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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[pgn]\n[Event “Blackheath Friendly”]\n[Site “Blackheath”]\n[Date “1973.12.23”]\n[Round “?”]\n[White “Milner Barry\, Philip Stuart”]\n[Black “Alexander\, Conel Hugh O’Donel”]\n[Result “0-1”]\n[ECO “C34”]\n[Annotator “PS Milner-Barry & British Chess News”]\n[PlyCount “70”]\n[EventDate “1973.12.23”]\n[EventCountry “ENG”]\n[SourceTitle “BCM. 1974\, page 118\, gam”] \n{[%evp 0\,9\,19\,38\,25\,3\,-5\,-5\,28\,23\,37\,-14]} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 h6 {\nMB: This rustic move was Alexander’s favourite\, and I never succeeded in\nrefuting it. It is a good way of transposing into a Classical Defence without\ngiving White the option of the Kieseritzky. In 2020 3…h6 is being played\nand has adherents such as Leko and Luke McShane.} 4. d4 g5 5. g3 {MB: This\ngoes back to Spielmann. It is of course double-edged to commit oneself so\nearly. BCN : Both Ivanchuk and Grischuk have played this.} d6 (5… fxg3 6.\nhxg3 {gives White good chances.}) 6. Bc4 ({Alexander expected} 6. gxf4 g4 7.\nNg1 Qh4+ 8. Ke2 {Another time I would try this – like the Steinitz Gambit\, it\nis not so bad as it looks.}) 6… Bh3 $1 $146 (6… g4 7. Nh4 f3 {BCN : has\nbeen tried a few times.}) (6… Nc6 {BCN : In the harsh and unforgiving world\nof engine analyis SF12 shouts loud for this.}) ({MB: An improvement on} 6…\nBg7 7. gxf4 g4 8. Ng1 Qh4+ 9. Kf1 {which in two previous games had turned out\nrather good for White (not that I won either of them).}) 7. Qe2 Bg7 8. c3 g4 9.\nNh4 f3 10. Qc2 Ne7 11. Kf2 $19 {[#] At this point both of us thought that\nWhite stood better\, because of the imprisoned bishop on h3. Alexander\ncriticised this move.} ({Alexander suggested} 11. Be3 {to be followed by Nd2\nand 0-0-0.} {but} O-O {followed by d5 gives Black the better game.}) 11… Bf6\n12. Nf5 Nxf5 13. exf5 d5 14. Bd3 Kf8 $1 15. Bf4 Nc6 16. Nd2 Bg5 $1 17. Bxg5\nQxg5 ({MB : I had expected} 17… hxg5 {and intended to continue with} 18. Nf1\nBg2 19. Ne3 Bxh1 20. Rxh1 {after which\, with Nxg4 and Kxf3\, White has full\ncompensation for the exchange.}) 18. Nf1 {White would much rather preserve his\nknight\,} ({but if} 18. Bf1 Re8 {is horrible}) ({if} 18. Rae1 {Black can launch\nan immediate attack with} h5 {and then …h4}) 18… Re8 19. Qc1 {Forced\, but\nthe writing is now on the wall.} Bxf1 {The depised Bishop has had great\nnuisance value.} 20. Rxf1 Kg7 $1 {He need not hurry. The weak f5 pawn will\nprove fatal.} 21. Re1 Kf6 22. b4 {He must do something!} Qxc1 23. Raxc1 Rxe1\n24. Rxe1 Ne7 25. Re5 Rg8 $1 26. h4 {Again forced.