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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210219
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210220
DTSTAMP:20210215T164742Z
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SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of John Keeble (27-viii-1855 19-ii-1939)
DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of John Frederick Keeble (27-viii-1855 19-ii-1939)From The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nProblemist and chronicler who lived in Norwich all his life. He edited the chess column of the Norwich Mercury from 1902 lo 1912\, contributed many significant articles elsewhere\, investigated a number of chess questions\, and established the burial place of several great players and arranged the tending of their graves. He lived at only two addresses for 73 years\, worked for the railway company for 53 years\, and was a member of the Norfolk and Norwich chess dub for 61 consecutive years. Winner of the club championship in 1884\, he did not compete again until 1933 and then won it three years in succession. \nJohn Frederick Keeble\nHere is his (italian) Wikipedia entry \nJohn Frederick Keeble\nAn English Bohemian\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-john-frederick-keeble/
CATEGORIES:Composer,Death Anniversary,History,Problemist,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210217
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210218
DTSTAMP:20210217T110920Z
CREATED:20190823T180224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210217T110920Z
UID:1088-1613520000-1613606399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Cyril Kipping (10-x-1891 17-ii-1964)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers Cyril Kipping who passed away in Walsall on February 17th 1964 at the age of 72. \nCyril Henry Stanley Kipping was born on Saturday\, October 10th\, 1891 in 7 Milborne Grove\, South Kensington\, London\, SW10 9SN. \n7 Milborne Grove\, South Kensington\, London\, SW10 9SN.\nHis parents were Frederick Stanley Kipping (28) and Lillian Kipping (24\, née Holland) : they married in 1888. Cyril was baptised on May 8th\, 1892 in West Brompton\, London. Frederick died on 30 April 1949 in Pwllheli\, Caernarvonshire\, at the age of 85 and Lilian passed away on 4 September 1949 in Pwllheli\, Caernarvonshire\, at the age of 82. \nFrederick was Professor of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham. He undertook much of the pioneering work on silicon polymers and coined the term silicone. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1897. \nFrederick Stanley Kipping\, FRS\nIn the 1901 census the family lived at Clumber Road West\, Nottingham and brother Frederick Barry Kipping was born on April 14th 1901 and his sister Kathleen Esme was born on 3 May 1904 was also born in Nottingham. Kathleen died on 30 August 1951 in Pwllheli\, Caernarvonshire. \nIn 1902 Cyril started at Nottingham High School excelling in mathematics and science and in 1906 he obtained the Oxford and Cambridge Board’s Lower Certificate. \nOn March 2nd 1908 the Sheffield Daily Telegraph published a matriculation list for London University and CHSK was listed as being in the second division from Nottingham High School. Following that in 1909 Cyril obtained a Oxford and Cambridge Higher Certificate. \nCHS Kipping\nAs of the 1911 census the household now included Cyril’s maternal Grandmother\, Florence Holland (59) plus a parlourmaid\, a housemaid\, a cook and a nurse. Cyril was recorded as being a 19 year old science student and they lived at 40\, Magadala Road\, Nottingham which appears to have been replaced by residential flats. Curiously the address on the Census record was obscured by green insulation tape but insufficiently for it to readable. \nAccording to Stephen C. Askey \n“He left school in July 1910 and went to Trinity Hall in Cambridge where he read for the National Sciences Tripos. He played tennis for his college and launched into the composition of chess problems (1). \nHe obtained a First in Part I of the Tripos in 1912\, a First in Part II in 1913\, and was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts on 7 June 1913. He began researching in organic chemistry at Cambridge\, but in September 1914 decided instead to take a teaching appointment at Weymouth College.” \nIn 1914 The London Gazette announced that Cyril was promoted within the Chaplain Department of the British Army to Second Lieutenant with a service number of 10940. \nOn December 23rd 1914 The London Gazette announced the following : \nThe London Gazette\, December 22nd 1914\, part one\nand \nThe London Gazette\, December 22nd 1914\, part two\nOn the 9th October 1918 The London Gazette announced : \nThe London Gazette\, 8th October 1918\nAgain\, According to Stephen C. Askey : \n“In January 1919 he took his Master of Arts degree at Cambridge\, and joined the teaching staff of Bradfield College in Berkshire. But by the summer of that year he became an assistant master at Pocklington School in Yorkshire\, where he spent five happy years. \nThere he used his talent for juggling in 1920 to train a troupe of jugglers who gave a display at a school concert. This popular performance was repeated annually at Pocklington. Meanwhile be continued to compose chess problems and in 1923 published a book for beginners called The Chess Problem Hobby.” \nIn the 1939 register Cyril was recorded as residing at 67 Wood Green Road\, Wednesbury\, Staffordshire\, England with Martha Partridge (born 29th June 1886) who was his Housekeeper. \nWood Green Road\, Wednesbury\, Staffordshire\nHis probate record appears in the England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019 as : \n1964 Probate record for Cyril Henry Stanley Kipping\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale 1970 & 1976)\, Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (1959) and International Judge of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (1957). Born on 10th October 1891. Died on 17th February 1964. Kipping was famous as a composer and an editor which he combined with is duties as Headmaster of Wednesbury High School from 1925 to 1956. \n\n19th November 1934: An inter-form chess match for the pupils is in progress at Wednesbury High School for Boys\, supervised by Mr C S Kipping\, their headmaster. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images)\nHis editorial duties extended over more than forty years\, and included the problem sections of Chess\, Chess Amateur\, and\, for 32 years\, the specialist magazine The Problemist from 1931. He was noted for his encouragement of beginners. His pamphlet ‘The Chess Problem Hobby‘ is an excellent beginner’s introduction. His other books included Chess Problem Science\, The Chessmen Speak and 300 Chess Problems. \nChess Problem Science\, CS Kipping\, Whitehead & Miller\, 1938\nKipping was one of the most prolific composers of all time\, with over 7\,000 problems to his credit. Many of his strategic three-movers have become classic. He was leading authority on halfpin two-movers. In his latter years\, Kipping affectionately known as CSK – was Chairman of the International Problem Board which is now the FIDE Problem Commission.” \nThe Chessmen Speak\, CS Kipping\, The Chess Amateur\, Stroud\, 1932\nThe Chessmen Speak\, CS Kipping\, The Chess Amateur\, Stroud\, 1932\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIV (84\, 1964)\, Number 4 (April)\, pp. 122-123 by John Rice: \n“CS Kipping\, one of the most famous of all British problemists\, died during February at the age of seventy-two. As a composer\, editor\, writer and critic Kipping was without equal. It is impossible to do justice in only a few lines to his vast and unique contribution to chess problems: a few factual notes. most of them kindly supplied by RCO Matthews\, must suffice. \nKipping was born in London on October 10th\, 1891\, After completing his studies\, he took up teaching as a career\, and in 1924 he was appointed the first headmaster of the newly-opened Wednesbury High School\, which post he held until his retirement in 1956. He was a bachelor\, and\, especially during the later years of his life\, his interests were centered mainly on the school and on chess problems. \nHeadmaster C.S. Kipping instructs a classroom of boys on the rules of chess using his demonstration board at Wednesbury High School. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)\nMost readers will know of Kipping as the editor of The Problemist\, the bi-monthly journal of the British Chess Problem Society. Before he took over The Problemist in 1931\, he had been in charge of the problem section of the Chess Amateur\, which he edited with great energy and enthusiasm. As well as The Problemist\, he edited the problem pages of Chess from its first appearance. in 1936 until the section was suddenly discontinued without warning or explanation a few years ago. He also edited other columns at various times. He always took great care to help and encourage beginners\, and it is probably true that every composer in this country below the age of about fifty came under his influence at one time or another. \nCHS Kipping\nAs a young man\, Kipping was a fierce avant-garde controversialist\, championing the the cause of strategy in the three-mover in opposition to the then dominant model-mate school in this country. His attitude to the two-mover\, as readers of The Problemist will know\, was always a good deal more conservative; he would not tolerate at any price what he called ‘camouflage force\,’ even in the modern problem. Yes\, he appreciated the aims of the modern two-move composer much more than his writings on the subject suggest\, being always ready to applaud excellence in any type of problem. \nCHS Kipping\nKipping’s output numbered over 7\,000 problems\, probably a record. Many of his two-moves especially his ‘aspect’ tasks\, were published under pseudonyms\, of which the best was known was C.Stanley. He concerned himself little with artistic finish : once he had found a workable setting of a them he was engaged on\, he would take little trouble over economy and presentation. Themes in which he interested himself include half-pin (in the two-mover)\, white King themes\, interferences\, and the grab theme (in the three-mover)\, and maximum tasks of all kinds\, the subject of one of his books\, Chess Problem Science. His other books include 300 Chess Problems (1916)\, and The Chessmen Speak (1932)\, in the AC White Christmas series. \n300 Chess Problems\, CS Kipping\, The Chess Amateur\, Stroud\, 1916\nIn addition to all his other problem activities\, Kipping was chairman of the International Problem Board\, and curator of the half-pin section of the White-Hume Collection\, which he took over on Hume’s death in 1936. \nThe majority of Kipping’s best problems were three-movers\, three of the most famous of which are quoted here.” \nManchester City News\, 1911\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in three\n1 Ka5 \nFirst Prize\nDutch East Indies Chess Association Tourney\, 1928\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in three\n1 Ra3 \nFirst Prize\nBCM\, 1939 (II)\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in three\n1 Be6 \nThe first problem above was given in The Complete Chess Addict by Mike Fox and Richard James in the Desert Island Chess chapter. It is also given in a discussion of the Steinitz Gambit by ASM Dickins and H Ebert in 100 Classics of the Chessboard. Colin Russ on page 138 of Miniature Chess Problems from Many Countries gives the first problem as does John Rice on page 44 of Chess Wizardry : The New ABC of Chess Problems. \nOn a web site now only accessible vie the WayBack Machine there is a treasure trove of reminisces and memories of CHSK from himself\, friends and pupils. \nAnecdotes from former pupils. \nA history from the Wolverhampton and District Chess League \nHere is his Italian (only) Wikipedia entry. \nHere is his entry on chesscomposers.blogspot.com \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-cyril-stanley-kipping/
CATEGORIES:Composer,Death Anniversary,History,Problemist,Remembering
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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
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210215
DTSTAMP:20220214T190050Z
CREATED:20200410T131908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220214T190050Z
UID:4346-1613260800-1613347199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of IM Čeněk Kottnauer (24-ii-1910 14-ii-1996)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers IM Čeněk Kottnauer (24-ii-1910 14-ii-1996) \nČeněk Kottnauer was born in Prague on Thursday\, February 24th\, 1910. Čeněk was employed in the Ministry of Education in Prague. \nWhilst playing in the Lucerne International tournament (28-xii-1952 03-i-1953) he sought political asylum : \nFrom the Milwaukee Journal\, January 3\, 1953 we have \n“Czech Chess Star Asks for Asylum \nLucerne\, Switzerland – Cenek Kottnauer\, 42\, Czecho-Slovakian chess champion and an employee of the ministry of education in Prague\, announced Saturday that he would not return to Czech-Slovakia and would request political asylum in Switzerland. Kottnauer had been participating in a chess tournament. \nHe said that the political situation in his country had grown “more and more critical” and he wanted “to leave before it is too late”. He said that he had been divorced recently and had no children in Czech-Slovakia”. \nIn a January 2009 post to the English Chess Forum Leonard Barden wrote : \n“Cenek Kottnauer defected from Czechoslovakia during the Lucerne New Year tournament of 1952-3 (I am precise on this because I was present). His wife Daniela joined him there\, having been smuggled from Prague in the boot of a diplomat’s car. Kottnauer had been a water polo player of international standard before 1939 so came into serious chess only his mid-30s. He made his name with his good showing in the Prague v Moscow match of 1946 and his Bxh7+ win then against Kotov. He competed in great tournaments like Groningen 1946 and Moscow 1947; his first visit to England was in 1947 when the Czech team came here. \nČeněk Kottnauer plays Friedrich Sämisch during the Duras Memorial in Prague. December 7th 1942\, The game was a Slav drawn after 42 moves\nIn the 1940s he had a job in the Czech sports ministry but got implicated in the purges following the Slansky trial. He also believed that Pachman and Opocensky were involved in the campaign against him.” \nČeněk married Daniela (née Horska\, also Czech\, having met in Austria) and they had a son Daniel VR Kottnauer. Daniela was born in 1934 and was 24 years younger than Čeněk. She died on February 20th 2008 in a hospice in Essen\, Germany close to where Daniel currently resides.  Daniel has been a pianist and singer for 30 years\, an event manager for 19 years and a coach and VIP limousine driver for 5 years and may be found on LinkedIn. \nČeněk  became a British citizen on 16th December 1960 when he obtained naturalisation certificate BNA64338. \nIn 1965 Čeněk and Daniela were living at Flat 2\, 7-8 Bathurst Street\, London\, W2. \n7-8\, Bathurst Street\, London\, W2\nIn Kings\, Commoners and Knaves (Russell Enterprises\, 1999)\, page 108\, Edward Winter wrote : \n“The obituaries of Čeněk Kottnauer (1910-1996) have\, in common with all of the encyclopaedia entries on him\, been strangely wanting in pre-1940s references to his chess career. Czech magazines of the 1930s contain occasional games by ‘Kottnauer’ (no forename or initial given)\, including the following : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nSource : Československý šach\, January\, 1932\, page 9. The score was also given\, with notes\, by Vera Menchik\, on page 153 of the April 1932 issue of The Social Chess Quarterly. ” \nFrom Šachový Týdeník\, 25th February\, 2010 that Čeněk was twice Prague lightning champion. \nIn 1943 Čeněk was a clear first overall with 10.5/13 in the Zlin tournament. \nCrosstable for the Zlin (Czechoslovakia) 1943 tournament\nČeněk Kottnauer plays Svetozar Gligorić during the Chigorin Memorial\, Moscow\, November 26th 1947.\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984)\, David Hooper & Ken Whyld : \nInternational Master (1950)\, International Arbiter (1951)\, a Czech player who emigrated to England in 1953 and was naturalised in 1960. He played in Olympiads for Czechoslovakia (1950*\, 1952)\, on the second occasion making the best score (+10=5) on the fourth board\, and in two Olympiads for England (1964\, 1968). In 1961 he won the Beverwijk Masters tournament (not the concurrent grandmasters event) with a clean score\, a fine achievement. \n*Ed : In fact\, this is not true since Czechoslovakia did not send a team to Dubrovnik 1950.  This was the last year the event was limited to sixteen countries. \nCrosstable for Beverwijk 1961\nConsulting the 2nd edition (1992) of Hooper & Whyld may cause disappointment since there is no entry for CK. \nČeněk Kottnauer from Šachový Týdeník\, 25th February\, 2010\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale 1970 & 1976)\, Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master (1950) and International Judge (1951). \nBorn on 24th February 1910. Kottnauer represented Czechoslovakia in the 1952 Olympiad in Helsinki. In the years after the war his successes in international tournaments included 3rd at Beverwijk 1947\, =2nd at Vienna 1947\, 4th at Bad Gadstein 1948 and 1st at Lucerne 1953. \nCrosstable for Lucerne 1952/1953\nAfter the Lucerne tournament he sought political asylum in Switzerland. He later settled in England and became a naturalised British citizen. He played for the British Chess Federation in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1968. \nKottnauer has played in the British Championship twice. In 1961 he came =4th\, and in 1962 he came =3rd.” \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977)\, Harry Golombek OBE (entry written by Bill Hartston): \n“Born in Czechoslovakia\, Kottnauer played for that country in many events including the 1952 Olympiad. He emigrated in 1953 and subsequently took British nationality\, representing England in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1968. Awarded FIDE titles of international master in 1950 and International Judge in 1951. Winner of Lucerne 1953 International tournament. \nČeněk Kottnauer plays Frans Kuijpers during the 1964 Anglo-Dutch match at Vlissingen on September 19th\nCo-author with TD Harding and GS Botterill of The Sicilian Sozin\, Batsford\, London\, 1974.” \nThe Sicilian Sozin\, TD Harding\, GS Botterill\, C. Kottnauer\, Batsford\, 1974\nFrom British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983) we have this insight from Tim Harding : \n“At a time when home-grown International Masters were thin on the ground in Britain (the 1950s and 1960s) this Czech-born IM brought a lot of valuable experience to BCF teams. \nAmsterdam 1950\, first day; Gideon Stahlberg versus Cenek Kottnauer Date: November 11\, 1950\nAfter emigrating to England in 1953\, he became naturalized and subsequently represented the BCF in the Tel Aviv\, 1964 and Lugano\, 1968\, Olympiads. On board one in 1964 he scored +8 =7 -3 (63.9%) on board two below Penrose in 1968 (with some board one games) he scored 41.7: +3 =5 -4. \nČeněk Kottnauer\nWhen FIDE rating lists appeared in the early 1970s\, Kottnauer was listed at 2370 but by this time had more or less retired from active play at the top level\, although he took (and still takes) a keen interest in coaching promising young players\, He was one of the most regular and most valuable coaches at the one-day junior training events organised by the London Chess Association at the Mary Ward Centre in Bloomsbury\, London in the mid-1970s. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer\, event unknown\nAt this time he also wrote many articles for his friend Grandmaster Pachman\, who had been freed to live in West Germany where he became editor of Schach-Archiv\, and also made a major contribution to the Batsford opening theory work. The Sicilian Sozin\, written in collaboration with George Botterill and Tim Harding\, and published in 1974. \nLubomir Kavalek & Čeněk Kottnauer from Šachový Týdeník\, 25th February\, 2010\nKottnauer’s most active years as a player were however 1946-53; in the year that he came to England he took first prize in the Lucerne\, 1953 International tournament. Had he been a professional player throughout the the 1950s\, there is little doubt that he would have become a 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\nAs early as the end of the war\, when regular play resumed\, he was almost of that strength (as wins against Kotov and Smyslov in the February\, 1946 Prague v Moscow match showed) but lacking in experience at the top level\, which told against him at Groningen\, 1946\, when he was placed 13th with 9 points out of a possible 19 in a very strong field.  This was the first great post-war tournament\, with nine Master and eleven Grandmasters (including Botvinnik and former world champion Euwe). \nPlayers at the 1946 Groningen Tournament\nAlso in 1946 Kottnauer scored wins against Simagin (in Prague) and Levenfish (in Leningrad) and was clearly one of the up-and-coming stars in a strong Czech team that included Filip and Pachman.  In 1950 he was one of the first players to be awarded the FIDE title of International Master. \nThe following year he was also made a FIDE International Judge (now known as FIDE Arbiter). \nUnfortunately there was no Czech representation at the Dubrovnik\, 1950 Olympiad\, but in 1952\, one of his last appearances for Czechoslovakia\, Kottnauer achieved a remarkable record playing board four (below Filip\, Pachman and Sajtar) at the Helsinki Olympiad. He went through unbeaten with ten wins and five draws (83.3%) and easily won the board prize. \nKottnauer shortly thereafter came to England where he eventually made a successful career as an executive with Trust House Forte’s hotel group; he has also helped with the BBC overseas service Czech-language broadcasts. He lives in West Central London with his wife and their son. \nThe following is undoubtedly Kottnauer’s most famous win. \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 here we have the same game analysed by Tryfon Gavriel : \n\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXVI (116\, 1996)\, Number 4 (April)\, pp 202-203 we have this obituary by Bernard Cafferty : \nČeněk Kottnauer\, the Czech/British IM\, and the first chess defector died in St. Margaret’s Hospital\, London\, on 14th February after heart trouble and abdominal cancer. \nA giant of a man\, a fine athlete and swimmer\, he was born on 24th February 1910 and came to prominence in the 1942 tournament in Prague in which Alekhine took part. He extended the great man to 70 moves before resigning. His wins against Kotov and Smyslov in the Moscow-Prague match of 1946 and his 13th place in the great Groningen tournament of the same year confirmed his status\, as did his excellent showing for Czechoslovakia in the 1952 Olympiad at Helsinki (+10=5-0 on fourth board). He also took part in the 1947 Chigorin Memorial in Moscow\, and won a tournament at Lucerne in early 1953\, the same year in which he emigrated to Britain. \nHoogovens\, Beverwijk\, 1962. In the opening round (played 11th January)\, Theo van Scheltinga (Netherlands) faces Čeněk Kottnauer (England\, formerly ČSSR). (Photo credit: W. van Rossem\, ANEFO\, via http://gahetna.nl. Courtesy of Douglas Griffin\nOn this form he would have gained the GM title had he continued playing\, but he had to take a full-time job (with Trusthouse Forte) to support his family. \nČeněk had met his much younger wife in Austria\, though she too was Czech. They had a son. The master’s appearences were therefore limited to London League matches and other sporadic events. That he had lost none of his skill was shown when he played top board for England at the 1964 Tel-Aviv Olympiad (Penrose was not available) and made +8=7-3. His only other big event was the Lugano Olympiad of 1968 when he was on second board and made +3=5-4. \nThe 1964 England Olympiad (Tel Aviv) Team : Owen Hindle\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Peter Clarke\, Michael Franklin\, Norman Littlewood & Michael Haygarth\nČeněk (pronounced CHEnek) Kottnauer was one of the early professionals in the German Bundesliga; on a visit to his Bayswater flat in 1995 by Murray Chandler and myself\, Čeněk told us about the great transport difficulties he had in those days. He mentioned that he had recently had a heart bypass operation and showed us the medication he had to take on a regular basis\, opining that after Golombek and Milner-Barry he would be the next to go. \nHugh Alexander\, Čeněk Kottnauer\, Michael Franklin and Owen Hindle\nČeněk was involved in junior coaching in London for many years\, wrote extensively for the Dutch and German press and in recent years was a regular visitor to the Lloyds Bank Masters to see old friends and acquaintances. Amongst those he coached were Julian Hodgson\, William Watson and Dharshan Kumaran\, as well as Stuart Conquest. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer in Argentina during the 1981 World Under-16 Championship\nIn Stuart’s case he came regularly to Hastings to do the coaching which was financed by the Slater Foundation and by Lloyds Bank. \nThe fruit of his effort was Stuart’s 1981 World U-16 title in Argentina\, where Čeněk’s great physical strength came in handy when the huge trophy had to be carried back to Britain. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer with Stuart Conquest during the World Under-16 Championship in Argentina.\nAll his pupils and friends will attest to his wonderful manner. A great personality has left us.” \nAccording to Leonard Barden “Čeněk’s students included Demis Hassabis\, then aged six.   He once told me that Dharshan Kumaran\, then seven\, was the more talented of the pair  but that Demis was also ‘very clever and tricky’ ” \nDaniel tells us that Nigel Short visited his family home for coaching and we believe that both Anita and Mira Rakshit were CKs students. Doubtless there were many more… \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nLeonard added : \n“After he retired he did chess coaching and\, although never named in the BCF’s list of coaches\, was the most successful of all in terms of achievements by those he taught. He normally did weekly sessions of a couple of hours and got results through his challenging and sceptical approach to ideas from his pupils. \nKottnauer pupils included Hodgson\, Watson\, and Kumaran\, who all became grandmasters. When he came to our junior invitation tournaments in the mid-seventies I used to give a prize of a game and session with him to exceptional talents. So he played Nigel Short in spring 1975 (probably Short’s first one-to-one with an IM) and was enthusiastic about his promise. \nIn 1981 when Stuart Conquest was going to the the world U16 championship in Argentina Cenek coached him for several months beforehand and went with him to the event. No news reports were available during the tournament so the first I knew was when Cenek phoned me on his return to London and complained that he was tired having to carry this enormous trophy home (Stuart had broken his arm before the event and played in a sling) and how the food had been terrible but that Eliskases\, who was involved in the organisation\, had sworn him to secrecy. \nIM Čeněk Kottnauer in Argentina during the 1981 World Under-16 Championship\nI used to visit him a couple of times a month for talk and blitz sessions and have warm memories. A great guy\, and a significant figure in the long departed English chess boom.” \nHere is an excellent article from Tim Harding originally  on chesscafe.com but now via the Wayback Machine. \nHere is an obituary from Bill Hartston \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nAnd finally\, according to chessgames.com : \n“Cenek Kottnauer was born in Prague. He was awarded the IM title in 1950 and became an International Arbiter in 1951. Kottnauer played the Helsinki Olympiad 1952 on board 4 for Czechoslovakia\, scoring +10 =5 -0. In 1953 he won the Lucerne international tournament. That same year\, he emigrated to England\, and eventually became a naturalized citizen and played for England in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1968. In the 1970s he became one of England’s top coaches of young players.” \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-im-cenek-kottnauer-24-ii-1910-14-ii-1996/
CATEGORIES:Arbiter,Coach,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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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
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210204
DTSTAMP:20220202T175629Z
CREATED:20190822T164132Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220202T175629Z
