 British Championship in Edinburgh: \n“We are glad to be able to present to our readers a photograph of the new champion\, Mr. R.H.V Scott. He informs us that it is his most recent one\, taken in 1917 when subaltern in the Norfolk Regiment. He saw service with the latter in France\, and\, as is probably know to most of our subscribers\, was badly gassed\, from the effects of which is now happily quite recovered. \nHis victory in the recent Congress in Edinburgh is welcome from at least two points of view; one\, that he is one of our youngest first class players (ed: he was 32 at the time\, a veteran by the standards of 2022!)\, having been born in 1889 (ed: this should have been 1888)\, and therefore may justifiably be expected to improve still further with experience and some curbing of his impatience in defence; and\, two\, that he claim to represent the more brilliant school of chess\, that of Pillsbury\, Marshall\, Charousek\, and Morphy\, rather than the more solid school\, of say\, Steinitz and Rubinstein\, who theory was the pilling up of small advantages. \nScott has an excellent “nose” for attack\, and has some exceedingly “chessy” ideas. During the congress he put a much greater restraint on himself than is his wont\, and we believe this to be the reason he so improved on his previous records. \nHe had what might be described as the worst of the draw\, since he had Black against Sir George  Thomas\, EG Sergeant and RP Michell. Some writers have described him as lucky to win\, but a study of his games and a comparison with those of others in the tourney go to prove that he played more far-sightedly than any of the others. \nWe are quite aware that the form of any player is variable\, and we have seen Sir George Thomas play much better chess and much less strainedly than he did at Edinburgh. EG Sergeant was generally playing quite at his best\, but once or twice his play deteriorated\, perhaps as the result of a sleepless night\, he then seemed bereft of ideas\, and allowed the clock to beat him. This also was the case with Michell\, who had many a rush to save his flag falling before the necessary moves were made. Now Scott almost invariably had time to spare. \nPerhaps the worst reversal of form was that of JH Blake; but he had been working very hard and late for some time right up to the day the Congress commenced\, and was not really in a fit state of health to take part. \nScott has twice before competed for the Championship; in 1913 where he finished eighth\, and in 1914 when he was fifth\, beating FD Yates\, the then Champion and drawing with JH Blackburne. \nHe has won several brilliancy prizes in congress and club tourneys\, and was the champion of the Hampstead Chess Club (where he may have been said to have learnt the game) in 1913 and 1914. He was first acquainted with the moves in 1908. \nHe is keen on all sports\, and puts his whole energy into each line he may be taking. With yet more self-restraint we think his chess will still further improve\, and we venture to prophesy this will not be the last British Chess Championship he will win.” \nIn his memoirs William Winter wrote this: \n“I also had the opportunity of playing a number of semi-serious games with RHV Scott and D. Miller\, two of the leading London amateurs. Scott was probably the most brilliant combinative played England has ever seen and had already won almost every honour except the British Championship\, which fell to him in 1920. \nSince those days I have played over hundreds of games\, including the beautiful brilliancies of the modern Russian school\, and Scott’s best combinations stand up quite well beside them. There were however weaknesses in his play which I shall discuss later. Miller was just the opposite type\, a dour solid player exceptionally hard to beat. He is\, I am glad to say\, still with us\, but Scott died a few years ago – he had been out of chess for a long time.” \nand this: \n“It is entirely legitimate\, and can prove very useful until one comes up against an opponent like Capablanca who had no weaknesses of any kind. ln Scott’s case\, one of his foibles was an aversion to exchanging queens\, and I took full advantage of this in the first two games of the match both of which I won with comparative ease; but Scott was not finished yet.’ In the third game he tied me up in a variation of the Sicilian which I had not previously seen\, and in the fourth I made the fatal mistake in going for an early win of material and allowing him a king’s side attack. Things now looked bad for me. I had the black pieces in the fifth game and I dared not play my favourite Sicilian defence because I could not discover a satisfactory answer to his new line.” \nStrangely\, none of the Encyclopaedia’s by Golombek\, Sunnucks or Hooper & Whyld felt that RHVS merited an entry. However Gaige does not forget. \nHere is an interesting article from “introuble2” entitled 100 years ago… chess in London during World War I in which Scott is mentioned. \nHere is an excellent article from John Saunders \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-roland-henry-vaughan-scott-25-iii-1888-10-i-1953/ CATEGORIES:2023,British Championships,History,Player,Remembering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/95500810_3277144515638845_8586271723630886912_o.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210115 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210116 DTSTAMP:20210120T151222Z CREATED:20190823T092825Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210120T151222Z UID:1066-1610668800-1610755199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Craig William Pritchett (15-i-1949) DESCRIPTION:IM Craig William Pritchett\nWe send birthday wishes to IM Craig Pritchett who was born this day\, January 15th in 1949. \nIM Craig William Pritchett\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nIM Craig Pritchett (right) with Leonard Barden and Stewart Reuben\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess by Harry Golombek : \nScottish international master and teacher. Prtichett\, probably the strongest native-born Scottish player since the days of Captain Mackenzie in the nineteenth century\, has represented Scotland with success in five Olympiads : 1966\, 1970\, 1972\, 1974 and 1976. He has also played for Scotland in the Students Olympiads of 1968\, 1969 and 1970. \nPritchett playing Karpov at Nice 1974.\nHis first individual success was in the European Junior Championship in Groningen 1969/70 where he came -3rd with Belyavsky. At Decin (Czechoslovakia) 1974 he came 1st in the Masters B section. \nHe obtained the first part of an international master norm at the Nice Olympiad in 1974 where he scored 60% on top board. In 1975 he again achieved a master norm at the strong Pula Zonal tournament where he came -7th/14. \nIM Craig Pritchett (right) at the Aaronson Masters\nHe was chess correspondent of the Glasgow Herald and author of The Sicilian Scheveningen\, Batsford\, London\, 1977. (article by Harry Golombek) \nThe Sicilian Scheveningen\nNimzo Indian 4 e3 Nimzowitsch Hubner & Taimanov Variations\nChess for Rookies\nSteinitz Move by Move\nPlay the English\nHeroes of Classical Chess\nGreat Chess Romantics\nStarting Out : Sicilian Scheveningen\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-craig-william-pritchett/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CraigPritchett2.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210115 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210116 DTSTAMP:20230109T222958Z CREATED:20200409T181200Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230109T222958Z UID:4293-1610668800-1610755199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Andrew Horton (15-i-1998) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of IM Andrew P Horton (15-i-1998) \nAndrew became a FIDE Master in 2015 and an International Master in 2018. \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-andrew-p-horton-15-i-1998/ CATEGORIES:2023,4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/jb4_4220_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210118 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210119 DTSTAMP:20230118T102641Z CREATED:20200409T133012Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230118T102641Z UID:4258-1610928000-1611014399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Paul Littlewood (18-i-1956) DESCRIPTION:BCN wishes Happy Birthday to Paul Littlewood \nPaul Edwin Littlewood was born on Wednesday\, January 18th\, 1956 in Skegness\, East Lindsey\, Lincolnshire. His parents were John and Jean Littlewood (née) Hadwick. Paul’s chess playing uncle was Norman Littlewood. \nJohn and Paul on Skegness beach circa 1958. Kindly supplied by Paul Littlewood. George and Ringo are out of shot !\nJohn\, Jenny and Paul Littlewood\, circa 1962. Kindly supplied by Paul Littlewood.\nPaul attended Glenburn Comprehensive School in Skelmersdale from 1967 and then read Natural Sciences at Christ’s College\, Cambridge from 1974. \nPaul played badminton for Lancashire and Cambridge and\, in 1971\, won the English Schools Mixed Championship when he was 15 years old. \nPaul and family receive a chess lesson from John following John’s win in the 1972 Southport Open\nOn leaving University Paul taught science at Southbrook Comprehensive\, Daventry. Four years later Paul became a dealer at Phillips & Drew and followed this as an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Stays at Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan were followed by a change of direction and since then Paul has been director of various food supply companies retiring in 2014. \nPaul is married (3rd November 2006) to (his second wife) Fiona and lives in St. Albans\, Hertfordshire. \nPEL won the ECF President’s Award in 2007 and from the 2008 ECF Yearbook we have the following citation : \n“International Master and accomplished bridge player. From British Chess champion (1981) Paul has presided over the 4NCL as chairman during its most successful period. When he became chairman over ten years ago the league consisted of two divisions and 32 teams. The league has now expanded to four divisions and a total of 72 teams. Most of England’s juniors play 4NCL. During this time 4NCL became one of the strongest leagues in Europe\, at one time boasting a Division 1 rivalling the Bundesliga in strength in the top matches. \nPaul has demonstrated the sound judgement of Solomon when dealing with league disputes and has drawn on his business acumen\, honed during a successful career in the City with Goldman Sachs to make 4NCL the financially stable and expanding league it is today.” \nRoll of Honour \n\nBritish U18 Champion 1972\nBritish U21 Champion 1975\nBritish Champion 1981\nAs a junior represented England in Glorney Cup\nInternational Master 1980\n\nFrom British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983) by Botterill\, Levy. Rice and Richardson we have this article from Richard W. O’Brien : \n“Paul Littlewood was destined to become a strong player from birth. His father John was for some time one of the strongest players in the country and represented England on many occasions. His uncle Norman was for a few years not far behind. Paul\, however\, has surpassed them both and has become the first in the family to reach IM status. (Ed: JEL was very much worthy of the IM title but insufficient events of the right type held him back). \nA. Howard Williams\, Martyn J. Corden\, Paul E. Littlewood and A. Jonathan Mestel\nAll three are essentially attacking players. There have been times in recent years when play at the Hastings Premier has become dull. However\, Paul one of the English representatives at the last three tournaments\, was certainly not to blame. (His game against Brito of Brazil which follows is a striking example of this).” \nCoached by his father\, Paul became British U18 champion in 1972 and three years later became British U21 champion. \nClearly more interested in an academic career he went up to Cambridge and then followed his father into the teaching profession. Opportunities to play in strong tournaments were thus very limited. These opportunities\, however\, were grasped in both hands. Three times in thirteen months between August 1978 and August 1979 he obtained an IM norm and thus the title. \nPartial crosstable for the Lloyds Bank Open\, 1978\nThe first caused a sensation as it was totally unexpected. He shared first place at Lloyds Bank ahead of several grandmasters including Shamkovich\, who was the first grandmaster he ever defeated. \nLeonid Shamkovich plays Paul Littlewood during the 1978 Lloyds Bank Masters. Paul won the game.\nEight months later Aaronson Masters was won and then came the final norm\, also at Lloyds Bank. \nTournaments abroad were limited although he represented England students. He did play at Kringsja (2nd equal) in 1978 and Borovo where he scored 6.5.13 finishing ahead of 3 GMs. \nIn 1981 came his finest achievement – winning the British Championship with a massive 9/11. \nPartial crosstable from the 1981 British Championship in Morecambe\nHis father who was also competing in the championship was as proud as could be and deservedly so (he also coached Sheila Jackson who retained her British Ladies Championship that year). His excellent all round play took him to the title and only once during the tournament did he stand worse. His endgame play was so good that CHESS even published an article solely on these endings. \nPaul Littlewood and friends during the 1978 Lloyds Bank Masters\nDuties at school in Daventry meant he was\, in February 1982\, unable to take part in the zonal at Marbella. This followed an excellent Hastings when as British Champion he made a plus score – a rare event indeed. \nIM Paul Littlewood during filming for the “Trick of the Mind” series from Derren Brown\nIn the summer he gave up teaching and joined Phillips & Drew (stockbrokers). He now (ed : this was in 1983) lives with his (first) wife Sue and family in the wilds of Essex (Billericay). \nIM Paul Littlewood\, event and photographer unknown\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nPaul gives a simultaneous display in Letchworth. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nChess Tactics\, Paul Littlewood\, Crowood Chess Library\, 1991\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-paul-edwin-littlewood-18-i-1956/ CATEGORIES:2023,4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210122 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210123 DTSTAMP:20220122T105352Z CREATED:20200122T110126Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220122T105352Z UID:2975-1611273600-1611359999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Richard Pert (22-i-1981) DESCRIPTION:Happy Birthday IM Richard Pert (22-i-1981) \nIM Richard Pert\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nNick and Richard Pert\nNick and Richard Pert\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-richard-pert-22-i-1981/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/JB4_9063-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210122 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210123 DTSTAMP:20230120T152026Z CREATED:20200122T110505Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230120T152026Z UID:2981-1611273600-1611359999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Nick Pert (22-i-1981) DESCRIPTION:We send birthday wishes to GM Nick Pert born this day (January 22nd) in 1981. \nJeremy Morse\, Adam Hunt\, Nick Pert and Nigel Short at the Lloyds Bank Masters\nNick won the Southern Counties (SCCU) championship for the 2016-17 season sharing with Richard Bates. \nNick and Richard Pert\nHere is Nick’s Wikipedia entry \nNick and Richard Pert\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nGM Nick Pert\nGM Nick Pert\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-nick-pert-22-i-1981/ CATEGORIES:2023,4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bct_4326_lv.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210123 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210124 DTSTAMP:20230121T131743Z CREATED:20200122T210240Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230121T131743Z UID:2990-1611360000-1611446399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Adam Taylor (23-i-1998) DESCRIPTION:We send best wishes to IM Adam Taylor on his birthday. \nAdam Christopher Taylor was born on Friday\, January 23rd\, 1998 in Colchester\, Essex. Adam has a sister\, Nathalie Leanne Taylor who also plays and studied History & Economics at The University of York. His mother Deborah was always supportive during his chess career. \nHe attended The Gilberd School\, Colchester until 2014 and then Colchester Sixth Form College and currently resides in Colchester\, Essex. \nECF grading profile for IM Adam C Taylor\nAdam’s first recorded rapidplay event was the Basildon Junior Congress resulting in a published grade of 34D and his first graded standard play event was the 2009 London Junior Under-12 Championships and his first published standard-play grading was 73E. \nIn that same year at Torquay Adam won the British Under-12 title sharing with Radha Jain. \nAdam C Taylor at the 2013 UK Chess Challenge Terafinal. Courtesy of John Upham Photography\nAdam made his first 4NCL appearance in May 2012 for SC Stars followed by Anglian Avengers. In 2018 the lure of the big lights of Division One beckoned and Wood Green became Adam’s team now playing for Wood Green Monarchs in the Online 4NCL championship. \nIn 2017 Adam scored an impressive 6/9 (and =2nd) when he travelled to Greece to play in the Heraklion 1st Capablanca Memorial. \nThe Hastings Open in 2018 saw an excellent =7th with 6.5/10. \nAdam’s IM title was ratified in June of 2019 in Baku and currently (January 2021) holds a FIDE standard play rating of 2347 and an ECF standard play rating of 2260A. His highest ECF standard play grading was 230A in July 2019. We expect this to be exceeded once OTB play resumes. \nBattersea Chess Club celebrated Adams’s title in style with this article written by Leon Watson \nFIDE rating profile for IM Adam C Taylor from MegaBase 2020.\nAdam has played for Bury St. Edmunds and Manningtree and now Battersea in the London League and Wood Green in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) and has made many appearances in the UKCC Terafinal. \nAdam is known as Tayip99 on chess.com and as AdamTaylor2301 on LiChess.com and regularly streams on Twitch and other platforms. \nAdam C Taylor\, Courtesy of John Upham Photography\nOn the 13th of September 2019 Adam became the sole director of MakingGrandmasters Limited which lists on its web site a number of leading young English players engaging in coaching such as Matthew Wadsworth\, Ravi Haria and Daniel Fernandez to name but a few. \nOne of Adam’s more notable students is Guildford Chess Club member Jessica Mellor who\, in 2018\, won Gold in the Under-11 category of the European Schools Championship. \nMore recently Adam has taken a back seat from chess and has become a golf professional. \nWith the white pieces Adam favours a Reti/English set-up where c4 quickly follows a king side fianchetto. Here is a typical game of Adam’s with the white against a strong opponent : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nWith the black pieces Adam essays the Berlin Defence and the Sicilian Najdorf as well as the Benko Gambit and Nimzo-Indian Defence. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nIM Adam C Taylor\, Courtesy of John Upham Photography\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-adam-c-taylor-23-i-1998/ CATEGORIES:2023,4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Coach,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/KRM_5083.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210127 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210128 DTSTAMP:20230126T231702Z CREATED:20191117T173215Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230126T231702Z UID:2089-1611705600-1611791999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Richard Bates (27-i-1979) DESCRIPTION:Best Birthday wishes to IM Richard Adam Bates born on this day (January 27th) in 1979. \nRichard has won the Southern Counties (SCCU) championship in the 2015-16\, 2016-17 (with Nick Pert) and 2017-18 seasons. \nIM Richard Adam Bates\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nRichard Bates\nIM Richard Bates\nSheen Mount Under Eleven Chess Champion Richard Bates and Robin Laisby enjoying a game during time out from the Teachers Assurance National Primary Schools Chess Championships. Malaysian Elephant Leyang Leyang and her keeper Duncan McGinnie help them not to forget their chess moves.\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-richard-alan-bates-27-i-1979/ CATEGORIES:2023,4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/bct_4349_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210129 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210130 DTSTAMP:20210129T165242Z CREATED:20200129T092350Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210129T165242Z UID:3031-1611878400-1611964799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Raymond Keene OBE (29-i-1948) DESCRIPTION:We send birthday wishes to GM Raymond Keene OBE. \nRaymond Dennis Keene was born on Thursday\, January 29th 1948 in Wandsworth\, London to Dennis Arthur and Doris Anita Keene (née Leat). Dennis and Doris were married in 1943 in Camberwell. Doris was born on May 27th\, 1921 in Lambeth and was a shorthand and invoice typist. \nDennis and Doris also had a daughter Jackie Keene who later married chess historian\, RG Eales. Jackie is Emeritus Professor at The University of Kent in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Jackie played in the Glorney Cup. \nRaymond Keene\nRay was educated at Dulwich College between 1959 and 1966 thereby becoming an Old Alleynian. In 1967 Ray went up to Trinity College\, Cambridge to study Modern Languages specialising in German and graduating with an MA. Amongst their Alumni are five spies including Blunt\, Burgess and Philby. During the gap between Dulwich College and Cambridge Ray (aged 18) wrote his first (and one of his best) book : Flank Openings : \nFlank Openings\, Raymond Keene\, British Chess Magazine\, 1967.\nBeing published at the age of 19 this must be close to the earliest age an English player has had a chess book published that was not ghost written. (Leave a comment if you know differently!) \nFollowing this legendary tome Ray collaborated with Leonard Barden and Bill Hartston on The King’s Indian Defence from BT Batsford Ltd: \nThe King’s Indian Defence\, Barden\, Keene and Hartston\, BT Batsford\, 1969.\nand in 1972 we have \nThe Modern Defence\, BT Batsford\, 1972\, GS Botterill and RD Keene\nfollowed in 1973 by \nThe Pirc Defence\, BT Batsford\, 1973\, GS Botterill and RD Keene\nAll of which were favourably received helping Batsford to establish a strong reputation. \nIn July 1974 Ray married ex-ballerina (and now Dance Teacher) Annette Sara Goodman in Brighton\, East Sussex. Annette became a director of World Memory Championships International Limited on January 17th 2008 and resigned on April 9th 2008. They have one son\, Alexander Phillip Simon Keene\, born in 1991. Godfather to Alexander is Scottish International\, IM David Levy. \nAnnette is the sister of IM David Simon Charles Goodman who now resides in New York. \nAlso in 1974 George Bell & Sons published Ray’s most acclaimed work (and arguably his best) : Aron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal \nAron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal\, RD Keene\, George Bell & Sons\, 1974\nAlexander is currently the Company Secretary of the aforementioned company\, Julian (a retired teacher from Brighton) is another active director. \nIn 1985 Ray became the sixth British chess player to be awarded the OBE when it was awarded in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The citation read “For Services to Chess”. \nAccording to Companies House Ray has held a total of 30 directorships in various companies such as : \n\nBrain Plan 2020\nWorld Mind Mapping Championships\nWorld Speed Reading Championships\nBuzan International Technology\nBuzan World\nThe World is My Oyster\nWorld Memory Championships\nIntelligent Resources and Services\nOutside in Pathways\nUK Primary Schools Memory Championships\nUK Schools Memory Championships\nThe School Memory Championships\nThe Schools Memory Championship\nMental Literacy for All\nFestival of the Mind\nFestival of the Mind International\nThe Brain Trust\nImpala (London)\nTony Buzan International\nWorld Memory Championships International\nWorld Peace and Prosperity Foundation\nZeticula\nMind Masters Management\nIntellectual Leisure\nBrain Sports Olympiad\nMind Sports Promotions\n\n(Our particular favourite has to be the unpretentiously entitled “World Peace and Prosperity Foundation” although “The World is My Oyster” runs it a close second.) \nRay\, Annette and Julian Simpole currently live in Clapham Common North Side\, London\, England. \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Ken Whyld : \nRay Keene\nEnglish player and author\, British champion 1971\, From 1966 he played in several Olympiads and his performance in two of them\, Nice 1974 ( + 7=6-2) and Haifa 1976 (+4=6)\, gained him the title of International Grandmaster (1976). His best tournament win was at Dortmund 1980 (category 8)\, He studied the games and teaching of Staunton and Nimzowitsch and revealed with unusual insight the strategy of the former and the stratagems of the latter in two books: Staunton : the English World Champion (1975) and Nimzowitsch: a Reappraisal (1974). He also wrote Flank Openings (3rd edn\, 1979); these openings are the ones which he prefers to play\, which he knows best\, and which suit his solid positional style. \nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks : \nInternational Master (1972)\, British Champion in 1971 and a regular member of the British team since 1966 playing on top board on a number of occasions. \nRay Keene\nRaymond Keene was born on 29th January 1948 in London and learned to play chess at the age of six. He began to play seriously when he was thirteen. While at Dulwich College from 1959 -1966 he played top bard for the school team which won the Sunday Times National Schools’ Chess Tournament in 1965 and 1966. \nEnglish chess player Raymond Keene\, winner of the 1971 British Chess Championship\, posed in London on 6th June 1972. Raymond Keene has been awarded the chess title International Master. (Photo by Harry Dempster/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)\nIn 1964\, he won the London and British Boys’ Under 18 Championship (ed : In fact\, the title was shared with Brian Denman) and the following year\, at the age of seventeen\, he became the youngest player to win the Surrey Championship. While at Cambridge he graduated in German Literature (B.A. Honours)\, he played top board for the university. \nBrian Reilly\, Ray Keene\, George Botterill\, Anatoly Karpov\, Harry Golombek and Viktor Korchnoi\nDuring his chess career\, he has beaten both Botvinnik and Gligoric\, In 1967\, he came 2nd in the World Junior Championship and in 1968 he won the prize for the best score on board 4 in the Lugano Olympiad. \nRaymond Keene\nA difficult player to beat\, Keene played in four British Championships without losing a game and also went through the Lugano and Siegen Olympiads unbeaten in 33 games. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\nAt Oxford in 1973\, Keene set up what he believes is an English speed record for simultaneous chess\, scoring 100 wins\, 5 draws and 1 loss in 4.5 hours. \nRaymond Keene\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Harry Golombek : \n“British Grandmaster\, British Champion 1971\, Keene was born in London and was both London Boy Champion and British Junior Champion in 1964 (ed : In fact\, the title was shared with Brian Denman). \nEducated at Dulwich College and Trinity College\, Cambridge\, he soon became recognised\, along with Hartston\, as one of the two leading younger players in England. His style of play was different from that of his rival\, being more complicated and less direct; but\, like Hartston\, he became a most formidable opening theorist with a vast knowledge of opening theory. \nHis first Olympiad was at Havana 1966 where he was the youngest member of the side and scored 65% on board six. In 1968 at Lugano he obtained 76.5% on board four and in 1970 at Siegen\, playing on board two in the preliminaries and board one in the finals he score 68.8%. \nRaymond Keene\nThe year 1971 saw a double achievement\, for in that year he won the British Championship at Blackpool and also secured the title of International Master. \nPlaying on top board in the 1972 Olympiad at Skopje\, he scored 11.5 out of 20. \nRay & friend\nIn 1974 he came 6th in a very strong Hastings tournament and then won first prize in the Capablanca Memorial Masters in Cuba. At the Nice Olympiad he scored 66.66% on 2nd board\, attaining the first leg of the grandmaster norm. At Mannheim 1975 he was 3rd in the German Open championship and in that year he also came 2nd at Alicante. In 1976 he was 2nd at the Aarhus tournament in Denmark. He finished a most successful year in international chess by fulfilling the second grandmaster norm on 2nd board in the Haifa Olympiad\, thereby becoming England’s second international grandmaster (after Tony Miles). (Harry Golombek)” \nRay was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 1966-67 season. \nHere is his extensive Wikipedia article \nNoted historian Olimpu G Urcan writes on Alekhine versus Keene \nand Edward Winter writes extensively about Ray’s journalistic activities \nand finally\, Keenipedia. A web site created by his many admirers… \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nMurray Chandler\, Ray Keene and Miguel Najdorf\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-raymond-dennis-keene-29-ii-1948/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Honours,Official,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IMG_1483-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210131 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210201 DTSTAMP:20220131T112458Z CREATED:20190822T152139Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220131T112458Z UID:975-1612051200-1612137599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Henry Atkins (20-viii-1872 31-i-1955) DESCRIPTION:We remember Henry Atkins who passed away\, Monday\, January 31st\, 1955. \nHenry Ernest Atkins was born in Leicester on Tuesday\, August 20th\, 1872 to Edward (a schoolteacher) and Jane Atkins (née Threapland). \nHe was baptised on August 6th\, 1872 in the Anglican Cathedral Church of St. Martin\, Leicester. At the time of the baptism the Atkins family was living at 57\, King Richard’s Road\, Leicester. The address in 2021 appears to be occupied by an industrial premise for Sunco Knitwear Specialists. The signatory on the baptism record is that of DJ Vaughan. \nBaptismal record for Henry Ernest Atkins\nHenry was admitted to Wyggeston Boys Grammar School\, Leicester on March 30th 1880 when eight years old. He was expected to leave at the end of the Winter Term in 1890. \nSchool admission record for Henry Ernest Atkins\nCuriously his school admission record includes the following addition (although we don’t know exactly when) : \nAmendment to school admission record for HEA.\nHenry\, aged 18\, went up to Peterhouse College\, Cambridge in 1890 to study mathematics. From his year of entry he was ranked as 9th “Wrangler” studying for the Mathematical Tripos. As part of his Part II examinations he did well enough to be “mentioned” for the Smith’s Prize for examination performance. \nNottingham Evening Post\, 3rd June 1895\n(Here is more on Kummer’s Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.) \nFollowing University Henry became a teacher of mathematics at Northampton County Modern School and then returned to Wyggeston Boys Grammar School from 1902 – 1908. He then became the principal of Huddersfield College in 1909 and continued until 1915. Huddersfield College (founded in 1839) was merged with Hillhouse Technical School to form a new boys’ grammar school at a new campus at Salendine Nook with 950 boys. \nAccording to Ranneforths Schach-Kalender (cited by C.N.)\, 1915\, page 55\, during the period at Huddersfield College Henry lived firstly at 49 New North Road\, Huddersfield\, Yorkshire : \n49 New North Road\, Huddersfield\, Yorkshire\, HD1 5NR\nand then \n36 Gledholt Road\, Huddersfield\, Yorkshire\, HD1 4HP : \n36 Gledholt Road\, Huddersfield\, Yorkshire\, HD1 4HP\nOn June 1st\, 1915 (aged 43) Henry was registered as a teacher whilst at Huddersfield College for the fee of one guinea : \nTeacher registration form for Henry Ernest Atkins\nHenry retired from teaching in 1936. \nIn the 1939 register Henry (now a retired schoolmaster) was recorded as living with his wife\, Elspeth Skene Atkins (née Wilson) at 29 East Avenue\, Leicester\, Leicestershire : \n29 East Avenue\, Leicester\, Leicestershire\, LE2 1TE\nElspeth was born on August 5th 1880 and was therefore roughly eight years his junior. She carried out “unpaid domestic duties” but as a member of the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) she was a surgical dresser. The WVS transformed into the RVS. It would seem that Henry and Elspeth did not have children. She outlived Henry passing away in 1973 in Southampton. \nOn Monday\, January 31st 1955 passed away in The Fielding Johnson Private Hospital : \nProbate notice from March 26th 1955\nThe Fielding Johnson Private Hospital\nHenry was buried at Gilroes Cemetery and Crematorium\, Groby Road\, Leicester\, Leicestershire\, LE3 9QG. \nIn the October 1976 issue of Newsflash Badmaster (aka GH Diggle) wrote : \n“… we well remember his giving a “simultaneous” at the Lincoln Chess Club in 1924\, winning 17 and drawing two. One of his more elderly opponents (a notorious non-resigner) who for 30 moves had been wobbling along with a piece down until “time” had to be called\, then proceeded to “demonstrate a draw” by concocting a continuation so optimistic that even clubmates with lifelong experience of his powers stood aghast. Atkins\, with his greatcoat on ready to go home\, made no attempt to refute this analytical masterpiece but merely remarked with great deference: “I don’t think we can play it quite like that!” and then beat a craven retreat “escorted by Club Officials” \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXV (75\, 1955)\, Number 3 (March)\, pp.102-3 we have this obituary written by RN Coles : \n“With the passing\, on January 31st\, at the age of eighty-two of Henry Ernest Atkins the chess world has lost a recognized international master\, and British chess one of its strongest players of all time. Yet Atkins was the despair of chess enthusiasts because he played so little international chess and confined himself largely – and at that intermittently – to local affairs\, where the strength of most of his opponents could hardly extend him. One leading player recently regretted that Atkins spent so much time “in the wilds\,” but Atkins would have taken an opposite view and have considered that he was “in the wilds” if he had spent more of his time playing chess; teaching was his whole life\, and the game of chess he insisted on treating as a game. \nConsequently as a chess-player Atkins was almost always out of practice and playing below his true strength\, yet in his five international events-Amsterdam\, 1899; Hanover\, 1902; London\, 1922; London Team Tourney\, 1927; and Warsaw Team Tourney\, 1935-he scored 63.2 per cent\, or if Amsterdam which was virtually a Hauptturnier is excluded\, 53.5 per cent. \nFull crosstable from Amsterdam 1899\nSir George Thomas considered that only lack of opportunity prevented him from establishing himself in the world championship class. As it is\, he will be remembered chiefly by chess-players as the man who played eleven times in the British Championship and won it nine times\, failing only at the first attempt in 1904 after a tie for first place\, and at the last in 1937\, at the age of sixty-five\, when he shared third place\, a record which has never been remotely approached by any other player and is not likely to be. Atkins played in a clear-cut strategical style which makes his games ideal studies for the beginner\, and he finished them with the elegance to enchant the artist; like the Etudes of Chopin\, they provide technical exercises and works of art in one. \nBut I believe that if Atkins had his wish – and this wish I am sure he will have – he would wish to be remembered by his many pupils\, whether they be pupils of the chess master or of the schoolmaster\, not for any practical achievements but for being a true guide\, philosopher\, and friend to all who came under his tutelage.-R. N. C.” \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld \nEnglish player\, born in Leicester\, International Master (1950)\, schoolmaster. Between 1895 and 1901 he played in seven minor tournaments\, winning four\, taking second place in three\, and losing only three out of 70 games. In one of these events\, Amsterdam 1899\, he made a clean score against 15 opponents. In his first international tournament\, Hanover 1902\, he came third (+8=7-2) after Janowski and Pillsbury ahead of Mieses\, Chigorin\, and Marshall. Emanuel Lasker believed that Atkins would have joined the leading grandmasters had he continued his international career\, but Atkins played in only one more big tournament (London 1922). He had a genuine concern for his profession\, and preferred not to give more of his life to chess. He played in 12 of the Anglo-American cable matches\, won the British Championship nine times (1905-11\, 1924\, 1925)\, and represented the British Chess Federation in the Olympiads of 1927 and 1935. \nHenry Ernest Atkins\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks : \nInternational Master (1950) and nine times British Champion. Born in Leicester on 20th August 1872\, Atkins learned the game at school in Leicester at the age of 12. When he was 15\, he joined Leicester Chess Club and within two years was playing on top board. In 1890 he went up to Peterhouse\, Cambridge\, and played top board for the University. On leaving Cambridge he became a schoolmaster. \nHis first appearance in the British Championship was in 1904\, when he came 2nd. The following year he won the championship and repeated his success every year up to and including 1911. He did not compete between 1912 and 1923\, and on reappearing in the event in 1924\, he regained his title and held it the following year. His final appearance in the British Championship was in 1937\, when at the age of 65 he came =3rd.\nIn the five international events in which he played – Amsterdam 1899\, Hanover 1902\, London 1922 and the Chess Olympiads of 1927 and 1935 – he scored over 60 per cent. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHis devotion to teaching and his insistence on treating chess as merely a game was all that prevented him from becoming one of the leading players in the world. \nHe died on 31st January\, 1955. \nH. E. Atkins Doyen of British Chess Champions by R. N. Coles\nIn the above book RN Coles points out that Atkins regularly played f4 or …f5 early in the game and claims this was HEAs pet or signature move. \nHenry Ernest Atkins\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Harry Golombek : \nBritish international master and regarded by many as Britain’s more talented player in the history of the game. Born in Leicester and never very fond of leaving England. Atkins was a schoolmaster and devoted relatively little time to chess\, and yet he became one of the strongest amateurs every known to chess. He was known on the Continent as “the little Steinitz“. \nHis record in British Championship is unique; out of eleven appearances he won the event nine times : 1905\, 1906\, 1907\, 1908\, 1909\, 1910\, 1911\, 1924 and 1925. I t should be added that in 1904 (his first attempt) he finished 1st= and only lost to Napier after a play-off and in 1937 (his last championship) he finished =3rd at the age of 65! \nThe British Chess Championship Trophy\nHis international career comprises only six events. In 1895 Atkins was placed =2nd behind Maróczy in the Hastings Minor Tournament and in 1899 he won the Amsterdam tournament\, leading the field by 4 points. At Hanover 1902 he scored his most notable result : 3rd prize behind Janowski and Pillsbury but ahead of Chigorin and Marshall among others. At London 1922 he finished only 10th of 16 but still claimed Rubinstein and Tartakower among his victims. He represented the B.C.F. in the Olympiads of 1927 and 1935. \nAtkins was retrospectively awarded the title of international master in 1950 on his pre-war record. (Ray Keene). \nAccording to chessgames.com : “He graduated from Cambridge and taught mathematics at Northampton and Wyggeston. In 1909\, he was appointed Principal of Huddersfield College.” \nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976)\, Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master (1950) and nine times British Champion. \nBorn in Leicester on 20th August 1872\, Atkins learned the game at school in Leicester at the age of 12. When he was 15\, he joined Leicester Chess Club and within two years was playing on top board. In 1890 he went up to Peterhouse\, Cambridge\, and played on top board for the University. On leaving Cambridge he became a schoolmaster. \nHis first appearance in the British Championship was in 1904\, when he came 2nd. The following year he won the championship and repeated his success every year up to and including 1911. He did not compete between 1912 and 1923\, and on reappearing in the event in 1924\, he regained his title and held it the following year. His final appearance in the British Championship was in 1937\, when at the age of 65 he came =3rd. \nIn the five international events in which he played – Amsterdam 1899\, Hanover 1902\, London 1922\, and the chess Olympiads of 1927 and 1935 – he scored over 60 per cent. \nHis devotion to teaching and his insistence on treating chess as merely a game was all that prevented him from becoming one of the leading players in the world. \nHe died on 31st January\, 1955. ” \nHere is an article from the Yorkshire Chess History site \nand here is an obituary from the MCCU site \nHere is his Wikipedia article \nand here is an excellent article on chess.com \nRecently renowned journalist and write John Saunders has turned his attention to HEA. \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-henry-ernest-atkins/ CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image001.