Here is the publishers blurb from the rear cover :
“The Black Lion is a thoroughly modern counterattacking system that is a nightmare to face. This wild and aggressive line attempts to take away White’s initiative from a very early stage and is guaranteed to throw your opponents off balance.
The Black Lion is essentially a contemporary and aggressive interpretation of the Philidor Defence (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d6). The Black Lion starts with a slightly different move order, 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3, and now the lion family splits into two different animals: the risky lion (3…Nbd7) or the tame lion (3…e5). Both treatments are thoroughly investigated in this book.
Simon Williams (the Ginger GM) is the ideal guide to explain how to whip up an extremely dangerous attack using either treatment. Williams is well known for his swashbuckling, attacking play and the Black Lion suits his style perfectly. His commentary and annotations are always instructive and entertaining. * The Black Lion is an unusual and dangerous system with little established theory. * White cannot rely on simple, safe moves as such a strategy is liable to be overrun. * The Black Lion is fun and exciting to play!”
About the author:
GM Simon Williams
“Simon Williams is a Grandmaster, a well-known presenter and a widely-followed streamer, as well as a popular writer whose previous books have received great praise. He is much admired for his dynamic and spontaneous attacking style.”
As with every recent Everyman Chess publication high quality paper is used and the printing is clear. Each diagram is clear as is the instructional text. Figurine algebraic notation is used throughout. The usual and reliable formatting from Brighton-based typesetter IM Byron Jacobs is employed.
The diagrams do not have a “to move” indicator or any kind of caption so you will need to work out for yourself how they relate to the text that they are embedded in. However, this is fairly obvious.
There is a helpful Index of Variations and an Index of completed games.
The table of contents is:
Opening Repertoire: Black Lion, Simon Williams, Everyman Chess, 15 Aug. 2022, ISBN-13 : 978-1781946282
Before we continue it is worth taking a look at the pdf extract which includes the Contents, Preface and pages 128 – 141.
(One thing to note is that despite being published in August 2022, the most recently played cited games are dated from 2019 and, essentially, we have a Chessable course migrated into physical book form. I can’t imagine that this task was straightforward for editor IM Richard Palliser.)
Overall, this book offers a repertoire for Black (against 1.e4 essentially but 1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 could transpose of course) after White has played 3.Nc3 as follows:
[fen cal=Gb1c3] rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p1n2/8/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
and from here on in offering Black the choice of two main continuations which are closely related but which Black can make distinctly different.
We have
[fen cal=Ge7e5] rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/4p3/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
which most would characterise as The Modern Philidor rather than a Black Lion (so named in the wonderful The Black Lion: The Chess Predator’s Choice Against Both 1.e4 and 1.d4 by Jerry Van Rekom and Leo Jansen (New in Chess, 2008).
Alternatively Black can essay the more provocative
[fen cal=Gb8d7] r1bqkb1r/pppnpppp/3p1n2/8/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1 [/fen] which you could also term a Modern Philidor or a Lion Defence depending on Black’s subsequent handling of the position.
The Black Lion and Modern Philidor diverge based on what Black does with the Queen’s knight. If Black castles short and leaves the knight on d7 (initially) then we probably have a Modern Philidor. Deferring castling, re-routing the d7 knight to f8, playing h6 and g5 and then the knight goes to g6 and then f4 really is The Black Lion proper.
Anyway, enough of my pedantic nomenclature rambling…
As implied the transpositional possibilities are numerous so organising the material cannot have been easy. One thing to note is that the author advocates 5…Be7 in the main line which is a move order improvement over the older 5…h6 Lion move order. The Introduction lays out the ‘philosophy’ of the approach clearly differentiating the 3…e5 and 3…Nbd7 choices and together with early games provides background knowledge for those new to this …d6 dark square system.
Chapter One: Key Concepts and Lines essentially clothes the skeleton created by the Introduction and includes ideas such as the once feared Shirov Attack:
[fen cal=Gg2g4] r1bqkb1r/pppnpppp/3p1n2/8/3PP1P1/2N5/PPP2P1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
which is detailed in Chapter 11.
Chapter Two: Common Ideas is the first real exposé of the key Lion idea and spends pages 65 – 128 and 14 full games detailing the really quite profound idea of rerouting the d7 knight to f4. Anyone new to the Lion should study this chapter carefully before moving on.
Chapter Three: The Standard Set-up with Bc4 takes as its starting position
[fen cal=Gd8c7] r1b1k2r/ppqnbppp/2pp1n2/4p3/P1BPP3/2N2N2/1PP2PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w Qkq – 0 1 [/fen]
in which Black has deferred castling to allow the knight relocation manoeuvre.
Chapter Four: The Standard Set-up with 5.Be2 allocates twelve pages on a line that probably will never be seen by most second players but will be of interest nonetheless.
A consequence of the move order advocated in Chapter three is that White may attempt various ‘capturing on f7 type hacks’ and these are treated in detail in Chapters Five and Six.
Arguably the most obvious attempt to refute the 3…Nbd7 move order is the aggressive 4.f4 dealt with in Chapter Four: The Risky Lion: 3…Nbd7 4 f4
and then …e5
[fen cal=FGe7e5] r1bqkb1r/pppn1ppp/3p1n2/4p3/3PPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
As indicated Black may chose to go down the “Modern Philidor” (although the author refers to this as “The Tame Lion) route as in Chapter Eight with
[fen cal=Ge7e5] rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/4p3/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
covering in detail the queenless middlegame variations. The more common White choice of 4.Nf3 is assumed to be covered elsewhere such as Chapters Three to Six, or is it…?
Coverage is completed with Chapters on various g4 ideas by White plus insipid ideas such as g3 and f3.
In summary, The Black Lion is a welcome take on an increasingly popular dark square defence to 1.e4 with the accent on the trademark knight manoeuvre and deferred castling providing many lessons learnt from the 2008 book which introduced the idea.
I would argue that a chapter is missing on the so-called Tame Lion / Modern Philidor move order making Qc7 less desirable and I am thinking of
[fen cal=Gc7c6] r1bq1rk1/pp1nbppp/2pp1n2/4p3/P1BPP3/2N2N2/1PP2PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w Qq – 0 1 [/fen]
arising from a typical move order such as 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.00 00 7.a4 c6 which has 3465 games in MegaBase 2023. No doubt the author will argue that this position where White has tried around 20 (!) different 8th moves deserves an entire book in its own right and I would agree with that.
As a consequence of the migration of the contents from Chessable course to book (which cannot have made life easy for the editor!) there is degree of repeated déjà vu as one reads the same comments. Presumably this is measure of the Chessable philosophy of learning through reinforcement and would not normally happen in a “normal” physical book.
Bearing in mind my earlier comments regarding 2019 this book is a valuable addition to opening literature. Enjoy!
You might think I’m biased, but I’ve long thought that the most important people in any chess club are not the players, but the organisers. The secretary, treasurer and match captains who ensure everything runs smoothly.
All successful chess clubs have at least one: the loyal member who stays with the club for decades, through good times and bad times, while others come and go. Turning up for almost every match. Taking on any job that nobody else wants to do. One of those was the subject of this Minor Piece, James Richmond Cartledge.
The first ‘modern’ Richmond Chess Club (there were earlier organisations using the same name, but they weren’t involved in over the board competitive chess against other clubs) was founded in 1893, continuing until 1940 when, as a result of the Second World War, most clubs shut down for the duration and beyond. For most of that period, for over 40 years, James was a fixture at Richmond Chess Club, so much so that, when looking for a middle name, he chose the name of his chess club. Through the reports of the club AGMs in the Richmond Herald, now conveniently available online, we can trace his changing role in the club as well as the club’s changing fortunes. We can also listen into their discussions, sometimes on subjects which are still relevant today, a century or so later.
But first, we should meet his father, Josiah Cartledge, who was one of the club’s founder members.
Richmond Herald 17 November 1893
Josiah was born in Camberwell, South London, in 1836, so he was now 57 years old. He married a cousin, Marian Frances Bruin, in 1858. (She doesn’t seem to be immediately related to Josiah’s fellow committee member Frederick Arthur Bruin.) A year later a son, Arthur, was born, but tragically Marian died, probably either in or as a result of childbirth.
It wasn’t until ten years later that Josiah married again. His second wife was Frances Victoria Wastie, and their marriage would be blessed by three children, William (1870), Adeline Frances (1872) and James (1874). Josiah and Frances were both chess enthusiasts, competing to solve the problem in their newspaper of choice, the Morning Post, with young Arthur sometimes joining in.
Josiah was a legal clerk, a highly responsible job, and, round about 1873, he became Clerk of the Richmond Petty Sessions, moving out from South London. The 1881 census found the family at 5 Townshend Villas, Richmond, and they were still there in 1891, when his job had expanded: he was also Clerk to the Lunatic Asylum. William was helping him out, while 17 year old James, choosing a different career path, was an architect’s pupil.
It was no surprise then, that, when Richmond Chess Club started up in Autumn 1893, Josiah was one of the first through the door, and, given his status in society, he was a natural choice for the committee.
And here he is, from an online family tree.
Young James was now taking a serious interest in chess and it wasn’t long before his father brought him along to join in.
Here they are at the Annual Supper in 1896.
Before you ask, the Mr James there was no relation to me: it would be a few more years before I joined.
(Edwin Peed James (1853-1933) was a solicitor who hit financial problems, and, after being declared bankrupt, became a commercial traveller.)
Horace Lyddon Pring (1870-1938), a solicitor’s clerk working in accounts, was a young man with boundless energy and ambition. He was not only the club secretary, but treasurer and match captain as well. He reported that the club now had 45 members, 11 of whom were new, but they’d also lost a few. “One or two of the younger members had become mated so effectually – (laughter) – that they could not get out.” They had also moved to a new venue, having “started in a baker’s shop, but that got too hot for them. (Laughter).” Mr Pring also had a sense of humour.