UID:1002-1612310400-1612396799@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of John Cochrane (04-ii-1798 02-iii-1878)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers John Cochrane who passed away on March 3rd 1878. \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nScottish player\, barrister\, called to the bar in 1822. If the so-called romantic style existed then Cochrane has a claim to be regarded as its founder. A dashing player\, he attacked at all costs often sacrificing pieces with abandon\, a style that was successful in the England of the 1820s; but when in 1821 he went to Paris\, then the world’s chess centre\, he was beaten by both Deschapelles and Bourdonnais. Subsequently he studied the game but he did not change his style. In 1822 he published A Treatise on the Game of Chess\, a popular book largely based on Traite des Amateurs (see Verdoni) and Lolli but with a few contributions of his own.  \nAlthough Cochrane came from an old Scottish family he led the London team in the famous correspondence match against Edinburgh\, 1824-8. He persuaded his team to play the Scotch Gambit\, but when London had obtained a fine position Cochrane left for India. Although the Londoners\, led by Lewis\, failed to carry the attack\, the Scotch Gambit became fashionable for more than 15 years\, and other lively attacking openings were developed.  \nCochrane stayed in India until his retirement in 1869 except for one visit to England\, 1841-3\, when he played hundreds of friendly games against Staunton\, who began by winning a large majority\, Wilhelm Steinitz knew both contestants and states that their last encounter was a match of 12 games. Staunton conceding pawn and move for the first six- and that Cochrane made an even score when receiving odds but won (-1-3—2— !) when playing on even terms\, John Cochrane should not be confused with James Cochrane (c\, 1770-1830)\, co-author of a book on the Muzio gambit. \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \n\n\nThe Cochrane Gambit is : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nand the Cochrane Variation in the King’s Gambit is : \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 Sicilian Defence\, Staunton-Cochrane Variation is : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nand the Scotch Gambit\, Cochrane Variation is : \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 Cochrane Defence is a drawing method for in the rook\, bishop & king vs rook & king ending. \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-john-cochrane/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210202
DTSTAMP:20230128T141945Z
CREATED:20190824T091314Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230128T141945Z
UID:1142-1612137600-1612223999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary for Edith Baird (née Winter-Wood) (??-??-1859 01-ii-1924)
DESCRIPTION:We remember Edith Baird (née Winter-Wood) \nEdith Elina Helen Winter-Wood was born\, probably in 1859*\, to Thomas Winter-Wood\, a writer and poet\, and Eliza Ann (née Sole) Winter-Wood in Boulogne\, France. \n(*Despite 22nd February 1859 appearing in Wikipedia we are unable to locate a primary source for this date. Contemporary secondary sources always just gave 1859 as her year of birth. Census records imply that she was born between April 1859 and March 1860. Her marriage record from 1st December 1880 describes her as being ‘of full age’: at least 21 years old\, so born before December 1859. However\, her death record from 1st February 1924 gives her age as 63\, implying that she was born between February 1860 and January 1861. Either her death record is incorrect or she added a couple of months to her age when she married. ) \nMany secondary and tertiary sources incorrectly give the Winter-Wood family home of Hareston Manor (now a venue for weddings) near Brixton\, Plymouth\, Devon as her birthplace. \nHareston Manor near Plymouth\nThe family was resident in Boulogne in at least 1858 (as discussed below) and a UK birth certificate for Edith does not appear to exist. Having said that\, a French birth certificate has yet to be located. Both Brian Denman and Chris Ravilious are satisfied that Edith was born in Boulogne and various census records attest to this. Ed: both Richard James and myself (JEU) have examined the evidence carefully and Boulogne would appear to be correct. \nThomas Winter-Wood was born in Har(e)ston\, Devon in 1819 and was himself a strong player having been educated at Plympton Grammar School (now known as Hele’s School). Thomas was the son of John Wood-Winter who\, in 1824\, reversed the order of the family surname. Thomas sold the family estate leaving the Winter-Woods with substantial means\, with each family member able to pursue their leisure interests whilst retaining a number of domestic staff. \nThomas Winter-Wood (1819-1905) in 1903.\nThomas taught all of his family to play chess and Edith learnt at an early age. Both Edward J and Carslake W also learnt early on\, Edward (aged 11 in 1858) played members of Boulogne Chess Club giving them rook odds and ten years later Edward joined London Chess Club. \nAccording to Tartajubow : \n“(Edward) played in several tournaments and in blindfold simuls he drew two games against Lowenthal and one against Blackburne. In 1878 he joined the Croydon Chess Club and once in one of their tournaments scored 23-7. He also enjoyed success in many other club tournaments\, correspondence chess and problem solving tournaments. Many of his problems appeared in leading publications of the day.” \nand\, also according to Tartajubow : \n“Her other brother\, Carslake W. Wood (1849 – 1924)\, lived with his mother’s brother\, Major Sole of the 5th Militia of West York\, in Torquay. While travelling Europe with the Soles\, he also developed a taste for painting and on many occasions donated his paintings as prizes in chess tournaments.” \nThe Doge’s Palace\, Venice 1880s by Carslake W Winter-Wood\nAccording to F. R. Gittins (in The Chess Bouquet 1897): \n“The moves came to her\, as she says\, by a kind of instinct before she was out of her first decade. She did not\, however\, commence composing problems until some years after her marriage\, which took place in 1880\, to Deputy Inspector-General W. J. Baird\, M.D.\, R.N.\, whose distinguished services have been mentioned in despatches and rewarded with four medals and two clasps. Eight years later she composed her first problem\, and commenced a wonderful series of successes\, having gained eleven first\, nine second\, and six third prizes\, and been honourably mentioned nine times.” \nEdith Baird (née Winter-Wood)\nAccording to the old ChessDevon web site (sadly only available via the WayBack Machine) \n“In 1893\, for instance\, she entered The Hackney Mercury 3-mover tournament\, with a limit of 6 pieces. Most of the great composers of the time had entered\, – B. G. Laws\, P. H. Williams and James Raynor among them\, but she won 1st prize. As one American critic observed\, ‘The fact that the tourney assumed an almost international character rendered the triumph of the distinguished lady victor as noteworthy as it was creditable’.” \nHere is this first prize (1): \nBaird\, Edith Elina Helen\nHackney Mercury\, 1893\n1st Prize \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 problem solutions may be found at the foot of this article. \nShe very quickly progressed and was soon producing problems that were described as being “exceedingly pretty” and which ‘displayed unmistakable aptitude for the intricacies of chess.’ Her work 700 Chess Problems was published by Henry Sotheran Ltd in 1902 and took her 14 years to complete.” \nSeven Hundred Chess Problems. Selected from the compositions of Mrs. W. J. Baird\, WJ Baird\, 1902\nSeven Hundred Chess Problems\n700 Chess Problems may be downloaded from here. \nEdith also had a brief career in chess competitions in the 1890s\, winning the 1897 Sussex Ladies Championship without losing a game. \nFew samples of her play survive\, but they show her to be a proficient player with\, as you might expect from a problemist\, a keen tactical eye. In this game she finishes neatly with a queen sacrifice. \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 this game\, from a blindfold simul against the London-based Dutch organist and chess master Rudolf Loman (1861-1932)\, she uses a tactic to reach an equal ending. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nAccording to the 1871 census the Winter-Wood household lived at “Hareston”\, Tavistock Road\, Croydon\, Surrey and consisted of Thomas (52 and Landowner)\, Eliza (44) plus Edith’s brothers Edward J (23 and Banker) and Carslake W (22 and retired banker)\, Marie A (17)\, Edith (11) plus three (!) domestic servants. \nIn 1880 (‘of full age’) Edith married the Deputy Inspector-General of Fleets and Hospitals\, William James Baird\, MD\, of the Royal Navy\, in the parish church of St George Hanover Square.  (You’ll see that she married under the surname Wood rather than Winter-Wood.) William was almost thirty years her senior\, having been born in Londonderry in 1831. The 1881 census found them in lodgings in Durham House\, Hotspur Street\, Tynemouth\, North Tyneside: presumably William was there in connection with his work.  Later the same year\, their only child\, Lilian Edith Baird\, was born in the same place. \nWilliam and Edith’s marriage recorded in the Parish Register of St George Hanover Square\nWilliam Baird and Edith (Winter-)Wood’s marriage bonds\nLilian would become a child prodigy whose first problem was published before she was 10 years old. She was also an accomplished poet and painter like her mother. Although she had over 70 problems published by the age of thirteen\, Lilian gave up chess composing while still in her teens. \nLilian Edith Strong (née Baird)\n(Lilian merits a full article in this place in her own right : added to ToDo list!) \nBy 1891 William had retired and the family had settled in Brighton living at 14 College Terrace\, where they employed a servant\, Louisa Howard (23). In 1901 the census enumerator found them at the same address\, their servant now being Lilian Millard (25). \n14 College Terrace\, Brighton\, East Sussex. BN2 0EE\nWilliam died in 1907\, and Lilian had married in 1910: the 1911 census found Edith living in a boarding house named Mountcoombe in Surbiton. The house no longer exists\, but its name\, minus a letter\, survives in Mountcombe Close\, now a location for residential flats. Shortly afterwards\, she joined her brothers in Paignton\, Devon\, close to her family’s ancestral roots. \nReturning to Edith’s family\, by the time of the 1881 census the Winter-Wood household (bar Edith) had relocated to “Mariestead”\, Netley Abbey\, Southampton and had shrunk to Thomas\, Eliza and a mere two servants. Edith gave this address when she married William Baird. \nEdith Baird (née Winter-Wood)\nIn the 1891 census the Winter-Wood household consisted of Thomas (72)\, Eliza (64) plus Edith’s brothers Edward (43) and Carslake (42) all of whom were described as “living on means”. They had returned to three domestic servants : Mary Scoble (65)\, Carrie Stephens (22) and Kate Truman (just 12). They lived at 14\, The Crescent\, Plymouth\, PL8 2AP. Nothing remains of this property\, it would appear. By 1901\, the family had moved again\, to “Kenwick”\, Paignton\, Devon. They were back down to two servants: Florence Gagg (18) was the housemaid and Sarah Chambers (59) the cook. Thomas died in 1905\, and the 1911 census gives their address as “Hareston”\, Totnes Road\, Paignton. Eliza\, Edward and Carslake’s servants were now Laura Ellen Gagg (25 – presumably related to Florence) and Sarah Tulley. \nIn an interview with the Westminster Gazette (1st September 1894) Edith was asked why chess has always been a man’s game. \n“Frivolous and fashionable women would begrudge the time and thought it requires; busy mothers of families could not\, of course\, spare time for it\, and the great majority of unmarried girls have not\, I’m afraid\, the necessary patience. Then\, too\, it is\, I must confess\, an unsociable game. It is most suitable for quiet and reflective people\, and for invalids. It seems always to have attracted clever strategists like military and naval commanders\, and also great politicians. I wish girls would take to it more\, because it is such excellent mental discipline\, and brings out one’s patience. It would also be a useful corrective to the tendency to jump at conclusions which many women have. The great charm is that it is a home accomplishment. A woman is not expected to leave her fireside for the sake of chess. It is a stable kind of amusement for which she never need sully her womanliness or her good reputation. Many of the outdoor sports\, innocent and healthy enough\, lead to a great deal of flirtation and general frivolity.” \nF.R. Gittins (op. cit.) described her as follows: \n“Mrs. Baird\, however\, is something more even than the Queen of Chess-problem composers. She is\, for example\, an enthusiastic and skilful archer\, and\, living as she does in Brighton\, has for some time been a prominent member of the Furze Hill Archery Club\, of which she is a member of the committee\, and in which\, she has\, for two years in succession\, taken the medal for the highest aggregate score of the season. She also paints and illuminates charmingly\, and has a pretty inherited talent for writing verse. Her book of illuminations\, in fact\, is described as “so chaste and delicate in design as to recall the ancient illuminated books which are treasured in museums and art galleries.” In politics she is a staunch Liberal\, while the modern movement against all cruelty to animals – whether inflicted under the name of sport or in the interests of science – finds in her one of its most ardent champions.  Besides the déclassement derived from chess\, she is also a great believer in girls making themselves independent of marriage\, from a monetary point of view\, by having a definite occupation. When it is added that she never allows chess\, painting\, or any other favourite pursuit to occupy her time until all the domestic matters of home have been seen to\, we have said sufficient to show how finely-rounded and complete a life this brilliantly clever woman leads. It is only left to add that her manner is kind and  charming\, and that she is thoughtfulness and considerateness itself to all her friends. She is\, moreover\, the most loving of mothers\, and has been heard to declare that if anything were to happen to “Lily”\, she would never compose another chess problem.” \nEdith was also an avid bicyclist who was known to have ridden 25 miles (on one of those old style bicycles) to discuss an adjourned chess game. \nEdith Elina Helen Baird\nOn Friday\, February 1st\, 1924 Edith passed away. The probate record is dated April 29th and was granted to Herbert Percy Strong\, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian Army\, who was Lilian’s husband. The initial value of the effects was £18110 5s 7d which was subsequently resworn to £16627 13s 11d. \nProbate record for Edith Baird (1924)\nBoth Sunnucks and Golombek are silent on Edith. This is somewhat surprising since Anne liked to mention female players and problemists. \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nEDITH ELINA HELEN (née Winter Wood) (1859-1924)\, British problem composer. Her parents\, two brothers\, and daughter were all good players or clever problemists. \nShe composed over 2\,000 problems which were not profound but were noted for their soundness; only a dozen or so were faulted. Her Seven Hundred Chess Problems was published in 1902. She became deeply absorbed in retractors\, and her other book The Twentieth Century Retractor appeared in 1907. They are two of the most beautiful chess books ever to appear\, printed and bound by the King’s printer Henry Sotheran\, and sold at less than cost. \nThe Twentieth Century Retractor\nThe Twentieth Century Retractor\, Chess Fantasies\, and Letter Problems: Being a Selection of Three Hundred Problems\, Mrs WJ Baird\, London: Henry Sotheran and Co. 1902.\nThe Twentieth Century Retractor may be read online here. \nThe dedication for The Twentieth Century Retractor was somewhat unusual : \n“Dedicated to\nThe Sun\nThe Glorious Orb which\nAnimates and Beautifies\nThe Earth\nBy Giving It\nWarmth\, Light and Life” \nand Edward Winter discusses the beauty of the book in Chess Note 3164. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XLIV\, (44\, 1924)\, page 103 we have this brief obituary notice written by RC Griffth : \n“We much regret to hear of the death\, at Paignton\, on February 1st\, of Mrs. W.J. Baird\, much of the distinguished of women problem composers throughout the world. As our problem editors will no doubt deal fully with her work and her triumphs\, we shall say no more here that she took a keen interest in chess over-the-board also\, and in 1897 secured the county championship  of Sussex among players of her own sex. By birth she was a Winter-Wood and thus a member of a distinguished West of England chess family” \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume XLIV\, (44\, 1924)\, page 125 we have this obituary written by RC Griffth : \n“A deep shadow has been cast over the chess world by the death of Mrs. W.J. Baird\, which occurred on 1st February last at Paignton. The end was most unexpected\, but it is a comfort to her relatives that the passing away was peaceful. She was the daughter of Mr. T. Winter-Wood\, who and whose family have been identified with chess for generations. She was born in 1859 and composed her first problem in 1888\, and it was not long after this date that she was given the title of the “Queen of Chess\,” since not only did she distinguish herself in a happy way as a prolific composer\, but proved a valiant opponent over the board\, testified by her securing the ladies’ championship of Sussex in 1897. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Two (2) \nAmong her other accomplishments were painting\, particularly illuminating\, poetry (which may have been inherited from her gifted father) and archery\, in which sport she was skilful. Her chess problems were generally of the light texture order never profound\, but always pleasing to the ordinary solver. She must have composed over 2\,000 problems of one sort or another\, and this large output in about thirty-five years could not be conducive to highest results. Her problem tourney honours were numerous\, though she did not as a rule see these\, generally entering her problems to oblige admiring conductors of competitions. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Two (3) \nIn 1902 she published Seven Hundred Chess Problems and in 1907 The Twentieth Century Retractor\, Chess Fantasies and Letter Problems\, 320 illustrations (Sotheran & Co.). Both were editions de luxe. Mrs. Baird was credited with the being the originator of the complicated retractor of which she was a proficient exponent\, but since she ceased composing these fancies\, interest in them has waned. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Three (4) \nDuring the last few years her activity\, after a period of quiescence has been marked\, her attention being directed principally to ‘Mutates’ and Picture or Letter Problems. In addition to the enthusiasm which\, shown by her actual work\, she has generously promoted several competitions\, one still current in the Morning Post\, particulars of which we announced last month. A remarkable feature of the deceased’s problems was their soundness less than one per cent. being cooked after leaving her hands\, evidence of painstaking application! \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Three (5) \nThere is now\, since the decease of Mrs. Baird’s father\, Mr. T. Winter-Wood and her brother\, Mr. E.J. Winter-Wood\, only Mr. Carslake Winter-Wood left to represent the family in the chess circle\, Mrs. Strong\, her daughter\, who at one time promised to emulate her mother\, having apparently abandoned the game and its problems. There can be no question that Mrs. Baird stood in front of all lady composers\, her nearest rival probably being the late Mrs. T. B. Rowland\, and indeed a number of her compositions rank high in the world’s collection. We have not space this month to quote specimens\, but hope to do so next issue. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMate in Three (6) \nSince the above was in type we have been informed of the sudden death of Mr. Carslake Winter-Wood on the 24th February.” \nThe Late Mrs. W. J. Baird\, \nThe Masters said:- \n“Lay by the board\, the problem is not sound;\nThere’s none can solve unless a Morphy’s found.”\n* * *\nA knight I saw\, his royal head bowed;\nMethought a bishop moved and prayed aloud.\nThe Queen\, alas\, and their attendants gone\,\nOnly did the Kings linger sadly on.\nAnd roaming far afield a Rook forlorn\,\nAnd here and there a long-forgotten pawn.\n“Oh! is there none who can this problem solve?”\n“Seek her round who our highest hopes revolve”\nAnd so we brought it to our ‘Problem Queen’\nWho faced the field with heart and eye serene.\n* * *\n“Go leave me now and I will rest awhile\,”\nThen hand outstretched and swift triumphant smile :\n“The Bishops move! with him the key\,” she cried –\n“Life’s problem solved at last! I’m satisfied.” \nM.S.M. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n \nWhite retracts his last move; then plays. Black moves so that White can mate at once. (7) \n(Please note that there are factual errors in most of the sources quoted below.) \nHere is her Wikipedia entry \nHere is more from chessproblem.net \nArticle from Tartajubow (but the author mistakenly conflates Edith and Lilian) on Edith Baird and other Bairds \nQueens of Problem Chess by Satanick Mukhuty from chessbase.com \nMore from Sarah Beth Durst (aka BatGirl)\, quoting from Gittins. \nVia the Wayback Machine Chess Devon have this excellent article \nBritish Chess News would like to thank Brian Denman for providing a file of Edith Baird’s games\, and Tim Harding\, for sending us the pdf of The Chess Bouquet. \nSolution to problems: \n(1) \n1.Qg7! (2.Qc7#)\n1…Kc6 2.c5 Kxc5 3.Qc7#\n1…Kxc4 2.Qd4+ Kb3 3.Qb4#\n1…Kb6 2.Sb5 Ka6/Ka5\, Kc6/Kc5 3.Qa7\, Qc7#\n1…Kd6 2.Sb5+ Ke6\, Kc7/Kc5 3.Sd4\, Qc7# \n(2) 1.Bg2 \n(3) 1.Qb2 \n(4) 1.Qh8 \n(5) 1.Nc1 \n(6) 1.Rd8 \n(7) White retracts Nd5xRb6\, then 1. Nd6 Rc6 2. Nb7# \n  \n  \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-for-edith-elina-helen-baird/
CATEGORIES:2023,Composer,Death Anniversary,History,Problemist,Remembering,Writer
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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
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201229
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201230
DTSTAMP:20211229T134506Z
CREATED:20190823T183010Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211229T134506Z
UID:1104-1609200000-1609286399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Brian Reilly (12-xii-1901 29-xii-1991)
DESCRIPTION:Signature of Brian Reilly from an after dinner post card from Hastings 1945-46\nWe remember Brian Patrick Reilly who passed away on December 29th\, 1991. \nBrian Reilly probably sometime in the 1920s.\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977)\, Harry Golombek OBE (written by Wolfgang Heidenfeld) :”Irish master born at Menton\, of Irish descent\, who has represented Ireland in nine Olympic team tournaments between 1935 and 1968; three times on top board. \nBrian observes a game during one of the early 1930s tournaments in Nice\nHe was also Irish representative at seven FIDE congresses. Reilly played in a number of small international tournaments\, wining first prize at Nice 1931 and sharing fourth prize with Klein and EG Sergeant behind Reshevsky\, Capablanca and Sir G. Thomas at Margate 1935. \nBrian Reilly playing Dr. Josep Vallve probably at Barcelona Chess Club in June 1935. Brian won in 61 moves.\nWinner of Irish championship in 1959 and 1960. General Editor of British Chess Magazine since 1949.” \nBrian Reilly and friends\nHis obituary in British Chess Magazine was written by Bernard Cafferty and appeared in Volume CXII (112\, 1992)\, Number 2 (February)\, page 70: \nBrian with journalist colleagues.\n“With great regret we have to report that Brian Patrick Reilly has\, to use the older term\, ‘joined the great majority’. \nBrian analysing with Irish team mate\, Wolfgang Heidenfeld\nB. P. Reilly (Menton\, 12 xii 1901-Hastings\, 29 xii l99l) was born into an expatriate family on the French Riviera\, and so was bilingual. He learned his chess in France where he had many friends and acquaintances. He knew Alekhine in the 1920s and 1930s and was a witness at Alekhine’s wedding. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nMany years later he was to do extensive research on Alekhine’s life\, and was the first to establish (though he did not publish the fact) that the Russian did not complete his doctorate studies at the Sorbonne\, so that “Dr” Alekhine must be considered a purely honorary title. \nBrian won the Nice tournament of 1931\, ahead of Noteboom\, Mieses\, . . . Sir George Thomas . . . Znosko-Borovsky. . . and played for Ireland at the 1935 Olympiad beating Fine. \nCrosstable for Nice 1931 from Megabase 2020\nThese results\, taken with his fourth place at Margate 1935\, behind Reshevsky\, Capablanca and Sir George Thomas\, made it clear that he was of IM strength. \nNice Masters\, 1931. Standing : Daniel Noteboom\, Abraham Baratz\, George Renaud (Organiser)\, John J O’Hanlon\, Marcel Duchamp\, Brian Reilly (winner)\, Seated : Eugene Znokso-Borovsky\,\, Arpad Vajda\, Sir George Thomas\, Jacques Mieses\, Stefano Roselli del Turco\, Jacob Adolf Seitz. British Chess Magazine\, 1931\, page 201\nDuring the war Brian was interned in France as a British citizen\, coming close to starvation for a time. He described all this in the very detailed account of his life in the September 1980 BCM\, on which we have drawn\, along with the many reminiscences Brian passed on to the present writer. \nBrian analysing with the Irish team at an Olympiad\nAfter working for the Sutton Coldfield magazine just after the war (he did not get on well with B. H. Wood\, thinking him not very business-like – do we put this too diplomatically?) Brian was a freelance translator in the pharmaceutical industry before taking over BCM in 1949. At the time the magazine was technically bankrupt. \nSir George Thomas And Brian ReillySir George Thomas (left)\, leader of the British chess team\, playing Irishman Brian Reilly at the Easter Chess Congress\, Margate\, April 24th 1935. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)\nIn 1964 he moved the office from London to St Leonards\, showing his business acumen yet again. He ran the bookstall for many years at the Hastings Congress at the Sun Lounge and the Falaise Hall. \n \nAfter the union troubles of 1970-71 and the Fischer boom he arranged for the magazine to be typeset by his son Freddy at the family home in West Norwood. This led to an expansion in the pagination after some teething troubles. \nBrian Reilly playing Cesar Munoz (Ecuador) in round 8 of the Leipzig Olympiad played on 23rd October 1960. The game was drawn in 48 moves.\nAll this while\, Brian was playing for Ireland in Olympiads\, and attending to FIDE affairs as a FIDE delegate. \nBrian relaxing during a FIDE Congress dinner\nAfter the death of his son Freddy in 1980\, the magazine was sold to the BCF and Brian retired as editor in September 1981\, remaining as a consultant for nearly a decade. \nBrian Reilly\, Ray Keene\, George Botterill\, Anatoly Karpov\, Harry Golombek and Viktor Korchnoi\nHis last years were spent in Hastings\, where it was his wont to carry on with the long sea-front walks that he had practised since a breakdown in health due to overwork. He had strong views on correct diet and exercise which he could expound to anyone willing to listen. The fact that he could walk up to six miles a day in his late eighties and that his faculties\, including his memory\, only seemed to be weakening in his last two years\, is proof enough of the validity of his theories. \nBrian Reilly playing Wolfgang Unzicker on board 1 during the preliminaries of the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad.\nOn his 90th birthday he attended the office and drank a glass of champagne to celebrate the occasion. We have the testimony of Mrs Arnold\, who worked with him so long\, that he was still talking of visiting the Hastings Congress. This was on Boxing Day\, the day after he had been admitted to St Helen’s Hospital with a chest infection. He assured her he would be up and about again\, but old friends such as Harry Golombek and Ritson Morry waited for him in vain as Hastings got under way. . . \nBrian Reilly at a FIDE Congress (possibly Nice 1974?)\nBrian Reilly at a FIDE Congress (possibly Nice 1974?)\nBCM readers\, too\, must be counted amongst his old friends who will miss him. They should be aware that\, but for Brian\, and his decades of hard work. there would now be no BCM.” \nBrian Reilly in the BCM office. Photographed most likely by Freddy Reilly.\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CI (101)\, Number 8 (August)\, pp 352 – 369 a conversation between B.P. Reilly and W.H. Cozens : \nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 1\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 2\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 3\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 4\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 5\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 6\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 7\nHe won the BCF President’s Award in 1983 along with BH Wood \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 8\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 9\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 10\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 11\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 12\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 13\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 14\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 15\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 16\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 16\nBrian Reilly conversation with William Harold Cozens\, part 1\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-brian-patrick-reilly/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Journalist,Player,Remembering,Writer
