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August 2022
Death Anniversary of Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825 20-viii-1874)
Death Anniversary of Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825 20-viii-1874) From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by David Hooper and Ken Whyld : "One of the strongest English players during the 1850s, He made little impression in his one and only tournament, London 1862, but is remembered for having scored more wins than anyone else in friendly play against Morphy in 1858. He reduced his corpulence by 130 pounds in ten months and as a result died. " He is…
Find out more »Death Anniversary of Gerald Anderson MBE DFC (24-ii-1898 23-viii-1984)
BCN remembers Gerald Frank Anderson MBE, DFC (24-ii-1898 23-viii-1984) From British Chess (Pergamon, 1983) by Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson we have an article written by John Rice : "Gerald Frank Anderson was born in South Africa on 23 February 1898, and has published nearly 500 problems of many different types. From the start he was a versatile composer, and Weenink's The Chess Problem (see introduction) contains two three-movers of his illustrating anticipatory half-pin (see Diagram I) a reflex-mate in…
Find out more »Birthday of WFM Helen Milligan (25-viii-1962)
We wish WFM Helen Milligan all the best on her birthday, this day (August 25th) in 1962. Helen became a Woman's FIDE Master in 2000 and a Candidate Master in 2013. Her highest FIDE rating was 2138 in July 1999. Helen Milligan (born Helen Scott; 25 August 1962) is a Scottish-New Zealand chess player holding the FIDE titles of Candidate Master (CM) and Woman FIDE Master (WFM), and three-time Asian senior women's champion. The CM title was earnt at a…
Find out more »Birthday of IM Jeff Horner (25-viii-1949)
BCN wishes IM Jeff Horner, all the best on his birthday. Jeffrey Horner was born in Bolton, Lancashire on Thursday, August 25th, 1949. Jeff played for Poulton-le-Fylde Teacher Training College and is registered for Lancashire CA. Jeff became a FIDE Master in 1989 (aged 40) and an International Master in 2008 (at the age of 58) and a gap of some 19 years! (Compare this with John Pigott : John became a FIDE Master in 1984 and an International Master…
Find out more »Birthday of GM Aaron Summerscale (26-viii-1969)
BCN offers best wishes to Aaron Summerscale on his 52nd birthday. Aaron Piers Summerscale was born on Tuesday, August 26th 1969 in Westminster, Greater London. His mother's maiden name is Mayall. Aaron lives in SW18 and teaches chess. He married Claire Lusher (Basingstoke) but they are now separated. Aaron Summerscale He became a FIDE Master in 1992, an International Master in 1994 and a Grandmaster in 1997. Aaron was runner-up (to Jonathan Parker) with 8/11 in the 1995 British Championship…
Find out more »Birthday of GM Daniel King (28-viii-1963)
We offer best wishes to GM Daniel King on his birthday Daniel John King was born on Wednesday, August 28th 1963 (the same day as the Martin Luther King "I have a dream" speech) in Beckenham, Kent. He attended Langley Park School whose motto is "Mores et Studia" meaning "good character and learning" or "morals and study". Daniel has a brother Andrew (AJ King) who is also a strong player. Daniel became an International Master in 1982 and a Grandmaster…
Find out more »September 2022
Birthday of GM Michael Stean (04-ix-1953)
We send best wishes to GM Michael Stean on his birthday, Michael Francis Stean was born Michael Francis Stein on Friday, September 4th, 1953 in Pancras, London. His mother's maiden name was Feldman. Michael has a brother, Howard. Michael Stean He attended Latymer Upper School and Cambridge University. His early chess days were spent at Richmond Junior Chess Club. He became an International Master in 1975 and England's third (OTB) Grandmaster in 1977 winning £2,500 from the Jim Slater Foundation.…
Find out more »Birthday of GM Stephen Gordon (04-ix-1986)
We wish Stephen Gordon all the best on his birthday, this day (September 4th) in 1986. Stephen John Gordon was born on Thursday, September 4th 1986 in Oldham, Lancashire where he has lived since. He attended The Blue Coat School in Oldham He became a FIDE Master in 2004, an International Master in 2006 and a Grandmaster in 2009. In 2012 he shared first place with Gawain Jones in the British Championships in North Shields. 2012 British Championships part crosstable…
Find out more »Birthday of IM Yang-Fan Zhou (08-ix-1994)
We send best wishes to IM Yang-Fan Zhou on his birthday. Yang-Fan George Zhou was born on Thursday, September 8th, 1994 in Wandsworth, London. His mother's maiden name was Yang. "Parklife" by Blur was number one in the UK Singles chart. He attended Whitgift School, Croydon (founded by John Whitgift in 1596) and then Churchill College, The University of Cambridge. Here is an article from the Guardian which included "The Whitgift 13-year-old recently won the Coulsdon Premier with 8.5/9, gaining…
Find out more »Death Anniversary of Elijah Williams (08-ix-1854)
Death Anniversary of Elijah Williams (08-ix-1854) We note today (September 8th) in 1854 marks the passing of Elijah Williams. We are not aware of verified image / likeness of Elijah Williams. Possibly the archives of Bristol based newspapers would help? Here is an excellent article by Neil Blackburn (aka SimaginFan) From Wikipedia : "Elijah Williams (7 October 1809 – 8 September 1854) was an eminent British chess player of the mid-19th century. He was the first president of the Clifton…
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