At the end of the supper, toasts were drunk to the accompaniment of music. Songs (the popular music-hall ditties and parlour ballads of the time) were sung and the Kew Glee Singers contributed a selection of glees. Musical entertainments of this nature would continue to be a feature of Richmond Chess Club’s social events for many years to come.
An extract from the 1898 AGM shows the club making progress in several ways.
Richmond Herald 08 October 1898
They had to move venues when their landlord put the fees up: still a familiar story for many chess clubs today. Nevertheless, the club was now attracting strong players such as our old friends Charles Redway and Guy Fothergill, and had arranged a visit from one of London’s leading players, Thomas Francis Lawrence. His annual simuls would become a club tradition lasting many years.
There were some exciting prizes for the lucky – or skillful – winners: dessert knives, a preserve dish and a matchbox.
Josiah was more of a social player, but James had a lot more ambition. By 1900 he was starting to play in competitions such as the Surrey Trophy, albeit on bottom board.
Richmond Herald 24 November 1900
He had also acquired a middle name (he was just James at birth), possibly to avoid confusion with his father. Did he choose Richmond in honour of his home town, or of his chess club?
Here he is, then, winning his game against Thornton Heath. which, as often happened in those days, took place in central London rather than at either club.. Richmond had won the Beaumont Cup in its second season, 1896-97, but by now were trying their hand against the big boys, successfully in this case. The Surrey Trophy and the Beaumont Cup, then, as now, were Divisions 1 and 2 of the Surrey Chess League. Some things never change.
By 1901 Josiah’s job had moved to Mortlake while James had a new job as Assistant Surveyor for the Urban District of Barnes The family had moved to Milton House near Mortlake Station, probably somewhere on Sheen Lane near the junctions with Milton Road and St Leonard’s Road today: a location which would have also been handier if you were in the business of surveying nearby Barnes. Adeline and James were still at home with their parents, along with a cook and a housemaid.
By 1904 the club was in something of a slump, having lost a number of strong players they had withdrawn from the Surrey competitions and were only playing friendly matches along with their internal competitions. Both Josiah and James were very much involved, even though James had married Gertrude Francis (sic: it was her mother’s maiden name) Griffiths at Christ Church East Sheen the previous year. Sadly, it was to be Josiah’s last year.
Richmond Herald 27 August 1904
If you’re interested in the notorious Kate Webster case, as I’m sure you are, Wikipedia deals with it here.
James and Gertrude went on to have three children, Raymond Francis (1905), Hilary Frances (1907) and Kathleen Vivian, known by her middle name (1911), but his new responsibilities as a husband and father didn’t stop his involvement with Richmond Chess Club. Although he had been mated, Gertrude still let him out.
1904 saw some of the club’s stronger players returning, and they were tempted to re-enter the Surrey Trophy. The following year’s AGM would announce that their membership had increased from 24 to 44 within the space of two years. James Cartledge must have been improving fast, as he was now playing on a much higher board.
Richmond Herald 19 November 1904
Six adjudications in a 12 board match seems a bit unsatisfactory, but this situation would be common for many decades to come. You might consider any competition not decided on the night rather bizarre, but adjudications still happen occasionally in the Surrey League today.
At the 1909 AGM, James Richmond Cartledge was elected to the post of Treasurer, “it being remarked that that gentleman had served the club in the capacity of match captain and secretary”.
By the 1911 census the family were living in 10 Palewell Park, East Sheen, just off the South Circular Road. Baby Vivian had arrived a few days earlier, but had not yet been given a name. It was a crowded house, with James, Gertrude and their three young children, James’s sister Adeline, working as a day governess for another family, Gertrude’s sisters Helena and Annie, along with a monthly nurse to look after the baby and a domestic servant.
After the 1911 Richmond Chess Club AGM, hilarity ensued when, during the toasts, the Hon Secretary read out some verses composed by an anonymous member, describing some of the club’s members.
Richmond Herald 15 April 1911
A few days later, another verse appeared: it’s not clear whether or not this was written by the same poet.
Richmond Herald 15 April 1911
It makes McGonagall sound good, doesn’t it? Who knew that EJ Thribb was active in Richmond in 1911?
For several years the committee had been discussing the idea of inviting the British Chess Federation to hold their annual championships in Richmond, and that duly came to pass in 1912. Although the event was very successful, there were very few club members taking part. I’ll perhaps look more at the tournament in a future series of Minor Pieces.
James had certainly improved a lot since his first appearances on bottom board: now, as club champion, he was often to be found on top board when Charles Redway, who only played in the more important matches, was unavailable.
One of the musical guests at the Annual Dinner in April 1914 was Leslie Sarony, who performed ‘popular songs of the light comedian type’. Leslie, only 18 at the time, would have a long and successful career as a variety artist, writer and performer of novelty songs, and actor. He continued working into his 80s, with appearances in programmes such as Z-Cars, Crossroads and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Then, in 1914, war broke out. At their AGM the club decided that it was ‘business as usual’, although they had to appoint a new secretary, and their German member, who was fighting for the enemy, was no longer welcome.
Richmond Herald 03 October 1914
There was less opportunity for competitive chess: the Surrey Trophy and Beaumont Cup ran in 1914-15, only the Surrey Trophy was contested in 1915-16, and then the league went into abeyance until the 1919-20 season. Friendly matches continued, though, as in this match between Richmond and their local rivals, which saw Cartledge facing an interesting opponent in Eric Augustus Coad-Pryor.
Richmond Herald 27 November 1915
Although he was now in his 40s, James Richmond Cartledge was still ready to serve his country, and, with his knowledge of engineering, he signed up as a reservist for the Royal Engineers.
The 1917 AGM reported that he had been called up and was in France in the thick of the fighting.
Here he is, on New Years Eve 1919, applying for his Victory Medal.
Back from the war, James returned to his duties at the club with whom he shared a name, now taking the chair at their AGMs.
The 1921 census found him back at 10 Palewell Park, and again working as an Assistant Surveyor and Civil Engineer in the Local Government Service, employed by the Urban District of Barnes. His wife and children were all at home, and they in turn employed a domestic servant.
The 1921 AGM revealed that new clubs had started at Twickenham, Teddington and Barnes. There was also a discussion about how to attract more lady members: it was agreed to offer them a 5 shilling discount on their membership.
Richmond Herald 01 October 1921
If they’d been looking for a new venue, they could have considered the Red Cow Hotel, Sheen Road, Richmond, which, on the same page, was advertising a Large Club Room for hire. Forty years or so later, their offer would be taken up by what was then the Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club.
The following year, the Hon. Secretary, Captain Wilkinson, reported that ‘the club had two lady members. He lent one of them a book on chess and he had neither seen nor heard of her since. He did think, however that chess was a game that women should take up’.
In 1923 the Club Dinner was revived, not having taken place since 1914. The format was very much the same as before, with speeches, prizegivings and musical entertainment provided by Miss Edythe Florence (contralto), Miss Florence (pianist), Mr. M. J. O’Brien (tenor) and Mr. Len Williams (humorist).
The club’s fortunes waxed and waned over the years, and by 1926, with seemingly little interest in chess in Richmond, and successful new clubs in Barnes and Twickenham proving more attractive for residents of those boroughs, questions were asked about the future.
In 1926 Captain Wilkinson decided to stand down for a younger man.
Richmond Herald 02 October 1926
That younger and more energetic person turned out to be new member Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk, not exactly a young man himself, but with an outstanding record in chess administration within the Civil Service. By the 1929 AGM, things were looking up. Kirk reported that the club had had their most successful season for several years, winning 12 of their 18 matches. Most importantly, although not mentioned in the newspaper report, a decision had been made to merge with Kew Chess Club. They now became Richmond & Kew Chess Club, acquiring new members, including Ronald George Armstrong, a player of similar strength to Kirk, and a new venue enabling them to resume meeting twice a week: once in Richmond and once in Kew. Having an enthusiastic and efficient club secretary makes a big difference. James Richmond Cartledge would still have been very much involved, his experience invaluable in the decision making process.
(Ronald George Armstrong (1893-1952), the son of a Scottish father and French mother, was, unusually for the time, but like Wilfred Kirk, a divorcee. His job involved selling calculating machines. He was clearly a strong player, but didn’t take part in external tournaments.)
In 1930 there was sad news for James as his wife Gertrude died in hospital at the age of 55, but his bereavement didn’t put an end to his chess activities.
By this time Kirk and Armstrong were disputing the top two boards, with Cartledge on board 3, as in this match against their local rivals.
Richmond Herald 18 January 1930
While the Twickenham team lacked big names, their top boards must have been reasonable players. James Young Bell continued playing well into the 1960s: in 1965, in his late 80s, he played a board below the young John Nunn in a match between Surrey and Middlesex. At this time he was a next door neighbour of Wallace Britten in Strawberry Hill Road, thus providing a link between the two Twickenham Chess Clubs.
In that season, the newly amalgamated club won the Beaumont Cup for the first time since the 1896-7 season, As Wilfred Kirk explained at the AGM, ‘union is strength’. The following season they finished equal first with Clapham Common, but lost the play-off match.
Although they were successful over the board, membership numbers were still modest. The 1933 AGM reported only 24 members. By now James Richmond Cartledge had risen to the post of President, but asked the club not to nominate him again as he was retiring from business and planning to move away from the area. He was persuaded to agree to remain President until he moved, but in fact that would be further away than he expected. It appears he moved to Ham on his retirement, close enough to continue his membership.
In 1934 they were able to report that they had won the Beaumont Cup for the third time, but lost to Battersea in the final of the Alexander Cup.
Richmond Herald 19 May 1934
The 1934 AGM brought up the important topic of social chess, the secretary’s report suggesting that the club should offer more time for casual games rather than too many tournament and match games. This discussion is still very relevant in all chess clubs today.