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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
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201218
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201219
DTSTAMP:20211221T100514Z
CREATED:20190823T191554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211221T100514Z
UID:1132-1608249600-1608335999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of William Winter (11-ix-1898 18-xii-1955)
DESCRIPTION:William Winter\, British Open Chess Champion\, 1934. The verso frontispiece of Chess for Match Players\, William Winter\, London\, Lawrence & Wishart\, 1st edition. 1936\nAuthor’s inscription from Chess for Match Players\, William Winter\, London\, Lawrence & Wishart\, 1st edition. 1936\nBCN remembers William (Willy) Winter who passed away on Sunday\, December 18th\, 1955 from tuberculosis (at the time known as “the white plague”). He refused to enter a sanatorium.  \nThere is some variation from sources who quote his Date of Birth. All have 11th of September as the date but vary by the year giving either 1898 or 1899. However careful research by John Townsend (Wokingham) gives 1897 and this work is cited by Edward Winter. \nLate in 2021 historian Gerard Killoran (Ilkley) discovered this clipping from the Hampshire Advertiser – Wednesday 22 September 1897 p.2: \nHampshire Advertiser – Wednesday 22 September 1897 p.2\nwhich confirms JTs evidence from the 1939 register. \nHis father was William Henderson Winter and his mother Margaret Winter. He was born in Medstead\, Hampshire. In the 1911 census their address was recorded as “The Boynes”\,  Four Marks\, Alton\, Hampshire and the family had two servants : a cook and a housemaid. In 1936 Winter lived at The Old Cottage\, North Road\, Three Bridges\, Sussex. \nIn the second quarter of 1933 William married Amelia Jennett (née Potter) in the district of Pancras. William knew Amelia as Molly and wrote about her extensively in his memoirs. Amelia was married to Dennis Jennett but Dennis had an affair with another woman and a convenient to all parties “arrangement” was entered into. However\, Willy’s father was less than impressed. \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale 1970&1976)\, Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master\, chess. professional and British Champion in 1935 and 1936\, William Winter is one of the most colourful  figures that British chess has produced. A born bohemian\, Winter could on many occasions have been mistaken for a tramp\, yet he was equally capable of turning up at a dinner or some other official occasion\, well-groomed and looking the split image of his famous uncle\, Sir James Barrie\, and making a speech of such wit and culture that every other speech would seem flat. \nBorn in Medstead in Hampshire on 11th September 1898\, of Scottish parentage. Winter’s mother was the youngest sister of Sir James Barrie\, and his father a brilliant scholar who had entered St. Andrew’s University at the age of 16\, taken honours in classics and then won a scholarship to Cambridge to read mathematics. \nWinter was taught to play chess by his father\, who was a strong player\, when he was 12. From the time he was introduced to the game his main aim in life was to become a first-class player\, and his previous interest\, cricket\, had to take a back seat. \nWhen he was 15\, he joined the city of London Chess club\, one of the leading clubs in the country\, and his game-rapidly improved. He went up to Cambridge to read law for a year during-the l9l4-l9l8 war\, before he became of age for military service and joined the Honourable Artillery Company. While he was stationed at Leeds he learned that the British champion\, F. D. Yates\, and the Mexican master\, A. G. Conde\, were in the habit of playing chess on a Saturday afternoon in a café in Bradford. \nWinter started going to this café and made the acquaintance of the two masters\, who would occasionally give him a game. \nOn returning to Cambridge when the war was over\, Winter became President of the University Chess Club and also started to take an active interest in politics. He joined the University Socialist Society and the local branch of the Independent Labour Party\, and when the Communist Party was formed he became a Communist. \nIn 1919 Winter became Cambridge University Champion and won a match against R. H. V. Scott\, a leading British player\, by a score of 4-2\, thereby securing for himself an invitation to play in the Victory Congress at Hastings. His lack of experience of master play proved too great a handicap\, and he came 11th out of 12. \nEdo rating profile for William Winter from http://www.edochess.ca/players/p7187.html\nOn leaving Cambridge after taking his degree in 1919\, Winter persuaded his parents to allow him a year in which to play chess before settling down to a career. He hoped that during that year he might be able to prove that he had sufficient talent to become a professional player. This did not prove the case\, and Winter had to resign himself to becoming a solicitor. \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 1921 he became articled to a London firm\, but after a dispute with his father\, which resulted in his allowance being stopped\, Winter had to give up his articles and decided to concentrate his energies on politics. He went to live in Bristol and addressed open-air meetings all over the city on behalf of the Communist party\, until he was arrested for sedition and sentenced to six months imprisonment. After his release Winter continued his political activities until he was forced to abandon them on medical advice. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHaving given up politics\, Winter decided to try his luck as a chess professional. This proved to be a success\, and within two years he was making a reasonable living teaching the game\, playing games for fees at St. George’s Cafe in St. Martin’s Lane in London and writing for The Manchester Guardian and The Daily Worker. \nWinter remained a chess professional for the rest of his life\, apart from the war years. He wrote two chess best sellers: Chess for Match Players\, published in 1936 \nChess for Match Players\, William Winter\, Carroll & Nicholson\, 1936\nand reprinted in 1951\, and Kings of Chess; \nKings of Chess\, William Winter\, Carroll and Nicholson Ltd\, 1954\nand was co-author with F. D. Yates of Modern Master Play\, \nModern Master Play\, FD Yates and W. Winter\, 1930\nand with FD Yates of World Championship Candidates Tournament\, 1953. \nWinter never reached the very highest ranks as a player\, although he won the British Championship twice and represented his country in four Chess Olympiads: Hamburg in 1930\, Prague in 1931\, Folkestone in 1933 and Warsaw in 1935. In the Great Britain v. U.S.S.R. radio match in 1946 he defeated Bronstein in the first round and then characteristically went out and celebrated his victory in such a way that his defeat in the return round was inevitable. \nWilliam Winter (11-IX-1897\, 18-XII-1955)\nAlthough he achieved no great successes in international tournaments\, in individual games he beat many of the world’s leading players\, including Nimzowitsch and Vidmar\, and had draws against Capablanca and Botvinnik among others. \nWilliam Winter (11-IX-1897\, 18-XII-1955)\nWilliam Winter (11-IX-1897\, 18-XII-1955)\nHe died of tuberculosis in London in December 1955\, after refusing to go into a sanatorium.” \nIn Kings\, Commoners and Knaves\, (Russell Enterprises\, 1999)\, page 393 Winter quotes Winter (!) from Chess Masterpieces (Marshall) as follows: \nI consider [Winter v Vidmar\, London\, 1927] to be my best game partly on account of the eminence of my opponent and partly because of the importance of the occasion on which it was played\, and also because on three occasions in which the situation was extremely complicated. I was fortunate enough to discover the only continuation which not only was necessary to secure victory\, but to actually save the game \nHere is that 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\nFrom The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by Klein and Winter : \nThe Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match\, E. Klein and W. Winter (1947\, Pitman)\n“W. Winter was born in 1899 in Hampshire. A Cambridge graduate in Law\, he devoted himself eventually entirely to chess and is the only Englishman who\, despite all vicissitudes\, has faithfully remained a professional. After winning the Cambridge University Championship in 1921 he competed in a number of international tournaments. His outstanding performance was in the tournament in Scarborough 1928\, which he won. He won the British Championship in 1935 and 1936\, and has represented his country on four occasions in international team tournaments. In Hamburg\, 1930\, he was undefeated. \nScene at London. From left to right – Seated : Fairhurst\, List and Winter in play. Standing König and Sir George Thomas\nHis literary activities include Chess for Match Players and The Alekhine-Capablanca World Title Match\, 1927. He edits the chess column in the Soviet Weekly. \nGames Played In the World’s Championship Match between Jose Paul Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine\, FD Yates and W\, Winter\, 1928\, Printing Craft Limited\nHis chess record is erratic and does not reflect his true ability. He is capable of some of the finest chess\, but often plays too impulsively. His greatest strength lies in King’s side attacks. which he handles with skill and accomplishment.” \nWilliam Winter (11-IX-1897\, 18-XII-1955)\nFrom the Preface of The World Chess Championship : 1951 by Lionel Sharples Penrose we have : \n“Mr. Winter’s chess career has been a long one and he occupies an extremely high position among British players. He has been British Champion twice\, in 1935 and 1936. Among other notable successes was his first place in the Scarborough International Tournament in 1928. He defeated Nimzovich in the London Tournament in 1927. Against the present world championship contenders he has a very fine score\, a draw against Botvinnik at Nottingham in 1936 and a win and a loss against Bronstein in the Radio Match\, Great Britain v U.S.S.R. in 1946. Mr. Winter is a specialist in writing about the art of chess\, and players throughout the country owe a great deal to his deep and logical expositions.” \nGames Played in the World’s Championship Match between Alexander Alekhin (Holder of the Title) and E D Bogoljubow (Challenger)\, Printing Craft Limited\, 1930\, FD Yates and W. Winter\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (BT Batsford\, 1977) Edited by Harry Golombek : \nInternational Master and twice British Champion (1935 and 1936)\, Winter was an excellent illustration of Réti’s thesis that players tend to be opposite over the board to their character in real life. Over the board he was classical\, scientific and sober; away from the board he was revolutionary\, moved by his emotions (he contrived to be both a fervent Communist and a staunch patriot)\, and more often than not\, drunk. \nHis university career\, where he read law\, coincided with the First World War and\, after a brief interruption for military service he returned to Cambridge where in 1919 he became university champion and defeated R. H. V. Scott (a strong player who won the British Championship in 1920) in a match by 4-2. On the strength of this he was invited to play in the Hastings Victory tournament of 1919 where\, however\, he did badly\, coming 11th out of 12. \nWilliam Winter (11-ix-1897\, 18-xii-1955)\nAfter an interval during which he fervently pursued a political career to such an extent as to incur a six-months prison sentence for sedition (Winter always denied the sedition and said that the charge was trumped-up one)\, he took up the career of chess professional. The life suited him since it enabled him to lead the kind of Bohemian existence that pleased his artistic temperament. It should be mentioned that he was a nephew of Sir James Barrie and would have fitted in well on one of his uncle’s plays. \nAs a player he was eminently sound and\, being an apostle of Tarrasch\, a fine clear strategist. But he was lacking in tactical ability and his poor health and his way of life interfered with his consistency and impaired his stamina. But he had a number of fine victories over great players (Bronstein\, Nimzowitsch and Vidmar for example). \nIM William Winter (11-ix-1897\, 18-xii-1955)\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 played in four Olympiads: Hamburg 1930 (scoring 76.7% on 4th board)\, Prague 1931 (58.8% on 4th board)\, Folkestone 1933 (59.1% on 3rd board) and Warsaw 1935 (41.7% on 1st board). He was selected to play at Stockholm in 1937 but\, having “lost” his passport three times. he was refused a fresh one by the authorities. \nHis best international individual results were =6th at London 1927\, and =5th at Lodz 1935. \nHis career as a chess journalist (he wrote for the Manchester Guardian following FD Yates and the Daily Worker) was somewhat impeded and spoilt by his Bohemian ways\, be he wrote some excellent works on chess : Chess for Match Players\, London\, 1936″ \nWinter was a popular subject for his Swiss namesake\, Edward Winter and there are several mentions in his excellent books. \nIn Chess Facts and Fables (McFarland\, 2006) we have Chess Note 2819\, page 71 which shows a photograph (from CHESS\, November 1935) taken in Poland of Winter and Max Krauser\, Heavyweight wrestling Champion of Europe. Quite what the occasion we are not told. \nHere is an excellent article (as you’d expect) from Edward Winter \nApart from all of the contributions above possibly the most comprehensive comes from FM Steve Giddins writing in three parts in British Chess Magazine\, during 2006 and 2007 : \nPostscript: Since our article was published we were contacted by Steve Giddins who informed us that he owned the copyright to the articles (rather than the publisher BCM) and that he did not wish us to make them available via this article. \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 the “Mid-October” issue of CHESS for 1962\, (Volume 27\, Number 418)  we had the following announcement: \nWILLIAM WINTER’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY\nEdited by David Hooper\, will be serialised in CHESS commencing with our next number. Nephew of Sir James Barrie\, twice British Chess Champion\, a lifelong Communist and freethinker\, imprisoned for his political views\, “Willie Winter”\, with his Bohemian way of life\, was undoubtedly the most colourful figure in British Chess for many decades irrespective of whether you agree with his views (most readers may not!)\, you will find him a delightful writer whose gifted pen draws you engrossed from page to Page. \nAnd so\, for your delectation\, here are William Winter’s Memoirs. \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-william-winter/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Remembering,Writer
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201209
DTSTAMP:20211208T155947Z
CREATED:20191208T001021Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211208T155947Z
UID:3679-1607385600-1607471999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of John Fuller (12-v-1928  08-xii-2004)
DESCRIPTION:We remember John Fuller who passed away aged 76 on Wednesday\, December 8th 2004. His death was recorded in the district of Lancaster. At the end of his life he lived in Carnforth\, in Lancashire. \nJohn Arthur Fuller was born in Hendon\, Middlesex on Saturday\, May 12th 1928. His parents were Horace Arthur Fuller (a Bank Officer) and Phyllis Fuller (née Gooch). \nJohn had three brothers: Julian Frederick who was two years older\, Nigel Anthony who was three years younger and Adrian Easterbrook who was six years younger. \nThey lived at 12\, High View\, Pinner in Middlesex. \n12\, High View\, Pinner\, Middlesex\, HA5 3PA\nOn August 26th 1939\, aged eleven\, John (described as a scholar) departed from Liverpool on board the SS Ceramic (part of the Shaw Savill & Albion Company shipping line) and duly arrived one hundred and twenty days later in Sydney\, New South Wales. \nThe family returned to Liverpool in March 1945 on board the Athlone Castle which was of the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company Ltd. John was now sixteen years old. \nAccording to ancestry.co.uk he is survived by a son\, Robert. The family tree indicates that John had two sons and two daughters but his wife is marked as Private and so her name is not visible. We speculate that it may be Ann Fuller (née Dent) but this is awaiting confirmation. \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1972 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“British Master\, British Boy Champion in 1946 and British Correspondence Champion from 1953-1955. Born on 12th May 1928 Fuller learned to play chess when he was 11. In 1946 \, the year in which he won the British Boys Championship\, he also tied for the London Boys Championship. He went on to win the Middlesex Championship three times and the Warwickshire Championship twice. Fuller played for England in matches between Scotland and the Netherlands and in the Clare Benedict International Team Tournament. He also had the best British score in the Premier Tournament at Hastings in 1949 and 1955. \nHe was a design engineer.” \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsfords\, 1977) by Harry Golombek: \n“British master and design engineer by profession. British Boy Champion in 1946. Fuller was a player of great promise with a fine understanding of the game. But a serious illness disturbed the even flow of his chess career and\, though he recovered and made some more appearences in the chess world\, he eventually withdrew from chess on an international and national level. \nFuller played twice in the Hastings Premier tournament: =5th 1949/50 and 6th in 1955/6.” \nThe Oxford Companion to Chess is silent on JAF. \nThere has been considerable discussion of JAF in another place. \nBCN would like to acknowledge help received from Richard James\, Leonard Barden\, Rob Fuller and John Upham in putting this article together. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nSubsequent to this post being published our attention was kindly drawn by John Saunders to the obituary in BCM\, Volume 125 (2005)\, #5 (May)\, page 247. Here is the article: \nJohn Fuller (12 v 1928 – 8 xii 2004\, Carnforth) was a British Master and British correspondence champion in 1954 and 1955. Having spent some of the war years in Australia\, he quickly made his mark in junior chess on his return to Britain. He shared first place with Leonard Barden in the 1946 London Boys’ Championship and went on to win the British Boys’ Championship in 1946 with 5/5 in the final section\, ahead of Gordon Crown and Leonard Barden. He beat an off-form Crown in nine moves in the last round (see game above) He played a number of correspondence games with Crown\, himself a richly gifted player\, who w0as to die tragically young in 1947\, and it was reported that Fuller had the better of these encounters. \nFuller became a design engineer\, but his business and chess careers were both affected by a serious bout of tuberculosis when he was a young man. He won the Hastings Premier Reserves ‘B’ with 8/9 in 1947/48 ahead of Alan Phillips and Arthur Winser\, and in 1949 Leonard Barden remembers playing off with him for a place in the 1949/50 Hastings premier after the two of them had made similar scores at the 1949 British Championship. \n“We played the match at Sir George Thomas’s flat in autumn 1949… and John crushed me in that. Not sure of the score\, I think it was 2.5- 0.5.” \nHe played in the Hastings Premier in 1949/50 and again in 1955/56\,and made the best British scores on both occasions – 4/9 and 3.5/9 respectively. He also represented England in matches against Scotland and the Netherlands\, and in the Clare Benedict team tournament. He only appeared three times in British Championships\, scoring 6.5 in 1949\, 5.5 in 1950 and 6.5 in 1958. He ranked in the top ten of the British Chess Federation Grading List on six occasions\, with a best place of third equal in 1958. He seems to have dropped out of over the board competition chess shortly after being awarded the (now defunct) British Master title in 1963/64. \nHarry Golombek referred to Fuller in The Encyclopaedia of Chess (1977) as a player of great promise with a fine understanding of the game”. Alan Phillips told BCM that he was “one of the most promising players of his generation… he slaughtered me three 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\nLeonard Barden had the following memories of John Fuller: “He was a member of West London Chess Club\, which was historically significant as his good friend and fellow member (both living in Harrow) was Jim Slater\, who 25 years later told me that knowing John was one of the factors which kept his interest in chess up to the point where he became our Maecenas… John was a tall redhead\, outgoing and friendly\, and a natural talent who also worked on theory. With the better opportunities available to later generations I’m sure he would have reached IM strength.” \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-john-fuller-12-v-1928-iii-2005/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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CREATED:20200323T140601Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211202T104020Z
UID:3698-1606953600-1607039999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of A(lfred) Christopher Reeves (19-ii-1939 03-xii-2012)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers Dr. A(lfred) Christopher Reeves who passed away on Monday\, December 3rd\, 2012 in St. Agnes\, Cornwall. His probate record (#4073868) is dated December 3rd\, 2012 being recorded in the Bristol registry. \nAlfred Christopher Reeves was born in Wharfedale\, Yorkshire on Sunday\, February 19th\, 1939. His mother’s name was Tomlin. \nAlfred detested his first name to the extent that he asked people to call him Christopher and\, when asked\, told them that the A was for Arthur. For this reason much of the chess literature uses Arthur whereas public records use Alfred. \nIn British Chess Magazine\, Volume 133 (2013)\, Number 1 (January)\, page 2 we have this obituary from James Pratt: \n“Alfred Christopher Reeves (Leeds\, 19 ii 1939 – St Agnes?\, 3 xii 2012). Chris Reeves was a FIDE Master of Composition. He toyed with entering the priesthood but became a child psychotherapist. He started composing (“…my solace and diversion …”) in 1960\, largely specialising in the orthodox two move field. Though not a prolific composer\, his work was known worldwide.\nHe was Sub-Editor of The Problemist” \nFrom the The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977)\, Harry Golombek OBE\, John Rice writes: \n“British problemist\, output consists of skilfully constructed two-movers in the modern style.” \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976)\, Anne Sunnucks wrote: : \n“Problem composer. Since 1960 he has composed about 70 modern-style two movers\, and is considered to be one of the most talented British composers. His originality and technique enable him to build into tangible form what would be no more than a passing idea for most composers. He has edited the problem section of Correspondence Chess\, and he controlled BCF tourneys and International Team matches.” \nFrom British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983) Botterill\, Levy\, Rice and Richardson we have this: \n“I was born on February 19th\, 1939\, the second son of a doctor who practised in a busy Yorkshire coal-mining town. As a youngster I acquired a taste for chess problems as soon as I learnt the moves of the game. \nI owe my initiation to the admirable column which DM Davey used to run in the weekly review The Tablet and to the enterprise of one of the masters of the boarding school to which I was sent when still quite young. Davey’s column catered for novice chess problemists like myself by conducting graded solving tournaments with modest handicaps. \nThese tournaments ran conveniently the length of the school term\, just long enough to sustain a young person’s enthusiasm\, The teacher in question used to put the week’s problem up on the school noticeboard and dozens of small schoolboys participated as a result. The Tablet column was not only a boon for beginners like me. It had a very discriminating band of solvers who were given ample space to express their views on each week’s problems. This had the additional effect of making it a popular forum for budding composers who need the stimulus and encouragement of audience response in what is\, after all\, a very solitary sort of pastime. \nMy fascination with chess problems soon diverted my energies away from the game itself. I was eight when I began solving. Another 13 years elapsed before I seriously tried my hand at composing. My immediate inspiration was the example of the then young trio of British composers\, Barry Barnes\, Michael Lipton and John Rice. Their latest work incorporating\, try-play\, and often exploiting complex patterns of relationships between mates\, was regarded as unacceptably\, ultramodern\, in some quarters but found ready appreciation with the solvers of Davey’s column. \nOther sorts of problems I had enjoyed; these I wanted to emulate. The powerful attraction their work had on me has made me chary ever since of the strictures of self-appointed guardians of chess problem ‘taste’\, who suggest that the modern two-mover cannot hold the same interest for the solver as the more traditional type. It certainly did not have a negative effect on me. \nProblem I was one of my earliest compositions\, in fact the first to gain any sort of award. At the time I was a theological student destined for the priesthood. I recall having felt some scruples about indulging in the frivolous pastime of chess problem composition not that it prevented me from becoming thoroughly addicted! \nI have found that a bad conscience makes a good chess problem\, and the greatest spur for composition is the feeling that one should really be busy doing something else. The problem shows a duel between the white queen and the black knight on d5\, each of whose eight possible moves feature as a unique defence against one of the white queen tries. Solvers have often found the key to this problem’ quite elusive. \nProblem I \nThe Tablet\, 30th June\, 1962 \n3rd Honorary Mention BCPS Ring Tournament \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nWhite to play and mate in 2 \n1.Qa1?…Nc7!\n1.Qa4?…Nb6!\n1.Qb1?…N5b4!\n1.Qc1?…Nc3!\n1.Qe1?…Ne3!\n1.Qf1?…N5f4!\n1.Qg4?…Nf6!\n1.Qg1?…Ne7! \nKey! Qb3! \nThe 1960s were my golden period of problem composition. They were my solace and diversion as I passed by way of theological studies through an Oxford degree to the foothills of a different career from the one I had originally envisaged\, not the ‘cure of souls’ but the management and treatment of emotionally disturbed children and their families. By the end of the decade I was\nalready engaged in working as a Child Psychotherapist. Since then I have found that human problems have tended to displace my former involvement with problems of the chess pieces. Whereas\nbetween 1960 and 1970 I composed seventy problems\, in the subsequent decade I could manage only a dozen more. The reason for this slowing down in production\, however\, has not only been the demands of personal\, family and professional life. \nAs a composer I have concentrated almost exclusively on the orthodox two-move field\, one which if not yet exhausted nevertheless presents a major challenge to the composer to find something new to say or some new way of saying it. It is no accident (though I admit to a slight feeling of regret) of heterodox problems has expanded enormously in the past few years. \nOf my eighty or so problems\, fifty have been honoured in tournaments\, ten with First prizes\, ten with other prizes and the rest with Honourable Mentions and Commendations. My ambition is to\nreach a respectable century of compositions\, though I being to wonder whether I shall ever make the mark. I would also like to reach the FIDE Master norm for problem composition. I have\nhad twenty of my problems included in the triennial FIDE Albums so far\, a few of them joint compositions. Here again\, however\, my productivity (or lack of it) may eventually tell against me. \nStill\, the problemist must always keep the business of honours in perspective. Composing problems is an essentially private business. Your opponent is the power of the pieces\, not a fellow sitting opposite Vou. Unlike the chess player\, one can keep one’s defeats to oneself when one puts the pieces away after a fruitless evening pondering over a board\, so it seems only fair that\none’s successes likewise should be modestly recorded. \nBy a coincidence two of the three problems which I have selected to round off this brief note about myself and my compositions are ones which got no recognition from the tournament judge\nat the time\, although I count them amongst my best works. \nI have chosen a trio of problems all roughly on the same theme\, namely\, the four possible moves of the pawn from its starting square. In chess problem parlance this is called the BP4M* theme when applied to the Black pawn\, and the Albino theme when applied to the White pawn. \nII and III show two ways in which four mates can be provided to meet each of the BP4M moves\, only to be changed in the next phase of play. In II\, the change is between mates set before the key and those operative after it; in III\, the change is more radical\, involving the transfer of the WR from one position to another\, thereby creating two separate but related (or ‘twin’) problems. Incidentally\, a good way to begin to get a taste of what composing involves is to take a problem like III and try to express the theme in full (here the changed BP4M) without resorting to the twinning device. \nMy last example\, IV\, shows a duel between white and black pawns\, with the four Albino tries being met by the four possible BP4M defences. \n(* BP4M is BCNs replacement for a word starting with p now considered by some as offensive.). \nWhilst the player may rejoice in a victory soundly accomplished I can think of few pleasures to compare with the satisfaction which comes from accomplishing the sort of task which IV entails\, especially when one is fairly sure that it has not been successfully achieved before. For me\, at all events\, this is what two-mover chess problem composition is all about: its is the ‘art if the all-but-impossible’!” \nProblem II \nDie Schwalbe August\, 1965 \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nWhite to play and mate in 2 \n1…dxc6+ 2. Bxc6\n1…d6 2.Nd5\n1…d5 2.Qb4\n1…dxe6 2.Bc8 \nKey 1.Qxe5! (2.exd7) \n1…dxc6 2.Nxc6\n1…d6 2.Qf6\n1…d5 2.Qc7\n1…dxe6 2.Qxe6\n1…Rd5+ 2.Nd5 \nProblem III \n1st Prize  \nProblemist Twin Tournament 1966-67 \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nWhite to play and mate in 2 \nProblem IV \nProbleemblad\, May\, 1965 \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nWhite to play and mate in 2 \nClearly Chris was a hugely popular figure in the problem world. Here is a collection of tributes from the BCPS. \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-alfred-christopher-reeves-19-ii-1939-3-xii-2012/