} ({If} 26. Ke3 Rg5 27. Kf4 f2\n28. Ke3 Rh5 {wins easily.}) 26… gxh3 27. Kxf3 Rg5 28. Re2 ({If} 28. g4 h5 {\nis decisive.}) 28… Nxf5 29. Bxf5 Kxf5 (29… Rxf5+ $2 30. Kg4 {would only be\na draw. (SF12 believes Black is winning easily.)}) 30. Rh2 ({Or} 30. g4+ Kg6\n31. Kg3 ({or} 31. Rh2 h5)) 30… Kg6 31. Rxh3 Rh5 {The final coup.\nSuperficially it looks as though White still has chances\, but it is not so.}\n32. Rxh5 Kxh5 33. Kf4 Kg6 34. a4 ({Because if} 34. Ke5 f5 $1 ({much better than\n} 34… c6 35. b5) 35. Kxd5 f4 36. gxf4 Kf5 {and wins easily.}) 34… c6 35.\nKg4 f5+ {and White resigned.} 0-1\n[/pgn] \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[pgn]\n[Event “Match/Nation NED-ENG 10-10”]\n[Site “The Hague”]\n[Date “1939.05.28”]\n[Round “1.1”]\n[White “Euwe\, Max”]\n[Black “Alexander\, Conel Hugh O’Donel”]\n[Result “0-1”]\n[ECO “E33”]\n[Annotator “British Chess News”]\n[PlyCount “62”]\n[EventDate “1939.05.28”]\n[EventType “team-match”]\n[EventRounds “2”]\n[EventCountry “NED”]\n[SourceTitle “EXT 2003”]\n[Source “ChessBase”]\n[SourceDate “2002.11.25”]\n[SourceVersion “1”]\n[SourceVersionDate “2002.11.25”]\n[SourceQuality “1”]\n[WhiteTeam “Netherlands”]\n[BlackTeam “England”]\n[WhiteTeamCountry “NED”]\n[BlackTeamCountry “ENG”] \n{[%evp 0\,62\,19\,31\,25\,7\,-11\,-12\,27\,-3\,15\,5\,-1\,-41\,24\,-91\,-38\,-49\,-53\,-140\,-151\,\n-136\,-142\,-156\,-178\,-154\,-135\,-118\,-117\,-157\,-86\,-113\,-91\,-142\,-59\,-60\,-74\,\n-224\,-235\,-235\,-227\,-174\,-184\,-184\,-126\,-151\,-145\,-153\,-142\,-146\,-124\,-147\,\n-136\,-131\,-150\,-145\,-165\,-173\,-168\,-175\,-160\,-222\,-252\,-390\,-398]} 1. d4 Nf6 2.\nc4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 $6 (7. Bd2 O-O 8. a3\nBxc3 9. Bxc3 Qe7 10. e4 e5) 7… g5 8. Bg3 g4 9. Nh4 Nxd4 10. Qd3 e5 11. O-O-O\n$146 {[#]} Ne6 $17 12. Nb1 Ba5 13. Qa3 Bb6 14. Bxe5 Ne4 $1 15. Bxh8 Qxh4 16. c5\nQg5+ 17. Nd2 N6xc5 18. h4 gxh3 19. gxh3 Nxf2 20. Rh2 Nxd1 $19 21. Rg2 Qe3 22.\nRg8+ Ke7 23. Kxd1 Qxa3 24. bxa3 Ne6 25. h4 Bf2 26. h5 d5 27. Bh3 b6 28. Bxe6\nKxe6 29. Re8+ Kd7 30. Re5 Bb7 31. Bg7 Bd4 0-1\n[/pgn] \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[pgn]\n[Event “Match/Nation radio”]\n[Site “Radio”]\n[Date “1946.06.21”]\n[Round “2”]\n[White “Alexander\, Conel Hugh O’Donel”]\n[Black “Botvinnik\, Mikhail”]\n[Result “1-0”]\n[ECO “C18”]\n[Annotator “Ftacnik\,Lubomir”]\n[PlyCount “81”]\n[EventDate “1946.06.19”]\n[EventType “team-match”]\n[EventRounds “2”]\n[SourceTitle “MCL”]\n[Source “ChessBase”]\n[SourceDate “1999.07.01”]\n[SourceVersion “1”]\n[SourceVersionDate “1999.07.01”]\n[SourceQuality “1”]\n[WhiteTeam “England”]\n[BlackTeam “USSR”] \n{[%evp 