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210202 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210203 DTSTAMP:20210202T123329Z CREATED:20190824T124759Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210202T123329Z UID:1167-1612224000-1612310399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Mike Franklin (02-ii-1931) DESCRIPTION:We send best wishes to Michael Franklin on his 90th birthday. \nGrowing Up\nMichael John Franklin was born on Monday\, February 2nd\, 1931 in Battersea\, London to Albert George (27 ix 1906\, Dover – ? iii 1983\, Wandsworth) and Helen Ann Franklin (née Colson\, 1908-2003) who married in the third quarter of 1928 in Wandsworth.  Albert was a clerk as was his father. \nAt the commencement of the Second World War\, when eight years old\, Michael was evacuated to Frome in Somerset. As a consequence Michael would delight in playing in the Frome Congress whenever possible. He played in the first event in 1990 organised by Leon York  (whose name is the memorial trophy for the Major section).  The story of Michael’s return to Frome made its’ way in to the local newspaper and was reported by Gary Lane as follows : \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CX (110\, 1990)\, Number 7 (July)\, page 296 : \n“A special presentation by the sponsor\, Mrs. Jean Mackereth\, Managing Director of Keyford Frames\, was made to Londoner Michael Franklin\, who was returning for the first time in 51 years to the town to which he was evacuated during the war. His final appearance at Frome was in the 2010 event. \nThe Early Years\nMichaels interest in chess started in 1944 aged 13 when he witnessed games being played on Clapham Common. He was fascinated by the pieces and taught himself to play\, never receiving  any formal coaching. He joined the Clapham Common Chess Club in 1944. (CCCC became incorporated into Battersea Chess Club some time later). \nCHECK MATES: Elderly members of the Clapham Common Open Air Chess and Draughts Club\, circa 1920. The club met regularly during the afternoons to play on Clapham Common in south London. Copyright : Keystone\nApart from summer events such as the above the club had a Winter Section that played matches in the London League. The club won the first division (now known as the Brian Smith Trophy) of the London League in the 1946-47 and 1947-48 seasons. Michael played his final game in the London Chess League for Richmond & Twickenham on April 14th 2010 drawing with John Hodgson\, brother of Julian giving a sixty year span. \nIn his formative years he played at the Gambit Chess Café\, Budge Row\,  Cannon Street\, London\, EC4N. Many strong players regularly visited the Gambit to play skittles\, blitz and the frequently held lightning tournaments hosted by the proprietor Mr GH White. \n\nEvents such as these enabled Michael to develop his quick sight of the board and his flair for tactical play. \nLeonard Barden added : \n“Michael made his name as a young player first by his successes in the Saturday evening Gambit Guinea speed events at the Gambit Chess Café in Cannon Street which he often won ahead of master level rivals. He remained a strong speed player all his life.” \nIn the early 1950s Michael was persuaded by his friends Aird Thomson (who was Scottish Boys’ Champion in 1932\, and 1933 ( equal-first). In 1951 he was Scottish Champion. In 1954 he moved to London. He married Susan Mary Hamilton in 1961 who went on to become Scottish Ladies’ Champion in 1965.) and oriental carpet expert Robert Pinner to join the Richmond and Twickenham Chess Club  playing for the club in the London League\, Surrey Trophy  and National Club Championship until he retired from competitive play 2010. \nMaking Progress\nMichael’s first appearance in British Chess Magazine was in Volume LXVI (66\, 1946)\, Number 2 (February). Page 52 contained this report of the 1945 London Boy’s Championship in which Michael reached the final A section : \nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXVI (66\, 1946)\, Number 2 (February)\, page 52\nMichael’s club (for this event) is recorded as Hammersmith Arts and Crafts School. \nOn leaving school  Michael joined a firm of Patent Agents remaining in their employ as the accounts department for around forty years before retiring in the late 1980s. His retirement was prompted by the firm’s adoption of electronic computers. When he retired he was Chief Cashier. \nOn June 18th 1960 Michael’s happiest day was when he married Jean Fey. They celebrated  their diamond anniversary in 2020. \nTo the present day Michael has maintained an aversion toward modern technology. He did\, however\, concede to the ownership of a mobile telephone. This was for the specific purpose of updating Jean on his days progress in any chess tournaments where he was away from home. \nIn 1946 (aged 15) Michael won the Felce Cup awarded by the Surrey County Chess Association. A result indicating rapid improvement since Michael had only started playing competitively in 1944. \nThe Felce Cup held by the hands of Stephen Moss in 2014\nIn 1951 Michael finished third in the Surrey Championships behind the winner Frank Parr and runner-up David Hooper. In 1961\, 1966\, 1968\, 1969 and 1970 Michael won the Surrey Championship outright and made many appearences in county matches for Surrey from 1950 onwards until 2010. \nUnfortunately Michael’s rapid progress was threatened by two bouts of ill health. In 1948 aged 17 Michael was diagnosed with Tuberculosis which lasted for eighteen months including a twelve month stay in the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. Aged twenty the TB returned leading to yet another twelve months illness. \nMichael has suffered from ill health all of his life interrupting his chess career at various times. Fortunately the TB has not returned. \nMichael won the National Chess Centre Championship in 1953 and 1955 being runner-up in 1954. The venue was Hill’s Restaurant\, 158 Bishopsgate\, London\, EC2 opposite Liverpool Street Station since the original John Lewis department store venue was bombed in 1940. \nResults from the 1955 event: \n1-2 Franklin\, Fazekas 3.5/5\n3 Fuller 3/5\n4 Barden 2.5/5\n5 Parr 1/5\n6 Green 0.5/5 \nMichael won the play-off 2-0. \nThe British Chess Federation first published a National Grading list in 1953 (using the Richard Clarke system). In the 1954 list MF appeared with a grade of 2A (225-232) and from then on with a grade of either 2A or 2B. In 1964 a numeric system had him at 225 ranking Michael 4th in England behind Penrose 244\, Kottnauer 238 and Clarke 231. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nMichael played many times in the annual Battle of Britain Tournament organised by Squadron Leader David Pritchard and his committee. He won it four times : 1959\, 1960\, 1961 and 1962. \nThe Ilford Whitsun Congress\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nThe Ilford Whitsun Congress was a regular part of Michael’s season throughout the sixties. He won the Premier Reserves in 1961 ahead of Hilton\, Hindle\, Howson\, Sales and Blaine and was runner-up to Kottnauer in 1962.  In 1963 he went one step better by winning the Premier : \nA report of Mike Franklin’s success at the 1963 Ilford Whitsun Congress by Peter Clarke. Source : British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 7 (July)\, page 193\nand here is the fifth round game : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nIn his tournament report PH Clarke wrote : \nThis buoyant\, optimistic attitude of his is a great strength and always makes him a dangerous opponent. \nAway from Home : International Progress\n1964 saw selection by the BCF to play in the Tel Aviv Olympiad : \nThe 1964 England Olympiad (Tel Aviv) Team : Owen Hindle\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Peter Clarke\, Michael Franklin\, Norman Littlewood & Michael Haygarth\nand scored a creditable 4/6.  This was followed in 1965 with 3/5 in Clare Benedict tournament held in Berlin. \nHe played in the annual Anglo-Dutch match on no less than six occasions in 1962\, 1963\, 1964\, 1965\, 1968 and finally in 1969. His aggregate score was an impressive 8/12. \n?\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Michael Franklin and Owen Hindle\nOn the national scene Michael repeated his 1963 victory at the 1969 Ilford Premier with a clear first place : Franklin 4; RG Wade and D Wright 3; JB Howson 2.5; BH Wood 2; PH Clarke 0.5. \nIn 1970 Michael won the London Championship which was also known as the Budget Cup which had last been held in 1956 .  He followed this in 1972 by rightly earning the (now defunct) title of British Master. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nMichael’s final appearance for England was in 1971 in the Cheltenham based Anglo-German match with a somewhat disappointing 0.5/2 against Juergen Dueball. \nOwen Hindle\, Michael Franklin\, Harry Golombek and Michael Haygarth\nMichael played board two for London in a Telex match versus Belgrade playing Marjanovic.  The game was drawn. \nMichael Franklin playing board two in the London – Belgrade Telex Match on April 3rd\, 1976 from the St. James Hotel\, Buckingham Gate. Sourced from BCM\, Volume XCVI (96)\, Number 5\, page 192. Photographer probably Freddy Reilly.\nThe Ultimate Prize : The Aaronson Masters\nThe Aaronson Masters at Harrow 1978 brought his best individual success at the age of 47\, sharing first place with IM Aldo Haik of France and to boot\, earning  an IM norm. \nJoint winners of the 1978 Aaronson Masters : Michael Franklin and IM Aldo Haik\nMichael scored an undefeated 7.5/10 and finished ahead of Short\, Speelman\, Nunn\, Hartston\, Mestel\, Webb\, Basman\, Botterill and numerous other illustrious players.  Michael remarked of his lifetime best result that it was \njust one of those occasions when everything went right! \nBut he scored 3.5/5 against the IMs\, was alert to every opportunity\, and the games show he owed little to luck. \nLeonard Barden\, Stewart Reuben and Michael Franklin at the 1978 Aaronson Masters\nLike many others Michael made appearences in Lloyds Bank events of 1977\, 1978\, 1984\, 1989\, 1991\, 1993 and 1994. \nMichael Franklin (left) at the 1978 Lloyds Bank Masters playing IGM Leonid Shamkovich\nMichael and friends during the 1978 Lloyds Bank Masters\nThe Hastings Years\nMichael first played at Hastings in 1964 when he was invited to play in the Premier Tournament. The tournament was won by Mikhail Tal and Michael finished in last place. \nUndaunted he returned to Hastings in 1968 to play in the Challengers tournament. One of the attractions of playing in the Challengers was that the winner received a place the following years Premier. Frustratingly Michael finished second three years in a row! In 1968 the Challengers was won by Danny Wright\, in 1969 by Martyn Corden and in 1970 by Peter Markland. Finally\, in 1971 his patience was rewarded and he won the Challengers and qualified to the following years Premier. \nThe 47th Hastings Premier of 1971-72 had been changed from the traditional 10 player all-play-all to a 16 player tournament. Also\, having obtained sponsorship from various organisations the committee were able to invite some of the top names of the day. The sponsors were: \n\nJim Slater\nThe Friends of Chess\nThe British Chess Federation\nBovis Holdings Ltd\nHastings County Borough Council\n\nSo\, the entry included Karpov\, Korchnoi\, Andersson\, Najdorf\, Mecking\, Gligoric\, Unzicker and Robert Byrne to name but a few. This was undoubtedly the strongest Hastings Premier since World War Two and possibly the strongest Hastings Tournament since 1895. \nMichael started well with a draw against the Rumanian GM Ciocaltea followed by a draw in with the Brazilian prodigy Mecking. In round three he surprised everyone by beating Ray Keene. With 2/3 