Richmond Herald 06 October 1934
The Hon Secretary at the time was Francis Edward Yewdall (1875-1958), one of the club’s stronger players, who, coincidentally or not, had the same job as Cartledge in the neighbouring borough: he was the Assistant Surveyor for the Borough of Richmond.
The last mention we have for James Richmond Cartledge at Richmond & Kew Chess Club is in October 1938, so presumably it was soon after that date that he moved away.
By the time of the 1939 Register he hadn’t gone far. He was staying in the Mountcoombe Hotel in Surbiton, which, coincidentally, had also been the residence of chess problemist Edith Baird back in 1911. He then moved to the south coast: not, like many chess players, to Hastings, but to Bournemouth, where he died in 1943.
Richmond Herald 13 November 1943
Yes, he rendered a long and useful service to the district, but the obituary failed to mention his long and useful service to Richmond (& Kew) Chess Club over a period of almost 40 years, serving at various times as secretary, treasurer, match captain, chairman and president. Although not of master standard, he was a strong club player (I’d guess about 2100 strength) as well. The likes of him, organisers and loyal club supporters, are just as important to the world of chess as grandmasters and champions. In his day it was the habit to drink toasts at club dinners: join me today in drinking a toast to James Richmond Cartledge.
“The Barry Attack is a highly aggressive system that arises after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 Bf4. Although the concept of the Barry Attack has been known for a century or so, the modern interpretation (as with a number of other dynamic white systems) has mainly been developed by English grandmasters over the past couple of decades. This “modern interpretation” is often not very subtle.
If Black provides a target by castling early on the kingside, White will often let rip with moves such as Qd2, Bh6, 0-0-0 and h4-h5, playing very directly for a quick checkmate. If this strikes you as too crude to have a chance against a sophisticated and competent defender, then a quick glance through this book will undoubtedly change your mind. You will witness countless games where very strong players are destroyed on the black side in less than 30 moves. Sometimes a lot less.
This makes the Barry an ideal weapon for those who love to attack. Black’s defence has to be very accurate. If not, a quick annihilation is on the cards. Play the Barry Attack is the ideal guide to this fascinating opening. Anyone who reads this book carefully and studies all White’s attacking ideas will have a fearsome weapon in their armoury.”
About the author:
IM Andrew Martin
“Andrew Martin is a FIDE Senior Trainer and International Master. He teaches in twelve schools, is an experienced chess writer and has produced numerous chess DVDs.”
And now on with the review:
As with every recent Everyman Chess publication high quality paper is used and the printing is easy to read. Each diagram is clear as is the instructional text. Figurine algebraic notation is used throughout. The usual and reliable formatting from Brighton-based typesetter IM Byron Jacobs is employed.
The diagrams do not have a “to move” indicator or any kind of caption so you will need to work out for yourself how they relate to the text that they are embedded in. However, this should be fairly obvious.
The cover of the paperback appears to be of thinner material than usual: We miss the versions with built-in book markers at each end.
There is a most helpful Index of Variations and an Index of completed games.
The table of contents is:
Play the Barry Attack: Table of Contents
Before we continue it is worth taking a look at the pdf extract which includes the Contents, Preface and pages 118 – 137.
At this point we feel the need to make a couple of small confessions: we have played the Barry (and 150/1800) Attacks with the White pieces (but not the Black side) for some years and and share an emotional bond with the opening. We have been friends with the author since we were both members of the famous CentYMCA chess club in Tottenham Court Road, London between 1978 and 1983.
It is worth noting that this book follows-on from the publication (July 2021) of a ChessBase DVD entitledThe Barry Attack (by the same author) which (we don not have but) is likely to provide a useful compliment to this book. However, the book contains more recent content.
We were disappointed not to find a bibliography of sources since we have a particular interest in the development of this opening. For example, there was not a single mention of Aaron Summerscale’s superb A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire, 1998, Everyman Chess, which was one of the first (if not the first) books to discuss The Barry in detail: never mind! Aaron also recorded a superb DVD for Foxy Openings (#7, Anti King-Indian & Grunfeld System) which is still worth watching even in 2023.
Chapter 1, A Barry Timeline is an in-depth history lesson on how the Barry (what was it called before George Hodgson named it? We presume the usual “Queen’s Pawn Opening” type label) developed by examining thirty games spanning from Tartakower – Wahltuch, 1922 to Sadhwani-Jones from 2022, one hundred years later. Fascinating stuff! If only more opening books bothered to do this it would give them a USP over their rivals.
The first real foray in explicit theory is via Chapter Two and the unlikely named Tarzan Attack (whoever gave it this epithet? Mark Hebden or Julian Hodgson perhaps?)
[fen cal=Gd1d2] rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/5np1/3p4/3P1B2/2N2N2/PPPQPPPP/R3KB1R b KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
The Tarzan (or Lord Greystoke) is as subtle as a brick (rather akin to the 150 / 1800 Attack) and forms the basis for Chapter Two. We remember for some years that the Barry Attack section of GM Tony Kosten’s ChessPublishing.com and its associated forum had many posters swooning over 5.Qd2 and it soon became the line de rigeur. Of course, adequate resources were found for Black and these are examined in detail. The author tries his best to make 5.Qd2 playable and, of course, at club level (where anything goes according to Lombardy) it is worth a punt. Nineteen games are analysed and the most plausible and critical lines covered so you should be well prepared with either colour.
Chapter three (The Modern 5. Nb5) must be one of the first serious studies of what first appears to be “a bit of a patzer” line with the ambitious
[fen cal=Gc3b5] rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/5np1/1N1p4/3P1B2/5N2/PPP1PPPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
which in 2023 is “all the rage” amongst Barry experts. Thirty-two pages are used to examine eleven games in detail and 5.Nb5 would appear to be a most playable and intriguing line. Almost certainly the first player will be more up-to-date than the second so well worth a try!
For many Barry die-hards Chapter Four (The Original Barry Attack) will be their first port of call to refresh their knowledge. At Seventy-Five pages and thirty-four examined games this is the most substantial chapter covering the most interesting struggles starting with
[fen cal=Gf1e2] rnbq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/5np1/3p4/3P1B2/2N1PN2/PPP1BPPP/R2QK2R b KQq – 0 1 [/fen]
The author provides a balanced approach showing reliable methods for Black’s defence. Conclusions: you will have to purchase the book to find out what these are!
Chapter Five (Other fifth moves for White) tidies things up with seventeen pages and seven games. This material will mainly be of interest to the second player but there are some idea based around early h4 attempts by White.
The sixth Chapter (4…c6 and Others) will be of interest to the first player since it contains arguably less critical tries for Black where an early …c5 is punted. All good for completeness of course.
Chapter Seven (Transposition to a Pirc) might at first glance be discussing the 150 / 1800 Attack that a Barry move order can become.
However, appearences are deceptive and it contains forty-six pages and twenty-one games where White continues with 5. Bf4 against a Pirc type structure.
[fen cal=Gc1f4] rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/3PPB2/2N2N2/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
(whereas the more common approach would be
[fen cal=Gc1e3] rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/3PP3/2N1BN2/PPP2PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq – 0 1 [/fen]
which is subtly different)
This is likely to be a good choice against a King’s Indian / Pirc player who is likely not to be familiar with the set-up. I’m not sure these positions have been given a detailed treatment such as this in the literature previously. Interesting stuff!
All in all “Play the Barry Attack” is a welcome and fresh treatment with much original analysis from real games. The author has and continues to be a supporter of lines developed by British players such as the Barry.
Silman’s Chess Odyssey: Cracked Grandmaster Tales, Legendary Players, and Instruction and Musings, Jeremy Silman, Siles Press, 31st May 2022, ISBN-13 : 978-1890085247
From the Siles Press web site:
“Silman’s Chess Odyssey is International Master Jeremy Silman’s homage – part instruction, part history, part memoir – to the game he loves. The book opens with with behind-the-scenes tales of tournament life. Then it profiles the lives and careers of eleven legendary players-Adolf Anderssen, Ignatz Kolisch, Johannes Zukertort, Siegbert Tarrasch, Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, Frank Marshall, Rudolf Spielmann, Alexander Alekhine, Salo Flohr, and Efim Geller-with the help of diagrams and analysis of over 275 games. After that it delves into accounts of criminals who were talented chess players, discusses a memorably odd series of games in a historic interzonal tournament, and memorializes some of Silman’s friends in the chess world. It concludes with material on openings, imbalances, tactics, and psychology, and FAQs”
About the Author:
IM Jeremy Silman
“Jeremy Silman is an International Master and a world-class teacher, writer, and player who has won the American Open, the National Open, and the U.S. Open. Considered by many to be the game’s preeminent instructive writer, he is the author of over thirty-seven books, including Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, The Amateur’s Mind, The Complete Book of Chess Strategy, and The Reassess Your Chess Workbook. His website (www.jeremysilman.com) offers fans of the game instruction, book reviews, theoretical articles, and details of his work in the creation of the chess scene in the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
IM Jeremy Silman
From the author’s preface:
As I sit down to write this preface I find myself at a loss for words. Why? I’ve been writing about chess for over fifty years (as well as teaching and playing), but every paragraph I start to write seems as f I’ve written or said it a thousand times before.
I ask myself what are my current thoughts on chess. For example, computer chess engines are monsters. Humans have no way to beat them, and they will get better and better.
Chess continues to be a part of everyday as I must feed my habit? I very much enjoy the game when I play blitz against other masters. Sadly, several of my close friends (my chess posse) have died: Igor Ivanov, Walter Browne, Pal Benko, Steve Brandwein (I can still hear Steve chanting, “I came, I ate, and I left”), and John Grefe, and I miss there banter. I enjoy chess teaching (if the student is really engaged) and I have a handful of students. But mostly I love, love, love chess books.