CATEGORIES:Composer,Death Anniversary,History,Problemist,Remembering
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DTSTAMP:20210514T084840Z
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UID:1126-1606608000-1606694399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of IM Robert Wade OBE (10-iv-1921 29-xi-2008)
DESCRIPTION:We remember IM Bob Wade OBE who was born 100 years ago today on Sunday\, April 10th 1921 \nIn 1979 Queen’s Birthday Honours List\, Civil Division Bob Wade was awarded the OBE. The citation read simply : “For services to Chess” \nHe won the BCF Presidents’ Award in 1986. \nIn the Foreword to the 2009 ECF Yearbook\, President Gerry Walsh wrote : \n“As I started this report I had just heard the sad news that IM Bob Wade had died aged 87. I first met Bob at one of the Whitby Congresses and in 1972 he played in the Teeside GM Tournament where I recall he beat the three Hungarian players Portisch\, Bilek and Sax (ed : aged 51).” \nGeurt Gijssen wrote in Chesscafe.com : \n“I received the sad news that Bob Wade passed away at the age of eighty seven. He played his last tournament in London in August. When I was young I read about his exploits as a chess player\, and he was the arbiter in many important chess events. I met him in 1993 when I was the organizer of the first part of the match Karpov – Timman\, played in The Netherlands in three different cities: Zwolle\, Arnhem\, and Amsterdam. He was the only member of the Appeals Committee and Bob was always present watching the games in the playing hall. He gave me invaluable advice about all elements of the match venues. It was very clear that he was an experienced chess player and arbiter\, and I learned many things from him. May he rest in peace.” \nFrom the 1952 Ilford Congress (30 May – 2 June) and originally published in BCM\, July 1952\, page 187. (l-r) : Harold Israel\, Alan Phillips\, Bob Wade\, Otto Friedman\, Abe Yanofsky\, Alfred William Bowen and Harold Meek. Thanks to John Saunders and Leonard Barden\nWade was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 1956-57\, 1957-58 and 1964-65 seasons. \nFrom the Preface of The World Chess Championship : 1951 by Lionel Sharples Penrose we have : \n“Mr. Wade is also passionately devoted to the game. Before coming to Europe\, he was three times champion of New Zealand. He had played in tournaments in England but his chief successes have been on the Continent. At Venice in 1950\, he obtained a high place in a very severe contest in which some of the strongest Russia\, Czech\, Dutch\, French\, Italian\, North and South American players took part. Much of his time is occupied in chess organising and teaching. He is an acting vice-president of the F.I.D.É and in this official capacity he attended the match in Moscow\, which is the subject of this book.” \nIM Bob Wade\nPaul McKeown researched (and Simon Spivack asked permission to reproduce his words) the earliest part of Bob’s life as follows: \n“On May 20th\, 1919\, Thomas Graham Wade\, aged 27\, Sergeant in the NZ Expeditionary Force\, repatriated with honour from war-time service in Egypt\, Gallipoli and France\, married Amy Lilian Neave\, aged 21\, in South Dunedin. A New Zealander of Scots and English descent\, his family was Graham from Montrose. The family name\, Wade\, came from Marshall George Wade\, the soldier and engineer who led the Hanoverian forces against the Scots at the time of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and was immortalised in the original third verse of the British national anthem: \nLord\, grant that Marshal Wade\,\nMay by thy mighty aid\,\nVictory bring. \nMay he sedition hush and like a torrent rush\,\nRebellious Scots to crush\,\nGod save the King. \nIM Bob Wade\nRobert Graham Wade\, known in the Scots manner to his family as Robin\, and later to his many friends as Bob\, was their first child\, born April 10th\, 1921\, at Dunedin. Over the next few years he was joined by sisters\, Lilian\, Agnes\, Betty\, June\, his brother Ted and finally by his youngest sister Amy. The family lived for a number of years at Portobello. \n\nAt that time\, Portobello was a scattered community of about 150 people with three shops and a pub on the Otago Peninsula. Bob attended Portobello Primary School\, a small country school\, finished “dux” or top of class\, and then attended the King Edward Technical High School at Stuart Street in Dunedin.” \nIM Bob Wade\nIn The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984 & 1996)\, Hooper & Whyld: \n“Wade Variation\, 147\, also known as the Modern Variation\, in the Queen’s Gambit Declined\, Meran Variation\, from Bogoljubow-Wade\, Oldenburg\, 1949; \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\n1239 in the French Defence\, introduced by Wade in a match against Schmid in 1950. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHooper & Whyld go on to write : \n“New Zealand-born Robert Graham Wade (1921- ) won the championship of his homeland three times before moving to England as a young man\, He won the British Championship twice and trained many English players.” \nAside from the two variations mentioned by Hooper & Whyld there are other Wade Variations : \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 Jim Plaskett dubbed the “Sidestep Variation” \nand \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nwhich is the Pytel-Wade Variation of the Scandinavian Defence. \nAnne Sunnucks wrote in The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976) : \n“International Master (1950 Ed: actually 1954)\, International Judge (1958)\, New Zealand Champion three times and British Champion in 1952 and 1970. \nBob Wade was born in New Zealand on 10th April 1921 and is a professional chess player. He has lived in England for many years and has played regularly for the British Chess Federation team in Chess Olympiads. He has played a prominent part in coaching schemes for juniors and is largely responsible for recent successes of English juniors in international events. \nBob Wade v. Aldecoa of the Philippines from the 1958 Munich Olympiad played on October 9th 1958. The game was won by Bob in 60 moves. From the collection of David Jarrett with many thanks.\nHe is chess correspondent of Associated Newspapers and Independent Television News and editor of a series of books on Contemporary Chess Openings published by Batsford. \nAuthor of a number of books on the game\, his publications include books on the World Championship of 1951\, 1957 (ed : this book was\, in fact\, by Golombek) and 1963\, the first in collaboration with W. Winter; The Closed Ruy Lopez (Batsford\, 1970) in collaboration with LS Blackstock and PJ Booth: World Chess Championship (Batsford\, 1972) in collaboration with Svetozar Gligoric; Games of RJ Fischer (Batsford\, 1972) in collaboration with KJ O’Connell and Soviet Chess (Neville Spearman\, 1968). \nWade was a member of the FIDE Laws Commission from 1950 to 1952.” \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977)\, Harry Golombek OBE : \n“International Master who was born at Dunedin\, New Zealand\, but came to live In England in 1946 and has represented both countries on different occasions. He has nearly always done well in British Championships and won the title in Chester in 1952 and again at Coventry in 1970. He had played for the British Chess Federation at the Olympiads of 1954\, 1956\, 1958\, 1960 and 1962\, winning the shortest game of the Varna Olympiad in that year in nine moves against Anton Kinzel of Austria \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 played for the New Zealand team at the 1970 Olympiad at Siegen but returned to the BCF team at Skopje in 1972. \nHis best individual international results were a fifth place at Venice 1950 and again fifth at the Masters section of the Capablanca Memorial at Cienfuegos in Cuba in 1975. Possessor of a sharp clear-cut style of play\, he once drew a match with the West German grandmaster Lothar Schmid with neither side drawing a game\, though this was before Schmid received the grandmaster title. \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 done much valuable work in England teaching the young\, and was responsible for the text of a highly successful television series in 1975. \nHis main books are : Soviet Chess\, London\, 1967; Botvinnik-Bronstein Match 1951 (in co-operation with W. Winter)\, London\, Toronto 1951; Match Petrosian-Botvinnik\, London\, 1963; Sousse 1967\, The Chess Player\, Nottingham\, 1968.” \nFrom British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983) we have this article from George Botterill : \n“In the Birthday Honours list of 1979 Bob Wade was awarded the OBE for his services to chess. Few rewards can have been more thoroughly earned. For some reason\, Bob has always been held in greater esteem abroad than in the country for which he has done so much. But the many players who have turned to him for advice or who have simply enjoyed his hospitality\, which is always ungrudgingly available to fellow chess players\, know the measure of his dedication to the game. \nTheodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953. Bob held TT to a draw to secure first place\nWade was born in Dunedin\, a third generation New Zealander of Scots and English ancestry. He started a a career as a civil servant in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Having won the New Zealand Championship in 1944 and 1945 he was sent over to participate in the British Championship of 1946. The result was not exactly a success – a mere 3.5 points out of 11. But Bob was not to be disheartened so easily. Feeling he was capable of better things\, he took leave of absence in 1947 and did the circuit\, such as it then was\, of chess tournament in Europe and North America. \nBob giving a simul in Leeds in the 1950s\nWhen he returned to New Zealand he found that he had been transferred to another department in a civil service reorganisation. The new job was not so congenial. He stuck it out for 6 months – during which time he won the New Zealand Championship for a third time – and then handed in his resignation to take up the precarious life of a chess professional. \nIM Bob Wade\nSettling in Britain he soon gained the IM title (ed : 1954). But even in those days when still a young man Wade did not concentrate exclusively on his own playing career. In 1949 he went to the FIDE congress and was one of the five people – the others were BH Wood\, Ragozin\, Zubarev and Rogarde – who collaborated on the writing of the official rules for the game. \nBob Wade OBE\, Murray Chandler MNZM and David Anderton OBE at the 1986 Dubai Olympiad. Photograph by Frits Agterdenbos\nHe also served as a member of the commission that determined who the original holders of international titles would be. When you consider that Wade was also on the 1950 commission that decided the composition of the World Championship Interzonals\, it becomes apparent that this man played a significant part in the shaping the structure of modern international chess. \nBob at a CentYMCA event with Neil Carr\, Mike Wills\, Aaron Rose and Jon Ady\nAlthough rarely at the top in international tournaments\, Wade was always a very dangerous player\, capable on his day of beating anybody in the world. He won the British Championship twice at Chester in 1952 and at Coventry in 1970. \nBob playing Kick Langeweg at IBM 1961.\nIn recent years Wade has put his main energies into junior training and organisation and also into his work as the editor of Batsford’s highly productive and extremely successful series of chess books. \nBob with John Nunn and Boris Spassky at the GLC Masters\nIt is hard to say in what department one should place Wade’s greatest contributions to British Chess. Living through what is retrospect look to have been the Dark Ages of British chess – the 1950s and 1960s – he has demonstrated that even in a social and cultural environment that made playing chess economically ‘impossible’ profession to follow it was still possible to dedicate a life to chess\, if one had the determination. \nLeonard Barden\, Henry Mutkin\, Adrian Hollis and Bob Wade observe Nick Ivell vs Ken Regan at the 1983 Varsity match\nDuring those years he was really the only British Player who regularly active in international tournaments. Since then he has been constantly active as an author\, editor and adviser\, always working to transform Britain into a country more congenial to good chess. \nBob at the demo board at London Central YMCA chess club.\nBut we suspect that he might regard this role as trainer and coach as the most important thing of all. He is\, quite appropriately the British Chess Federation’s Chief National Coach. \nBob doing one of the things he loved best : teaching. He was discussing a position at Havana 1965. Dr JR Capablanca\, son of the former world champion\, on the right\, interpreted.\nIf one had to choose a single best game from Wade’s whole tournament career\, it would probably be this one. \nGeorge Botterill \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nDr. Fazekas (left) playing Bob Wade at an Ilford Congress\, photographer unknown\nIn the January 2009 issue of British Chess Magazine John Saunders wrote a ten page obituary as follows : \nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIX (129\, 2009)\, #1 (January)\, pp. 34-43\nLeonard Barden wrote this obituary \nHere is Bob’s Telegraph obituary. \nJohn Saunders interviewed Bob at his Blackheath home and wrote this extensive article for the 1999 British Chess Magazine. \nHis detailed results in Olympiads\, from olimpbase.org\, follow. \nAmsterdam 1954\, England board 4\, 6/12 (+4−4=4);\nMoscow 1956\, England board 3\, 6½/14 (+2−3=9);\nMunich 1958\, England 1st reserve\, 7/14 (+5−5=4);\nLeipzig 1960\, England 2nd reserve\, 6/11 (+4−3=4);\nVarna 1962\, England 2nd reserve\, 6/12 (+4−4=4);\nSiegen 1970\, New Zealand board 2\, 9/15 (+7−4=4);\nSkopje 1972\, England board 3\, 7½/14 (+4−3=7).\nWade won several middle-strength Master events in the British Isles: Ilford 1957 and 1968\, Paignton 1959\, Dublin 1962\, and Southend-on-Sea 1965. \nWade was generally no more than a middle-ranking player in strong international tournaments. His other highlights against high-standard international-level competition include: \ntied 4–5th at Haifa/Tel Aviv 1958 on 7½/13 (winner Samuel Reshevsky);\n3rd at Bognor Regis 1959 on 7/10 (winner Erno Gereben);\n5th at Reykjavík 1964 on 7½/13 (winner Mikhail Tal);\ntied 4–5th at Málaga 1966 on 7/11; (winners Alberic O’Kelly de Galway and Eleazar Jiménez);\n6th at Briseck 1971 on 7/13 (winner Gideon Barcza);\n5th at Cienfuegos ‘B’ 1975 on 10/17; (winners Julio Boudy and Amador Rodriguez);\ntied 7–12th in the World Senior Championship\, Bad Woerishofen 1992\, on 7½/11 (winner Efim Geller).\nWade was the only British player to have faced Bobby Fischer in tournament play (outside of Olympiads). They met three times\, with Wade drawing one game and losing the other two. \nHis detailed Wikipedia entry may be found here \nBob was an active author and wrote (or co-wrote) around 22 books as follows : \nThe World Chess Championship\, W.Winter & RG Wade\, Turnstille Press\, 1951\nHastings Chess Congress 1955-56\, RG Wade & W. Ritson Morry\, En Passant Chess Publications\nChess Tactics for Beginners\, RG Wade\, Bott and Morrison\, 1960\nThe World Chess Championship: 1963 Botvinnik vs Petrosian\, Wade\nSoviet Chess\, RG Wade\, Neville Spearman (UK) & David McKay Company\, Inc\, New York\, 1968\nSousse 1967 : International Chess Tournament\, RG Wade\, The Chess Player\, 1968\nThe Velimirovic Attack\, Sozin Sicilian\, TD Harding and RG Wade\, Chessman Publications Ltd.\, 1969.\nThe Closed Ruy Lopez\, Wade\, Blackstock and Booth\, Batsford\, 1970\nPalma 1970 : Interzonal Chess Tournament\, RG Wade and LS Blackstock\, The Chess Player\, 1970\nThe Games of Robert J. Fischer\, Robert Wade and O’Connell\, Batsford 1972\, 2nd ed. 1972\, reprinted 1973\, First limp edition 1981\, Reprinted 1985\, 1981\, 1989\, Second edition (The Complete Games of Bobby Fischer) 1992\nWorld Championship Interzonals\, Wade\, Blackstock and Kotov\, Batsford\, 1974\nThe World Chess Championship\, Gligoric and Wade\, Batsford\, 1974\nThe Marshall Attack\, Wade & Harding\, Batsford\, 1974\nPlaying Chess\, RG Wade\, Batsford/TVTimes\, 1974\nSicilian Lasker-Pelikan\, 1978\, Batsford\, Wade\, Speelman\, Povah and Blackstock\n44th USSR Championship Final Moscow 1977\, RG Wade\, LS Blackstock and HC Thomas\, Master Chess Publications\, 1977\n45th USSR Championship Final Leningrad 1977\, RG Wade\, LS Blackstock and HC Thomas\, Master Chess Publications\, 1977\nBugojno\, 1978\, RG Wade\, LS Blackstock and HC Thomas\, Master Chess Publications\, 1978\n46th USSR Chess Championships 1978\, RD Keene\, JDM Nunn\, RG Wade\, Master Chess Publications\, 1978\, ISBN 0 906634 00 8\nTournament of the Stars:~ Montreal 1979\, RG Wade\, LS Blackstock\, AL Hosking\, Master Chess Publications\, 1979\nInterpolis Supertournament:~ Tilburg 1979\, LS Blackstock & RG Wade\, Master Chess Publications\, Chess\, Sutton Coldfield\, 1979\nFighting Chess\, Kasparov and Wade\, Harper Collins\, 1983\nTrends in the Reti\, Volume 1\, RG Wade\, 1992\nBatsford Chess Endings\, Speelman\, Tisdall and Wade\, 1993\nChess for Children\, Ted Nottingham and Bob Wade\, Sterling Juvenile\, 1996\nTrends in the Reti\, Volume 2\, RG Wade\, 1996\nWinning Chess : Tactics and Strategies\, Sterling Juvenile\, 2001\nIn 2007 Ray Cannon published the following tribute : \nBob Wade : Tribute to a Chess Master\, Ray Cannon & Ray Keene\, Impala\, 2007\nHowever\, Paul McKeown remains Bob’s official biographer. \nIM Robert Wade OBE\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-robert-graham-wade-obe/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201120
DTSTAMP:20260817T135628Z
CREATED:20210224T120404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T135628Z
UID:14503-1605744000-1605830399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of SIM Graham Mitchell (04-xi-1905 19-xi-1984)
DESCRIPTION:Death Anniversary of SIM Graham Mitchell (04-xi-1905 19-xi-1984) \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-sim-graham-mitchell-04-xi-1905-19-xi-1984/
CATEGORIES:Correspondence,Death Anniversary,English,History,Remembering
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201117
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201118
DTSTAMP:20211117T160434Z
CREATED:20190822T164355Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211117T160434Z
UID:1004-1605571200-1605657599@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Gordon Crown (20-vi-1929 17-xi-1947)
DESCRIPTION:We remember Gordon Crown who died this day (November 17th) in 1947. \nGordon Thomas Crown was born on Thursday\, June 20th\, 1929 to James Crown (born 18th November 1899) and Hilda M Crown (born 3rd October 1900\, née Sharrott). \nJames was a refrigerating engineer and Hilda carried out unpaid domestic duties. The birth was registered in the district of West Derby\, Lancashire. \nGordon attended Holt Secondary School which is now known as Childwall Sports and Science Academy. \nAccording to the electoral register of 1939 they lived at 8 Ingledene Road\, Liverpool\, Liverpool C.B.\, Lancashire\, England. (This is L18 3HJ in this day and age.) \nAccording to Zoopla : “This 4 bed freehold semi-detached house is located at 8 Ingledene Road\, Liverpool L18 3HJ and has an estimated current value of £581\,000. Ingledene Road has 19 properties on it with an average current value of £492\,220\, compared to an average property value of £325\,035 for L18. There have been 5 property sales on Ingledene Road\, L18 over the last 5 years with an average house price paid of £474\,900. There are currently 108 properties for sale in L18 with an average asking price of £372\,163 and 59 properties to rent in L18 with an average asking rent of £408 pw.” \n8 Ingledene Road\, Calderstones\, Liverpool\, L18 3HJ\nLiverpool Echo 15 April 1946\nBoth Sunnucks and Hooper & Whyld are silent on GTC : surprising! \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977)\, Harry Golombek OBE : \n“Gordon Crown is one the sad might-have-beens of the world of chess. In his short life he had already shown himself to be of master strength and a potentially very great player when suddenly\, at the age of eighteen\, he died during an operation. \nHe learnt chess when aged nine and soon became one of the best players\, first in Liverpool\,\, his home town\, and then in Lancashire\, of which county he won the Junior Championship three years in succession. \nCrown first came into national prominence when he came second in the British Boys Championship in 1946. (Ed : the winner was John Fuller) In the Hastings Congress of 1946/7 he won first place in a strong Premier Reserves Section. \nThe last year of his life even saw him reaching out to international success\, Playing on board 9 for Britain against The Netherlands he scored 1.5 out of 2 against L.J. Tummers. Then he won third prize in the British Championship at Harrogate. As a result of this success he was promoted to board 4 for Britain against Australia in a radio match when he beat Dr. M. Gellis. \nHarry Golombek and Gordon Crown in around 1946-47.\nIn September 1947 he was hurried to hospital suffering from peritonitis and\, being a diabetic\, succumbed under the operation. \nAs a player he excelled in both the opening and endgame phases and possessed a style of play that stamped him as a future grandmaster. As a person he was modest\, clever and a very agreeable companion. This was great loss for British and\, almost certainly\, world chess.” \nWe have reproduced his obituary from British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXVII (1947)\, Number 12 (December)\, Page 387-8 and we assume that this was written by TJ Beach: \n“The tragic death of Gordon on November 17th  after an operation\, will be felt keenly-by chess players throughout the country. Although only l8 years of age he had risen to a high place in British chess circles. Learning the elements of the game in 1938\, he had won the Lancashire Junior Championship in three successive years\, was champion of the Liverpool Chess Club and Merseyside champion with 100 per cent scores last season\, headed his section of the Premier Tournament at the last Hastings Christmas Congress\, and\, filling the vacancy caused by the late withdrawal of R. F. Combe the 1946 champion\, took third prize in the British Championship played at Harrogate in August of this year. \nIn three international team matches he scored l.5 points on Board 9 against Tummers\, of Holland; was one of the two British players to score a full point against the visiting U.S.S.R. team\, sharing honours with Kotov in two finely played games on Board 4; and followed this with a win over Dr. Gellis\, of Victoria\, in the recent radio match with Australia\, despite the earlier loss of the exchange through an oversight. His full match record for the past twelve months in international\, county\, and club matches read: won 16\, drawn 2\, and lost l. (to Kotov). \nHis play was notable for his exceptional knowledge of opening and end-game strategy\, but his prowess was not by any means confined to “book” knowledge. Possessing deep positional insight\, real combinational ability\, and chess experience beyond his years\, his concentration\, tenacity\, and\ndetermination to win had already made him one of the most formidable match and tournament players in the country. Many of us felt that he would become a worthy British champion within the next few years\, and possibly reach even greater heights in the international sphere\, and it is\, perhaps\, not too much to say that many chess players were already looking forward to the day when Gordon Crown would lead British chess to a high place in international esteem: Now those dreams have been rudely shattered\, and the loss to British chess is great indeed. \nGordon Crown was not merely a youthful chess prodigy. Although suffering for many years from the physical disability which has now caused his premature death\, he had a distinguished record at the Holt High School\, Liverpool\, and had entered Liverpool University only a month ago to read for the degree of B.A. Unable to play football and cricket\, in which latter he was deeply interested\, he became a tennis and table-tennis player of well above average ability and was an excellent exponent of billiards and snooker. Among other interests were cycling\, and military history and strategy\, in which he had read and studied widely. \nNo study of Gordon Crown would be complete without reference to his personality quite apart from his ability. Possessed of a quiet assurance and confidence in matters pertaining to chess\, he was modest in victory\, generous in his rare defeats\, and ever ready to help small clubs by means of a lecture or simultaneous display. \nNever too busy to play the humblest novice\, he gave untold pleasure and a new interest in life to many men who had suffered during the war by introducing them to the\nfascination of chess\, and by this means helped materially in the vital task of rehabilitation. With charm and dignity Gordon Crown won a warm place in the hearts and affections of those who were fortunate enough to be counted among his friends\, and whilst our deepest sympathy goes out to his parents in their tragic loss\, they may well ae proud that their son achieved so much that was really worth while within so few years\, for we shall remember Gordon with affection long after his chess exploits are but a dim memory.