things were looking promising. However\, after this bright start Michael only managed a draw against Unzicker and a draw with Hartston finishing in a disappointing last place with a score of 3/15. \nIn the tournament report Peter Clarke opined \nFranklin suffered the usual fate of the gifted amateur in a professional field of simply not being accustomed to this kind of chess. \nDespite this Michael continued to play in the Hastings Challengers. He played in nineteen out of the next twenty-five years! He came close to winning the tournament in 1982: he was leading the tournament with a score of 7/8 when he was informed that Jean’s Father had passed away. Having drawn his ninth round game and needing only a draw in the last round to ensure at least a tie for first place he withdrew from the tournament and immediately left for home. \nThe Weekend Scene\nLike all players with a full time job Michael had to play most of his chess at the weekend so the explosion of weekends tournaments in the early 1970’s gave him ample opportunities. His habit of playing quickly was ideally suited to the fast time limits of the weekend tournament. During the 1970 and 1980’s he was very successful. He won numerous events and was more often than not in the prize list. \nFM Michael Franklin\, Photo by Cathy Rogers\nIn later years he restricted himself to London based tournaments and those in the West Country. His regular tournaments being Exeter\, Torquay and old favourite\, Frome. Michael at the age of 78 shared first place at Frome 2009. Frome 2010 was his farewell appearance. \nFM Michael Franklin\nMichael played for a number of clubs viz : Richmond & Twickenham\, Coulsdon CF\, Surrey CCA\, 4NCL Richmond\, 4NCL Bristol and Richards Butler to name but a few. \nFinally\, in 1980\,  Michael was awarded the FIDE Master title and achieved his highest rating (in the Elo era) of 2345 in January 1979. It is most likely that his highest ever rating would have been more like 2450. \nFM Michael Franklin vs Paul Helbig\nAppropriately enough Michael was the inaugural winner of the BCF/ECF Senior Prix in 2000 and won it again in 2002 and 2003. The event last ran in 2006. \nWhen Surrey won the counties championship a few years back the team took the trophy around to Michael’s home in Norbury\, such was their regard for his contributions. \nThe London System\nAny currently active club player cannot have missed the explosive rise to prominence of the system for White he developed : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nThe London System and Accelerated London System has acquired a huge cohort of followers in recent times probably not realising the debt they (and many authors\, book and DVD publishers!) owe to Michael. If only he could have earnt a royalty every time it was played! \nAlso Michael had notable success as Black with the O’Kelly Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nLife Outside of Chess\nMichael had many interests apart from Chess. He was for many years a member of the Surrey County Cricket Club. After he retired he would arrange to meet fellow Surrey Member Frank Parr at the Oval and after lunch in the Pavilion they would spend the day enjoying the Cricket. Tennis was another sport that Michael followed. Michael was also interested in horseracing. Several players were surprised when visiting one of the racetracks around London to find Michael also attending the race meeting. \nMichael was the typical “natural” player. He never studied the game and his only sources of opening information were the British Chess Magazine and the chess columns in The Times and the Guardian. He never kept the scores of his games. Once the game was finished it was time to move on. One of Michael’s greatest strengths was his optimistic attitude at the chessboard. No matter how bad the position he was confident of ultimate success. \nMichael Franklin receives £220 from Councillor Robert Dickson at the 1980 Nottinghamshire Congress\nCaption for above photograph\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-michael-john-franklin/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,History,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Fra14127.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210203 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210204 DTSTAMP:20210131T113738Z CREATED:20200410T093145Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210131T113738Z UID:4321-1612310400-1612396799@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of FM Oliver Jackson (03-ii-1946) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of FM Oliver A Jackson (03-ii-1946) \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-fm-oliver-a-jackson-03-ii-1946/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/jb4_9317_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210204 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210205 DTSTAMP:20210202T100049Z CREATED:20191020T125454Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210202T100049Z UID:1597-1612396800-1612483199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Harriet Hunt (04-ii-1978) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of IM Harriet Hunt (04-ii-1978) \nIM Harriet Vaughan Hunt\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-harriet-hunt-04-ii-1978/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/img_1307_smaller.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210204 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210205 DTSTAMP:20210130T185025Z CREATED:20200120T133751Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210130T185025Z UID:2954-1612396800-1612483199@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Ameet Ghasi (04-ii-1987) DESCRIPTION:IM Ameet Kumar Ghasi\nBirthday of IM Ameet Kumar Ghasi (04-ii-1987) \nIM Ameet Kumar Ghasi\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-ameet-kumar-ghasi-04-ii-1987/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210207 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210208 DTSTAMP:20220207T095801Z CREATED:20200207T144432Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220207T095801Z UID:3191-1612656000-1612742399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Ravi Haria (07-ii-1999) DESCRIPTION:BCN sends birthday wishes to GM Ravi Haria. \nRavi Haria was born Sunday\, February 7th\, 1999  in Elstree\, Hertfordshire. “Maria” by Blondie was top of the hit parade. Ravi currently resides in London. \nRavi attended Lonsdale School in Barnet and then The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School and now reads History at University College\, London. \nECF grading profiles for Ravi Haria\nRavi learnt at the age of 6 and joined Barnet Knights Chess Club in 2005. \nRavi’s first recorded tournament was the 35th Barnet Knights Under-8  rapidplay on September 25th 2005. Also playing of note were Jonathan Pein and Isaac Sanders. \nHis first recorded standard play game  was in the London Junior Under-10 Championships on December 9th 2006. \nBy the time he was eight he had attracted the attention of the England selectors and played in the 2008 Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi coming home with a bronze medal. \nRavi aged 8 photographed by The Borehamwood and Elstree Times in January 2008\nRavi aged 9 photographed by The Borehamwood and Elstree Times in August 2008\nIn 2008 Ravi won the British Under-9 title in Liverpool. He said afterwards: \nIt was quite nice to be leading everyone and I felt proud of myself. I’m not sure how I control my nerves but it feels really good to win. \nHis mother Sona said: \nIt’s a bit overwhelming but we just support him. It means you have to give up a lot of time for him but it’s really nice to see that he’s getting somewhere. \nThis was followed in 2014 by winning the British Under-18 championship in Aberystwyth aged 15 and then the same title in 2017 in Llandudno. \nRavi Haria\, UKCC Southern Gigafinal\, 2013\nIn 2016 Ravi was equal 2nd to Deep Sengupta at the Hastings Masters Open with an impressive 6/9 and a TPR of 2563.  This performance secured his second IM norm. \nThe IM title was conferred at the 88th FIDE Congress 2017\, 7-15 October\, Goynuk\, Antalya\, Turkey. \nHe scored six points after 11 rounds at the 2017 World Junior championship in Italy and 5.5 points at the 2017 WYCC U-18 group in Uruguay. \n\nRavi completed his British junior titles run by becoming the current (no OTB event in 2020) British Under-21 champion in 2019 in Torquay scoring an emphatic 6.5/9 securing a share of third place. \nPartial crosstable for the 2019 British Championships in Torquay\nRavi became a FIDE Master in 2015 at the age of 16 and and International Master two years later making him England’s second youngest IM after Matthew Wadsworth. \nOTB Elo rating profile for IM Ravi Haria according to MegaBase 2020\nHis peak FIDE rating was 2497 in October 2021 and currently (February  2022) is 2490. \nIn 2019 Ravi teamed up with IM Adam C. Taylor to join Adam’s Making Grandmasters training venture. \nFM Ravi Haria\, ECF Secondary Schools Rapidplay\, 2016\nOn January 28th 2021 Thinker’s Publishing released The Modernised Anti-Sicilians\, Volume 1\, Rossolimo Variation which is a massive 520 page tome on the following position : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nwhich was reviewed by FM Richard Webb. \nwhich we hope will be followed by at least Volume 2! \nThe Modernized Anti-Sicilians – Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation\, Ravi Haria\, Thinker’s Publishing\, 2021\nRavi has plus scores against : Matthew Turner\, Simon Williams\, William Claridge Hansen\, Bob Eames\, David Eggleston and Arul Gupta to name but a few. \nGM John Emms plays IM Ravi Haria in the final round of the 2019 British Championships in Torquay\nWith the white pieces Ravi unsurprisingly plays the Moscow and Rossolimo variations against the Sicilian\,  the Ruy Lopez and\, in recent years\, he has adopted the Reti/English complex. \nAs the second player he plays the French Winawer and (refreshingly) the Abrahams-Noteboom Variation of the Semi-Slav. \nFor your entertainment we have these two  brevities : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nand \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nRavi has played for University College London. Hendon and Cavendish in the London and other leagues and in 4NCL he started with Kings Head\, transferring to Cambridge in 2014 and finally moving in 2016 to Wood Green. \nIn this game Ravi punishes IM Malcolm Pein who has a bad day at the office : \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nRavi Haria\, British Championships\, 2014\, Aberystwyth\nRavi is Mesutgm on chess.com and lichess \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nOver the 19th – 23rd August  2021 Ravi played in the Wood Green Invitational round-robin event at Oddfellows Hall\, Stafford. \nRavi scored 7.5/10 and secured his second Grandmaster Norm and  a TPR of 2680. \nWood Green Invitational Round-Robin event at Oddfellows Hall\, Stafford. August Bank Holiday Weekend\, 2021\nOver the August Bank Holiday weekend of 2021 Ravi played in the Northumbrian Masters  GM Tournament at the splendid Marriott MetroCentre\, Gateshead winning jointly with Conor Murphy scoring 6.5/9 with a TPR of 2600. This gave Ravi his third and final GM norm. \nThe norm was ratified at a recent FIDE Congress. As of February 2022 Ravi stood at 2490 for standard-play. \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-ravi-hari-07-ii-1999/ CATEGORIES:4NCL,Birthday,British Championships,Player,UKCC,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/bct_4317_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210211 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210212 DTSTAMP:20210206T200941Z CREATED:20200210T100746Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210206T200941Z UID:3234-1613001600-1613087999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of IM Simon Ansell (11-ii-1975) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of IM Simon Ansell (11-ii-1975) \nSimon Ansell\nIM Simon Ansell\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-im-simon-ansell-11-ii-1975/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/JUA3850-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210212 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210213 DTSTAMP:20210208T110617Z CREATED:20200210T002512Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210208T110617Z UID:3241-1613088000-1613174399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Glenn Flear (12-ii-1959) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of GM Glenn Flear (12-ii-1959) \nFrom Chessgames.com : \n“Glenn Curtis Flear was born in Leicester\, England. He was awarded the IM title in 1983 and GM title in 1987. While still an IM\, he shocked the chess world by winning the GLC Chess Challenge (1986) ahead of a field that included Short\, Chandler\, Nunn\, Portisch\, Polugaevsky\, Spassky and Larsen. He married Christine Flear during that tournament. He represented England at the Dubai Olympiad in 1986.” \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nGM Glenn Curtis Flear\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nGM Glenn Curtis Flear\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-glenn-flear-12-ii-1959/ CATEGORIES:Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/img_0779_smaller.