Fantastic: so do I. Wait a minute, though. ‘I miss THERE banter’? While I’m at it, I’m not sure what that question mark is doing at the end of the first sentence in that paragraph. Although I share Jeremy’s love of chess books, I hate, hate, hate spelling, grammatical and factual errors (especially those in my own books and reviews).
To be fair, it does get a lot better: perhaps the preface was written after the grammar checker had read the rest of the book.
Jumping forward a bit:
I love chess history. For example, Gioacchino Greco – he was the best chess player in the world circa 1620. You must look at his games (see part four)! Greco was a master of tactics, positional play, and openings – he did everything! I Greco knew “imbalances” (which I created) he would be a chess god. As for Philidor (in the 1700s), Greco would destroy him.
Interesting, and perhaps a controversial opinion, quite apart from the question as to whether Greco actually played the games in his book. If you’re a historian of early chess, what do you think?
Further again:
And I am constantly amused by the endless stories. One of my favorites is the account Steinitz wrote following his physical battle with the hard-drinking Joseph Henry Blackburne (who was also known as the Black Death).
“After a few words Blackburne pounced upon me and hammered at my face and eyes with fullest force about a dozen blows … but at last I had the good fortune to release myself from his drunken grip, and I broke the windowpane with his head, which sobered him down a little.”
I laugh every time I look at this, as I hope you do when you read some of the stories squeezed in between the history and instruction within these pages.
There are so many sides to chess: You can have fun with it. You can study for long hours every day and become a strong player (that was my path). You can be a bad player, but just love the game and feel joy when you sit down at the board. You can be a five-year-old kid (boy or girl), or a ninety year old that plays every day.
I hope that every chess player will find some part of this book that speaks to them.
Here we have, then, an author with a distinguished record of writing instructional books, but who also has a passionate love of chess. If you share that passion you’ll want to read this book.
The first part, taking you up to page 56, offers Cracked Grandmaster Tales, amusing anecdotes which Jeremy himself either witnessed or was part of.
Here’s Filipino GM Balinas drinking a cup of honey mixed with tea – and losing horribly. Here’s Tal visiting Disneyland (his favourite ride was Pirates of the Caribbean). Here’s Najdorf, well, being Najdorf. Here’s Larsen, well, being Larsen and telling his favourite stories. All great fun, although I’m not sure everything would pass a sensitivity reader.
The bulk of the book, up to page 376 is taken up by Part 2, where Silman introduces you to his 11 favourite players of all time, mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries. A pretty eclectic bunch they are as well, but with tacticians predominating: Anderssen, Kolisch, Zukertort, Tarrasch, Steinitz, Lasker, Marshall, Spielmann, Alekhine, Flohr, Geller). There’s a lot of variance in the number of pages allotted to them. Poor Zukertort only gets six pages, compared to Lasker’s 50, Marshall’s 67 and Alekhine’s 72.
Marshall’s chapter is, as you would expect, hugely entertaining. Silman offers us a lot of games, a few with Marshall’s annotations, some lightly and often amusingly annotated by Silman, and others without annotations, as well as a run-through of his career record.
He describes this rather inaccurate game, against Janowski, as a thrilling battle. As always in my reviews, click on any move for a pop-up window.
The annotations aren’t entirely accurate, either, if you consult Stockfish, or, for the last few moves, tablebases. The rook ending is certainly worth your attention if you like that sort of thing.
The chapter on Alekhine is also fun, although some readers will have seen some of the games many times before.
This game has a British interest, although I have a slight quibble. Milner-Barry was usually known by his middle name: Silman only gives his first name here.
This mistake still appears in some online sources, and earlier versions of MegaBase had it wrong, but it’s correct in the current version. This article sets the record straight.
Silman also fails the Yates test: he was just Fred, not Frederick (and MegaBase, frustratingly, still hasn’t picked this up). Silman is a lover of chess history, but, like many others, not a historian. You might equally well argue, I suppose, that not all chess historians actually love chess history, being interested in facts at the expense of character.
Part 3 is entitled Portraits and Stories. Here we have some chess-playing criminals such as Norman Whitaker and Claude Bloodgood, who will be familiar to readers of The (Even More) Complete Chess Addict.
Silman also pays tribute to a few of his departed friends. Here, I was struck by his memories of Steve Brandwein, an exceptionally strong blitz player who played very little over the board.
Part 4 is a real miscellany: Musings, Theory, Instruction, and FAQs. You’ll find all sorts of things here, including this classic game. It taught me a lot in my early teens, and improved my positional understanding by leaps and bounds. Perhaps, with Silman’s annotations, it will improve your positional understanding as well.
There’s so much more here: the aforementioned Greco games, chess psychology, some opening theory, answers to questions such as ‘Can Anyone Become a Grandmaster?’ – and the Greatest Amateur Game of All Time.
You might think there are at least two books struggling to escape from this heavy, well produced, entertainingly written and beautifully illustrated (a wide range of great photographs throughout the book) volume. Part 2, Silman’s First Eleven, might be compared with Chernev’s Golden Dozen, while Parts 1, 3 and 4 would make a great collection of Wonders and Curiosities of Chess. And, yes, I think I can see the great Irving’s shade smiling down in approval.
You might see it as a bran tub, a lucky dip. Turn to any page at random and you’ll find something to amuse, inform or instruct.
Despite some avoidable errors, which will probably annoy you less than they annoy me, this book is highly recommended to all true chess enthusiasts, whatever their rating. It’s Jeremy’s love letter to the game that has meant so much to him throughout his life, a paean to the beauty and excitement of chess. If anyone out there thinks chess is a dull game, or chess players are dull people, this is the book to disabuse them.
In his chapter on Geller, Silman writes:
In my mind, if you don’t know all the greats from the past, then you’re missing the heart and soul of what chess is about. So many wonderful games. So many stories; some funny, some crazy, some very, very sad.
I’m in complete agreement: what sets chess apart from other games is its history, heritage and culture. If you agree as well, or if you’d just like to investigate further, then you should certainly read this book.
We remember Raaphy(i) Persitz who passed away on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009.
From British Chess Magazine, Volume CXXIX (129, 2009), Number 3 (March), pp. 130-134 by John Saunders we have this detailed obituary:
Raaphy Persitz
A tribute to a great friend of British chess, by John Saunders
Raphael Joseph Arie (Raaphy) Persitz (26 vii 1934, Tel Aviv – 4 ii 2009, Tel Aviv)
28th December 1955: Israeli chess player Raaphy Persitz in play at the International Chess Congress at Hastings. (Photo by Folb/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
Raaphy 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.
Raaphy 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.
One 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.
Despite 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).
Raaphy Persitz (26-vii-1934 04-ii-2009)
As 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.
Raaphi 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.
This is the second game, he won both games.
Be 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.
I 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.
)
The 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:
“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.
Another, 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…
With warmest wishes for a healthy,
happy, fruitful 2009. Raaphy.”
I 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.
Notes by Persitz
Unlike 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.
{[%evp 0,1,-80,-94] [#] White’s position does not inspire much confidence:} {
After 40 minutes reflection, White hits upon a drastic solution which displays
a profound understanding of the position.} 19. b4 $1 {The idea behind this
remarkable move is a simple as the move itself is startling: since White’s
central pawns exercise a cramping influence on Black’s king’s flank, he will
go out of his way to hold on to them, even if this involves jettisoning both
his queenside pawns. Black’s b-pawn will be subjected to a frontal attack
along the b-file.} ({the straightforward} 19. Be3 {, to protect the hanging
d-pawn, will not do because of} f4 20. b3 Rb4 {etc}) ({whilst if} 19. Bb5 {
simply} Rxd4) 19… Nxb4 $2 {Frittering away most of his advantage.} ({
Admittedly neither} 19… Rxb4 20. Ba3 Rxd4 21. Bxf8) ({nor} 19… Nxd4 20.
Rxd4 Bxe5 21. Bb2 Bxd4 22. Bxd4 Rxb4 23. Rd1 {yields Black any superiority.}) (
{But the tranquil} 19… Rfa8 {does} {For example} 20. a3 Rxb4 21. Be3 (21.
axb4 Rxa1) 21… Rb2) 20. Bb5 $1 (20. a3 $2 Nc2) 20… Rxa2 $2 {Unnecessarily
jeopardising the black kinght., thus handing over the initiative to White.} ({
The safe course is} 20… Raa8 21. a4 Nc6 (21… Rfc8 $2 22. Bd7) ({or} 21…
Kf7 22. Ba3)) ({Less good is} 20… Nc2 $2 21. Bxa4 Nxa1 22. Bb2 Ra8 23. Bd7
Nc2 24. Bxe6+ Kf8 25. Bxd5 {when White’s connected passed pawns carry the day.}
) 21. Rxa2 ({After} 21. Rb1 Nc6 (21… Na6 $2 22. Bd7) 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Rxb6
Rc2 {White does not appear to have enough for his minus pawn.}) 21… Nxa2 22.
Bd2 Ra8 {[#] The text move is aimed at rescuing the knight} ({Black had
originally intended to follow up 20…Rxa2? with} 22… Kf7 $2 {preparing for
23…Rc8-c2 (which is not feasible right away on account 23.Bd7).} {but he had
not noticed that White would trap the displaced knight by means of} 23. Ra1 Ra8
24. Bd3 {etc.}) 23. Rb1 ({If} 23. Ra1 Bf8 24. Bd3 Ra3 25. Bb1 {and the rescue
completes} {by way of} Nc1 $1) 23… Kf7 24. Bd7 $2 ({If} 24. Be2 {then either}
Rc8 ({or} 24… Ra4 {suffices} 25. Bd1 ({or} 25. Rxb6 Rxd4 26. Rxb7+ Kg8 27.