-T. J. B.” \nThe following is one of the last games\, if not the last; played by Crown in competitive chess. Score and notes from “The Field” \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 here is the scan of the original article: \nObituary of Gordon Thomas Crown\, part one\nand \nObituary of Gordon Thomas Crown\, Part Two\nWe are grateful to Leonard Barden on the identity of T.J.B. : \n“Thomas John Beach\, wartime RAF navigator with Distinguished Flying Cross\, leading light of Liverpool chess\, regular British championship player for many years\, chairman of BCF junior selectors\, father of a leading Midlands expert\, a good and dedicated man” TJB was the father of Richard Beach who won the British Boys Under 18 title in 1961. \nAccording to the British Chess Magazine\, 1943\, March\, page 56 GTC lived at 8 Ingledene Road\, Calderstones\, Liverpool 18\, England. \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            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nGordon Thomas Crown\, from CHESS\, 1948\, January\, page 86\nOn 17 November 1947 he was admitted to hospital\, complaining of a stomach upset. Diagnosed too late with appendicitis\, complicated by his diabetes\, he died in the operating theatre. \nHis friend (and former British champion) Leonard Barden speculates that had he lived\, Crown would have become at least a strong Grandmaster\, further noting that he was ” … open\, friendly and modest as well as a clear and enthusiastic explainer of his chess ideas; I think he would have been like Keres or Gligoric in their countries\, a model for our young players.” \nHarry Golombek was similarly impressed with Crown’s play\, stating that “In his short life\, he had already shown himself to be of master strength and was potentially a very great player.” \nWe are grateful to be able to use comments from long time friend\, Leonard Barden posted under the nom de plume of Roberts Partner on chessgames.com : \n“As to the circumstances of Crown’s death. The finger of blame must be pointed at the family doctor for failing to make a timely correct diagnosis. On Sunday 16 November 1947 a chess friend visited the Crown home at Ingledene Road\, Liverpool\, and found Crown in bed. He explained that his doctor had diagnosed a stomach upset and had recommended rest. The friend and Crown played and analysed together for several hours\, and Crown did not appear in any physical discomfort. But that night after the friend left his condition deteriorated and he was rushed to hospital where he died in the early morning hours of 17 November. There was also a belief among some Liverpool chess players that the hospital procedures could have been better.” \nand \n“On another thread some CG posters expressed surprise at the Ritson Morry v Crown game where Morry fell into a well-known opening trap. \nThe British championship at Harrogate in August 1947 was played in a spa building where the underfloor heating was still switched on. This coincided with one of the warmest summers on record (it was the year in which Compton and Edrich made their memorable cricket achievements for Middlesex). By the second week of the BCF congress older and overweight players (the latter group including Ritson Morry) were wilting. Ritson also had some long adjourned games\, and by the time of his game with Crown in the final round was exhausted. The game finished in 15-20 minutes so by the time other players went to spectate after their opening moves there was just a reset board with no sign of the players and no indication of what had transpired. Other final round results went Crown’s way so that he finished third outright and thus got selected on a high board for the USSR match.” \nWestern Daily Press 22 September 1947\nand here is an article by ddtru (?) in chess.com : full article \nWe are grateful to renowned chess historian\, Taylor Kingston for supplying these scans of an article from Chess Life in 1947 about Gordon Crown written by Reuben Fine : \nChess Life article about Gordon Thomas Crown\, Part One\nand \nChess Life article about Gordon Thomas Crown\, Part Two\nFrom Wikipedia: \n“Gordon Thomas Crown (20 June 1929 – 17 November 1947) was a promising British chess player who died of appendicitis at the age of eighteen. He is best known for his win against the Russian Grandmaster Alexander Kotov shortly before his death. \nCrown was born in Liverpool in 1929. He finished second in the British under 18 championship in 1946 and improved rapidly\, winning the Premier Reserve section of the 1946/7 Hastings International Chess Congress. This led to his being placed on the reserve list for the 1947 British Chess Championship. Following the withdrawal of the defending champion Robert Forbes Combe\, he was allowed to play in the championship\, where he finished third (Harry Golombek won). \nConsequently\, he was selected to play for the British team in the 1947 Britain-USSR match\, where he caused a sensation by defeating the Soviet Grandmaster Alexander Kotov\, though he lost the return game. He also defeated Max Gellis in a Britain-Australia radio match.” \nInterestingly\, via the EC Forum\, Geoff Chandler pointed out a note by Edward Winter in which Bill Hartston recounts advice from David Bronstein : “Look at the games of Gordon Crown. He really understood chess”. From NOW! magazine\, (6-12 February 1981\, page 80.): thanks Geoff ! \nGordon Thomas Crown\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-gordon-thomas-crown/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201020
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201021
DTSTAMP:20211020T221318Z
CREATED:20190823T184412Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211020T221318Z
UID:1110-1603152000-1603238399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Philip Walsingham Sergeant (27-i-1872 20-x-1952)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers Philip Walsingham Sergeant who passed away on Monday\, October 20th 1952. \nPWS was born in Kensington on Saturday\, January 27th\, 1872 to Lewis Sergeant and Emma Louisa Sergeant (née Robertson) and was baptised at All Saints Church\, Notting Hill. According to PWS’s baptism record Lewis was an author. \nAccording to PWS in A Century of British Chess : \n“When I was seven years of age – about the period\, by the way\, in which my father began to teach me Greek – he began also to initiate me into chess. Not that he designed it  as a consolatory set-off to my application to Greek; for he loved the Classics well\, though\, going up to Cambridge with  small classical exhibition\, he had turned to Mathematics\, and therein took his degree. ” \nAccording to the 1881 census PWS (aged 9) lived with his parents and numerous siblings : Dorothy (aged 7)\, Winifred (6)\, Hilda (5)\, Bernard (2)\, John (his grandfather aged 76) and Mary (his grandmother aged 75). They had staff\, Elizabeth Fraser and Sarah Martin. They lived at 10\, Addison Road\, North\, Kensington. \nAccording to “Joseph Foster. Oxford Men and Their Colleges\, 1880-1892. 2 vols. Oxford\, England: James Parker and Co\, 1893″ : \nPWS attended St. Paul’s School and then Trinity College\, Oxford to read Classics where he attained Honour Moderations. \nand here is the record from the above publication : \nEntry for Philip Walsingham Sergeant in Joseph Foster. Oxford Men and Their Colleges\, 1880-1892. 2 vols. Oxford\, England: James Parker and Co\, 1893\nWe do not know if PWS played in the Varsity matches of 1892 – 1895 : Britbase does not (yet) include player details for these matches. \nPWS married Minnie Boundford (born 27th February 1889) in 1909 in Hampstead and they lived at 5\, Dukes Avenue\, Chiswick where PWS was listed as an author and Minnie as someone who carried out “unpaid domestic duties”. Minnie was 17 years younger than PWS. Minnie’s father was a joiner and a carpenter. \nThey had two daughters Margaret (born 1910) and Kathleen (born 1911). \nIn October 1946 Minnie and PWS remarried. Presumably this was rather unusual in that day and age. \nAccording to The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 2nd edition\, 1996) by Hooper and Whyld : \nPWS was an English author of biographical games collections for Charousek\, Morphy and Pillsbury as well as other works of importance such as A Century of British Chess (1943) and Championship Chess (1938). \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (BT Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek : \n“A professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects. Without any pretentions to mastership\, he represented Oxford University in the years 1892 – 5 and assisted RC Griffith in preparing three editions of Modern Chess Openings. \nIn chess he dealt with a number of important subjects : Morphy’s Games of Chess\, London\, 1916; Charousek’s Games of Chess\, London\, 1919; Pillsbury’s Chess Career (in collaboration with WH Watts)\, London\, 1923; Championship Chess\, London\, 1938. \nAll these are lucidly and carefully written but suffer from the defect that\, being neither a master player nor a professional annotator\, he was not competent to deal with the annotational part of the work. Probably his best book on chess was A Century of British Chess\, London\, 1934. \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXX11 (72)\, Number 11 (November)\, page 324 we have this rather brief obituary (presumably written by Brian Reilly): \n“We regret to have to report the death\, at the age of eighty-one of Philip W. Sergeant\, the author of A Century of British Chess\, which we imagine is in most chess libraries. He was the author of several well-known historical books – but we are only concerned here with his chess activities\, which included representing Oxford University 1892-5; helping RC Griffith with two editions of Modern Chess Openings; playing for Middlesex\, winning the chess championship of the authors’ club for several year\, and latterly as an honoured member; and occasionally obtaining the championship of the Guildford Chess Club. Our sympathy with his widow and two daughters is sincere.”\n” \nHe was a cousin of EG Sergeant. \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 Wikipedia : \n“Philip Walsingham Sergeant (27 January 1872\, Notting Hill\, London[1] – 20 October 1952)[2] was a British professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects.[3][4] He collaborated on the fifth (1933)\, sixth (1939)\, and seventh (1946) editions of Modern Chess Openings\, an important reference work on the chess openings. He also wrote biographical game collections of Paul Morphy (Morphy’s Games of Chess (1916) and Morphy Gleanings)\, Rudolf Charousek (Charousek’s Games of Chess (1919))\, and Harry Nelson Pillsbury (Pillsbury’s Chess Career\, with W. H. Watts\, 1922)\, and other important books such as A Century of British Chess (1934) and Championship Chess (1938).” \nHarry Golombek writes that\, “Without any pretensions to mastership\, he represented Oxford University in the years 1892-5”.[3] Golombek considers A Century of British Chess probably Sergeant’s best chess book\, but opines that although Sergeant’s chess books are lucidly written\, they suffer from the defect that\, as a non-master\, he was not competent to deal with the annotational aspect of his work. \nHe was a second cousin of Edward Guthlac Sergeant. \nPhilip Walsingham Sergeant\nCharousek’s Games of Chess\nThe Rice Memorial Chess Tournament\, 1916\nPillsbury’s Chess Career\, London\, 1923\nA Century of British Chess\, London\, 1934\nAn Introduction to the Endgame at Chess\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-philip-walsingham-sergeant/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering,Writer
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201007
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201008
DTSTAMP:20211203T220633Z
CREATED:20211130T001026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211203T220633Z
UID:1060-1602028800-1602115199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of GM Dr. Jonathan Penrose OBE (07-x-1933 30-xi-2021)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers GM Dr. Jonathan Penrose OBE who passed away on Tuesday\, November 30th 2021. \nIn the 1971 New Years Honours List Jonathan was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) The citation read “For services to Chess.” \nFrom British Chess (Pergamon Press\, 1983) by Botterill\, Levy\, Rice and Richardson : (article by George Botterill) \n“Penrose is one of the outstanding figures of British chess. Yet many who meet him may not realize this just because he is one of the quietest and most modest of men. Throughout the late 1950s and the whole of the 1960s he stood head and shoulders above any of his contemporaries. \nSee caption below\nPress agency caption for photograph above\nHis extraordinary dominance is revealed by the fact that he won the British championship no less than ten times (1958-63 and 1966-69\, inclusive)\, a record that nobody is likely to equal in the future. \nAt his best his play was lucid\, positionally correct\, energetic and tactically acute. None the less\, there is a ‘Penrose problem’: was he a ‘Good Thing’for British chess? The trouble was that whilst this highly talented player eff0ectively crushed any opposition at\nhome\, he showed little initiative in flying the flag abroad. There is a wide-spread and justifiable conviction that only lack of ambition in the sphere of international chess can explain why he did not secure the GM title during his active over-the-board playing career. \nSee caption below\nPress agency caption for above photograph\nIt would be unjust\, however\, to blame Penrose for any of this. The truth is simply that he was not a professional chessplayer\, and indeed he flourished in\na period in which chess playing was not a viable profession in Britain. But even if the material awards available had been greater Penrose would almost certainly have chosen to remain an amateur. For he was cast in that special intellectual and ethical tradition of great British amateurs like H. E. Atkins\, Sir George Thomas and Hugh Alexander before him. \nTravel Chess2nd January 1951: British chess champions Jonathan Penrose and Leonard Barden ponder over a portable travel game in a restaurant. (Photo by Walter Bellamy/Express/Getty Images)\nHis family background indicates early academic inclinations in a cultural atmosphere in which chess was merely a game something at which one excelled through sheer ability\, but not to be ranked alongside truly serious work. It is noteworthy that Penrose\, unique in this respect amongst British chess\nmasters\, has never written at any length about the game. He has had other matters to concentrate on when away from the board\, being a lecturer in psychology. (His father\, Professor L. S. Penrose\, was a distinguished geneticist.) \nIM Dr. Jonathan Penrose OBE\nBeing of slight physique and the mildest and most amiable of characters\, it is probably also true that Penrose lacked the toughness and ‘killer instinct’\nrequired to reach the very top. Nervous tension finally struck him down in a dramatic way when he collapsed during play in the Siegen Olympiad of 1970. We\ncan take that date as the end of the Penrose era. \nJonathan PenroseChess Grandmaster Jonathan Penrose pictured during a chess match\, circa 1960. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images))\nSince\, then though he has not by any means entirely given up\, his involvement in the nerve-wracking competitions of over-the-board play has been greatly reduced. instead he has turned to correspondence chess\, which is perhaps the ideal medium for his clear strategy and deep and subtle analysis. So Penrose’s career it not over. He has moved to another\, less stressful province of the kingdom of chess. \nIM Dr. Jonathan Penrose OBE\nFor the first game\, however\, we shall turn the clock right back to 1950 and the see the Penrose in the role of youthful giant killer. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (BT Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek : \n“British international master and ten times British Champion\, Penrose was born in Colchester and came from a chess-playing family. \nLionel Sharples Penrose\, FRS (11 June 1898 – 12 May 1972)\nHis father and mother both played chess and his father\, Professor Lionel Sharples Penrose\, in addition or being a geneticist of world-wide fame\, was a strong chess-player and a good endgame composer. Jonathan’s older brother Oliver\, was also a fine player. \nOliver Penrose FRS FRSE (born 6 June 1929) is a British theoretical physicist\nRoger Penrose won the Nobel prize for physics in 2020. \nRoger Penrose. Nobel Laureate\nJonathan learnt chess at the age of four\, won the British Boys championship at thirteen and by the time he was fifteen was playing in the British Championship in Felixstowe in 1949. \nPress agency caption for photograph above\nPress agency caption for photograph above\nA little reluctant to participate in international tournaments abroad\, he did best in the British Championship which he won a record number of times\, once more than HE Atkins. He won the title consecutively from 1958 to 1963 and again from 1966 to 1969. \nBoy Chess Champion. New York Times photo shows 14 year old J. Penrose 14 year old by chess champion of Britain\, in play at the British Chess Championships at Bishopsgate Institute today. He has had great success in the tournament so far\, beating men far above his age and experience. 2nd September 1948. Photograph by Reginald Webster\nPress agency caption for photograph above\nHe also played with great effect in nine Olympiads. Playing on a high board for practically all the time\, he showed himself the equal of the best grandmasters and indeed\, at the Leipzig Olympiad he distinguished himself by beating Mikhail Tal\, thereby becoming the first British player to defeat a reigning World Champion since Blackburne beat Lasker in 1899. \nARB Thomas and Jonathan Penrose at the Hastings Congress of 1950/1951\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nJonathan Penrose vs Mikhail Tal\, Leipzig Olympiad\, 1960\, 1-0\, Modern Benoni\nA deep strategist who could also hold his own tactically\, he suffered from the defect of insufficient physical stamina and it was this that was to bring about a decline in his play and in his results. He collapsed during a game at the Ilford Chess Congress\, and a year later\, at the Siegen Olympiad of 1970\, he had a more serious collapse that necessitated his withdrawal from the vent after the preliminary groups had been played. The doctors found nothing vitally wrong with him that his physique could not sustain. \n\nHe continued to play but his results suffered from a lack of self-confidence and at the Nice Olympiad of 1974 he had a wretched result on board 3\, winning only 1 game and losing 6 out of 15. \nDarga V Penrose29th December 1955: Klaus Darga of Germany in play against Britain’s Jonathan Penrose during the International Chess Congress at Hastings. (Photo by Folb/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)\nPossibly too his profession (a lecturer in psychology) was also absorbing him more and more and too part less and less in international and national chess. \nJonathan Penrose\nYet\, he had already done enough to show that he was the equal of the greatest British players in his command and understanding of the game and he ranks alongside Staunton\, Blackburne\, Atkins and CHO’D Alexander as a chess figure of world class.” \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \n“The leading English player during the 1960s\, International Master (1961)\, International Correspondence Chess Master (1980)\, lecturer in psychology. Early in his chess career Penrose decided to remain an amateur and as a consequence played in few international tournaments. He won the British Championship from 1958 to 1963 and from 1966 to 1969\, ten times in all (a record); and he played in nine Olympiads from 1952 to 1974\, notably scoring + 10=5 on first board at Lugano 1968\, a result bettered only by the world champion Petrosyan. \nIM Dr. Jonathan Penrose OBE\nIn the early 1970s Penrose further restricted his chess because the stress of competitive play adversely affected his health.” \nThe second edition (1996) adds this : \n“He turned to correspondence play\, was the highest rated postal player in the world 1987-9\, and led the British team to victory in the 9th Correspondence Olympiad.” \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHere is a discussion about Jonathan on the English Chess Forum \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“International Master (1961) and British Champion in 1958 1959\, 1960\, 1961\, 1962\, 1963\, 1966\, 1967\, 1968 and 1969. \nJonathan Penrose was born in Colchester on 7th October 1933\, the son of Professor LS Penrose\, the well-known geneticist\, who was also a strong player and composer of endgame studies. \nThe whole Penrose family plays chess and Jonathan learned the game when he was 4. At the age of 12 he joined Hampstead Chess Club and the following year played for Essex for the first time\, won his first big tournament\, the British Boys’ Championship\, and represented England against Ireland in a boy’s match\, which was the forerunner of the Glorney Cup competition\, which came into being the following year. \nBy the time he was 17 Penrose was recognised as one of the big hopes of British Chess. Playing in the Hastings Premier Tournament for the first time in `1950 – 1951\, he beat the French Champion Nicholas Rossolimo and at Southsea in 1950 he beat two International Grandmasters\, Effim Bogoljubov and Savielly Tartakower. \nPenrose played for the British Chess Federation in a number of Chess Olympiads since 1952. In 1960\, at Leipzig\, came one of the best performances of his career\, when he beat the reigning World Champion\, Mikhail Tal. He became the first British player to beat a reigning World Champion since JH Blackburne beat Emmanuel Lasker in 1899\, and the first player to defeat Tal since he won the World Championship earlier that year. Penrose’s score in this Olympiad was only half-a-point short of the score required to qualify for the International Grandmaster title. \nIM Dr. Jonathan Penrose OBE\nHis ninth victory in the British Championships in 1968 equalled the record held by HE Atkins\, who has held the title more times than any other player. \nPenrose is a lecturer in psychology at Enfield College of Technology and has never been in a position to devote a great deal of time to the game. He is married to a former contender in the British Girls Championship and British Ladies’s Championship\, Margaret Wood\, daughter of Frank Wood\, Hon. Secretary of the Oxfordshire Chess Association. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nPenrose was awarded the O.B.E. for his services to chess in 1971.” \nPenrose was Southern Counties Champion for 1949-50. \nIn 1983 Jonathan became England’s fifth Correspondence Grandmaster (CGM) following Keith Richardson\, Adrian Hollis\, Peter Clarke and Simon Webb. \nSadly\, there is no existent book on the life and games of Jonathan Penrose : a serious omission in chess literature. \nDr. Jonathan Penrose OBE\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/birthday-of-dr-jonathan-penrose-obe/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200926
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200927
DTSTAMP:20210925T140242Z
CREATED:20190823T001025Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210925T140242Z
UID:1122-1601078400-1601164799@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of WIM Eileen Tranmer (05-v-1910 26-ix-1983)
DESCRIPTION:We remember WIM Eileen Betsy Tranmer who passed away on September 26th\, 1983. \nEileen Tranmer\nShe was the first English woman to be awarded by FIDE the Woman’s International Master title in 1950. \n“From The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by Klein and Winter : \nMiss E. Tranmer was born in Scarborough\, North Yorkshire in 1910\, and learned chess at the age of six. She did not take it up seriously\, however\, until 1936. Under the tuition of W. Winter she has made notable progress\, and her performances include a second prize in the British Correspondence Championship 1944\, as well as first prize in one of the subsidiary tournaments at Hastings\, 1945. \nBy profession Miss Tranmer is a musician and has played principal clarinet in the Scottish and Sadler’s Wells Orchestras.” \nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume CIII (103\, 1983)\, Number 11 (November)\, page 482-83 (presumably written by Bernard Cafferty) : \n“Eileen Tranmer died in hospital at Ticehurst on September 26th after a long illness. Born in Scarborough\, May 5th 1910\, she was a professional clarinet player and played in a number of prominent British orchestras till forced to retire by deafness. \nMandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (3880870a)Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Chess Champion Pictured Here Playing A Clarinet In The Orchestra While Appearing At The Theatre Royal Glasgow.\nOne of the leading British players in the two decades after the war\, Eileen won the British Ladies Championship in 1947\, 1949 (with a 100% score)\, 1953 and 1961\, and played in the British Championship at Buxton\, 1950. Her international record was sparse\, as was the case with nearly all English players of that period. Nevertheless\, she made her mark in the 1949-50 first post-war Women’s World Championship where she finished 5-7th in a field of 16\, beating Bykova\, again\, and finished 7th in the field of 16. \n37th Hastings International Chess Congress\, 1962. USA Ladies champion Lisa Lane (L) playing against British Champion Eileen Tranmer\nWe are grateful to WCM Dinah Norman for sending us these memories : \n“Eileen Tranmer was one of the best English chess lady players of her generation. \nI only played her once at Oxford in an International Ladies Tournament held between 24 July and 1 August 1971. Eileen totally outplayed me and I lost the game. \nEileen was a member of Acton Chess Club where there were three active lady players at that time. They were Jean Rogers\, Olive Chataway and Eileen. Eileen lived in Acton then. \nMandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (3880957a)Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Chess Champion.Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Chess Champion.\nEileen was a professional musician and had to stop playing when she became deaf which was dreadful for her. \nIn 1969 Eileen\, Rowena Bruce and I were selected to play in the Ladies Chess Olympiad Team in Lublin\, Poland. Sadly Eileen was taken ill just before the event so Rowena and I had to play all 13 rounds without a break. I was on Board 1 and at the end Rowena and I were exhausted and I had to withdraw from a tournament in the Czech Republic without playing a game. The food in Poland was awful so we said never again! \n  \nMandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (3880958a)Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Champion Chess Player Pictured Playing Some Of The Glasgow Ladies Chess Club At The Green’s Playhouse Cafe Glasgow.Miss Eileen Tranmer The British Women’s Champion Chess Player Pictured Playing Some Of The Glasgow Ladies Chess Club At The Green’s Playhouse Cafe Glasgow.\nEileen was very friendly with Harry Golombek. The expectation among the lady chess players was that they would get married but she never did. Harry did not drive and Eileen was very kind driving Harry and his elderly mother around. \nVery sadly Eileen’s brother was killed in a car crash and after that Eileen suffered mental problems. Eileen lived near John and Jean Rogers and John said Eileen would turn up at their home in the middle of the night wanting to play chess. \nAt Hastings 1959-1960 : Yugoslavia’s red-haired Milanka Lazarevic and Britain’s Eileen Tranmer ran away with the Premier Reserves (afternoon event).\nThe last time I saw Eileen was at Paignton. Her friend Olive Chataway brought her to Paignton and Eileen played in the bottom tournament and did badly. Eileen did not recognise myself or Rowena which was very sad. \n  \nMandatory Credit: Photo by ANL/Shutterstock (4745287a)Miss Eileen Tranmer 43-year-old British Women’s Chess Champion. Box 556.Miss Eileen Tranmer 43-year-old British Women’s Chess Champion. Box 556.\nEileen later left Acton and moved to Tring. Eileen was a pleasant and modest person and was well liked. She had a good sense of humour.” \nFrom the obituary in The Times of London we learn that her last few years were over-shadowed by an illness that preyed on her mind. \nWe take the following game from the August 1944 issue of BCM. The game was played in the BCCA Championship\, and curiously enough there was an enquiry about that event to the BCF only a short while ago – a Georgian journalist wishes to quote that wartime performance as an early example of success by a woman in male chess company! ” \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nGerald Abrahams in Not only Chess\, wrote about Eileen (Chapter 18 : What Achilles Saw Among Women) as follows : \n“To revert to the British Ladies\, they were joined in the late 1930s by a very able pupil of Miss Menchik\, the Yorkshire Clarinettist Eileen Tranmer; a woman whose chess I have seen to express some admirable qualities of mind and character. I had the privilege of watching her is Moscow in 1949-50\, when\, handicapped by influenza of a particularly virulent kind – what the Russians call “grippe” – she won some five or six consecutive games\, to finish in the prize list of the new official Women’s World Championship. There had been two championships before\, which Vera has won easily. Since Vera had unhappily perished in the Blitz\, they looked at Moscow for her successor.” \nHere is her 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\nWIM Eileen Betsy Tranmer & WIM Rowena Mary Bruce at the 1946 Anglo-Soviet Radio Match\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-eileen-betsy-tranmer/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200909