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210212 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210213 DTSTAMP:20260817T135454Z CREATED:20201216T164542Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135454Z UID:12500-1613088000-1613174399@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Robert Combe (16-viii-1912 12-ii-1952) DESCRIPTION:Robert Forbes Combe (16 August 1912 – 12 February 1952) \nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Forbes_Combe \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/remembering-robert-combe-16-viii-1912-12-ii-1952/ CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210215 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210216 DTSTAMP:20260817T135447Z CREATED:20190822T151519Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135447Z UID:973-1613347200-1613433599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of IM Hugh Alexander CMG CBE (15-ii-1974) DESCRIPTION:We remember Hugh Alexander who passed away on Friday\, 15-ii-1974. The death was registered in the Borough of Cheltenham.  Currently his burial / cremation site is unknown. \nConel Hugh O’Donel Alexander was born on Monday\, April 19th\, 1909 in Cork\, Munster\, Republic of Ireland. \nSignature of CHO’D Alexander from August 1970\nHugh’s parents were Conel William Long Alexander (1879-1920) and Hilda Barbara Alexander (née Bennett) (1881-1964) who married in Hook Church\, Hampshire. His father was a Professor of Civil Engineering from County Donegal and his mother was the daughter of a timber merchant and was from Birmingham. \nHugh’s father moved to Hook in Hampshire. At some point they returned to Cork and then relocated to Birmingham. \nIn the 1911 Irish census aged two Hugh was recorded as being a Presbyterian.  The household consisted of his father\, mother and two servants Maud McAuliffe (19)  from County Cork and Johanna Hanlon (20) from Cork City all living at 20\, Connaught Avenue\, Cork. \nAt the time of the census all members of the household were capable of reading and writing apart from Hugh who was recorded as “cannot read”. \nand Hugh’s father signed the Return as follows : \nSignature of Hugh’s father on 1911 Irish census Return\n20 Connaught Avenue\, Cork\, Ireland\nHugh attended Londonderry College and then went to King Edward’s School\, Birmingham. \nHugh married Enid Constance Rose Crichton Neate (1900-1982) in October 1934 and the marriage was registered in the district of Westminster\, Middlesex. \nAccording to Rodric Braithwaite : \n“Enid\, was an equally striking personality. She was descended from one of the defenders of the Eureka Stockade\, the “birthplace of Australian democracy”. She was educated at the Sorbonne\, a formidable dialectician\, art historian and collector. In her later years she returned to Australia\, where she was endlessly hospitable to passing Russian chessplayers\, and to itinerant musicians\, including my own father.” \nHugh and Enid had a son Michael (19 June 1936 – 1 June 2002) who became the foreign policy secretary to Margaret Thatcher and the UK ambassador to NATO. Here is Michael’s obituary. \nMichael married Traute Krohn. Michael and Traute gave Hugh a grandson\, Conel Alexander who is a Cosmochemist at the Earth and Planets Laboratory\, Carnegie Institution for Science\, Washington. \nConel M. O’D. AlexanderStaff Scientist\nPrior to the second world war Alexander was officially employed by John Spedan Lewis in his Department store in Oxford Street. When he returned from Buenos Aires (“good air”) from the 1939 Olympiad he travelled aboard the RMS Alcantara. Here is the entry in the passenger list for September 19th\, 1939 : \nPartial passenger manifest for the RMS Alcantara for September 19th\, 1939. Alexander is passenger #23.\nand here is Alexander’s entry in detail. Note that his occupation is described as “Drapery Manager” : \nPartial passenger manifest for the RMS Alcantara for September 19th\, 1939. Alexander is passenger #23.\nHugh sailed from Buenos Aires\, Argentina in September 1939 to arrive at Southampton September 19th 1939. The ship was the Alcantara operated by Royal Mail Lines Ltd hence the RMS Alcantara. \nRMS Alcantara off Rio de Janeiro between 1934 and 1939 by Kenneth Shoesmith\nAccording to Wikipedia : “RMS Alcantara was a Royal Mail Lines ocean liner that was built in Belfast in 1926. She served in the Second World War first as an armed merchant cruiser and then a troop ship\, was returned to civilian service in 1948 and scrapped in 1958. \nPorts of the voyage were : Buenos Aires; Montevideo; Santos and Rio de Janeiro and Hugh’s official number was 148151 and he travelled 2nd class. His proposed destination residential address was \n316\, Rodney House\, Dolphin Square\, London\, SW1 \nAccording to Wikipedia : “The proximity of Dolphin Square to the Palace of Westminster and the headquarters of the intelligence agencies MI5 (Thames House) and MI6 (Vauxhall Cross) has attracted many politicians\, peers\, civil servants and intelligence agency personnel as residents.” \nDolphin Square. London\, SW1\nThere was some discussion of Drapery Manager in another place. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XCIV (94\, 1974)\, Number 4 (April)\, pp. 117-120 by PS Milner-Barry : \n“A proper assessment of Hugh Alexander\, who died on February 15th 1974 must await a later issue. But I think he might have been pleased to see our last game published\, and I give the score of it below\, with notes based on our usual analysis immediately after the game. Over the past 45 years\, ever since he went to Cambridge\, we played whenever opportunity offered serious games with clocks. \nConel Hugh O’Donel Alexander\nBefore the war they were played mostly at my mother’s house in Cambridge\, and after the war and my own marriage at our house in Blackheath. When he moved to Cheltenham the opportunities became fewer but no year ever passed without two or three such games\, usually at Easter or Christmas. \nAlexander always used to say\, it was certainly true of me\, that this was the kind of chess that he enjoyed most. The games were conducted with the utmost vigour\, though not without a good deal of propaganda on both sides. I suppose he won in the proportion of about two to one\, but the disparity in strength never became one-sided. Nearly all the games opened 1 P-K4\, P-K4; he played the Lopez when I allowed him. (I usually played the Petroff or Philidor)\, and I played a mixture – in the early days the Vienna and latterly mostly the King’s Gambit. On the whole Black did better than White for both of us. \nCHO’D Alexander plays PS Milner-Barry\nThe only concession we made to advancing years was that latterly we contented ourselves with four hour sessions and 36 moves\, instead of 40 in 5 hours. We thought we had done enough for honour by then\, and the games were usually finished in the time. \nHugh stayed with us the weekend before Christmas\, when this game was played. He looked ill\, but he was very cheerful and as good company as ever. He loved a good argument\, and as my family so too\,- the evening meal was its usual lively affair! I am myself a man of peace\, and intellectually lazy; so in deference to my feelings the argument was suspended\, before it became too hot. I am afraid they all thought I was a spoil-sport. It was as happy a visit as any of us could remember and it is difficult to accept there will not be another. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nAs for the game\, it was not one of our most exciting encounters. But it is quite an interesting one\, and shows Hugh playing as\nwell as ever – certainly much too well for me. But then he usually did.” \nFollowing PSMBs contribution\, in the same obituary there was this from Harry Golombek : \nC.H.O’D.  Alexander and the ‘B.C.M.’\nI have written elsewhere about Hugh Alexander both as a person and as a chess-player and I also intend to devote a forthcoming article in ‘The Times‘ on Saturday to an appraisal of his place in British Chess. Here\, however\, I would like to describe briefly his connection with this magazine over the years and to show how\nimportant his help was to the progress of the ‘BCM‘. \nIn the years immediately preceding the Second World War\, Ash Wheatcroft and I had made a determined effort to maintain and increase the role of the ‘BCM‘\, he in a managerial capacity and I as its editor. With the coming of war and the departure of both of us into the army a sort of caretaker regime had to be provided. It worked as well as could have been expected but inevitably there had been a decline both in quality and financially. When peace came\, the quality improved since it was possible to get more and better contributions but the financial aspect became almost alarming. \nThe question arose – was there a need for the magazine and if so how could that need be fulfilled with the fairly limited resources at hand. Some of us thought there was\, but the ways and means were not so clear. Of all those who thought like this Alexander was the most effective in his approach to the problems. I know that from his very youth onwards he had been convinced of the importance of the ‘BCM’ to British chess and\, being a practical idealist\, when the\ncrisis came he set about dealing with it in the most expeditious way. \nIn November 1946 he became a director of the B.C.M. and continued in that position till February 1952\, by which time the magazine had been set on a solid basis from\nwhich it was unlikely to be shaken. It was his idea that Brian Reilly be asked to act as editor and almost his first act as director was to write a letter to him inviting him to become so. Then\, in January 1947\, he himself took over the editorship of the games department\, an arduous task which he fulfilled with great competence and the utmost conscientiousness until May 1949 when the heavy work of the Civil Service department of which he was head compelled him to hand over the Games Section to me. \nBefore\, however\, that he gave up this post he\, again in the most practical way possible\, rendered the ‘BCM‘ another service. He wrote a book giving a selection of the games from the last period of Alekhine’s life and generously donated half the royalties to the ‘BCM‘ in order to bolster up its slender finances. \nAlekhine’s Best Games of Chess : 1938-45\, CHO’D Alexander\, G. Bell and Sons\, 1966 ISBN 4-87187-827-9\nEven after he had to give up official connection with the magazine he retained a strong interest in its welfare. So\, even though this recognition is belated and posthumous\, I thought it was right to afford readers the possibility of joining with me in thanking High Alexander for all that he did in this respect in especial. At any rate\, such matters should be on record for the chess historian. \nFrom The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by E.Klein and W.Winter : \n“CHO’D Alexander was born in Cork in 1909 and learned chess at the age of ten. He was educated at King Edward School\, Birmingham\, where he exhibited early prowess by winning the Birmingham Post Cup. In 1927 he won the British Boy’s Championship. During his student days\, from 1928 to 1932\, he was a convincing champion of Cambridge University. Subsequently he competed in five British Championships\, winning the title in 1938. He also played in several international tournaments\, his outstanding performance amongst these being Hastings in 1938\, where he shared second and third prizes with Keres\, following Reshevsky who won the tournament\, and ahead of Fine and Flohr. In 1939\, in the England-Holland match\, he had the satisfaction of defeating the ex-World Champion\, Dr. Euwe\, in a sensational games\, drawing the return game. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nA brilliant mathematician\, he took a first at Cambridge and chose a scholastic career\, joining a well-known public school (Winchester College). From there\, via a short spell in a business appointment (John Lewis)\, he entered the service of the Foreign Office\, where\, during the war years\, his valuable work earned him the OBE. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nHe plays imaginative and courageous chess and is never afraid of the wildest complications.” \nIM Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander CMG CBE (19-iv-1909 15-ii-1974). Source : The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XCIV (94\, 1974)\, Number 6 (June)\, pp. 202-204 by PS Milner-Barry : \nWith the death of Hugh Alexander at the age of 64\, British chess has lost the outstanding figure of the past forty years. His active playing career over some thirty years included two victories in the British championship and regular appearances in all representative teams from l93l-58\, except when the nature of his Civil Service\nduties prevented him from travelling behind the Iron Curtain. During the whole of the period after the war he was the regular top board for the England team. In the Hastings international congress he twice won the Premier tournament\, on the second occasion tying with Bronstein. His victories in this series included two world champions (Euwe and Botvinnik) and numerous others in the Grandmaster class. He was an outstanding example\, like H.E.Atkins and Dr. Milan Vidmar\, of the amateur who could combine an exacting professional life of great responsibility and distinction with success in competitive international chess at the highest level and with the increasing professionalism of the game and the demands of knowledge and research that it makes upon the masters\, this was much more difficult in Hugh’s time than in an earlier age. \nIt was indeed in the international field that his fame will principally rest. On the British championship scene\, although he always did well before the War\, and won convincingly at Brighton in 1938 in a strong field\, his record did not match his abilities. He never established anything like the superiority over his contemporaries that Atkins in a former age and Penrose in a later achieved. He won the championship again\, in 1956\, but that was a weak year when the Moscow Olympiad took first claim on the leading British players. It was not that he cared less – like all the great players he hated losing\, though he was the most magnanimous of opponents – but that he seemed to require the stimulus of the great occasion\, and of a world famous name on the other side of the board\, to bring out the best in him. \nThe BCF Team at the Amsterdam Olympiad 1954. Left to right : Barden\, Clarke\, Penrose\, Wade\, Golombek (board three) and Alexander\nAlexander was perhaps the only English player of his day whom the Grandmasters would have treated as on a level with themselves. On his day he was liable to beat any of them\, and they were well aware of it. In his younger days he was very much the gay cavalier\, and a brilliant combinative and attacking player with a touch of genius. Latterly he lost some of this elan\, and adapted his style to the responsibilities of the B.C.T. top board. His opponents too\, with a healthy respect for his powers\, were less inclined to give him opportunities. He was as capable of the dead-bat technique as anybody\, and to that extent (to my way of thinking anyway) his games became less interesting\, with quick draws making a higher contribution to his top-board results than in earlier years. But none the less he was the anchor-man of the British team until his retirement after the 1958 Olympiad. \nKick Langeweg plays Hugh Alexander in the Anglo-Dutch Match of October 7th \, 1961. Peter Clarke (right) is playing Johan Teunis Barendregt and Harry Golombek observes\nIt was a great pity he gave up the game over the board at 50. He had years of good chess in him. But I think he felt he had scaled all the peaks he could scale\, and that he was finding top-class competitive chess a burden difficult to reconcile with his Civil Service work and the prospect of a gradual and inevitable decline in his powers did not appeal to him. I made many efforts to tempt him back to the arena\, but to no avail. I do not think he ever seriously regretted his decision\, and in his last years he immensely enjoyed correspondence chess. \nIn 1964\, Alexander became non-playing captain of the B.C.F. team\, and held that role continuously until after the Siegen Olympiad in 1970. \nHugh Alexander\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Michael Franklin and Owen Hindle\nIt was rather a disappointing period for British chess\, and the results\, while we were rebuilding a young team\, could not – even with Penrose’s outstanding efforts at top board – have been expected to be favourable. But he threw himself wholeheartedly into all the work sponsored by the B.C.F. and the Friends of Chess to find and develop talent in the younger generation\, and before he died the fruits of these labours were beginning to appear. He would have been proud indeed to have witnessed our recent triumph in the Anglo-German match. \nAs a captain he was\, of course\, immensely liked and respected by his team. My impression was that he took his responsibilities almost too seriously\, and agonised too\nmuch over his decisions about whom to play and whom to rest. Nevertheless on balance he thoroughly enjoyed the work\, and certainly\, in spite of his innate modesty\, he\nwas never one to be disturbed by ill-informed or irresponsible criticism\, of which he had his share. \nConel Hugh O’Donel Alexander playing Alberic O’Kelly de Galway in a publicity shot before the start of the Hastings Premier.\, probably Hastings 1953-54\, the year Alexander tied first with Bronstein : thanks to Leonard Barden\nI suppose his most famous tournament result was his equal first with Bronstein at the Hastings Christmas Congress of 1953. Coming at a time when we were gloomily resigned to British players bringing up the rear in international tournaments\, this created a great sensation. \n\nThe game with Bronstein lasted over 100 moves and Alexander won a most difficult Queen and Pawn ending by impeccable technique. \nHugh Alexander plays David Bronstein during Hastings 1954\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nStaged publicity picture of David Bronstein vs Hugh Alexander at Hastings 1953\nHe went on with the Black pieces to massacre Tolush\, the other visiting Russian Grandmaster. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nImmense interest was created by this event. The popular press carried diagrams of the successive phases of the Bronstein saga. It was reported on the radio. By comparison with the furore created by the Spassky/Fischer match\, it was no doubt small beer\, but for those days the publicity was tremendous\, and Alexander became the\nhero of the hour. \nIt was entirely characteristic of him that this adulation did not go to his head. He kept everything in proportion\, and encouraged everybody else to do the same. He said all the right things about Bronstein\, but he did not claim\, as one tends to do on these emotional occasions\, that international sport was a panacea for friendship between the nations. Altogether it seemed to me an impeccable performance both on and off the board. \nChess\, CHO’D Alexander\, Pitman\, 1954\nIt is as a player that Hugh would\, I think\, have best wished to be remembered; and I have left myself little room to say anything about him as a journalist and writer. We are blessed\, as readers of the B.C.M. will know\, with many good and interesting writers on the game. But Hugh had\, I believe\, exceptional talents as a journalist. In his columns in the ‘Sunday Times‘\, and latterly the ‘Financial Times‘\, he set a very high standard. He always had something fresh and original to say\, especially\, I think\, to the intelligent amateur rather than the expert; and he said it in a way that was both disarmingly modest and yet lively and entertaining. The warmth of his personality came out clearly both in his writing and in his public speaking – both were entirely natural and wholly without amour-propre. \nHis articles gave great pleasure to a wide circle\, and many who never met him in the flesh must have felt that they had come to know him as a person. Similarly his book on the Spassky-Fischer match \nFischer v. Spassky : Reykjavik 1972\, CHO’D Alexander\, Penguin\, 1972\n(like the ‘Book of Chess’\, which was written in the last year of his life) is an extremely vivid\, as well as scholarly\, piece of writing. It is almost impossible to believe that it was completed\, within days of the conclusion of the match\, by a man apparently under sentence of death throughout its progress. \nA book of Chess\, CHO’D Alexander\, Harper & Row\, 1973\nNow that it has come\, the loss of Hugh Alexander to British chess and chessplayers\, alike as player\, writer\, administrator and friend\, is immeasurable. \nFrom CHESS\, Volume 39 (1974)\, Nos. 693-94\, March\,  p.162 by BH Wood : \nThe death of Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander deprived English chess of one of its most vivid characters. Born l9th April 1909\, he learnt chess at the age of 8. \nFrom a Londonderry college he went to King Edward’s School\, Birmingham\, where as a schoolboy he won the Birmingham Post cup\, which carries with it the unofficial championship of Staffordshire\, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Going on to Cambridge\, he not only won the University championship four years in succession\, but picked up first-class honours. He won the British championship in 1938. \nIn 1939 I found myself on a boat with him bound for the Chess Olympiad in Buenos\nAires. He was team captain with Sir George Thomas\, P. S. Milner-Barry and H. Golombek\nother distinguished members of the team. \nLeft to right Baruch H Wood\, Philip Stuart Milner-Barry\, Vera Menchik (playing in the women’s world championship held concurrently with the Olympiad which she won with 17 wins and 2 draws)\, Sir George Thomas\, Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander and Harry Golombek. England withdrew after their preliminary group due to the outbreak of war despite qualifying for the top final. Thanks to Leonard Barden\nWar broke out after about six rounds. With typical determination\, Alexander jettisoned chess for patriotism\, caught a boat home\, volunteered for service on disembarking\, and within a few weeks had attained the rank of colonel in British Intelligence. He remained attached to Intelligence and the Foreign Office until his\nretirement a few months ago. As a curious consequence of this commitment\, though he settled in to the team captaincy for the British Chess Federation in the biennial chess Olympiads and participated in many chess events abroad\, he was never allowed to travel anywhere behind the iron Curtain. \nHis fame certainly did\, however. In the radio match\, Britain v USSR in 1946\, the most important event in British chess for a decade before and after\, he found himself pitted against Mikhail Botvinnik\, then at the height of his powers and destined to hold the world championship for 14 years. The first game he lost; the second he won\, in superb style. His great adversary was outplayed. \nHe had some great years at Hastings. A 120 move victory over Bronstein with a queen and pawns endgame stretching over l3 hours through 3 days\, earned headlines in the national press unequalled until the Spassky-Fischer furore of 1972\, won him first place in 1954 and started him with a chess column in the Sunday Times. He was equal with Bronstein\, above O’Kelly\, Matanovic\, Olafsson\, Teschner\, Tolush\, Tartakover\, Wade and Horne. \nHastings illustrated Alexander’s weaknesses as well as his strengths. Twice he won the premier tournament there\, only to finish among the tail-enders the year after. Only once more was he to win the British champ- ionship; in a rather weak field\, entering at the last minute with typical opportunism. \nHe was a brilliant conversationalist and speaker\, a fine bridge player\, a master mathematician\, an expert on codes\, a first-class journalist and writer. Among varied other interests were croquet and philately. He threw himself wholeheartedly into anything he did. His organization\, “The Friends of Chess”\, provided generous financial support for a wide range of chess events. A few days before his death he was full of plans for the future\, including a big History of British Chess. He burnt himself out. The world of chess is a poorer and duller place without him.” \nFrom Chessgames.com : \n“Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander was born in Cork\, Ireland. Awarded the IM title in 1950 at its inception and the IMC title in 1970\, he was British Champion in 1938 and 1956. \nDuring the Second World War\, he worked at Bletchley Park with Harry Golombek and Sir Philip Stuart Milner-Barry\, deciphering German Enigma codes and later for the Foreign Office. Alexander finished 2nd= at Hastings (1937/38) tied with Paul Keres after Samuel Reshevsky and ahead of Salomon Flohr and Reuben Fine. He held Mikhail Botvinnik to an equal score (+1\, -1) in the 1946 Anglo-Soviet Radio Match\, and won Hastings (1946/47) while finishing equal first at Hastings (1953/54). He represented England on six Olympiad teams. Alexander was also an author of note. He passed away in Cheltenham in 1974.” \n1st August 1933: C H O D Alexander playing Sultan Khan during the British Chess Championships at Hastings in Sussex. (Photo by Douglas Miller/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nInternational Master (1950)\, International Correspondence Chess Master (1970). Born in Cork\, he settled in England as a boy. In spite or because of his intense application at the board his tournament performances were erratic. From about 1937 to the mid 1950s he was regarded as the strongest player in Great Britain\, although he won only two (1938\, 1956) of the 13 British Chess Federation Championships in which he competed; he played for the BCF in six Olympiads from 1933 to 1958. Holding a senior post at the Foreign Office\, he was not permitted to play in countries under Soviet control or influence; but when he did compete abroad he achieved only moderate results. His best tournament achievement was at Hastings 1937-8 when he was second (+4=5) equal with Keres after Reshevsky ahead of Fine and Flohr; but he is better remembered for his tie with Bronstein for first prize at Hastings 1953-4. He won his game against Bronstein in 120 moves after several adjournments\, and the outcome became a kind of serial in the press\, arousing great national interest in the game. Alexander was the author of several books on chess\, notably Alekhine’s Best Games of Chess 1938-1945 (1949) and A Book of Chess (1973). \nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks : \nFor many years the chess correspondent of The Sunday Times\, The Spectator (pseudonym Philidor) and the Evening News. There was probably no “chess name that was better known to the non-chess-playing element of the British public than that of Hugh Alexander. His victory over Russian Grandmaster David Bronstein at Hastings in 1953\, after a struggle which lasted for 120 moves and took 13 hours\, made chess front page news in the British press. \nBorn in Cork on 19th April 1909\, Alexander picked up the game at prep school at the age of 8. In 1926 he won the Boy’s Championship\, later to be recognised as the British Boy’s Championship\, at Hastings. After coming down from Cambridge University\, where he won the university championship four times\, Alexander taught mathematics at Winchester College from 1932 to 1938. He later joined the Foreign Office. \nCaption as per photograph\nOne of the few British players who might have reached World Championship class if he had chosen to devote sufficient time to the game\, Alexander was at his best when he faced a top class opponent. \nDuring his chess career\, he scored victories over two World Champions Botvinnik and Euwe\, and he beat a number of other Grandmasters\, international tournaments were all at Hastings where he came =2nd in 1938 with Keres\, half a point behind Reshevsky and ahead of Fine and Flohr; 1st in 1947 and =1st with Bronstein in 1953. In 1951 tournament he came =5th.His other hobbies included bridge\, croquet and philately\, He was the Author of Alekhine’s Best Games of Chess 1938-1945 (Bell)\, Chess (Pitman) and joint author with T.J. Beach of Learn Chess; A New Way for All (Pergamon Press); \nLearn Chess : A Complete Course\, TJ Beach and CHO’D Alexander\, Everyman Chess\, 1994\nA Book of Chess (Hutchinson) 1973; The Penguin Book of Chess Positions (Penguin) 1973. \nThe Penguin Book of Chess Positions\, CHO’D Alexander\, Penguin\, 1973\nHere is an interesting article on his film appearance. \nHere is his detailed Wikipedia entry \nAccording to C.N. 10817 Hugh lived at various addresses when working at GCHQ : \n\nBrecken Lane\, Cheltenham.