0\,81\,34\,15\,46\,31\,28\,20\,32\,44\,21\,23\,30\,18\,26\,23\,44\,50\,51\,37\,77\,35\,68\,77\,\n117\,126\,136\,114\,127\,132\,113\,113\,118\,122\,119\,122\,65\,99\,125\,138\,150\,143\,143\,105\,\n106\,150\,609\,257\,335\,378\,413\,314\,314\,396\,396\,406\,379\,379\,458\,426\,407\,487\,500\,\n536\,516\,498\,504\,392\,379\,383\,435\,472\,447\,447\,447\,439\,482\,439\,461\,517\,572\,344\,\n417\,449]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4\ncxd4 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qa5 $6 (9… dxc3 10. Qd3 d4 11. f4 Nbc6 12. Nf3 $14 {\n(Yudovich)}) (9… Nbc6 10. f4 Qa5 11. Rb1 b6 12. Nf3 Ba6 13. Ng5 $1 $16 {Keres\n}) 10. Rb1 (10. Ne2 $1 {Keres} dxc3 11. Ng3 $1 Nd7 12. Nh5 d4 13. f4 $1 $14 {\nTimman-Korchnoi/Leeuwarden/1976}) 10… Qxc3+ (10… Nbc6 $5) 11. Bd2 Qc7 (\n11… Qxa3 $6 12. Nf3 (12. Bb4 {Keene/Levy}) 12… Nbc6 13. Bd3 Rxg2 $2 14. Ke2\n$18 {Moles}) 12. f4 Nbc6 13. Nf3 Bd7 14. Ng5 (14. h4) 14… Rxg5 (14… O-O-O\n15. Nxf7) (14… Rf8 15. h4) (14… Nd8 15. Bb4 $16 {Keene/Levy} Rf8 16. Qg7)\n15. fxg5 O-O-O (15… Qxe5+ 16. Kd1 $16 {Keene/Levy}) 16. Qxf7 {Fine} Qxe5+ 17.\nKd1 {Pachman} Nf5 18. g6 (18. Bd3 $1 Ne3+ 19. Bxe3 Qxe3 (19… dxe3 20. Qf6)\n20. Qf6 $1 e5 21. Re1 Bg4+ 22. Be2 Bxe2+ 23. Rxe2 Qg1+ 24. Re1 $16 {Botvinnik})\n18… Ne3+ (18… Nce7 19. g7 $1) 19. Kc1 Qe4 20. Bd3 Qxg2 21. Re1 Ne5 (21…\nNc4 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Qf6 $1 Qxh2 (23… Rg8) 24. Bg5 Qg3 25. Kb2 $1 Qc3+ 26.\nKa2 Qxc2+ 27. Rb2 Qc3 28. g7 Qxe1 29. Qxd8+ $1 Nxd8 30. g8=Q {Fine} Qa5 $1 31.\nRf2 $6 (31. Rh2 Ba4 $10 {Schwarz}) 31… Ba4 $1 {Schwarz}) 22. Qf4 Nf3 23. Re2\n(23. Ba5 $1) 23… Qh3 24. Bxe3 e5 25. Qf7 dxe3 26. g7 Qg4 27. h3 Qg1+ 28. Kb2\nQg3 29. Bg6 Nd4 30. g8=Q Rxg8 31. Qxg8+ Kc7 32. Qh7 Kd6 (32… Nxe2 33. Bf5)\n33. Bd3 e4 34. Qh6+ Kc7 35. Rxe3 Qe5 36. Ka2 Nf5 37. Qg5 Be6 38. Be2 d4+ 39.\nReb3 b5 40. Qd2 d3 41. Bg4 1-0\n[/pgn] \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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im75EwDXEzg[/embedyt] \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[pgn]\n[Event “Christmas Congress 1953/54-29 Premier”]\n[Site “Hastings”]\n[Date “1954.01.06”]\n[Round “7”]\n[White “Bronstein\, David Ionovich”]\n[Black “Alexander\, Conel Hugh O’Donel”]\n[Result “0-1”]\n[ECO “A83”]\n[Annotator “British Chess News”]\n[PlyCount “240”]\n[EventDate “1953.12.30”]\n[EventType “tourn”]\n[EventRounds “9”]\n[EventCountry “ENG”]\n[SourceTitle “EXT 1999”]\n[Source “ChessBase”]\n[SourceDate “1998.11.16”]\n[SourceVersion “1”]\n[SourceVersionDate “1998.11.16”]\n[SourceQuality “1”] \n{[%evp 