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200910
DTSTAMP:20260816T134323Z
CREATED:20200427T172617Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260816T134323Z
UID:5027-1599609600-1599695999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Dr. Paul List (09-ix-1887 09-ix-1954)
DESCRIPTION:Remembering Paul List (09-ix-1887 09-ix-1954) \nFrom The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match by Klein and Winter : \n“Paul M List was born in Memel\, Lithuania in 1887. After living in Berlin for many years\, where he was manager of the bridge and chess rooms in a well-known café-restaurant\, he came to this country in 1936. \nPaul M List\nHe has competed in many tournaments\, local and international. He\, too\, failed to get into the prize list in the recent London International Tournament\, but he is a resourceful player\, particularly in defensive positions. \nHis best performance was Berlin\, 1925 where he came first\, ahead of Richter. Since he came to this country he has become an art dealer\, but chess is still one of his foremost activities.” \nScene at London. From left to right – Seated : Fairhurst\, List and Winter in play. Standing König and Sir George Thomas\nHere is an article by Matthew Sadler on the 1954 British Lightning Championship won by List \nDr. Paul List (09-ix-1887 09-ix-1954). Source : The Anglo-Soviet Radio Chess Match.\nHere is his (surprisingly brief) obituary from British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXIV (1954)\, Number 10 (October)\, page 324 : \n“Dr. Paul List\, the British Lightning Championship winner a year ago (though he could not hold the title because he was not a naturalised Briton)\, died in London at the age of 66. A player of master strength\, Dr. List left his native Russia for Germany in the 1920’s\, and began on his second exile in 1938 when sought refuge in this country from Germany.” \nItem from Kington Times – Saturday 02 June 1951 regarding the visit of Dr. List\nFrom The Illustrated London News in 1953 (by BH Wood) : \n“Sixty-five-year-old Dr. (not of medicine) Paul List\, the oldest competitor\, who settled in Britain about 1937 and has been thinking of becoming naturalised ever since\, finished with a marvellous fifteen-and-a-half points out of a possible eighteen” \nDr. Paul M. List. Source : https://www.kingpinchess.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/They-provided-their-own-heat1.jpg\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/remembering-paul-m-list-1887-09-ix-1954/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200902
DTSTAMP:20210901T103404Z
CREATED:20190822T155139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210901T103404Z
UID:983-1598918400-1599004799@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Joseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers Joseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924) \nThe following (excerpts of) information were obtained via ancestry.co.uk / findmypast.co.uk: \nJoseph Henry Blackburne was born on Friday\, December 10th\, 1841 in Chorlton\, Manchester. His father was Joseph Blackburn (aged 23\, a temperance reformer) and his mother was Ann Pritchard (aged 24). He had eight sons and five daughters. \nHis brother Frederick Pritchard Blackburn died on 11 October 1847 in Lancashire\, Lancashire\, when Joseph Henry was 5 years old. \nHis sister Clara was born on 4 November 1847 in Street\, Lancashire\, when Joseph Henry was 5 years old. \nHis half-sister Clara was born in 1848 in Manchester\, Lancashire\, when Joseph Henry was 7 years old. \nHis mother Ann passed away on 26 November 1857 in Manchester\, Lancashire\, at the age of 40. \nHis half-brother William Thomas was born on 17 June 1865 when Joseph Henry was 23 years old. \nJoseph Henry Blackburne married Eleanor Driscoll on 10 December 1865 when he was 24 years old. \nJoseph Henry Blackburne married Beatrice Lapham on 3 October 1876 when he was 34 years old. \nHis wife Beatrice passed away in January 1880 in St Olave Southwark\, London\, at the age of 26. They had been married 3 years. \nJoseph Henry Blackburne married Mary Jane Fox in St Olave Southwark\, London\, on 16 December 1880 when he was 39 years old. \nJoseph Henry Blackburne lived in Everton\, Lancashire\, in 1891. \nAccording to Edward Winter in Chess Notes JHB lived at the following addresses : \n\n16 Lucey Road\, London SE\, England (The Chess Amateur\, October 1924\, page 32 (address in 1879) and the 1881 British census (C.N. 4756)*).\n116 Barkworth Road\, Camberwell\, London\, England (1891 British census (C.N. 4756)*).\n7 Whitbread Road\, Lewisham\, London\, England (1901 British census (C.N. 4756)*).\n45 Sandrock Road\, Lewisham\, London SE\, England (Ranneforths Schach-Kalender\, 1915\, page 56\, and Hastings Chess Club address list\, 1922*).\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\nAccording to chessgames.com : \n“Joseph Henry Blackburne was born in Chorlton\, Manchester. He came to be known as “The Black Death”. He enjoyed a great deal of success giving blindfold and simultaneous exhibitions. Tournament highlights include first place with Wilhelm Steinitz at Vienna 1873\, first at London 1876\, and first at Berlin 1881 ahead of Johannes Zukertort. In matchplay he lost twice to Steinitz and once to Emanuel Lasker. He fared a little better with Zukertort (Blackburne – Zukertort (1881)) and Isidor Gunsberg\, by splitting a pair of matches\, and defeating Francis Joseph Lee\, ( Blackburne – Lee (1890) ). One of the last successes of his career was at the age of 72\, when he tied for first place with Fred Dewhirst Yates at the 1914 British Championship. \nJoseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)\nIn his later years\, a subscription by British chess players provided an annuity of £100 (approximately  £4\,000 in 2015 value)\, and a gift of £250 on his 80th birthday.” \nIn 1923 he suffered a stroke\, and the next year he died of a heart attack.” \nJoseph Henry Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984) by Hooper and Whyld : \n“For more than 20 years one of the first six players in the world and for even longer the leading English born player. Draughts was the most popular indoor game in his home town\, Manchester; he learned this game as a child and became expert in his youth. \nHe was about 18 when\, inspired by Morphy’s exploits\, he learned the moves of chess. In July 1861 he lost all live games of a match against the Manchester chess club champion Edward Pindar\, but he improved so rapidly that he defeated Pindar three months later (-1-5=2—1)\, and in 1862 he became champion of the club ahead of Pindar and Horwitz. \nInstructed by Horwitz\, Blackburne became one of the leading endgame players of his time; and wishing to emulate the feats of L. Paulsen\, who visited the club in November 1861\, he developed exceptional skill at blindfold chess. He spent most of the 1860s developing his chess and toying with various occupations. \nAfter winning the British championship\, 1868-9\, ahead of de vere\, he became a full-time professional player. \n\nBlackburne achieved excellent results in many tournaments: Baden-Baden 1870\, third equal with Neumann after Anderssen and Steinitz; London 1872\, second (+5-2) after Steinitz ahead of Zukertort; Vienna 1873\, second to Steinitz after a play-off; Paris 1878\, third after Winawer and Zukertort: Wiesbaden 1880\, first equal with Englisch and Schwarz; Berlin 1881\, first (+13=2 — 1)\, three points ahead of Zukertort\, the second prize winner (Blackburne’s greatest achievement); London 1883\, third after Zukertort and Steinitz; Hamburg 1885\, second equal with Englisch\, Mason\, Tarrasch\, and Weiss half a point after Gunsberg; Frankfurt 1887\, second equal with Weiss after Mackenzie; Manchester 1890\, second after Tarrasch; Belfast 1892\, first equal with Mason; London 1892\, second ( + 6-2) after Lasker; London 1893\, first ( + 2=3). \nHe was in the British team in 11 of the Anglo-American cable matches\, meeting Pillsbury on first board six times (+2-3 — 1)\, and he continued to play internationally until he was 72\, long enough to meet the pioneer of the hypermodern movement Nimzowitsch\, whom he defeated at St Petersburg 1914. \n\nBlackburne had remarkable combinative powers and is remembered for his swingeing king’s side attacks\, often well prepared but occasionally consisting of an ingenious swindle that would deceive even the greatest all his contemporaries. The tournament book of Vienna 1873 refers to him as ‘der schrwarze Tod [Black death] der Schachspieler’\, a nickname that became popular. \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 unflappable temperament also earned him the soubriquet “the man with the iron nerves’. Even so\, neither his temperament nor his style was suited to set matches\, in which he was rarely successful against world-class players. He had other chess talents: a problem composer\, he was also a fast solver\, allegedly capable of outpacing the great Sam Loyd. Blackburne earned his livelihood by means of simultaneous displays\, for this purpose touring Britain twice-yearly\, with a few breaks\, for more than 50 years. \nChess\, circa 1896\, JH Blackburne\, well known chess player\, who had toured both on the Continent and America\, able to make between 40 to 60 moves when blindfolded by sheer memory (Photo by Bob Thomas/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)\nBefore this time such displays were solemn affairs; Lowenthal\, who would appear in formal dress and play for several hours in silence\, was shocked when Blackburne turned up in ordinary clothes\, chatting and making jokes as he played\, and refreshing him self with whisky\, (Blackburne confessed\, however\, that when fully absorbed in a game he never noticed whether he was drinking water instead\,) Once\, walking round the boards\, he drained his opponent’s glass\, saying when rebuked He left it en prise and I took it en passant‘ \nThe illustrator Julius Hess depicted Blackburne in a New Yorker Staats Zeitung evening edition as sitting at a chesstable and beckoning: “Waitah! A whiskey and limejuice!” \nHe played his blindfold displays quickly\, and with little sign of the stress that besets most blindfold players. Probably the leading blindfold expert of his time\, he challenged Zukertort\, a close rival in this field\, to a match of ten games\, played simultaneously\, both players blindfold; but Zukertort declined. Many who knew and liked Blackburne subscribed to a fund which sustained him in his last years. \nImage Supplied by a reader of the book ‘Eminent Victorian Chess Players’ to Tim Harding\nP. A. Graham\, Mr Blackburne’s Games at Chess (1899) contains 407 games annotated by Blackburne and 28 three-movers composed by him. \nMr Blackburne’s Games at Chess by PA Graham\nA reprint\, styled Blackburne*s Chess Games (1979)\, has a new introduction and two more games. \nOne of Blackburne’s contributions was the suggestion of using chess clocks rather than the archaic hourglasses. \nHere follows a reproduction of an article from British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXX1 (1961)\, Number 12 (December)\, page 340-342 written by RN Coles entitled “Early Days of a Great Master” : \n“The only record of how J. H. Blackburne first\, entered the chess world is the one provided by P. Anderson Graham in the introduction to his collection of Blackburne’s games. This has all the ingredients of a romanticized version of the truth-the first casual games in a temperance hotel\, then entry to the important Manchester Club and a series of victories over ever stronger opponents until at last Pindar\, Champion of the Provinces\, comes along\, plays the unknown youth and is defeated. \nReference to C. H. Stanley’s column in the Weekly Guardian and Express helps to supply a more accurate version. Young Blackburne’s earliest interest was in problems and he submitted one to the Guardian and Express which appeared in January\, 1861\, only to be found by several solvers to be cooked\, Then silence till May 11th\, when the column carries a note: \nJ. H. B. Problems received with much pleasure…Shall be glad to see you at the Club.” \nHere are a couple of published problems. For a complete listing see below. \nManchester Express\, 1861 \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\n#4. 6+4 \nThe Field\, 1893 \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\n#3\, 7+6 \n  \nNot yet a member\, clearly. Nevertheless\, he contrived somehow to meet Pindar outside the club and played some games-with him (two scores appear in the Guardian and Express\, July 20th)\, and a set-match of five up was then arranged\, still played in private (Guardian and Express\, August 3lst)\, which “was terminated by Mr. Pindar winning a clear victory\, the score being Pindar 5\, Blackburne 0” (one game was quoted in the July “B.C.M.” and another score can be found in the Guardian and Express\, July 27th. \n“A second match was agreed upon\, level games to entitle either player to the victor’s palm. The result … is calculated positively\, to startle the chess world. The first game was scored by Mr. Pindar; of the next seven\, Blackburne won five and the two remaining were drawn. ‘At this point Mr. Pindar resigned the match.” (Guardian and Express\, September 7th\, with the score of a Blackburne win from this match quoted February 1st\, 1962.) \nOnly now does Blackburne appear to have joined the Manchester Club\, meeting such players as Stanley himself for the first time (Guardian and Express gives the score of a casual game\, November 9th)\, though Stanley later claimed personally to have discovered the young prodigy. \nIn November\, 1861\, Paulsen visited the club and the score survives of a casual game in which he beat Blackburne\, who played a Winawer Variation of the French Defence long before Winawer ever came on the-scene (Guardian and Express\, December\,1861); Paulsen concluded his visit with one of his celebrated ten-board blindfold displays and not unnaturally the young Blackburne eagerly took a board; his defeat is No.25O in his games collection. This so stimulated him that he himself tried blindfold play and by January 20th\, 1862\, was able to give his first display against four boards\, winning them all (Guardian and Express\, January 25th\, with one of the scores). This he followed with seven games on February 8th\,\nwinning five and losing two. (Guardian and Express\, February 8th) and finally ten games on February 8th\, winning five\, losing two\, and drawing three (Guardian and Express\,February 15th\, which quotes the score of one game in addition to No. 254 in his games). \nInter-club matches were something of a rarity in those days and were regarded as of considerable importance when they occurred; one such was the annual Manchester-Liverpool match and in 1862 Blackburne took part for the first time\, being matched against Wellington\, another young player of promise who seems to have got no further; as many games were played between opponents as time allowed and these two young men played three\, all won by Blackburne. (Guardian and Express\, February 22nd\, which quotes the score of one game in addition to No. 138 in the collection). \nDuring this spring the rivalry with Pindar was renewed in a third match for the first five wins and after eleven games the score stood at 4 each\, with three drawn (Guardian and Express\, March 15th\, quoting the score of the eleventh game)\, but I cannot find who won the last game. Since Blackburne was hailed as club champion this season\, one must suppose he was the victor. \nSuch was his first club season. ln June\, 1862\, he played in the London lnternational Tournament and from then on his chess career was public property. \nTo conclude\, here is the score of the eleventh game of his third match with Pindar\, a critical struggle in which his budding mastery appears at the-end. From an inferior opening he struggles into an equal ending but by a rash exchange of Rooks on the 36th move gives Pindar a clear advantage\, which could have been held by 41. P-R4. Blackburne seizes on this omission like a real master to switch into a most accurately calculated queen ending. \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 here is the original article: \nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXX1 (1961)\, Number 12 (December)\, page 340\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXX1 (1961)\, Number 12 (December)\, page 341\nMany juniors and beginners will know the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (or Kostić Gambit) in some circles known (named by Julian Hodgson) as the ‘Oh My God’: \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nThere are variations named after Blackburne as follows : \nThe Blackburne Attack in the Four Knights is \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nand the Blackburne Variation of the Dutch defence is \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nand a popular line in the Queen’s Gambit \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nare attributed to Blackburne in the literature. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nAccording to The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek : \n“British grandmaster and highly successful tournament player who was one of the most prominent masters of the nineteenth century. He did not learn to play chess until the age of nineteen\, but his natural gifts soon brought him into the front rank of British players\, and in 1868 he abandoned his business interests and adopted chess as a profession. \nBlackburne’s international tournament career spans an impressive fifty-two years from London 1862 to St. Petersburg 1914 – a total of 53 events in which he played 814 games\, scoring over 62%. Although he rarely won international events\, he generally finished in the top half of the table and his fierce competitive spirit coupled with his great combinative ability earned the pleasant nickname of ‘the Black Death’. \nJoseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924). Photograph from The Encyclopedia of Chess by Harry Golombek\nHis most notable successes were =1st with Steinitz at Vienna 1873 (Blackburne lost the play-off match)\, 1st at Berlin 1881 ahead of Paulsen\, Schallopp\, Chigorin\, Winawer and Zukertort\, and 2nd to Tarrasch at Manchester 1890. \nBlackburne won the BCA Championship in 1868 and for many years was ranked as Britain’s foremost player. In 1914 – at the age of 72 – he shared first place at the BCF congress in Chester. \nIn match play his success was mixed. He defeated Bird in 1888 (+4-1) and Gunsberg in 1881 (+7-4=3) but lost a second match to Gunsberg in 1886 (+2-5=6). He lost to Lasker (+0-6=4) in 1892 and was defeated heavily twice by Steinitz : in 1862/3 (+1-7=2) and in 1876 (+0-7=0)\, the latter of these matches being for the World Championship. \nBlackburne excelled at blindfold play and in simultaneous exhibitions\, which provided a major portion of his income. He died in Lewisham\, a much respected veteran of eighty-three.” \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\nJoseph Henry Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)\nEdward Winter discusses the Zukertort-Blackburne game of 1883. \nHere is an article on chess.com by Bill Wall \nProblems of the Black Death by Batgirl \nMeson Database of JHBs problems \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nEminent Victorian Chess Players\, Tim Harding\, McFarland & Co; 1st edition (20 April 2012)\, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786465682\nJoseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography\, Tim Harding\, McFarland & Co; Annotated edition (30 July 2015)\, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786474738\nBlackburne : The Black Death in Spades by Bob Long\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-joseph-henry-blackburne/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200827
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200828
DTSTAMP:20210827T142749Z
CREATED:20200409T081050Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210827T142749Z
UID:4238-1598486400-1598572799@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of FM Max Fuller (28-i-1945 27-viii-2013)
DESCRIPTION:September 15th\, 1980. Australian Open Chess Champion Max Fuller (35) is currently on a grand chess playing tour of Britain and Europe. He played in the British Championships last month and has included three tournaments in Denmark in his busy schedule.His tour culminates in Malta in December when he plays in his 8th chess Olympiad.Max has been playing chess since he was 13.He lives in Hamilton Avenue\, Earlwood\, Sydney.In the picture Max is playing in the Benedictine International Chess tournament in Manchester in which he was equal fourth.The Benedictine Championship was won by Britain’s number 2 seeded Grandmaster John DM Nunn of Oriel College Oxford.Picture from John Madden (NUJ)\nBCN Remembers FM Max Fuller (28-i-1945 27-viii-2013) \nTonight two Sydney ***** the N.S.W. Chess Championship at the Chess centre Liverpool St.\, City. They are Fred E Flatow\, 28 of Belmore (left.) and Max Fuller\, 21\, of Kingsgrove (right). They have been playing for about 10 Hrs up till 6.15 p.m. and had move 121. The match will go on till move 144 at which stage a draw will be declared or until either man wins before then. February 23\, 1966. (Photo by Richard John Pinfold/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).\nMaxwell Leonard Fuller was born on Sunday\, January 28th 1945 in Sydney\, New South Wales. He was brought up by his mother and\, according to Ian Rogers\, his step-father with whom he did not get on. \nKnight moves: Max Fuller in 1964. He went on to become Australia’s No.1 player and toured the world.CREDIT:STUART MACGLADRIE\nHe was Australian Junior Champion in 1962. \nHe won the New South Wales title in 1965 (and then in 1986 and 1988). \nMax came to England in late 1968 to play at Hastings and then chose to settle here. He played for Lewisham chess club. He won the Whitby Open in 1969 (See BCM\, Volume LXXXIX\, Number 8\, page 264). \nIn the 1970s be played board one for Australia whilst maintaining a FIDE rating of 2450\, and\, according to chessgames.com : “Fuller finished equal second in the British championship in 1970 and 1975\, winner of the Doeberl Cup three times\, winner of the Australian Open three times\, Joint Australian Champion 1972 with Trevor Hay and competed in nine Olympiads for Australia from 1964-1990. In 1974\, he won the 101st Athenaeum Chess Club Jubilee tournament\, held in London.” \nHe became a FIDE Master in 1980 \nFuller returned to chess in 2004 after an eight-year absence and finished equal second in the 2004 and 2005 NSW championships. \nAccording to IM Gary Lane : “Max had a heart attack and died on the day he was attending the funeral of his pal Peter Parr” \nWith the white pieces Max essayed the Ruy Lopez with a penchant for the exchange variation but nonetheless he was flexible and varied. \nAs the second player against 1.e4 he was versatile with a broad range of defences and likewise facing 1.d4/1.Nf3 he was difficult to prepare for. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nAccording to British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXXIII (2013)\, Number 9 (September)\, page 450 : \n“From Australia the saddest of news\, the passing Maxwell Leonard Fuller (28 i 1945 Sydney – 27 viii 2013 Sydney). FM Max Fuller played in seven BCF Championships\, 1969 -80. He later claimed the scalps of Short\, Miles and Chandler. He was the most determined player imaginable and had the broadest of opening repertoires. (James Pratt)” \nAleandro Trimboli (10) of Leichhardt plays Mr Max Fuller of Newtown\, Australian Open Chess Champion. As part of the Waratah Festival Celebrations the NSW Chess Association is conducting chess games with chess champions playing up to 30 players at once\, in Hyde Park. October 17\, 1973. (Photo by Golding/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).\nIn this obituary from Ray Keene\, Ray very thoughtfully provides a game in which Max loses to Ray. \nGM Ian Rogers wrote this detailed obituary \nGreg Canfell posted this item \nMax Fuller at the Doeberl Cup in 1985. Photo : William Anderson-Smith\nHere is his Wikipedia article \nFM Max Fuller (28-i-1945 27-viii-2013) from around 1992\nSicilian Defence 11 Lines with c3\, Max Fuller and Len Pickett\, The Chess Player\, 1977\, ISBN ?\n  \n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-fm-maxwell-leonard-fuller-27-viii-2013/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,Hastings,Player,Remembering,Writer
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200803
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200804
DTSTAMP:20210801T180718Z
CREATED:20190822T165409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210801T180718Z
UID:1008-1596412800-1596499199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Captain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872)
