Tag Archives: Birthdays

2022, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Hastings, Players

Happy Birthday GM Glenn Flear (12-ii-1959)

February 12, 2020 John Upham

BCN wishes Happy Birthday to GM Glenn Flear (12-ii-1959)

From Chessgames.com :

“Glenn Curtis Flear was born in Leicester, England. He was awarded the IM title in 1983 and GM title in 1987. While still an IM, he shocked the chess world by winning the GLC Chess Challenge (1986) ahead of a field that included Short, Chandler, Nunn, Portisch, Polugaevsky, Spassky and Larsen. He married Christine Flear during that tournament. He represented England at the Dubai Olympiad in 1986.”

Here is his Wikipedia entry

This was written about Glenn prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display : “Surrey University and Leicester.
Rating 208. Twice British men’s championship finalist. Captain England juniors, 1977. Former Leicestershire men’s champion.”

2020, Biographies, Birthday, Players

Happy Birthday IM Simon Ansell (11-ii-1975)

February 11, 2020 John Upham

Happy Birthday IM Simon Ansell (11-ii-1975)

2023, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, Journalism, Players

Happy Birthday WIM Cathy Warwick (06-ii-1968)

February 6, 2020 John Upham

Birthday of WIM Cathy Warwick (06-ii-1968)

Here is her Wikipedia entry

The Polgar Sisters : Training or Genius ?

Bobby Fischer, the Holy Grail – A Balkan Odyssey

2023, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players

Happy Birthday IM Dr. Harriet Hunt (04-ii-1978)

February 4, 2020 John Upham

IM Harriet Hunt at the 2021 London Chess Classic, Courtesy of John Upham Photography

We send birthday wishes to IM Dr. Harriet Vaughan Hunt born this day (February 4th) in 1978.

Here is her wikipedia entry

In 2021 Harriet made a welcome return to competitive chess and won the 2021 British Women’s Championship in Kingston-upon-Hull twenty-two years after her fourth win. In the same Dr. Hunt was runner-up in the English Women’s Rapidplay Championship to Lan Yao.

2023, 4NCL, Birthday, British Championships, Players

Happy Birthday IM Ameet Ghasi (04-ii-1987)

February 4, 2020 John Upham

IM Ameet Ghasi at the London Chess Classic 2021, courtesy of John Upham Photography

Birthday of IM Ameet Kumar Ghasi (04-ii-1987)

Here is his Wikipedia entry

Here is a Guardian article

2023, 4NCL, Birthday, Players

Happy Birthday IM Richard Pert (22-i-1981)

January 22, 2020 John Upham

Happy Birthday IM Richard Pert (22-i-1981)

2023, 4NCL, Birthday, British Championships, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday GM Nick Pert (22-i-1981)

January 22, 2020 John Upham

We send birthday wishes to GM Nick Pert born this day (January 22nd) in 1981.

Jeremy Morse, Adam Hunt, Nick Pert and Nigel Short at the Lloyds Bank Masters

Nick won the Southern Counties (SCCU) championship for the 2016-17 season sharing with Richard Bates.

Here is Nick’s Wikipedia entry

In 2021 Nick took first place for the first time at the Covid affected British Championships in Hull with 6.5/9 with a TPR of 2414 reducing his rating by 4.2 Elo points. His highest rated opponent was 2480 (Danny Gormally).

2023, 4NCL, Birthday, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday GM Neil McDonald (21-i-1967)

January 21, 2020 John Upham

We send birthday wishes to GM Neil McDonald born on this day (January 21st) in 1967.

From Wikipedia :

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]

Neil is a prolific and successful author, most recently with

Dynamic Defence, Neil McDonald, Everyman Chess, 1st December 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781945902

and prior to that “Coach Yourself”

Coach Yourself : A Complete Guide to Self Improvement at Chess

but also thirty eight titles for Chess Press, BT Batsford Ltd. and Everyman Chess Books.

2023, 4NCL, Birthday, Players

Happy Birthday IM Ali Mortazavi (20-i-1971)

January 20, 2020 John Upham

We send best wishes to IM Ali Mortazavi on his birthday, this day (January 20th) in 1971

Ali is a British IM who was a successful trader in the financial markets.

In the FIDE directory he is listed as a Councillor in the Global Strategy Commission (GSC).

He was a professional player and became the CEO of Silence Therapeutics (SLN) :

Ali reached his hightest FIDE rating of 2410 in July 1994 aged 23.

He has played for Beeson Gregory in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL). He played at the Isle of Man Open in 2018 but sadly, little since.

2021, Biographies, Birthday, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday IM Craig Pritchett (15-I-1949)

January 15, 2020 John Upham

We send birthday wishes to IM Craig Pritchett who was born this day, January 15th in 1949.

Here is his Wikipedia entry

IM Craig Pritchett (right) with Leonard Barden and Stewart Reuben

From The Encyclopedia of Chess by Harry Golombek :

Scottish international master and teacher. Prtichett, probably the strongest native-born Scottish player since the days of Captain Mackenzie in the nineteenth century, has represented Scotland with success in five Olympiads : 1966, 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1976. He has also played for Scotland in the Students Olympiads of 1968, 1969 and 1970.

His first individual success was in the European Junior Championship in Groningen 1969/70 where he came -3rd with Belyavsky. At Decin (Czechoslovakia) 1974 he came 1st in the Masters B section.

He obtained the first part of an international master norm at the Nice Olympiad in 1974 where he scored 60% on top board. In 1975 he again achieved a master norm at the strong Pula Zonal tournament where he came -7th/14.