Rb8+ (27. Rb2 Ra4) (27. Be3 Rb4 28. Ra7 Nc3) 27… Kf7 28. Rb7+ Kg8 29. Rb8+ {
with a draw by repetition of moves.}) 25… Rxd4 26. Rb2 Nc3 $1) 25. Rxb6 Rc2 {
etc}) ({More promising is} 24. Rb2 $1 {with Rc2 and Rc7 to follow whereupon
Black would find it extremely difficult to avoid the loss of his weak e-pawn.})
24… Ke7 (24… Ra6 25. Bc8) 25. Rxb6 (25. Bb5 Rc8 $1 26. Bg5+ Kf7 27. Bd7 (
27. Rb2 Nc3 $1) 27… Rc7) 25… Kxd7 (25… Bxe5 26. Bxe6 Bxd4 27. Bg5+ Bf6
28. Bxf6+ Kxf6 29. Bxd5+ {which peters out into a draw.}) 26. Rxb7+ Kc6 {
The king is destined to play a leading part in the ending.} 27. Rxg7 {The game
now enters a new and tricky phase. White’s king is out of play, but so is
Black’s knight.} Ra4 (27… Kb5 {, in order to answer} 28. Re7 (28. Rxh7 Kc4
29. Be3 {and White’s h-pawn becomes dangerous.} (29. Rg7)) 28… Ra6 {, is too
slow.}) 28. Re7 (28. Rxh7 {tends to favour Black} {i.e.} Rxd4 29. Bg5 Rd1+ 30.
Kh2 d4) ({Worse is} 28. Be3 Nc3 29. Rxh7 (29. Re7 $142) 29… f4 $1 30. Bd2
Ne2+ 31. Kf1 Nxd4 $17) 28… Rxd4 29. Rxe6+ Kb5 {[#]} 30. Be3 {Setting Black a
discreet pitfall:} Re4 (30… Rd1+ 31. Kh2 d4 32. Rd6 d3 (32… dxe3 33. Rxd1)
(32… Kc5 33. Bxd4+ $1) 33. e6 {and White wins.}) 31. Rb6+ Kc4 32. Rc6+ Kd3 (
32… Kb5 $2 33. Rc5+) 33. e6 Nc3 {The knight returns from the cold.} ({instead
} 33… d4 {loses outright to} 34. Rd6) 34. Rd6 ({If} 34. Bc5 Ne2+ (34… d4
35. Rd6 Nb5 36. Rb6 Kc4 37. Bf8 d3) (34… Re1+ 35. Kh2 Ne4 36. Be3 f4 37. e7
fxe3)) 34… f4 {warding off 35.Bg5 and denying the white king of access to
the flight square g3.} 35. Bc5 ({The alternative is} 35. Bb6 {(threatening 36
Bd8, 37 e7, 38 Rf6 and 39 Rf8 etc.)} Re1+ 36. Kh2 Re5 37. Bd8 Ne4 38. Rd7 {
with a draw after} Rxe6 (38… Nxf2 39. Bh4 Ne4 40. e7 g5 41. Rxd5+ Rxd5 42.
e8=Q gxh4 43. Qf7 {being advantageous to White.}) 39. Rxd5+) 35… Re1+ 36. Kh2
Kc4 ({abstaining from} 36… Ne4 $2 37. Rxd5+ Kc4 {which goes down to} 38. Re5
$1) 37. Bb6 {angling for Bd8 followed by e7, Rf6-f8 and e8=Q.} Ne4 38. Rd7 (38.
Rc6+ Kb5 39. e7 {would lead to disaster after} Nd2) ({Likewise, if} 38. Ba5 $2
Ra1 {menacing three white pieces}) ({if} 38. Rd8 Ng5) 38… Nd2 {attacking the
e-pawn and threatening mate in three moves.} ({To} 38… Nf6 {White retorts not
} 39. Rd6 ({nor} 39. Rc7+ Kb5 40. Bd4 Rxe6) ({but} 39. Re7 {with a level
position.}) 39… Ne8 40. Rc6+ Kb5) 39. Ba5 {Making the draw inescapeable.}
Nf1+ 40. Kg1 ({Of course, if} 40. Kh1 $4 Ng3+ {and mates next move; which goes
to show that other things being equal, double check causes more damage than
discovered ones.} 41. Kh2 Rh1#) 40… Nd2+ 41. Kh2 Nf1+ ({On} 41… Rd1 {
White’s safest course is} 42. g4 {, when Black does not appear to have
anything more promising than} (42. Bxd2 Rxd2 {favours Black}) ({whilst the
consequences of} 42. h4 h5 {are obscure.}) 42… Nf3+ 43. Kg2 Nh4+ 44. Kh2 Nf3+
{drawing by perpetual check.}) (41… Re2 42. e7) 42. Kg1 Ra1 {A last, albeit
harmless, gesture.} 43. g4 Nd2+ {and a draw was agreed in anticipation of} ({
The careless} 43… fxg3 $2 44. Kg2 Rxa5 {would invite White to queen his
passed pawn after} 45. e7 Ra8 46. Rd8 Ra7 47. e8=Q) 44. Kg2 (44. Kh2 Nf3+ 45.
Kg2 Nh4+ {and so on.}) 44… f3+ 45. Kh2 ({if} 45. Kg3 {he gets the worst of
the ending after} Ne4+) 45… Nf1+ {and so on and so forth.} 1/2-1/2
[/pgn]
Raaphy Persitz Tributes
Leonard 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.
Leonard Barden (centre) with Raaphi Persitz, JB Sykes, OI Galvenius and DM Armstrong, Ilford, May, 1953
A 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.
I 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”.
That 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.
Raaphy 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.
A 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!
Persitz 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.
Persitz’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.
God bless you, Raaphy. I feel privileged to have known you. Amatzia Avni.
{[%evp 0,97,19,31,14,30,28,4,27,41,33,17,24,8,18,-2,24,3,15,-15,12,-2,3,-2,7,
-20,-16,-17,-10,15,16,-19,62,1,8,40,51,51,48,33,53,53,82,79,72,72,64,66,61,64,
72,64,75,65,69,65,79,71,59,54,61,51,52,43,58,39,56,54,46,48,70,65,81,44,81,80,
65,62,65,48,47,-15,-21,-17,-8,-116,-109,-114,-94,-88,233,311,397,396,414,407,
346,377,604,624]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. a3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5
7. e3 {The old main line is going through a mini-revival recently, so I
thought I would try and keep up with the trends. Here g6 is a popular move for
Black, but the game transposed to a more common variation which can also be
reached as follows:} (7. Qc2 Be7 8. e4 Nxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Bd3 c5 11. O-O Qc7
12. Qe2 Nd7 13. Bb2) 7… Nd7 8. Bd3 c5 9. e4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Qc7 11. O-O Be7 12.
Bb2 O-O 13. Qe2 {By a strange move order we have reached one of the main
positions of the Petrosian Variation of the Queen’s Indian.} Rac8 14. Nd2 {
One of Black’s main plans in this position is to close down the centre, and
hence limit the potential of White’s bishops by playing c4 and e5. This move
is designed to add more control to the c4 square, whilst readying kingside
expansion with f4.} Bg5 $5 {An interesting way to stop f4. Another alternative
is to put the queen on f4 before the pawn gets there! Then if White wants to
shift the queen he has to weaken the long diagonal with g3.} 15. Rad1 $146 {
This is technically a novelty, but according to my database the position has
been reached once before by transposition.} e5 $6 {Black goes for it and
challenges the centre right away. Rfd8 comes into consideration as a useful
alternative.} 16. Nf3 (16. d5 Bxd2 17. Qxd2 c4 {I expect this was his
intention, closing up the position, but probably White has slightly the better
of it with the bishop pair if he can find a way to activate them.}) 16… Bf6
17. Bb5 $1 {I don’t want Black to close me in with c4.} cxd4 18. cxd4 exd4 19.
Nxd4 Nc5 20. Nf5 $1 Bxb2 {This hands White a comfortable edge. The risky Bxe4
was the other option when white has the choice between 2 reasonable ways to
fight for the advantage.} (20… Bxe4 21. Nh6+ (21. Bxf6 Bxf5 22. Be7 Rfe8 23.
Bxe8 Rxe8 24. Bd6 {with a pull for White.}) 21… Kh8 22. Bxf6 gxf6 {is also
possible when Black has an extra pawn, but a weak king provides at least
sufficient compensation.}) 21. Qxb2 f6 22. Nd6 Rb8 {Forced.} (22… Rcd8 23.
Qa2+ Kh8 24. Nf7+ Rxf7 25. Qxf7 {Wins.}) 23. f3 $6 (23. e5 {I think e5 is
marginally preferable. This ensures that White’s king is safer than Black’s.
However the game continuation keeps a strong hold in the centre and blunts
Black’s bishop.}) 23… Kh8 $1 24. Rf2 Ba6 {Black is advised to swop his
bishop for White’s more active counterpart.} 25. Bxa6 Nxa6 26. Rfd2 Nc5 27. Qc3
(27. Rd5 {I wanted to continue with Rd5 and Qf2 -> kingside but Na4 would have
been irritating threatening a fork on c3.} Na4 28. Qb3 Nc3 29. Nb5 Nxb5 30.
Qxb5 Rbd8 $14) 27… h6 $1 {Black has found some strong moves, and the task of
converting the edge is not easy.} 28. h3 {I tried to look for a way to
consolidate my own king position, but it is not so simple with my pawn on f3.
Moving the f pawn around a castled king, can often leave it much more
vulnerable.} Kh7 {Black hopes to play Rbd8 without any Nf7+ problems.} 29. Kh1
Rbd8 30. Qc2 Kg8 31. Qc4+ Kh7 32. Qd5 Rd7 $6 {Probably Qd7 was better covering
the f5 square.} 33. Qf5+ Kg8 34. Qg6 $1 Ne6 $1 (34… Rfd8 {Black would love
to play this move but it fails tactically.} 35. Ne8 Rxd2 36. Rxd2 Rxd2 37.