0\,240\,19\,31\,75\,-1\,-16\,-16\,3\,-21\,36\,30\,42\,26\,12\,4\,-19\,-13\,8\,-36\,-28\,-32\,\n-9\,-21\,-21\,-7\,0\,-3\,32\,-22\,0\,-58\,-29\,-41\,-39\,-41\,-41\,-41\,-51\,-55\,-79\,-79\,-71\,\n-65\,-43\,-60\,-26\,-41\,-24\,-24\,-41\,-32\,-60\,-64\,-75\,-70\,-73\,-74\,-74\,-86\,-84\,-114\,\n-141\,-149\,-153\,-159\,-157\,-157\,-102\,-108\,-112\,-108\,-108\,-105\,-104\,-113\,-104\,\n-102\,-102\,-102\,-103\,-103\,-110\,-128\,-134\,-157\,-147\,-155\,-142\,-166\,-159\,-166\,\n-161\,-154\,-154\,-151\,-155\,-155\,-167\,-168\,-168\,-171\,-171\,-171\,-153\,-176\,-169\,\n-169\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-153\,-187\,-193\,-189\,-190\,-190\,\n-190\,-190\,-193\,-194\,-194\,-194\,-190\,-194\,-115\,-194\,-194\,-194\,-194\,-194\,-117\,\n-151\,-165\,-181\,-188\,-193\,-193\,-193\,-190\,-190\,-190\,-195\,-195\,-208\,-215\,-214\,\n-214\,-214\,-226\,-229\,-237\,-226\,-226\,-226\,-202\,-208\,-215\,-226\,-226\,-226\,-232\,\n-229\,-237\,-236\,-229\,-236\,-232\,-271\,-206\,-217\,-205\,-205\,-206\,-211\,-211\,-211\,\n-218\,-226\,-234\,-235\,-236\,-216\,-214\,-228\,-241\,-245\,-239\,-288\,-262\,-263\,-281\,\n-417\,-381\,-468\,-513\,-496\,-420\,-420\,-290\,-301\,-301\,-308\,-301\,-421\,-267\,-338\,\n-263\,-335\,-355\,-409\,-478\,-554\,-588\,-764\,-1013\,-1240\,-483\,-624\,-503\,-503\,-503\,\n-545\,-569\,-589\,-642\,-701\,-829\,-931\,-982\,-1012\,-1022\,-1372\,-1012\,-1245\,-1022\,\n-1022\,-1022]} 1. d4 f5 2. e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 g6 6. Bf4 Bg7\n7. Qd2 O-O 8. Bh6 d5 9. Bxg7 Kxg7 10. O-O-O Bf5 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nc6 13.\nRde1 Qd6 14. Kb1 a6 15. Re2 Rae8 16. Rhe1 e6 17. Ne5 Nd7 18. Nf3 Rf5 19. Re3 e5\n20. dxe5 Ndxe5 21. Nxe5 Rfxe5 22. Rxe5 Rxe5 23. Rxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxd5 Qxh2 25.\nQd7+ Kh6 26. a3 Qd6 27. Qc8 Nd8 28. g4 Kg7 29. b3 c6 30. g5 Qe7 31. Qg4 Nf7 32.\nNe4 Qxa3 33. Qe6 Qa5 34. Nd6 Nxd6 35. Qf6+ Kg8 36. Qxd6 Qe1+ 37. Ka2 Qe8 38.\nQc7 b5 39. Kb1 Qe1+ 40. Kb2 Qe6 41. b4 Qe4 42. Qd8+ Kf7 43. Qf6+ Ke8 44. Qd6\nQd5 45. Qf6 Kd7 46. Qg7+ Kd6 47. Qf6+ Kc7 48. Qg7+ Qd7 49. Qe5+ Qd6 50. Qg7+\nKb6 51. Qc3 Qe7 52. Qd4+ Kb7 53. c3 Qf7 54. Qh8 Kb6 55. Qd4+ Kb7 56. Qh8 Qd7\n57. Ka3 Qe7 58. Qf6 Qc7 59. Kb2 a5 60. bxa5 Qxa5 61. Qe6 Qc7 62. Kb3 Qf4 63.\nQd7+ Kb6 64. Qd8+ Kc5 65. Qe7+ Kb6 66. Qd8+ Kc5 67. Qe7+ Kd5 68. Qd7+ Qd6 69.\nQg4 Qc5 70. Qd7+ Ke5 71. Qxh7 Kf5 72. Qd7+ Kxg5 73. Qd2+ Kf6 74. Qd8+ Kf7 75.\nQc7+ Qe7 76. Qf4+ Kg7 77. Qd4+ Qf6 78. Qe4 Kf7 79. Kb2 Qd6 80. Qf3+ Qf6 81. Qe4\ng5 82. Qh7+ Ke6 83. Qe4+ Kd6 84. Qd3+ Kc7 85. Qh7+ Kb6 86. Kc2 Qf4 87. Qe7 Qf2+\n88. Kb3 Qd2 89. Qe8 Qd5+ 90. Kb2 Qd6 91. Qe3+ Qc5 92. Qe8 Qf2+ 93. Kb3 Qf6 94.