DESCRIPTION:BCN Remembers Captain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872) \nCaptain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872)\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP\, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld : \n“Inventor of the Evans gambit\, for about half a century one of the most popular attacking weapons. He was born in (Musland Farm in the parish of Saint Dogwells\,) Pembroke\, Wales\, went to sea at the age of 14\, was employed by the Postal Department from about 1815\, and rose to the rank of captain four years later. In 1824\, soon after taking command of the first Royal Mail steam packet to sail from Milford Haven to Waterford\, and while aboard\, he invented his gambit. Evans was a keen player. He gathered a small chess circle in Waterford\, and when on leave in England played chess in London\, notably in 1826 when he showed his gambit to Lewis and McDonnell\, and in 1838 when he played a long series of games with Staunton at the Westminster Chess Club. In Jan. 1840 he was pensioned off on account of ill-health. He went to Greece\, became captain of a steamer that sailed the Mediterranean\, and returned to London at the end of 1842. During the next 13 years there are several accounts of his presence in London\, and then he settled abroad. He died and was buried in Ostend\, \nEvans claimed to have solved the three pawns problem (See below) \, which\, however\, had already been solved by others. His claim to the invention of tri-coloured lighting for ships has not been verified independently\, although he is known to have investigated the subject. For this invention he states that the Tsar of Russia gave him a gold chronometer\, and that he also received money. For a more detailed life of Captain Evans see British Chess Magazine\, 1928\, pp\, 6-18.” \nThe Evans Gambit is a variation of the Giuoco Piano or Italian Game : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nWhen Evans originally devised his gambit the move order was slightly different : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nin which White sacrifices the b-pawn for increased central control and development viz : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“Inventor of the Evans Gambit\, an opening described by a player in the last century as ‘A yellow fever attack : if you live through the initial stages and avoid any carelessness that may bring on a relapse\, you will come out alright’. \nCaptain Evans discovered the gambit in about 1824. It was a favourite opening during the last century and was adopted by a number of leading players including La Bourdonnais and Morphy. \nFor some years Commander in H.M. Royal Mail Packet Service on the Milford and Waterford station\, Captain Evans later became Commander in the P.& O. Company’s service and agent for the Royal Mail Steampacket Company\, Port Grande. On retirement he lives for many years in Holland and Belgium. \nThe story is told of how\, in 1870\, the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia\, brother of the Tsar\, was visiting Bruges when he heard that the inventor of the Evans Gambit was living in Ostend. Being a keen chess player he invited Evans to play a game. When Evans had won\, the Grand Duke turned to his adversary and said : ‘I believe you invented the Evans Gambit ?’\, ‘Yes’ replied Evans ‘and it’s not the only thing I’ve invented for which you have not paid me.’ ‘What’s the other?’ asked the Grand Duke.\nEvans then explained that he was the inventor of the ship’s lights which were being used by the Russian Navy\, in which the Grand Duke held the rank of Admiral. Several months later Evans was invited to the Russian Consulate in Ostend\, where he was handed a letter from the Grand Duke\, a gold chronometer\, a gold chain and a draft of money\, ostensibly in payment for the Russia’s rights to use the captain’s invention in her ships. ” \nEnjoy this interesting article from “Introuble2” on chess.com \nEvans analyzed the “Little Game of Chess” (an endgame composition involving only two kings with three pawns each) \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nto independently discover that it actually won for the player who moves first\, not drawn as had been believed for over a hundred years. \nFrom The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek we have : \n“After his retirement Evans went to live abroad and eventually found a haven is Ostend and there\, ill\, and almost blind and in very straightened circumstances\, he dictated a letter on 22 March 1871\, which was published in the Gentlemen’s Journal supplement for June 1872\, along with an appeal for him organised by George Walker. The letter gives the authentic facts of his life and is worth quoting in full\, if only to refute various unfounded reports about a meeting with the Tsar’s brother\, or according to that rich source of misinformation\, the Rev GA MacDonnell\, that the Evans Gambit was discovered off the coast of Africa by a middle-aged lieutenant in the Royal Navy -perhaps the reverend gentleman was confusing Waterford with the Canary Islands. \nThe letter runs : \nWilliams Davies Evans is a native of Pembrokeshire\, South Wales\, and was born on 27 January 1790. He commenced a naval career at the age of fourteen. He was about twenty-eight years of age when he first learnt the moves of the game of Chess. Having the advantage of frequent practise with Lieut H. Wilson\, R.N.\, who was a player of some reputation in his time\, beside corresponding on the subject of the game with the late Mr. W. Lewis\, and also with George Walker\, the able Chess Editor of Bell’s Life \, he made a rapid progress in the game. Captain Evans received at first the odds of a Rook from Lieut. Wilson. After a continuance of play for some years\, the odds were greatly reduced\, until ultimately Captain Evans succeeded in defeating his formidable antagonist playing even. \nAbout the year 1824\, being then in command of a Government Mail Steamer\, the passages between Milford Haven and Waterford were favourable to the study of the game of Chess and at this time he invented the Gambit\, which bears his name. The idea occurred to him while studying a narration of Giuoco Piano in Sarratts’s Treatise on Chess. \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nCaptain Evans was the first who gave to the world a true solution of that very difficult end game\, the King and three Pawns unmoved against King and three Pawns also unmoved. This position was handed down to us through a period of some centuries as a drawn game\, but Captain Evans proved that the first player can always win. \nCaptain Evans acquired some celebrity as “Inventor of the System of Tri-Coloured Lights for Ships to Prevent Collisions at Night”\, which has been adopted by all nations possessing a marine. For this invention the English Government awarded him the sum of £1\,500 \, and the Czar of Russia a gold pocket chronometer\, value £160\, together with a donation of £200. \nThe subscription that amounted to over £200 was too late. He died in 1872 and was buried in Ostend where his grave bears the inscription : \nTo the sacred memory of William Davies Evans\, formerly Commander in the Post Office and Peninsular and Oriental Steam Services\, Superintendent In the Royal Mail Shipping Company\, and inventor of the system of tri-coloured light for shipping. Also well known in the Chess World as the author of the Evans Gambit \nBlue Plaque for Captain WD Evans\nHere is his Wikipedia entry. \nRead here of the Plaque in Wolfscastle \nBlue Plaque for Captain William Davies Evans (27-i-1790 03-viii-1872)\nPlay The Evans Gambit (co-author Tim Harding). Cadogan. ISBN 1-85744-119-2.\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-captain-william-davies-evans/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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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
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200711
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200712
DTSTAMP:20260817T141124Z
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SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Ken Whyld (06-iii-1926 11-vii-2003)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers much loved Ken Whyld who passed away on July 11th 2003 in Lincolnshire. \nKen Whyld from CHESS magazine\, January 1950. courtesy of the Ken Whyld Association\nFrom Chess : The Records : \n“Ken Whyld was the editor of Chess Students Quarterly in the early 1950s and from 1955-63\, Chess Reader\, in which he reviewed more than 500 chess books. He has written seven tournament books and one match book. \nKen Whyld (06-iii-1926 11-vii-2003)\nWith J. Gilchrist he wrote a three-volume anthology of Lasker’s games\, and with David Hooper\, The Oxford Companion to Chess.  \nKen at the gravestone of “William” Steinitz\nFor the book World Chess Champions he wrote the chapters on Lasker and Smyslov. In his playing days he was champion of his county (Nottinghamshire) many times and played in the British Championship as well as international tournaments.” \nKen Whyld  (06-iii-1926 11-vii-2003)\nPossibly the best tribute to Ken was written by John Saunders and Bernard Cafferty in the August 2003 issue of British Chess Magazine\, pages 398 – 402. \nEditorial from British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIII (123)\, Number 8 (August)\, page 395 by Editor\, John Saunders\nKen Whyld Remembered from British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIII (123)\, Number 8 (August)\, page 398 by Editor\, John Saunders and Bernard Cafferty\nKen Whyld Remembered from British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIII (123)\, Number 8 (August)\, page 399 by Editor\, John Saunders and Bernard Cafferty\nKen Whyld Remembered from British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIII (123)\, Number 8 (August)\, page 400 by Editor\, John Saunders and Bernard Cafferty\nKen Whyld Remembered from British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIII (123)\, Number 8 (August)\, page 401 by Editor\, John Saunders and Bernard Cafferty\nKen Whyld Remembered from British Chess Magazine\, Volume CXXIII (123)\, Number 8 (August)\, page 402 by Editor\, John Saunders and Bernard Cafferty\nKen Whyld\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nSee more details from the Ken Whyld Association \nThe Collected Games of Emanuel Lasker\nThe Oxford Companion to Chess\nChess : The Records\, Guinness\, 1986\, SBN 10: 0851124550ISBN 13: 9780851124551\nLearn Chess in a Weekend\nChess Columns : A List\nChess Reader\nChess Stalker Quarterly\nThe Oxford Companion to Chess\, 1st Edition\nCurse of Kirsan by Sarah Hurst\, Ken wrote the Foreword.\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-ken-whyld-06-iii-1926-11-vii-2003/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering,Writer
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UID:1319-1594080000-1594166399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of IM Andrew Whiteley (09-vi-1947 07-vii-2014)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers IM Andrew Jonathan Whiteley (09-vi-1947 07-vii-2014) \nAndrew Whiteley\nAndrew was born on Monday\, June 9th\, 1947 in Birmingham\, West Midlands to Denys Edward Hugh Whiteley (1914 – 1987) and Muriel Sutton (1919 – 1967). Andrew had two siblings\, Robert N (Birmingham\, 1944) and Angela M (Oxford 1952). \nDenys Edward Hugh Whiteley (1914 – 1987\, from Ancestry.co.uk\nAndrew completed his education at Magdalen College School\, Oxford and then in law at Pembroke College\, Oxford. \nAndrew and friends at the NatWest Bank Young Masters\n“Whiteley’s school chess record is an outstanding 63/65: Andrew Whiteley is captain and top board of a very strong U18 team of: A Whiteley\, H Morphy\, MN Crombie\, MM Daube\, A Hawkins and AH Smith.” \nSome of the participants in the Paul Keres display on November 25th\, 1962\, at St Pancras Town Hall\, London WC1. Back row : AJ. Whiteley\, D\, Floyer\, PJ Collins\, PJ Adams\, RC Vaughan\, KB Harman\, D. Parr\, DNL Levy\, Front row : MV Lambshire\, AE Hopkins (selector) Paul Keres\, Miss D. Dobson\, RE Hartley\, BC Gillman\, WR Hartston and PN Lee. Photograph by AM Reilly. Source : BCM\, 1963\, page 13\nAndrew was joint (with WR Hartston) Southern Counties (SCCU) champion in the 1967-68 season. \nHis highest Elo rating was 2395 in January 1977 at the age of 29 and played for King’s Head in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). \nAndrew was former President of the Middlesex County Chess Association (1985-87) and Deputy (1984-85 & 1987-88). \nAndrew Whiteley 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.\nHe became a FIDE Master in 1980 at the age of 33. His last major tournament was Cappelle Le Grand in 1988 (see photograph below). \nMagnus Magnusson presents Andrew Whiteley (right) with the BCF County Championship trophy as Captain of the Middlesex team in 1986.\nBelow was written by BCM editor James Pratt in Volume CXXXIV (134)\, Number 8 (August) page 417-8 : \n“Unfailingly courteous\, formally dressed\, retired London solicitor\, British Master\, Andrew Jonathan Whiteley (9 vi 1946 Birmingham – 8 vii 2014) has died. The son of an Oxford professor\, AJW was British U21 Champion of 1965. He tied\, with Hans Ree\, for first in the European Junior in 1965/6. \nHans Ree (left) and Andrew Whiteley (right) examine the European Junior Trophy for 1965/6 in which they tied for first.\nThe following game first appeared in the Games Department column of Harry Golombek in British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXVI (1966)\, Number 3 (March)\, page 148. It was game #14\,118. \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 scooped the Silver medal at the British in 1971 and in 1976. Andrew often worked selflessly at his office in the mornings\, commuting to key games after lunch. He rose to be No. 3 or 4 in England and\, always a loyal team man\, shone in Olympiads. Belatedly\, having turned his back on the law\, in 1988\, he became an IM. He was also a BCF Arbiter and Middlesex County organiser. In 2008\, he won the English Senior Championships aged 61. \nHis was a classical chess style. RIP.” \nAndrew Whiteley at the Nice Olympiad of 1974.\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nAndrew Whiteley commentating on Kasparov vs Karpov\nHere is a excellent obituary from his old school\, Magdalen College. \nFM Andrew Whiteley\, IM Julian Hodgson and FM Byron Jacobs at Cappelle Le Grand\, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler\nHere is an obituary from Stewart Reuben on behalf of the English Chess Federation \nAndrew Whiteley receives the Rosebowl trophy from John Poole\nSince 2014 King’s Head Chess Club has held an annual blitz tournament in memory of Andrew featuring many of England’s top players. \nAndrew Whiteley faces David Howell whilst Jimmy Adams records the moves\nHere is a discussion of Andrew on the English Chess Forum \nIM Andrew Whiteley at the first 4NCL weekend of 2012 in November.\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-andrew-john-whiteley/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,Hastings,Player,Remembering
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UID:5080-1593216000-1593302399@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary for Vera Menchik (16-ii-1906 27-vi-1944)
DESCRIPTION:A Great Life with a Tragic Ending\nFew people know the story of Vera Menchik yet it deserves to be told. She was the first women’s world chess champion in 1927 and retained the title undefeated until her untimely death at the age of 38 in 1944 during a rocket attack on London.  She is more properly compared with the great male players of her era against whom she scored creditably. The absence of a full biography of Vera in English reflects the peculiar circumstances of her life and death. \nVera was\, in modern terminology\, a refugee and essentially a stateless person for much of her life. She was born in Moscow in 1906 during the period of the Russian Empire to an expatriate family who was forced to flee when she was 15 following the Russian Revolution having lost their livelihood.  As they passed through Europe\, her father and mother split up in his homeland Czechoslovakia which had been created out of the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian empire. She arrived in England and took up residence in the seaside town of Hastings. (The fact that Hastings had hosted the world’s longest series of annual chess tournaments since 1895 was a happy coincidence.) Vera never attained British nationality until near the end of her life even though she had been domiciled in England from 1921. She won the first-ever Women’s World Championships held in London in 1927 under a Russian flag; thereafter she nominally represented Czechoslovakia until finally she represented England in 1939 following her marriage to a senior official within the British Chess Federation. \nVera’s grandfather was Arthur Illingworth\, a wealthy trader from Lancashire who had set up business in Moscow where his Anglo-Russian daughter Olga married František Menčik. He was a successful estate manager. Vera learned chess from her father and performed well at school. Her younger sister Olga was also a good chess player and the sisters remained close throughout their lives. \nVera was a woman in a man’s world – she had to struggle harder to achieve the kind of recognition which was accorded to men. She appeared like a comet in the sky and it would be many years until other women were able to reach her level. At her first major international tournament at Karlsbad in 1929\, she was the only female participant in a tournament of 22 great players. Even as women’s world champion\, some of the male players objected to her participation.  The Viennese master Albert Becker joked that anybody who lost to her should belong to the Vera Menchik Club. By an irony of history\, he became its first member losing to her in the third round. She beat many other grandmasters during her career including the Dutchman Max Euwe in 1930 and 1931 (both at Hastings) who was to become world champion in 1935. \nAlthough she is often portrayed as being Russian or Czech or latterly British\, she was a true cosmopolitan. She knew that life could be unstable in any country. She had lived through the Russian Revolution; one parent was left behind in Czechoslovakia; she had moved westwards across Europe and embraced different cultures and languages at formative stages of her life. It is no wonder that she learned also to speak Esperanto which was designated to be the world’s lingua franca before English achieved its dominance. As a leading chess player\, she travelled back to Moscow and to Czechoslovakia several times as well as to South America for her final match to retain the women’s world champion title in 1939. She needed to be self-sufficient and was obtained roles as the games editor of a chess magazine as well as being appointed the manager of the National Chess Centre in Oxford Street which was destroyed during the Blitz in 1940. \nShe survived most of the war and now a widow moved in with her mother and sister to a house in south London.  They took the precaution of going down to the cellar during bombing raids. Tragically the house received a direct hit from a flying bomb and the entire family was wiped out. Hardly any of her possessions remained save for one dented trophy. The records at the national chess centre were destroyed as were her personal effects including her chess memorabilia. At least there remains a record of the moves played in her games which serve as testimony to her remarkable career as not only the first women’s world chess champion but also a woman who broke boundaries wherever she went and demonstrated that a woman is capable of standing on her own feet professionally and leading a full and eventful life. \nThe Bomb Attack \nBCN remembers that in the early morning of Tuesday\, June 27th\, 1944 (i.e. 77 years ago) Vera Menchik\, her sister Olga\, and their mother were killed in a V-1 flying bomb attack which destroyed their home at 47 Gauden Road in the Clapham area of South London. \nWe now know that the V1 in question landed at 00:20 hrs on the 27th and led to the death of a total of 11 people including the Menchik household. Here is a summary of recorded V1 and V2 landings in the Clapham\, SW4 area. \n47\, Gauden Road\, Clapham\, SW4 6LW in more modern times.\nAll three were cremated at the Streatham Park Crematorium on 4 July 1944. Vera was 38 years old. \nSignature of Vera Menchik from a Brian Reilly “after dinner” postcard from Margate 1936.\nVera’s Parents and Sister\nVera Frantsevna Menchik (or Věra Menčíková) was born in Moscow on Friday\, 16th February\, 1906. Her father was František Menčik\, was born in Bystrá nad Jizerou\, Bohemia. František and Olga were married on June  23rd 1905 in Moscow and notice of this marriage appeared in British newspapers on July 22nd 1905.  Vera’s sister was Olga Rubery (née Menchik) and she was born in Moscow in 1908. Olga Menchik married Clifford Glanville Rubery in 1938. Vera married Rufus Henry Streatfeild Stevenson on October 19th 1937. \nHer Maternal Roots\nOur interest in unearthing her maternal English heritage / roots has led to the following: \nHer mother was Olga (née Illingworth (1885 – 27 vi 1944). Olga’s  parents were Arthur Wellington Illingworth and Marie Illingworth (née ?). Arthur was born in October 1852 in the district of Salford\, Lancashire\, his parents were George Illingworth (1827-1887) and Alice Whewell (1828-1910).  \nIn the 1861 census Arthur is recorded as being of eight years of age and living in the Illingworth household. \nIn the 1871 census Arthur is recorded as being of eighteen years of age and living in the Illingworth household of nine persons at 5\, Lancaster Road\, Pendleton\, Lancashire. Arthur’s occupation is listed as being a merchants apprentice. In fact\, he was a stock and share broker. \nArthur died in Moscow on February 21st 1898. Probate was recorded in London on July 6th\, 1900 as follows: \nIllingworth Arthur Wellington of Moscow Russia merchant died 21st February 1898 Probate London 6th July to Walter Illingworth stock and share-broker Effects £4713 7s \n£4713 7s in 1898 equates roughly to £626\,600.00 in 2020 so it would appear that Arthur was considerably successful and almost certainly left money to Olga Illingworth. \nWhat do we conclude from all of this? Quite simply that Vera’s maternal roots were from Salford in Lancashire. \nBCM Announcement\nThe August 1944 British Chess Magazine (Volume LXIV\, Number 8\, page 173 onwards) contained this editorial  from Julius du Mont: \nJulius du Mont\, Editor of British Chess Magazine from 1940 to 1949\n“British Chess has suffered a grievous and irreparable loss in the death by enemy action of Mrs. R.H.S. Stevenson known through all the world where chess is played as Vera Menchik. \nWe give elsewhere (below : Ed.) an appreciation of this remarkable woman. Quite apart from her unique gifts as a chess-player-the world may never see her equal again among women players-she had many qualities which endeared her to all who knew her\, the greatest among them being here great-hearted generosity. \nWe sympathise with our contemporary “CHESS” : Vera Menchik was for some years their games editor. Few columns have been conducted with equal skill and efficiency and none\, we feel sure\, with a greater sense of responsibility. \nThe news of this remarkable tragedy will be received by the chess world with sorrow and with abhorrence of the wanton and useless robot methods of a robot people. \nOne shudders at the heritage of hatred which will be theirs\, but their greatest punishment will come with their own enlightenment.” \nBCM Contemporary Obituary from EGR Cordingley\nFrom page 178 of the same issue we have an obituary written by EGR Cordingley : \n“The death by enemy action of Miss Vera Menchik removes not only the greatest woman chess player of all times but a charming personality. \nThe world will remember her for her chess prowess\, for her exceptional skill as a woman player who had beaten in tournament play such gifted players as Euwe\, Sultan Khan\, Sir George Thomas\, Alexander and Yates. In such company\, and she played in several of the Hastings International tournaments and other of similar grade\, she usually obtained about 33%\, though in the Maribor tournament of 1934 she finished third\, behind Pirc and Steiner but ahead of Rejfir\, Spielmann\, Asztalos and Vidmar. \nHer game was characterised by solid position-play\, with the definite aim of bringing about a favourable end-game and of avoiding wild complications. The ordinary stratagems of the game\, small combinations and the like\, were of course part of her equipment\, but she lacked that imaginative\, inventive spirit without which few become really great players. \nIn recent times\, Reshesvky and Flohr (as a professional with a reputation to maintain and a living to earn) have shown that great success can be achieved by reducing the game to pure positional play\, the technique being firstly to build up a position devoid of weaknesses\, an ‘I can’t lose position\,’ and secondly to create and take advantage of the minutest weaknesses in the opponent’s camp\, a major weakness may show that imagination is not quite dead within. \nThis defect in her play was the inevitable reflection of her character: sound common-sense\, conscientious to an unusual degree\, and persevering\, while she had the combative\, tenacious nature so desirable and so often found in good chess players; for chess is battle of wits\, the fight is what most of use love in chess. Vera was\, seldom assertive\, a fault not uncommon in chess players. She sat placidly at the chess board\, never causing even mild irritation by any of those nervous mannerisms that may always be seen in any chess room\, the peripatetic fever being the most prominent. A slight flush would rise when the position grew difficult\, or when she was short of time on her clock – and that was recurrent according to the time-limit. \nAway from the chessboard show would readily talk of other subjects\, and her great interest was in persons\, in their actions and behaviour under the strain and stress of the unruly passions; in the moulding of their lives under the inscrutable dictates of chance; in the twists and turns of a mind warped perhaps by a casual incident long ago. Of course\, she was a pagan\, a thinking one\, who had asked and asked and found only the answer that reasoning gave. She judged kindly and never inflicted upon others her own opinions or beliefs: she asked only that these should be heard as one side of any argument\, for she enjoyed a dialectic bout. \nA delightful side to her character was her simple sense of humour\, and I remember so clearly her pleasure – glee would describe it more eloquently – when I gave her the punctuation necessary to make sense of that ludicrous collection of words\, ‘Jones where Brown had had had had had had had had had had had the master’s approval’ Anyone who knew her only at the chessboard would have been astonished at the amount of bubbling merriment she discovered of of life’s events. \nI shall remember her more for the woman as I knew her over many cups of coffee spread over many\, many weeks – complacent\, smiling\, and kindly; conscientious\, loyal\, and sincere; as I understand the word\, a Christian who would help any deserving person as best she could. E. G. R. C. \n”\nand here is the original article as printed: \nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXIV (1944)\, Number 8\, August\, Page 178\nBCM 1958 Appreciation by Peter Clarke\nFrom British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXVIII (128\, 1958)\, Number 7 (July)\, page 181 onwards) we have this retrospective from Peter Clarke: \n“The night of June 27th\,1944\, Vera Menchik\, World Woman Champion\, was killed when an enemy bomb demolished her home in London; with her perished her mother and sister Olga. In these tragic circumstances the chess world lost its greatest woman player\, still undefeated and at the height of her powers. \nVera Francevna Menchik was born in Moscow on February 16th\, 1906\, of an English mother and Czech father. There she spent her childhood\, showing a love for literature\, music\, and\, of course\, chess\, which at the age of nine she was taught by her father. She had a natural bent for the game and when only fourteen shared second and third places a schoolboys (!) tournament. The following year\, 1921\, the family came to England\, where Miss Menchik lived the rest of her life. \nAs if by some fortunate coincidence\, the Menchiks settled in Hastings\, though it was not until the spring of 1923 that Vera joined the famous chess club. Her natural shyness and lack of knowledge of English caused this delay. However\, they did not handicap her too much\nas she herself afterwards wrote: ‘Chess is a quiet game and therefore the best hobby for a person who cannot speak the language.” \nShe studied the game eagerly\, and very soon her talent caught the attention of the Hungarian grandmaster\, Géza Maróczy\, who was resident at Hastings at that time. Thus there began the most important period in her development as a player; a sound and mature understanding of positional play-and a thorough knowledge of a few special openings and defences: in particular the French Defence. The influence of\nthe grandmasters ideas was clearly apparent in her style throughout the whole of her career. \nMiss Menchik’s rise to fame was meteoric: by 1925 she was undoubtedly the strongest player of her sex in the country\, having twice defeated the Champion\, E. Price\, in short matches; and only two years later she won the first Women’s World Championship in London with the terrific score 10.5-0.5. She was just twenty-one\, but already in a different class from any other woman in the world. For seventeen years until her death Vera Menchik reigned supreme in women’s chess\, defending her world title successfully no less than seven times (including a match with Sonja Graf at Semmering in 1937\, which Miss Menchik won 11.5-4.5. In the seven tournaments for the World Championship she played 83 games; winning 78\, drawing 4\, and losing 1 only! However\, what was more remarkable was that she was accepted into the sphere of men’s chess as a master in her own right\, a feat which no woman had done before or has done since. Up to then\, women’s chess had been a very poor relation of the masculine game\, but here was a woman who was a worthy opponent for the strongest masters. \nFlohr wrote of her: ‘Vera Menchik was the first woman in the world who played chess strongly…who played like a man.’ It was as the ambassador extraordinary\, so to speak\, of the women’s game that Miss Menchik really made her greatest contribution to chess. Wherever she went\, at home and abroad\, she aroused great interest among her sex; others were eager to follow her\, to identify themselves with her. Nowadays women’s chess is well organized\, and much of the credit for this must go to Vera Menchik for first bringing it into the light. Among her many personal successes in international tournaments perhaps the greatest was at Ramsgate in 1929: as one of the foreign masters (she was still of Czech nationality) she shared second and third places with Rubinstein\, * point behind Capablanca and above\, among others\, her tutor Maróczy. \nEven the greatest masters recognized Miss Menchik’s ability; Alekhine himself\, writing on the Carlsbad Tournament of 1929\, said: ‘Vera Menchik is without doubt an exceptional phenomenon among women. She possesses great aptitude for the game…The chess\nworld must help her develop her talent!’ \nThe Vera Menchik Club\nAn amusing incident occurred at this tournament. There were naturally sceptics among the masters over the lady’s participation. Flohr recalls how one of these\, the Viennese master Becker\, suggested: \n‘Whoever loses to the Woman Champion will be accepted as a member of the Vera Menchik Club which I intend to organize.’ \nBecker was the first to lose to her\, and that evening the masters chided him: “Professor Becker\, you did not find it very difficult to join the club. You can be the Chairman.’ And forthwith he was chosen as Chairman for three years. Everyone wished that the new club would soon obtain more members! Indeed\, the Vera Menchik Club has many famous names on its lists-Euwe\, Reshevsky\, Colle\, Yates\, Sultan Khan\, Sir G. A. Thomas\, Alexander\, to mention a few. \nIn 1935 Miss Menchik returned to the country of her birth to take part in the great international tournament in Moscow. To be truthful\, she had very little success\, but she was everywhere treated with respect and sympathy by masters and spectators alike. The Soviet master l. Maiselis\, writing in CHESS in 1944.(Shakhmaty za 1944 god)\, related the following entertaining anecdote from the tournament: One day a group of players and organizers were discussing the chances of Alekhine and Euwe in the forthcoming match. Flohr said: ‘It is quite clear that I will be World Champion.’ We looked at him inquiringly. \n‘It’s very simple\,” continued Flohr\, ‘Euwe wins a match against Alekhine\, Vera Menchik beats Euwe (at that time her score against Euwe was +2\, =1\, -1) and I will somehow beat Miss Menchik.’ \nWe laughed at this good-natured joke\, and we laughed all the more the next day when Flohr was unable\, despite every effort\, to defeat her in a vital game. \nln 1937 Miss Menchik married R. Stevenson\, but in chess she continued to use her maiden name\, made famous by so many victories. Her husband\, a well-known organizer\, became\, Secretary of the B.C.F: in the following year and remained so until his death in 1943. \nSince the days of Vera Menchik women’s chess has taken great strides forward; now there is a special committee of F.I.D.E. to look after its needs.- Only last year the first lnternational Women’s Team Tournament took place ln Emmen\, Holland; the new World Champions\, the U.S.S.R.\, became the first holders of the Vera Menchik Cup. So chess goes onwards\, but the name of its first Queen will ever be remembered.” \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\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale\, 1970 & 1976) by Anne Sunnucks : \n“Woman World Champion from 1927 to 1944. Vera Menchik was born in Moscow on 16th February 1906 of an English mother and a Czech father. Her father taught her to play chess when she was 9. \nVera Menchik 1906-1944 chess playerin\, CZ / GB portrait with chess board late twenties (Photo by ullstein bild / ullstein bild via Getty Images)\nIn 192l her family came to England and settled in Hastings (at 13\, St. John’s Road\, St. Leonards-on-Sea\, TN37 6HP) : \n13\, St. John’s Road\, St. Leonards-on-Sea\, TN37 6HP\nTwo years later\, when she was 17\, Vera joined Hastings Chess Club\, \nHastings Chess Club : 2 Cornwallis Terrace\, Hastings TN34 1EB\nwhere she became a pupil of Geza Maroczy. The first Women’s World Championship was held in 1927. Vera Menchik won with a score of 10.5 out of 11. She defended her title successfully in Hamburg in 1930\, in Prague in 1931\, in Folkestone in 1933\, in Warsaw in 1935\, in Stockholm in 1937 and in Buenos Aires in 1939. She played 2 matches against Sonja Graf\, her nearest rival\, in 1934 when she won +3 -1 and in 1937\, in a match for her title when she won +9 -1 =5. \nIsaac Kashdan plays Vera Menchik during the Hastings Congress on December 28th\, 1931. Kashdan won in 45 moves in a classical French.\nThe first woman ever to play in the British Championship and the first to play in a master tournament\, Vera Menchik made her debut in master chess at Scarborough 1928 when she scored 50 per cent. The following year she played in Paris and Carlsbad\, and it was at Carlsbad that the famous Menchik Club was formed. The invitation to Vera Menchik to compete among such players as Capablanca\, Euwe\, Tartakower and Nimzowitch was received with amusement by many of the masters. The Viennese master\, Becker was particularly scornful\, and in the presence of a number of the competitors he suggested that anyone who lost to Vera Menchik should be granted membership of the Menchik Club. He himself became the first member. Other famous players who later joined the club were Euwe\, Reshevsky\, Sultan Khan\, Sir George Thomas\, C. H. O’D. Alexander\, Colle and Yates. \nHer greatest success in international tournaments was at Ramsgate in 1929\, when she was =2nd with Rubinstein\, half a point behind Capablanca and ahead of Maroczy. In 1934 she was 3rd at Maribor\, ahead of Spielmann and Vidmar. In 1942 she won a match against Mieses +4 -l -5. In 1937 Vera Menchik married R. H. S. Stevenson\, who later became Hon. Secretary of the British Chess Federation. He died in 1943. She continued to use her maiden name when playing chess. On her marriage she became a British subject. \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\nFrom 1941 until her death she was Games Editor of CHESS. She also gave chess lessons and managed the National Chess Centre\, which opened in 1939 at John Lewis’s in Oxford Street\, London and was destroyed by a bomb in 1940. \nIn 1944 Vera Menchik was a solid positional player\, who avoided complications and aimed at achieving a favourable endgame. Her placid temperament was ideal for tournament play. Her main weakness was possibly lack of imagination. Her results have made her the most successful woman player ever.” \nVera Menchik\nFrom The Encyclopaedia of Chess\, (BT Batsford\, 1977) by Harry Golombek : \nProbably the strongest woman player in the history of the game\, Vera Menchik was born in Moscow and\, though her father was a Czechoslovak and her mother English\, she played for most of her\nlife under English colours. \nIn l92l her family came to Hastings in England and there Vera became a pupil of the great Hungarian master\, Geza Maroczy. This was to have a dominating influence on her style of play which was solidly classical\, logical and technically most well equipped. Such a style enabled her to deal severely not only with her fellow women players but also with contemporary masters and budding masters. Vera did extremely well\, for example\, against C. H. O’D. Alexander\nand P. S. Milner-Barry\, but lost repeatedly to H. Golombek who was able to take advantage of her lack of imagination by the use of more modern methods. \nVera was soon predominent in women’s chess. In the first Women’s World Championship tournament\, at London in 1927\, she won the title with a score of 10.5 out of 11 and retained the championship with great ease at all the subsequent Olympiads (or International Team tournaments as they were then known more correctly) at Hamburg 1930\, Prague 1931\, Folkestone 1933\, Warsaw 1935\, Stockholm 1937 and Buenos Aires 1939. \nVera Menchik at Margate 1935\, photographer unknown\nWith Sonja Graf\, the player who came nearest to her in strength among her female contemporaries\, she played two matches and demonstrated her undoubted superiority by beating her in 1934 (+3-l) and again in a match for the title in l937 (+9-l=5). \nIn 1937 Vera officially became a British citizen by marrying the then Kent and later B.C.F. Secretary\, R. H. S. Stevenson (Rufus Henry Streatfeild Stevenson: ed).\n(Rufus Henry Streatfeild Stevenson was home news editor of the British Chess Magazine\, secretary of the Southern Counties Chess Union and match captain of the Kent County Chess Association). \nOddly enough\, Sonja Graf\, many years later\, also became a Mrs Stevenson by marrying an American of that name some years after the Second World War. \nVera Menchik also played and held her own in men’s tournaments. She did well in the British championship and her best performance in international chess was =2nd with Rubinstein in the Ramsgate Team Practice tournament ahead of her old teacher\, Maroczy. She also had an excellent result at Maribor in 1934 where she came 3rd\, ahead of Spielmann and Vidmar. \nHer husband died in 1943 and Vera herself\, together with her younger sister Olga and her mother\, was killed by a V1 bomb that descended on the Stevenson home in London in 1944. \nVera Menchik\, circa 1935\, Historic Collection / Alamy Stock Photo\nThis was a sad and premature loss\, not only for British but for world chess\, since there is no doubt she would have continued to dominate the female scene for many years. \nAs a person Vera was a delightful companion\, jolly and full of fun and understanding. As a player she was not only strong but also absolutely correct and without any prima donna behaviour. Generous in defeat and modest in victory\, she set a great example to all her contemporaries. \nAn example of Vera’s attacking play at its best against her nearest rival\, Sonja Graf\, is shown by the following game which was played in her 1937 match at Semmering in Austria : \n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\n27th November 1936: Britain’s world chess champion Vera Menchik (right) and challenger Sonja Graf after signing a contract at the Bloomsbury Hotel\, London\, to play for the championship of the world over 16 games. (Photo by J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)\nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess\, (Oxford University Press\, 1984) by Hooper and Whyld : \n“Woman World Champion from 1927 until her death. Daughter of a Czech father and an English mother\, Menchik was born in Moscow\, learned chess when she was nine\, settled in England around\n1921\, and took lessons from Maroczy a year or so later. In 1927 FIDE organized both the first Olympiad and the first world championship tournament for women. These events were run concurrently\, except in 1928\, until the Second World War began\, and Menchik won the women’s tournament every time; London 1927 (+10=1); Hamburg 1930 (+6=1 — 1); Prague 1931 (+8);\nFolkestone 1933 ( + 14); Warsaw 1935 (+9); Stockholm 1937 (+14); and Buenos Aires 1939 ( + 17=2). She played in her first championship tournament as a Russian\, the next five as a Czech\,\nand the last as a Briton. She also won on two matches against her chief rival\, the German-born Sonja Graf (c. 1912-65): Rotterdam\, 1934 (+3-1)\, and Semmering\, 1937 (+9=5—2)\, \nVera Menchik in a pre-event posed picture in which she faces unstoppable checkmate in one from Hastings 193? She was about to play Sir GA Thomas.\nIn international tournaments which did not exclude men Menchik made little impression; one of her best results was at Maribor 1934 (about category 4) when she took third place alter Pirc and L. Steiner ahead of Spielmann. In 1937 she married the English chess organizer Rufus Henry Streatfeild Stevenson (1878-1943)\, A chess professional\, she gave lessons\, lectures\, and displays\, and was appointed manager of the short-lived National Chess Centre in 1939. In 1942 she defeated Mieses in match play (+4=5-1)\, She\, her younger sister Olga (also a player)\, and their mother were killed in a bombing raid. \nFrom left to right: Vera Menchik\, Alexander Alekhine\, Géza Maróczy and Sultan Khan. From London International Masters\, 1st February\, 1932\, French Defence\, drawn in 32 moves.\nHer style was positional and she had a sound understanding of the endgame. On occasion she defeated in tournament play some of the greatest masters\, notably Euwe\, Reshevsky\, and Sultan Khan. Men she defeated were said to belong to the Menchik club. When world team championships for women (women’s chess Olympiads) were commenced in 1957 the trophy for the winning team was called the Vera Menchik Cup.” \nVera Menchik commemorated on a postage stamp from the Czech Republic\nShe was inducted to the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2011. \nOther Articles\nHere is an excellent article from the Hastings and St. Leonard’s Club written by Brian Denman. \nHere is an excellent article from Neil Blackburn (aka SimaginFan) on chess.com \nHere is an excellent article by Albert Whitwood \nHere is her Wikipedia  entry. \nHere is an excellent record compiled by Bill Wall. \nBiography of Vera Menchik British chess player \nVera Menchik.\, EI Bykova\, Moscow\, 1957\, 176 pages\, 4s 7d.\nVera Menchik: A Biography of the First Women’s World Chess Champion\, with 350 Complete Games\nEdward Winter  was less than impressed with the above book. \nVera Menchik\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-for-vera-frantsevna-menchik-16-ii-1906-27-vi-1944/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200625
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200626
DTSTAMP:20210621T084953Z
CREATED:20190823T192347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210621T084953Z
UID:1138-1593043200-1593129599@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Marmaduke Wyvill (22-xii-1815 25-vi-1896)
DESCRIPTION:Remembering Marmaduke Wyvill (22-xii-1815 25-vi-1896) \nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nHere is an excellent article from the Yorkshire Chess History web site. \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nHe was winner of second prize in the first international tournament\, London 1851. He developed his chess skill in the 1840s\, meeting Dubois in Rome\, Kieseritzky in Paris\, and many players\, including Buckle\, in London\, His style was that of the English school\, and he understood well the positional ideas of the English opening and the Sicilian Defence. In 1847 he was elected Member of Parliament for Richmond\, Yorkshire\, a seat he held until 1868 except for a break of two years. The London 1851 tournament consisted of a series of knock-out matches. After defeating Williams (+4-3) in the third round and losing to Anderssen ( + 2=1-4) in\nthe fourth and final round\, Wyvill was placed second. His score against Anderssen was better than that made by other players (Kieseritzky\n“1—2\, Szen +2—4\, Staunton +1—4)\, Wyvill had\nproved himself one of the leading players of his time. Although he played in no more tournaments he retained an interest in the game throughout his\nlife. \nHere is an example of the Wyvill pawn formation : \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 Wyvill formation is a name given by Tarrasch to a pawn formation with doubled pawns as shown above. This formation was not unfamiliar to Wyvill but could with more justification have\nbeen named after Winawer who so frequently doubled his opponent’s c-pawns that this and similar formations became known as his trademark. The technique for attacking the Wyvill formation was also understood by Neumann and before him by Carl Hamppe (1814-76)\, the leading\nViennese player of the 1850s. \nMarmaduke Wyvill at Leamington Spa\, seated third from left.\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-marmaduke-wyvill/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200624
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200625
DTSTAMP:20210621T084640Z
CREATED:20190624T001040Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210621T084640Z
UID:6378-1592956800-1593043199@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Alan Phillips (28-x-1923 24-vi-2009)
DESCRIPTION:BCN remembers Alan Phillips (28-x-1923 24-vi-2009) \nHere is his far too brief Wikipedia entry \nFrom Chessgames.com : \n“Alan Phillips\, joint British Champion in 1954\, was born in England in 1923. He was the author of Chess: 60 Years on with Caissa and Friends (Caissa Editions\, 2003) and The Chess Teacher (Cadogan\, 1995).” \nHere is an item from the Shropshire Chess web site \nHere is Alan Phillips autobiography from his own book\, Chess: Sixty years on with Caissa & Friends \n“Born in Stockport in 1923\,I was playing pontoon in an air-raid shelter in the autumn of 1940 with a friend from our school\, Stockport Grammar\, when he suddenly announced that he knew a better game\, being the school chess champion. Ostensibly studying for a Cambridge Scholarship with a view to reading Classics\, I played about 200 games with Norman Stephens\, emerging the victor perhaps because I studied Alekhine’s and Euwe’s games\, obtained from the Public Library\, whence I had been borrowing difficult piano works for the previous two years. When I got up to Magdalene in 1941\, I found standing next to me in the University Chess Club Wykehamist James Lighthill\, destined to become\, arguably\, our greatest applied mathematician of the second half of the last century; I played chess with him one evening a week and piano duets another\, and as Match Captain and Hon.Sec. in my second year – shared top board\, while now supposedly reading Italian\, as a War Office scheme\, and French\, languages I unfortunately then considered beneath contempt\, compared with the glory that was Greek. \nAlan Phillips plays David Hooper on August 20th 1954 in round five of the British Championships in Nottingham\, photographer unknown\nEnrolled but not commissioned – the War Office having ratted on its promise to a large bunch of first-class linguists – in the Army Intelligence Corps from August 1943 to October 1946\,I spent nearly three years abroad in Sicily and Palestine\, riding a motor-bike – our American equivalents in the CIC were mostly majors or colonels and rode in Cadillacs – and playing\, when stationary\, much music with singers and violinists\, especially in Palestine\, and chess with the Captain of the Harbour in Sicily\, a charming moustached Neapolitan who got about three draws in 300 games\, and then in Haifa\, Hadera and Jerusalem chess clubs\, beating the youth champion of Palestine and Aloni when he played simultaneously\, but losing to Porath\, and enjoying ‘skittles’ in cafes with many other players of near-master rank. Demobilised and put\, like the Goons\, on the Z-reserve in autumn 1946\, I went back to Cambridge to read Classics Pt II and found Peter Swinnerton-Dyer\, as far as I know our best number theorist of the past fifty years\, waiting for me – we tied for the University Championship having begun a series of trips to Hastings with Alan Truscott\, and later continued to Birmingham for the Midland Championship\, which I won in 1951. I usually won prizes in increasingly strong sections at Hastings except in two Premiers\, 1950-1 and 1954-5\, when my emotions were otherwise engaged\, as happened in the British Championship in 1952\, when\, after I had beaten all the best players and scored 7/8 with three rounds to go\, a girl-friend turned up and I lost my last three games\, refusing a draw in round nine in a not superior position\, not out of arrogance\, but in order to clinch the title. \nAlan Phillips and Leonard Barden are joint British Champions of 1954 in Nottingham\, photographer unknown\nOtherwise\, with one or two exceptions\, I only lost to the strongest players in the British Championships I played in\, i.e. 1949-55 and 1961\, tying for first place at Nottingham 1954 and coming third equal in a very strong Championship at Aberystwyth 1955\, which earned me a place as Board 6 on the English team at the Moscow Olympiad in 1956\, where I only drew against Luxembourg\, and lost to Geller\, but drew in two cases from bad positions with Johner\, Sanguinetti and Ghitescu. \nDavid Hooper (left) in conversation with Alan Phillips. Location and photographer unknown.\nIn l96l I moved up to Derbyshire\, where – though playing top board for Manchester as well as the county – having switched to Maths teaching after several years part-time study at Birkbeck and acquired offspring as well as promotion\, I also started annual visits to Dartington Summer School of Music\, now totalling 38 out of a possible 40\, all of which made it virtually impossible for me to play in tournaments\, apart from the odd visit to Hastings or fairly strong week-end tournaments\, e.g. Ilford\, which I won for the second time in 1973\, beating Basman. My responsibilities on my return to London as Head of Charlton School in 1967\, where I got Bob Wade to teach chess as part of mathematics in the Lower School\, and then of Forest Hill School\, where we organised many tournaments\, although I played generally as top board for Kent\, whom I led twice to victory in the County Championship in 1975 and 1976\, meant that I had even less time for tournament chess\, except at Islington and in the Challengers\, so that my real heyday ended there\, with a final move to a ‘quiet’ county\, Shropshire – as far as chess was concerned – as Adviser for Secondary Education and Area Adviser\, 1976-82\, in which capacity I avoided as much paper-work as I could and taught chess in the lunch-hour to all the primary and handicapped pupils I visited. I should say most of my successes at chess have been at County Level\, where I played top board for Cambridgeshire and London University\, as well as the counties mentioned\, and in the very strong London League\, as far as I can estimate I had a success rate of some 70% in those contests. In general the games in this book\, with one or two exceptions for historical or anecdotal reasons\, were played at high levels\, and won by the right player\, not suddenly lost by a blunder\, like some games published nowadays because the blunder is perpetrated by a famous player. \nPhotograph taken in Hastings on 28 December 1950. Lord Dunsany (standing on the right) is watching the first-round game between Alan Phillips and Weaver Adams\, source : http://boylston-chess-club.blogspot.com/\nWith regard to the general assessment of players and tournaments\, I have only one comment “Look at the games!” When even\, or especially\, David Bronstein wails “They give me a number”\, I think it time to end a spuriously precise system and revert to the earlier English practice or the traditional Soviet one of putting players in classes\, preferably according to a sufficiently large number of results in tournaments or strong club or county matches. And when players are inhibited\, when the match is won\, from offering an opponent\, who has played well\, a draw\, that is a diminution of sportsmanship\, so a draw\, even with Kasparov\, should not count in grading. Finally the use of seconds or computers once a game is started should be\nregarded as totally unsporting\, and players should be put on their honour\, as bridge-players are in matters of cheating\, not to use them. \nI should like to dedicate this book to the memory of my good friends\, David Hooper\, Stuart Milner-Barry\, and A.R.B.Thomas\, men of integrity\, humour\, and many other talents\, who brought to their chess the same qualities of courage and sportsmanship they showed in the rest of their lives. \nAlan Phillips (28-x-1923 24-vi-2009) : Source : https://www.shropshirechess.org/History/1970s.htm\nAlan Phillips\nBritish Master\, Joint British Champion 1954\nThorn Cottage\, Appleton Thorn\, Warrington\, Cheshire\nSeptember 2003″ \nObituary of Alan Phillips by John Saunders from British Chess Magazine\, 2009. Part One\nObituary of Alan Phillips by John Saunders from British Chess Magazine\, 2009. Part Two\n\n\n \n\n\n    \n        \n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        \n    \n    \n    \n\n\n \n\nHere is his obituary from The Times of London \nThe Chess Teacher\nChess: Sixty years on with Caissa & Friends\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-alan-phillips-28-x-1923-24-vi-2009/
CATEGORIES:British Championships,Death Anniversary,History,Player,Remembering,Writer
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200621
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20200622
DTSTAMP:20210621T084120Z
CREATED:20190824T095122Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210621T084120Z
UID:1146-1592697600-1592783999@britishchessnews.com
SUMMARY:Death Anniversary of Sir Richard Clarke KCB CB OBE (13-viii-1910 21-vi-1975)
DESCRIPTION:BCN Remembers Sir Richard Clarke KCB OBE who passed away on June 21st 1975. \nAccording to chess-poster.com : “Clarke died in the University College Hospital\, in London\, on 21 June 1975 and was cremated at Golders Green three days later. He was survived by his wife Brenda Pile (married in 1950\, née Skinner) and their three sons.” \nOne of those sons is Charles Rodway Clarke along with his brothers Mark G and Timothy Rodway. \nRichard William Barnes Clarke was born on August 13th\, 1910 in Basford\, Derbyshire. The birth was registered in Ilkeston in the district of Erewash. His parents were a secondary and technical school schoolmaster of science\, William Thomas Clarke and Helen Rodway Clarke (née Barnes). Richard was baptised on October 1st 1910 in St. Lawrence (Anglican) Church in Heanor\, Derbyshire. \nThe 1911 census records the family living at “Iona” which was a modest property in Fletcher Street in Heanor which had six rooms.  Richard was seven months old and he had a three year old sister\, Stella Helen Clarke. The family retained a nineteen year old domestic servant\, Ada Mary Brown who has been born in Codnor\, Derbyshire. \nRichard was educated at Christ’s Hospital\, London followed by Clare College\, Cambridge. At University he studied mathematics specialising in statistics. He was ranked at the sixth “wrangler“. Subsequently he was awarded the Frances Wood Prize by the Royal Statistical Society. \nIn 1944 Richard was awarded the OBE for his work as Planning Officer for the Ministry of Production followed by Companion of the Bath in 1951 for his work as Under Secretary at HM Treasury and in 1964 he was made Knight Commander of the Bath for his work as Second Secretary at HM Treasury. \nAccording to chess-poster.com : “He was commonly known as Otto Clarke” and according to his son Mark the nickname “Otto” was possibly because of Clarke’s “forceful” personality was considered Germanic. According to Sir Sam Brittan\, “it was because his round glasses and the bridge over the nose looked like OTTO.” \nFrom The Oxford Companion to Chess by Hooper & Whyld : \nCreator of the British system of grading. He gave up active chess after leaving Cambridge University where he played second board between C.H.O’D. Alexander and Jacob Bronowski. \nAt first a financial journalist (one of the two who created the Financial Times Index)\, he became\, at the outbreak of the Second World War\, a temporary civil servant\, remaining to become one of the most distinguished of them\, and to receive a knighthood. \nAccording to Arpad E. Elo in “Ratings of Chessplayers Past and Present” : “In the chess world\, rating systems have been used with varying degrees of success for over twenty-five years. Those which have survived a share a common principle in that they combine the percentage score achieved by a player with the rating of his competition. They use similar formulae for the evaluation of performance and differ mainly in the elaboration of the scales. The most notable are the Ingo (Hoesskinger 1948)\, the Harkness (Harkness 1956)\, and the British Chess Federation (Clarke 1957) systems. These received acceptance because they produced ranking lists which generally agreed with the personal estimates made by knowledgeable chessplayers.” \nHere is an article in full reproduced from British Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 2\, February\, 1963\, pages 49 -53 : \nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 2\, February\, 1963\, page 49\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 2\, February\, 1963\, page 50\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 2\, February\, 1963\, page 51\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 2\, February\, 1963\, page 52\nBritish Chess Magazine\, Volume LXXXIII\, Number 2\, February\, 1963\, page 53\nThe June 1975 issue of British Chess Magazine announces his passing and promises that a tribute would follow : it never did. \nSir Richard Clarke (13-viii-1910 21-vi-1975)\, National Portrait Gallery\, Rex Coleman\nHere is his Wikipedia entry \nHere is a small article from chess-poster.com \nHere is detail about the Clarke Grading System \nand more about chess ratings systems in general \nThe Economic Effort of War\n Save as PDF
URL:https://britishchessnews.com/event/death-anniversary-of-sir-richard-william-barnes-clarke/
CATEGORIES:Death Anniversary,History,Honours,Remembering
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