Nxf6+ {And mate follows.}) 35. Qg4 Nc5 36. Qg6 Ne6 37. Qg4 {I repeated as my
time was getting low and I needed to make it to move 40.} Nc5 38. Rd5 $6 (38.
f4 $1 {Would have been stronger, ready to support the d6 knight with e5
against Rfd8 ideas. I rejected this based on a miscalculation.} Qc6 39. Nf5
Nxe4 40. Rxd7 Nf2+ 41. Kg1 Nxg4 42. Ne7+ {Wins for White, but Black could
fight on with 39…Rc7. In fact White would probably be best off playing 39.
Kh2 looking after the king – the most important feature of major piece
endgames.}) 38… Kh7 $1 39. h4 $2 {I start going wrong in time trouble.} (39.
Qf5+ Kg8 40. Qg6 Kh8 41. h4 {is a more accurate version of the same idea.})
39… Rfd8 $1 40. Nf5 $2 (40. Qf5+ Kg8 41. e5 {Still retains a slight edge.})
40… Rxd5 41. exd5 g6 $1 {The only move but a very important one. I’d seen
this and hoped that h5 might have maintained the initiative for White but…}
42. Ng3 (42. Qg3 {Moving to an equal ending was probably the best option, but
I was still after more.}) (42. h5 gxf5 43. Qg6+ Kh8 44. Qxf6+ Kg8 45. d6 Qd7 {
Looks at least ok for Black.}) 42… h5 $1 {Before White plays h5 – so now i’m
obliged to sacrifice a piece.} 43. Nxh5 gxh5 44. Qxh5+ Kg7 $4 {After a fine
series of moves, my young opponent finally cracks.} (44… Kg8 45. d6 (45. Qg6+
Qg7 46. Qf5 Rd7 {And Black is slightly better.}) (45. Rd4 Qh7 {is the point,
when the black king can hide on h8.}) 45… Rxd6 46. Qg6+ Kf8 47. Qh6+ Ke8 48.
Qg6+ Kd7 49. Rxd6+ Qxd6 50. h5 {It is still not over but Black has the better
chances.}) 45. Rd4 $1 {Now I think Black is lost, but he comes up with an
interesting last roll of the dice.} Ne6 46. Rg4+ $1 (46. Qg4+ $2 Ng5 47. hxg5
$4 Qc1+ 48. Kh2 Rh8+ 49. Kg3 Qe1+ 50. Kf4 Qe5#) 46… Kf8 47. Qh6+ $1 Ke7 (
47… Ng7 48. Qh8+ {Wins}) 48. Re4 $1 Rxd5 49. Qg7+ {And Black resigned since:}
(49. Qg7+ Kd6 (49… Kd8 50. Qg8+ Kd7 51. Qxe6+ Kd8 52. Qe8#) 50. Rxe6+ {
wins the queen.}) 1-0
[/pgn]
Neil McDonald (born 21 January 1967) is an English chess grandmaster and a player on the international chess circuit. He is an English Chess Federation coach,[1] who has trained many of the country’s strongest junior players. McDonald is a regular coach of the English junior team and was Head Coach of the English Chess Federation team at the Greece World Schools Championship in 2013.[2] He regularly escorts blind and partially sighted chess players to international World Championship events and is also a chess writer.
McDonald authored the French Defence monthly updates on chesspublishing.com from October 1999 until March 2009,[3] 1 e4 … updates from November 2009 until January 2010,[4] 1 e4 … from June 2014 until February 2015[5] and returned to 1 e4 … in March 2017 until January 2018.[6]
Neil shared first place in the 1986 GLC Masters with Jonathan Levitt, was outright first at the Elekes Memorial, 1995, first at The Leinster IM Tournament in Dublin, 1997, and other tournaments since. Neil plays for Wood Green in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
He became an International Master in 1986 and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1996.
McDonald obtained his FIDE Trainer qualification in 2016.[7]
Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk was perhaps Richmond Chess Club’s strongest player between 1925 and 1937, as well as playing an important administrative role in the club.
Wilfred was born in Culmstock, Devon on 18 May 1877, where Teddington novelist, market gardener and chess player RD Blackmore also lived for a time. His family were originally from London, but his father was working in Devon as a Schools Inspector at the time of his birth. The family later returned to London, where young Wilfred joined the Civil Service on leaving school. He would remain there for his entire working life.
In 1899 he married 20 year old Mabel Ellen Gannaway. Wilfred and Mabel had four children, Talbot (1902), Beatrice (1903), Evelyn (1907) and Ruby (1908).
We hear of him as a chess player for the first time only in 1904, at the age of 27, when he took part in the Second Class B section of the inaugural British Championships at Hastings. He did pretty well for a newcomer to competitive chess, finishing in third place, just half a point behind the joint winners.
The following year he took part in the Kent Open Amateur 2nd Class A tournament, held that year at Crystal Palace, where he shared first place with his old rival WT Dickinson.
Shortly afterwards, leaving his wife and two young children at home, he crossed the channel to Ostend, where a mammoth tournament was taking place. The master event had no less than 36 entrants, with a complex group structure, and, below that, there were two amateur sections which attracted a number of British participants. Wilfred played in the Amateur B section, scoring a very respectable 11/17.
He didn’t take part in another tournament until 1908, when he again played in the Kent congress, that year held in Sevenoaks. This time Wilfred was promoted to the 1st Class Open Section 2. He found 1st class competition a lot tougher than the 2nd class, scoring only 1½/6, The leading scores in this section were Harold Godfrey Cole (5), Kate Belinda Finn and Percy Rawle Gibbs (4½). Miss Finn wasn’t the only (fishy) lady in the section: Mrs Frances Dunn Herring brought up the rear on 1/6.
Although he wasn’t very active in tournament play at the time, he was very much involved in Civil Service chess. He may well have been playing for the Local Government Board before his first tournament, and, when the Civil Service Chess League was founded in 1904 he was appointed to the post of Secretary.
When the British Championships were held in Richmond in 1912 he returned to the fray. This time he was in the 1st Class Amateurs B section, and, from the result, it was clear that he was a lot stronger now than a few years earlier.
The British Chess Magazine (October 1912) remarked that Mr. W. H. M. Kirk (Putney) is a well-known fine player in the Civil Service League, but does not play much otherwise. With work and family commitments, it was understandable that he wouldn’t have had much time for tournament play.
Unfortunately the only game of his from this event that appears to be extant was his only defeat. For all games in this article, click on any move for a pop-up window.
Kirk took part in the Surrey Championship that year, where he finished in first place with a score of 4½/5. This time we do have one of his wins, which his opponent, a dentist usually known as Frank St J Steadman, generously submitted to the British Chess Magazine. It was published in their December 1912 issue.
Wilfred entered the 1st Class Open in the 1913 Kent & Sussex Congress but had to withdraw before the start of the tournament. However, he did play in the Major Open section of the 1913 British Championship, making a respectable showing in a strong tournament.
Here’s a loss against the German born but English resident Georg Schories, a regular Major Open competitor whose nationality precluded his participation in the championship.
In this photograph of the competitors in this section, Kirk is the good looking youngish man (he was now 35) standing second on the left. He doesn’t look very happy, does he? But then they rarely did in those days.
And then World War 1 intervened. The Civil Service Chess League continued in 1915, but then stopped for the duration, only resuming in 1919.
The British Championships were also suspended, again resuming with a Victory Congress at Hastings in August that year. The British title itself wasn’t awarded, the top section being a semi-international event with visiting stars Capablanca and Kostic taking the first two places, well ahead of Sir George Thomas and Yates. The Major Open went to Edward Guthlac Sergeant, and, below that were three parallel First Class sections. Kirk was in the C section, finishing in first place, beating, amongst others, future World Champion Max Euwe. The enforced break had done nothing to dull his chess strength.
Again, his only loss, against Irish champion John James O’Hanlon, is the only one of his games from this event I’ve been able to locate.
In 1919 he also entered the City of London Chess Club Championship: the only time he took part in this prestigious event. He finished in 6th place with 6/11 behind Sir George Thomas, a clear winner on 9½, Michell, Walker, EG Sergeant and Blake, whom he beat in this game: a notable scalp.
Throughout much of his life, Wilfred Kirk seemed to move house every two or three years. He had previously lived in Putney and Wimbledon, but by this time had moved to North London, playing for Hampstead Chess Club and winning the Middlesex Championship in 1920. He had also moved departments in the Civil Service, from the Local Government Board to the Ministry of Health.
Then, in Autumn 1925, he moved to Richmond, living in several addresses in Richmond and Twickenham in the following 12 years or so. He wasted no time in joining Richmond Chess Club, but, in his first match, was only playing on Board 3.
Richmond Herald 28 November 1925
He also entered the Surrey Championship, in 1926 regaining the title he had previously won 14 years earlier.
As an able administrator he was soon appointed secretary of his new club, as reported here, where, on top board, he was successful against our old friend George Archer Hooke.
Richmond Herald 20 November 1926
His addresses at this point included 17 The Barons, St Margarets in 1927 and 27 Richmond Hill in 1928.
In the 1928-29 season Kirk swept the board, winning not just the club championship (you’ll see PGL Fothergill in 3rd place: he only seemed to play in internal competitions rather than club matches), but the handicap tournament (one wonders how the scores were calculated) and the prize for the best percentage score in matches.
Richmond Herald 30 March 1929
That summer he took part in a Living Chess game against Reginald Pryce Michell at Asgill House in Richmond to raise money for the local hospital.
Richmond Herald 22 June 1929
Wilfred was very much involved in charitable endeavours of all sorts, promoting chess at the Star and Garter Home for disabled ex-Servicemen, donating money to a fund for distressed miners, and, later in life. helping at a local home for the blind.
That summer, by then in his 50s, he unexpectedly received an invitation to take part in the British Championship, held that year in Ramsgate.
Wilfred was a very effective player top level club opposition, but here, against mostly master standard opponents, he was rather out of his depth.
He lost in 19 moves to Gerald Abrahams: a game which attracted some attention at the time. Abrahams, rather typically, played a speculative sacrifice which Kirk should have accepted, but instead declined it and resigned the next move.
In this group photograph, Kirk is standing on the left next to the permanently disheveled William Winter.
That year there was a merger between Richmond and Kew chess clubs, who, however, continued to meet at both venues on different days of the week. Kirk now had a serious rival in Kew star Ronald George Armstrong, about whom more in a future Minor Piece.
Meanwhile, in 1933, Kirk’s service to chess in the Civil Service was marked by a presentation.
A History of Chess in the English Civil Service (Kevin Thurlow)
This 1934 match must have been a surprise result.
Richmond Herald 21 April 1934
Richmond & Kew were a second division team, playing in the Beaumont Cup, while Kingston, who had won the Surrey Trophy two years earlier, were a genuine first division team. Unfortunately, they lost to Battersea in the final of the Alexander Cup.
Armstrong must have been very pleased with his draw against Michell, while Kirk also shared the point with (Richard) Nevil Coles, who later became a celebrated chess author and who beat me in a Richmond v Guildford Surrey Trophy match in 1972.
Richmond Herald 06 April 1935
In the 1934-35 season Kirk won the club championship while Armstrong took the handicap shield: they gave a tandem simul at the end of season prizegiving.
Richmond Herald 10 April 1937
It was the same story in 1937, with Kirk taking the club championship for the sixth time with a 100% score, and Armstrong again preferring the handicap shield. Wilfred was now entitled to hold the cup in perpetuity, but generously returned it for future years. I wonder what happened to it.
At this point, though, Wilfred Kirk retired from the Civil Service, spending some time travelling round Europe playing chess before moving, like many retired chess players of the time, to Hastings.
However, he competed in the 1938 British Championships in Brighton, now down in the First Class B section, where he shared first place on 7/11, winning this miniature.
He was soon involved in administration again, both at Hastings Chess Club, and with their annual tournament. He also found time to compete in the 1938-39 event, sharing second place in the Premier Reserves C section.
He also threw himself into county chess, here losing to another former Civil Service player Bernard Henry Newman Stronach.
Hastings and St Leonards Observer 15 April 1939
By now the world was at war again, but Hastings managed to arrange their annual tournament that winter, with Kirk taking part in the Premier.
In this game he held the tournament winner Frank Parr to a draw, sacrificing a knight for a perpetual check.
Although it was no longer possible to run formal competitions, Hastings Chess Club remained active during the war, with friendly matches against local rivals Eastbourne and Bexhill.
His opponent in this game, George Edward Anslow, a Gas Company clerk, was a member of both Eastbourne and Hastings Chess Clubs for many years. He beat me in a 1974 friendly match between Hastings and Richmond & Twickenham Chess Clubs.
He was still very active locally as the war finally came to an end, and was involved in the administration of the 1945-46 Hastings Congress as Treasurer and Assistant Secretary. In June that year, still playing regularly in club events, he was taken ill with appendicitis. The operation, sadly, proved unsuccessful.
Hastings and St Leonards Observer 22 June 1946
There’s more information in this pen picture from Kevin Thurlow’s book on chess in the English Civil Service.
A History of Chess in the English Civil Service (Kevin Thurlow)
Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk, then, was a strong player (2261 at his peak according to EdoChess) and a highly efficient administrator. He seems to have been well respected at work and was also devoted to various charitable causes.
His family life, though, wasn’t happy.
In the 1901 census we see Wilfred and Mabel, only recently married, and living in Pimlico.
They soon moved south of the river, the births of their first three children being registered in Wandsworth, and the youngest in Balham.
By 1911 the family had split up. Wilfred was living on his own in Streatham, a Second Division Clerk in the Civil Service. Mabel didn’t appear to be around. Talbot, Beatrice and Evelyn (aged 9, 7 and only 4) were boarding at a school in Wimbledon, while 2-year-old Ruby was living with Wilfred’s mother in Battersea.
Then, in 1914, Mabel filed a petition for judicial separation. She was represented by her solicitor, PR Gibbs, who, I’d imagine, was the same Percy Rawle Gibbs who had played Wilfred at Sevenoaks in 1908.
Mabel’s petition, citing eight addresses, mostly in the Wandsworth area, at which they lived during their marriage, listed dates and places, from 1906 onwards, when and where Wilfred had assaulted her, and treated her with coldness and neglect. He had punched her on her body and head, thrown her against the furniture and onto the floor, grabbed her by the collar and dragged her upstairs. Wilfred denied the charges of cruelty, claiming that Mabel had become mentally deranged and assaulted him violently, and he was only acting in self-defence. On other occasions she had become hysterical and behaved in an ill tempered and unreasonable manner, causing him to lose his temper.
It was also revealed that, from late 1910, she had been a patient at St Luke’s Hospital: she was probably still there at the time of the 1911 census.
The separation was granted, with Mabel having custody of the two older children and Wilfred the two younger children. Would a man who had assaulted his wife, even with provocation, be given custody of two young girls today?
Was he a violent and abusive wife beater whose behaviour had driven his wife to the lunatic asylum, or a good man who found it difficult to cope with his wife’s mental health problems? I don’t know: I wasn’t there and it’s far from me to pass judgement.
The ramifications continued for a decade (the papers are available online at ancestry.co.uk).
The 1921 census found Wilfred now living in Islington with Evelyn and Ruby, who were both at school. Mabel and Beatrice, now an art student, were the other side of London, in South Norwood. Meanwhile, Talbot had emigrated to the USA, where he married in 1927 and had two sons, Fred (1928-76) and Jack (1929-67).
His marriage didn’t last and he returned to England. The 1933 Electoral Roll shows Mabel, Talbot and Beatrice sharing a house right by Hampstead Heath.
Then, in 1934, Wilfred sued Mabel for divorce on the grounds of adultery.
Richmond Herald 03 February 1934
Well, I don’t know. In September that year he married Olive Emily Holmes. Was he committing adultery as well? Again, I wasn’t there.
What happened to the rest of his family? Talbot remarried in 1941 in Brentford, at some point moving to Yorkshire, where he died in 2006 at the extraordinary age of 104.
Beatrice never married: by 1939 she was working as a typist in the Ministry of Food, and died in Hastings at the age of 78.
Evelyn married young, in 1926, to a man almost twice her age, George Arthur Tomlinson, who seems to have been a mechanical engineer working at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington. They lived with Wilfred for a time after the marriage before moving to North London where two sons, Brian (1928) and Robin (1930) were born. George died in 1944, but Evelyn, like her brother, lived a long life, dying in Bath at the age of 96.
Ruby married in 1939, like Evelyn to a much older man: a divorcee with the impressive name Bernard de Lerisson Cazenove. She had no children and, again like Evelyn, lived into her 90s: she was 91 when she died in Warwickshire.
The report of Wilfred’s cremation leaves some questions unanswered. You might have wondered why the local paper mentioned that he left a son, but failed to note his daughters.
Hastings and St Leonards Observer 22 June 1946
At the cremation, Talbot, Evelyn and Ruby were there, but there was no mention of Beatrice as a chief mourner. Did the paper forget her? Or had they become estranged?
Talbot, Dolly and Sylvia sent flowers, but who were Dolly and Sylvia? There were also flowers from Eric, Brian and Robin. Brian and Robin were his grandsons, but who was Eric? And why wasn’t Evelyn included? Her second marriage, in 1948, would be to Ernest (Vokes), not to Eric. Or was ‘Eric’ a misreading of ‘Evelyn’?
There’s one further family tragedy to report.
Worthing Gazette 26 April 1950
This is Wilfred and Mabel’s grandson Robin taking his own life in 1950, at the age of 19.
Had he inherited mental health problems from his mother? Impossible to tell, of course.
Although Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk was a formidable club player and respected administrator, it seems that his family life was unsettled (moving house every couple of years) and unhappy. I can only hope that the game of chess brought him some comfort.
Paul Edwin Littlewood was born on Wednesday, January 18th, 1956 in Skegness, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire. His parents were John and Jean Littlewood (née) Hadwick. Paul’s chess playing uncle was Norman Littlewood.
John and Paul on Skegness beach circa 1958. Kindly supplied by Paul Littlewood. George and Ringo are out of shot !John, Jenny and Paul Littlewood, circa 1962. Kindly supplied by Paul Littlewood.
Paul attended Glenburn Comprehensive School in Skelmersdale from 1967 and then read Natural Sciences at Christ’s College, Cambridge from 1974.
Paul played badminton for Lancashire and Cambridge and, in 1971, won the English Schools Mixed Championship when he was 15 years old.
Paul and family receive a chess lesson from John following John’s win in the 1972 Southport Open
On leaving University Paul taught science at Southbrook Comprehensive, Daventry. Four years later Paul became a dealer at Phillips & Drew and followed this as an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Stays at Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan were followed by a change of direction and since then Paul has been director of various food supply companies retiring in 2014.
Paul is married (3rd November 2006) to (his second wife) Fiona and lives in St. Albans, Hertfordshire.
PEL won the ECF President’s Award in 2007 and from the 2008 ECF Yearbook we have the following citation :
“International Master and accomplished bridge player. From British Chess champion (1981) Paul has presided over the 4NCL as chairman during its most successful period. When he became chairman over ten years ago the league consisted of two divisions and 32 teams. The league has now expanded to four divisions and a total of 72 teams. Most of England’s juniors play 4NCL. During this time 4NCL became one of the strongest leagues in Europe, at one time boasting a Division 1 rivalling the Bundesliga in strength in the top matches.
Paul has demonstrated the sound judgement of Solomon when dealing with league disputes and has drawn on his business acumen, honed during a successful career in the City with Goldman Sachs to make 4NCL the financially stable and expanding league it is today.”