\nQd7 Kc5 95. Kc2 Qe5 96. Qd8 Qe4+ 97. Kb2 g4 98. Qd7 Kc4 99. Qd1 Qg2+ 100. Ka1\nc5 101. Qc2 Qf1+ 102. Kb2 Kd5 103. Qd2+ Ke4 104. Qg5 Qf5 105. Qh4 Kf3 106. Qh1+\nKe2 107. Qg2+ Ke1 108. c4 b4 109. Qg1+ Ke2 110. Qg2+ Ke3 111. Kb3 Qd3+ 112. Ka4\nQxc4 113. Qg3+ Kd2 114. Qf2+ Kc3 115. Qe3+ Kb2 116. Qe5+ Qc3 117. Qg5 g3 118.\nQg4 g2 119. Qg5 Qc1 120. Qxc5 Qc2+ 0-1\n[/pgn] \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[pgn]\n[Event “Christmas Congress 1953/54-29 Premier”]\n[Site “Hastings”]\n[Date “1954.01.08”]\n[Round “9”]\n[White “Tolush\, Alexander V”]\n[Black “Alexander\, Conel Hugh O’Donel”]\n[Result “0-1”]\n[ECO “A80”]\n[Annotator “British Chess News”]\n[PlyCount “56”]\n[EventDate “1953.12.30”]\n[EventType “tourn”]\n[EventRounds “9”]\n[EventCountry “ENG”]\n[SourceTitle “EXT 1999”]\n[Source “ChessBase”]\n[SourceDate “1998.11.16”]\n[SourceVersion “1”]\n[SourceVersionDate “1998.11.16”]\n[SourceQuality “1”] \n{[%evp 0\,55\,19\,31\,75\,45\,45\,33\,27\,13\,23\,-9\,-22\,-3\,10\,9\,8\,-10\,-13\,-53\,-53\,-64\,\n-61\,-105\,-28\,-50\,-87\,-72\,-68\,-68\,-60\,-57\,-57\,-61\,-146\,-86\,-147\,-240\,-198\,-432\,\n-461\,-437\,-448\,-448\,-448\,-459\,-459\,-478\,-469\,-643\,-477\,-509\,-428\,-428\,-389\,\n-484\,-494\,-798]} 1. d4 f5 {Hugh usually preferred the KID or Grunfeld vs 1.d4\nbut he had a soft spot for the Dutch defence and trotted it out on special\noccasions.} 2. e3 {A fairly insipid approach by White.} Nf6 3. Bd3 d6 4. Ne2 {\nA fairly rare continuation.} (4. f4) 4… e5 {first played by Nimzowitsch in\n1925 and very rarely since.} 5. dxe5 dxe5 6. O-O $146 (6. Bb5+) 6… Bc5 {\nlimbering up …f4 at the right moment.} 7. Ng3 {intending Nh5 but is g3 a\ngood square for a knight?} g6 8. Bc4 {[#]} Qe7 $1 {Allowing …Be6 at some\npoint.} 9. Qd3 $6 {Encouraging a knight to come to b4.} (9. a3 {Keeping a\nknight out of b4.}) 9… Nc6 10. a3 e4 $1 $19 {Is this the move that Tolush\nfailed to appreciate the strength of?} 11. Qe2 Ne5 $19 {or is this the move\nthat Tolush failed to appreciate the strength of?} 12. Ba2 h5 $1 13. b4 Bd6 14.\nf4 exf3 15. gxf3 h4 {[#] White is being overwhelmed and without counterplay!}\n16. Nh1 g5 17. Nd2 Qg7 18. Bb2 g4 {Who would not enjoy having Black from this\nposition onwards!} 19. f4 Nf3+ 20. Kg2 h3+ 21. Kf2 Nxd2 22. Qxd2 Ne4+ {Ouch!}\n23. Kg1 Qxb2 (23… Nxd2 24. Bxg7 Rh7 25. Rf2 Ne4 26. Bb2 {was less\nadvantageous.}) 24. Qd5 Qf6 (24… Qxc2 25. Rf2 Qc3) 25. Bb3 c6 26. Qd3 Be6 27.\nBxe6 Qxe6 28. Qd4 {and Whte resigned before Black replied.} {Presumably the\nprospect of finding a move after} O-O-O {was too much to contemplate.} 0-1\n[/pgn] \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).
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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