BCN sends best wishes to IM John Cox on his birthday, this day, in 1962.
John was born in Altrincham, Trafford, Greater Manchester and attended Eton College playing top board in the Sunday Times National Schools Competition.
He became a FIDE Master in 1982, an International Master in 2002 and obtained a peak rating of 2423 in January of 2006.
He is an expert bridge player and an amateur rock climber / mountaineer.
John plays for Cavendish in the London League, Hackney in other leagues and Barbican in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL).
“Probably the best home reared player to come out of the county, John Cox started to play at age 6 with his father Jeff (see above) joining Shrewsbury Chess Club at age 7. At age10 he became joint Shropshire lightning champion. He was 16 when he won the 1979 county championship though much of his early success was outside the county. He gained his first FM norm at the 1980 Lloyds Bank Masters where he became the first Shropshire player to beat a GM (see below), also drawing with IM’s Ligterink and Pytel. In 1981 he gained his third norm and the FM title at Ramsgate together with his first IM norm. Though now based in London, he is still a regular visitor to the local Wrekin Congress.”
John Cox (first from left) at a Lloyds Bank event.John Cox (left, rear)John Cox (left, rear) at a Lloyds Bank Varsity matchIM John CoxStarting out 1.d4 ! by John CoxDangerous Weapons : The Ruy LopezStarting Out : Alekhine’s DefenceDealing with d4 DeviationsStarting Out : Sicilian SveshnikovThe Berlin Wall
Andrew David Martin (born 18th May 1957 in West Ham, London) is an English chess player with the title of international master. Martin has won various national and international tournaments. He has been playing for years in the Four Nations Chess League, at present (July 2009) for Wood Green Hilsmark Kingfisher, previously for the Camberley Chess Club. Martin received his title as international master in 1984. He earned his first grandmaster norm in the British Championship of 1997 in Brighton. Martin was a commentator on the chess world championship between Kasparov and Kramnik in 2000.
On the 21st February 2004 Martin set a new world record for simultaneous chess.
He faced 321 chess players at the same time. His result was: 294 wins, 26 draws and only one loss. Martin is known as a professional chess teacher and head trainer of the English youth team. He trains eight schools (Yateley Manor, Aldro, Millfield, Sunningdale, Waverley School, St Michael’s Sandhurst, Wellington College, Salesian College). Martin is a chess columnist, an author of chess books and the author of various instructional videos. He was the publisher of the series Trends Publications. Martin lives in Sandhurst, England, is married and the father of two daughters and two sons. His present Elo rating is 2423 (as of July 2009).
Andrew coaching students
The above is somewhat inaccurate and out of date. Andrew came from East Ham rather than West Ham. He was the editor rather than the publisher of Trends Publications and he lives in Bramley, Surrey with his partner Naomi.
On July 23rd 1981 a world record attempt of continuous blitz games was undertaken at the National Film Theatre in London with much support of the membership of London Central YMCA.
Yours Truly (John Upham) plays Andrew Martin at the NFT
Andrew now plays for Camberley and Guildford clubs in the Berkshire and Surrey Border Leagues and is former member of London Central YMCA (CentYMCA), Wood Green and Barbican clubs.
Andrew plays JJ Ady whilst Simon LeBlanq observes at the London Central YMCA
Andrew has written many books starting as Editor of the “Trends Series” for Tournament Chess owned by Richard O’Brien (Not of The Crystal Maze). He has authored numerous DVDs for Foxy Videos and ChessBase and has a YouTube Channel focused on young and improving players called “Andrew Martin – Chess Explorations“.
Andrew’s first book as author was this one :
Winning With the King’s Indian, Caissa Publishing, Andrew Martin, 1989
Here is one his favourite games :
Trends in the Slav Defence, Tournament Chess, Andrew Martin, 1990The Contemporary Anti-Dutch, 1990
Birthday of TWIC founder, Mark Crowther (16-v-1966)
From Wikipedia :
The Week in Chess (TWIC) is one of the first, if not the first, Internet-based chess news services. It is based in the United Kingdom.
TWIC has been edited by Mark Crowther since its inception in 1994.[1] It began as a weekly Usenet posting, with “TWIC 1” being posted to Usenet group rec.games.chess on 17 September 1994.[2] Later it moved to Crowther’s personal web site, then to chesscenter.com in 1997,[3] and in 2012 it moved to theweekinchess.com.[4]
It contains both chess news, and all the game scores from major events.
TWIC quickly became popular with professional chess players, because it allowed them to quickly get results and game scores, where previously they had relied on print publications.[5]
TWIC still exists as a weekly newsletter, although for important events the TWIC website is updated daily. It remains a popular site for up-to-date chess news.[6]
From chessgames.com :“Timothy David Harding was born in London. He has been playing both over-the-board and correspondence chess since the 1960s. Harding played on the Irish team at the 1984 FIDE Olympiad in Thessaloniki, scoring 50%. In 2002 he achieved the title of Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess. He is also a Candidate Master (2015).
As a chess historian, Harding has authored dozens of books on chess since 1973. He is also the author of the “The Kibitzer”, a popular chess column published at ChessCafe.com.
“Timothy David Harding (born 6 May 1948 in London)[1] is a chess player and author with particular expertise in correspondence chess. He published a correspondence chess magazine Chess Mail from 1996 to 2006[2] and authored “The Kibitzer”, a ChessCafe.com column from 1996 until 2015.[3] In 2002, he was awarded the title Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess by the International Correspondence Chess Federation. Harding has lived in Dublin since 1976,[2] writing a weekly column for The Sunday Press from then until 1995.
In 2009, Harding received a PhD degree in history from University of Dublin, with his thesis on correspondence chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824–1914.[4]
He is credited with coining the name Frankenstein–Dracula Variation in his 1975 Vienna Game book.”
Timothy David Harding (06-v-1948)
Tim has written / co-authored at least forty chess books and here is a selection :
The Velimirovic Attack, Sozin Sicilian, TD Harding and RG Wade, Chessman Publications Ltd., 1969.Counter gambits by Timothy D. Harding (1974)Sicilian:…e5 by TD Harding & PR MarklandThe Sicilian Sozin, TD Harding, GS Botterill, C. Kottnauer, Batsford, 1974Sicilian Richter-RauzerThe Leningrad Dutch, BT Batsford, Tim Harding, 1976Colle, London and Blackmar-Diemer Systems, BT Batsford Ltd, Tim Harding, 1979French: MacCutcheon and Advance Lines, Batsford, 1979French: Classical Lines, Batsford, 1979Queen’s Gambit Declined : Semi-Slav, Tim Harding, BT Batsford Ltd., 1981Guide to the Chess OpeningsBritish Chess Literature to 1914 : A Handbook for HistoriansEminent Victorian Chess PlayersJoseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography
We focus on the British Chess Scene Past & Present !
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