Roll of Honour
British U18 Champion 1972
British U21 Champion 1975
British Champion 1981
As a junior represented England in Glorney Cup
International Master 1980
From British Chess (Pergamon Press, 1983) by Botterill, Levy. Rice and Richardson we have this article from Richard W. O’Brien :
“Paul Littlewood was destined to become a strong player from birth. His father John was for some time one of the strongest players in the country and represented England on many occasions. His uncle Norman was for a few years not far behind. Paul, however, has surpassed them both and has become the first in the family to reach IM status. (Ed: JEL was very much worthy of the IM title but insufficient events of the right type held him back).
A. Howard Williams, Martyn J. Corden, Paul E. Littlewood and A. Jonathan Mestel
All three are essentially attacking players. There have been times in recent years when play at the Hastings Premier has become dull. However, Paul one of the English representatives at the last three tournaments, was certainly not to blame. (His game against Brito of Brazil which follows is a striking example of this).”
Coached by his father, Paul became British U18 champion in 1972 and three years later became British U21 champion.
Clearly more interested in an academic career he went up to Cambridge and then followed his father into the teaching profession. Opportunities to play in strong tournaments were thus very limited. These opportunities, however, were grasped in both hands. Three times in thirteen months between August 1978 and August 1979 he obtained an IM norm and thus the title.
Partial crosstable for the Lloyds Bank Open, 1978
The first caused a sensation as it was totally unexpected. He shared first place at Lloyds Bank ahead of several grandmasters including Shamkovich, who was the first grandmaster he ever defeated.
Leonid Shamkovich plays Paul Littlewood during the 1978 Lloyds Bank Masters. Paul won the game.
Eight months later Aaronson Masters was won and then came the final norm, also at Lloyds Bank.
Tournaments abroad were limited although he represented England students. He did play at Kringsja (2nd equal) in 1978 and Borovo where he scored 6.5.13 finishing ahead of 3 GMs.
In 1981 came his finest achievement – winning the British Championship with a massive 9/11.
Partial crosstable from the 1981 British Championship in Morecambe
His father who was also competing in the championship was as proud as could be and deservedly so (he also coached Sheila Jackson who retained her British Ladies Championship that year). His excellent all round play took him to the title and only once during the tournament did he stand worse. His endgame play was so good that CHESS even published an article solely on these endings.
Paul Littlewood and friends during the 1978 Lloyds Bank Masters
Duties at school in Daventry meant he was, in February 1982, unable to take part in the zonal at Marbella. This followed an excellent Hastings when as British Champion he made a plus score – a rare event indeed.
IM Paul Littlewood during filming for the “Trick of the Mind” series from Derren Brown
In the summer he gave up teaching and joined Phillips & Drew (stockbrokers). He now (ed : this was in 1983) lives with his (first) wife Sue and family in the wilds of Essex (Billericay).
IM Paul Littlewood, event and photographer unknown
{[%evp 0,54,19,-63,-56,-53,-52,-89,-55,-70,-50,-46,-26,-42,-48,-27,-38,-13,-18,
-50,-12,-67,-32,-98,-56,-99,-83,-83,-83,-73,-38,-100,-89,-89,-125,-108,-163,
-159,-164,-154,-163,-144,-144,-446,-303,-361,-364,-371,-364,-812,-1568,-2013,
-2191,-29975,-1329,-1430,-1569]} 1. b4 {Mike liked pushing his knight’s pawns.
On this day the b2 pawn was the victim.} e5 2. a3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb2 Bd6 5. c4
c6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nf3 {White’s strategy is to induce the advance ….e4 and
thereby establish a strong outpost on d4.} Qe7 {Black resists temptation.} 8.
Nc3 Nc6 9. h3 $146 {Hardly an inspired choice. Maybe White thought he was
worse already?} ({Better is} 9. d3 O-O 10. Be2 Rd8 11. O-O $17) 9… O-O $17 {
Black’s lead in development is clear.} 10. g4 $6 {This can hardly be justified
but then again we refer to our note after move 1. Michael does sometimes get
carried away wit his outlandish ideas : GB.} Be6 11. Ne2 {Heading for f5
combined with Rg1 might stir up trouble for Black.} a6 (11… Ne4 12. Bg2 f5 {
and the f2 square is under some pressure.}) 12. Ng3 e4 {Black finally succumbs
to temptation, though not without justification. White’s set-up is too
artificial.} 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Nd7 15. Qb3 {[#]} Ne5 $1 16. Be2 Nc6 $1 {
The refutation of White’s strategy. With the loss of his blockade on d4,
White’s game disintegrates.} 17. Bb2 d4 $1 $19 {The time has come to open the
position.} 18. Qd1 Bxg3 19. fxg3 d3 20. Bf1 f5 21. Qc1 {Desperation,} ({but on
} 21. gxf5 Rxf5 22. Bg2 Qg5 {he is defenceless.}) 21… fxg4 22. Qc5 Qf7 23.
O-O-O {White seeks some salvation on his side of the board, but instead finds
himself walking into a mating net.} Ba2 $1 24. hxg4 Na5 $1 {A neat touch} ({
though the prosaic} 24… Rac8 {also wins of course.}) 25. bxa5 ({Or} 25. Qxa5
Rac8+ 26. Bc3 Qb3 {forces mate}) 25… Rac8 26. Rh5 Rxc5+ 27. Rxc5 Qxf1 $1 {
and White resigned} 28. Rxf1 Rxf1# 0-1
[/pgn]
Chess Tactics, Paul Littlewood, Crowood Chess Library, 1991
{[%evp 0,62,19,35,34,-14,0,-4,33,16,34,17,17,25,44,6,8,4,-4,3,-6,0,-2,-2,17,-5,
-5,-22,6,-22,-18,-37,-21,-93,17,-26,-13,-44,-101,-101,-107,-91,-152,-150,-33,
-25,-100,-93,-95,-108,-110,-120,-117,-192,-169,-187,-38,-345,-312,-710,-996,
-996,-1001,-1027,-1029]} {Annotations sourced from BCM, 1981, page 498, game #
20170, Bill Hartston, British Chess, 1983, George Botterill and British Chess
News, 2021.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {This is the third time these two
have crossed swords in this opening in 1981, though on the other two occasions
it was Chandler who had Black. Littlewood won at Hastings in January, but then
Chandler hit back with a masterly endgame performance in the ARC tournament.}
4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6 ({WRH : Both Chandler and and Littlewood have
played the fashionable line with} 6… c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 {
Here, perhaps just for a change, perhaps to avoid any prepared lines
Littlewood chooses something different.}) 7. a3 {GB : It seems to me that this
move would fit i better with the development of the white knight at e2 rather
than f3. WRH : This move is usually delayed until after 7.00 Bb7 Now tha game
quickly develops along unusual paths.} (7. O-O Bb7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. a3 Bd6 10.
b4 a6 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. b5 axb5 13. Nxb5 Nbd7 14. a4 c5 15. Ba3 Ba6) 7… Bxc3+
8. bxc3 Ba6 $1 {GB : White squares! WRH : When your opponent has the bishop
pair, you should exchange one of them. So said Nimzowitsch and here Littlewood
takes his advice. Black’s plan is gain control of the white squares after the
exchange of bishops.} 9. cxd5 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 exd5 11. c4 Nc6 {Black’s play is
reminiscent of the Tchigorin Defence to the Queen’s Gambit relying on piece
play to contest and restrain the centre.} 12. Bb2 $2 $146 {Underestimating the
activity of Black’s pieces.} (12. O-O Na5 13. Ne5 c5 14. Bb2 Rc8 15. Rad1) ({
Instead} 12. Bd2 Ne4 13. O-O {leads to an equal game.}) 12… Na5 13. Nd2 c5
14. dxc5 {This move indciates that White is still hoping for an advantage from
the opening.} ({but he would have done better to settle for slight inferiority
after} 14. O-O dxc4 15. Nxc4 Nc6) 14… dxc4 $1 15. Qc3 ({Black’s queenside
pawns give him the better chances after} 15. Qxd8 Rfxd8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. O-O-O
Rd3) 15… Qd5 $17 16. cxb6 Rfd8 $1 {A fine pawn sacrifice. White cannot
castle kingside because his knight on d2 hangs. Meanwhile the Black major
pieces become very active.} 17. bxa7 Rxa7 ({WRH : note that} 17… Qxg2 {
would have been met by} 18. O-O-O Rxd2 19. Rdg1 $1) 18. e4 $6 (18. Nf3) 18…
Re7 19. O-O-O {At last the king has escaped from the centre, but its new home
is also far from safe.} Qa8 $19 20. Kb1 Rd3 21. Qc2 Red7 {Black’s simplest
threat now is 22..Qd8 followed, if necessary, by Nb3 or Nxe4. The pin on the
d-file must be broken before it is too late.} 22. e5 Ne8 23. Nf3 Qd5 {Mighty
centralisation of the black forces.} 24. Nd4 Rb7 {WRH : The final shift of the
attack to the b-file proves the last straw for White’s strained defences.} 25.
Rxd3 cxd3 26. Qa4 {Otherwise …Nc4 wins the pinned bishop} (26. Qxd3 {WRH :
loses to the prosaic} Nc4) 26… Rb8 {WRH : calmly defending the attacked
knight and renewing the threat of Nc4. To add to his problems, White was now
severly short of time.} 27. Ka1 Nc7 28. Rb1 d2 $1 {GB : White is quite lost
here. He has no defence against …Ne6 followed by a fatal check on b3. WRH :
With so many white pieces trying simply to plug gaps in his leaky position it
is almost impossible to find a move which does not lose everything.} 29. Bc3
Rxb1+ 30. Kxb1 Qc4 $1 31. Qc2 ({WRH : the final shock} 31. Qxc4 d1=Q+ {leaves
Black a queen ahead.}) 31… Qf1+ {and White resigned. WRH : a total triumph
for Black’s white-square strategy.} 0-1
[/pgn]
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