\n28 King’s Road\, Cheltenham\, GL52 6BG.\n\n\n28 King’s Road\, Cheltenham\, GL52 6BG\n\nOld Bath Lodge\, Thirlestaine Road\, Cheltenham\, GL53 7AS.\n\n\nAlexander on Chess\, CHO’D Alexander\, Pitman\, 1974\nThe Best Games of C.H.O’D. Alexander\nGolombek and Hartston\, The Best Games of C.H.O’D. Alexander (1976). \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-conel-hugh-odonel-alexander/ CATEGORIES:2023,British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Honours,Player,Remembering,Writer ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/3f30d23d8f.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210215 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210216 DTSTAMP:20230214T152844Z CREATED:20200409T180346Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230214T152844Z UID:4288-1613347200-1613433599@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Birthday of GM Mark Hebden (15-ii-1958) DESCRIPTION:Birthday of GM Mark Lesland Hebden (15-ii-1958) \nMrs. Joan Agar; Chairman of Leigh Interests\, presents the Leigh trophy (for 1981) to Mark Hebden. Left\, David Anderton\, BCF President; on the right Malcolm Wood\, Leigh’s Chief Executive. BCM\, 1981\, page 104\n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-gm-mark-lesland-hebden-15-ii-1958/ CATEGORIES:2023,Birthday,British Championships,Player ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/jb4_9048_lv-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200716 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200717 DTSTAMP:20230217T193732Z CREATED:20200716T220105Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230217T193732Z UID:7479-1594857600-1594943999@britishchessnews.com SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Raaphi Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009) DESCRIPTION:We remember Raaphy(i) Persitz who passed away on Wednesday\, February 4th\, 2009. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, Number 3 (March)\, pp. 130-134 by John Saunders we have this detailed obituary: \nRaaphy Persitz\nA tribute to a great friend of British chess\, by John Saunders\nRaphael Joseph Arie (Raaphy) Persitz (26 vii 1934\, Tel Aviv – 4 ii 2009\, Tel Aviv) \n28th December 1955: Israeli chess player Raaphy Persitz in play at the International Chess Congress at Hastings. (Photo by Folb/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)\nRaaphy Persitz\, one of the strongest players resident in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s and also one of BCM‘s most popular contributors\, has died aged 74. Raaphy was born in Tel Aviv\, the grandson of Shoshana Persitz (1893-1969)\, a publisher who became an early member of the Knesset\, the Israeli parliament. Raaphy became Israel’s first junior champion in 1951 and shortly afterwards came to study PPE (Philosophy\, Politics and Economics) at Oxford University where he was a member of their very strong chess team and a close friend of Leonard Barden and others. \nRaaphy Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009). 26 year-old Raaphy Persitz at the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad playing on board four for Israel. He scored +6\, =2\, -4.\nOne of his most publicised feats was to win his Varsity match game and also a county match against Hugh Alexander on the same day (see the May 1954 or March 2004 issues of the magazine for further details). Raaphy played three times in the Varsity match and also represented England in three Students Olympiads in the mid-1950s. He represented Israel in the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad on board four\, and also played twice in the Hastings Premier\, in 1955-56 and 1968-69\, the latter being his swansong in competitive chess as he turned his attention to a career in banking which took him first to Switzerland and eventually to his home town of Tel Aviv. As a player his best result was probably finishing third behind Reshevsky and Szabo at the first major international tournament held in Israel\, Haifa/Tel Aviv 1958. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nDespite giving up competitive play\, Raaphy never lost his love of the game and remained an avid reader of magazines and follower of the game until the end of his life. And\, of course\, he remained a perceptive and humorous writer on the game though his output was much lower than in the 1950s. The news of his death came as a particular shock to me as\, only a couple of weeks previously\, he had sent me a fax saying how moved he had been by the tribute I had writ- ten to Bob Wade in the January 2009 issue of BCM. That was typical of his kindness to wards me which dated back to when I took my first tottering steps as BCM editor in 1999. We never actually met in person but spoke occasionally on the telephone and exchanged faxes (Raaphy didn’t seem to communicate by email). \nRaaphy Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009)\nAs a long-time reader of the magazine I had enjoyed his Student’s Corner column contributions. The column had been initiated by Abe Yanofsky in the early 1950s and Raaphy had inherited it in 1958. I was particularly delighted when\, in 2004\, after I had written about his 1954 feat in winning his Varsity match game and a county match against English number one CHO’D(Hugh) Alexander on the same day\, Raaphy consented to write another column (which appeared in the May 2004 issue of BCM). I never succeeded in getting him to write another one but it was such a pleasure to have him write for the magazine during my spell as editor. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n(Regarding the above game there is a note from Sally Simpson on chessgames.com as follows: \nRaaphi Persitz agreed to play for Oxford v Cambridge in London and also on the same day for Oxon v Gloucester in a county match in Swindon. \nThis is the second game\, he won both games. \nBe aware that Bruce Hayden in ‘Cabbage Heads and Kings’\, which is where I got this game from\, mentions this but also added that these games took place on the same day as the 1954 Grand National (won by Royal Tan). This is wrong as the Grand National that year was run on the 10 April. \nI think that maybe Bruce saw the score of the games with the two games a day story in a Sunday newspaper covering Saturdays Grand National and perhaps got the dates mixed up. \n) \nThe fax he sent me on 7 January 2009 seems particularly poignant now but it is a good example of Raaphy’s kindness and self-deprecating humour. Here is the full text: \n“Dear John\, I was moved by your wide-ranging obituary of Bob Wade in the BCM[January 2009\, p34l. I dare say you did justice to his contributions and devotion to chess\, spanning well over half a century. I have several pleasant recollections of conversations and over-the-board encounters with Bob. One such tussle\, a hard-fought draw\, was reproduced by Bob\, with comments (in the Student’s Corner) in a book containing his eventful games. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nAnother\, somewhat less felicitous\, recollection harks back to a game we contested at Ilford\, where\, in extreme time trouble\, I blithely played Rxh7+\, expecting …Qxh7\, but overlooking the simple …Kxh7\, leaving me a whole rook down with no compensation\, whereupon I duly resigned. What impressed me at the time was the lightning speed with which Bob reacted to my ill-fated blunder – as if it were nothing but inevitable… \nWith warmest wishes for a healthy\,\nhappy\, fruitful 2009. Raaphy.” \nI had hoped to publish the above as a Letter to the Editor but\, sadly\, it must now appear as part of Raaphy’s obituary. The draw with Bob Wade referred to in the fax was played in Dublin in 1962 and featured in Student’s Corner in BCM in the December 1966 issue on page 356. It seems appropriate to reproduce the game here in tribute to these two recently departed and much-loved chessplayers. \nNotes by Persitz\nUnlike the majority of games that have\, over the years\, appeared in the Student’s Corner\, the following dour struggle between Bob Wade (White) and myself (Black)\, from Dublin\, 1962\, is in no way outstanding: it does not contain any brilliant combinations; it is not a positional masterpiece; it is certainly not devoid of mistakes. Nor is it amusing\, or original\, or of theoretical interest or particularly instructive. Yet (with the aid of the interspersed comments) it ought to give the student a pretty shrewd and realistic idea of the stuff competitive chess is made of: the endless number of laborious variations that have to be examined; the annoying little threats that must be attended to; the treacherous pitfalls to be sidestepped; the technical hurdles to be surmounted; the frustrating little details\, indifference to which may be fatal; in brief\, the drudgery that has become part and parcel of contemporary tournament practice\, without which success is unimaginable. \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\nRaaphy Persitz Tributes\nLeonard Barden: Raaphy was probably my best friend at Oxford – certainly so among chessplayers. We played hundreds of blitz games in the junior common room at Balliol and later for some months in 1957 we shared a London flat\, analysing Russian championship games over breakfast. He was a wonderful man to know\, bright\, witty\, gentle\, sympathetic and knowledgeable. \nLeonard Barden (centre) with Raaphi Persitz\, JB Sykes\, OI Galvenius and DM Armstrong\, Ilford\, May\, 1953\nA tribute by Amatzia Avni: Ordinary people have a mixture of good qualities and bad ones. After 20 years of friendship with the late Raaphy Persitz I can attest that he was a distinct type: one sided\, positive-only; pure gold. \nI first met him in 1989. I had just written my first chess book (in Hebrew) and was searching for someone to write me an introduction. The word was that Persitz was back in town\, after long years abroad. Having seen glimpses of his amazing linguistic skills\, I contacted him and he agreed immediately. He didn’t know me\, hadn’t read a single sentence of the book\, yet he didn’t hesitate: “yes\, sure\, I’ll be glad to”. \nThat was typical Persitz: always ready to help\, unconditionally. The introduction\, needless to say\, was a sheer delight\, a class or two above the rest of the book. In later years he gave me a hand several times polishing my texts and making them more reader-friendly to English-speaking readers. Somehow he seemed to know what I wished to express better than I did. His suggestions enabled me to convey my meaning in a clear and precise manner. \nRaaphy was modest and reserved. Once I called him and realized he was upset. “My mother had passed away some weeks ago\,” he said. I was puzzled why he didn’t tell me the sad news at the time. “I didn’t want to bother you” was his reply. \nA couple of years ago I stumbled upon Bruce Hayden’s old book Cabbage Heads and Chess Kings. One of the book’s chapters was headed “Raaphy Persitz star or comet?”. I learned that\, in the 1950s\, Persitz gained bright victories in England\, against Penrose\, Alexander\, Milner-Barry and others. Searching a Chessbase database I found out that he also done battle with some out- standing international players. Yet\, in all our meetings and hundreds of hours of conversation\, he never said a thing about that! \nPersitz was a master of understatement. I learned that if I wrote “very fine” or “extremely strong”\, the ‘very’ and ‘extremely’ would fly out of the window. If I made a firm stand on a certain issue\, he would add “probably”\, “apparently’ or “it may be argued that”\, because it was indeed only an opinion\, not a fact. Over time\, following his line of thought made me improve the way I expressed myself and thought about chess. \nPersitz’s distinctions in chess\, in linguistics and in journalism are evident to anyone who ever read his chess books and articles. He also excelled at economics\, but I am unqualified to comment on this. \nGod bless you\, Raaphy. I feel privileged to have known you. Amatzia Avni. \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \n Save as PDF URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-raaphi-persitz-26-vii-1934-04-ii-2009/ CATEGORIES:2023,British Championships,History,Player,Remembering ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_0903-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR