Tag Archives: British

2021, Biographies, Birthday, Players, Writers

Birthday Greetings IM Gary Lane (04-xi-1964)

November 4, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

We send birthday wishes “down under” to IM Gary Lane on his birthday.

Gary William Lane was born this day (November 4th) in 1964 in Paignton, Devon.

Gary lived in Brixham, Devon and attended Churston Ferrers Grammar School (also in Brixham) leaving in 1983.

Gary became a FIDE Master in 1984 and an International Master in 1987 and won the Commonwealth Chess Championship in 1988. According to Felice and Megabase2020 his peak FIDE rating was 2464 in July 2001 aged 37.

This was written about Gary aged 14 prior to the 1979 Spassky vs the BCF Junior Squad simultaneous display :

“Churston Grammar and Paignton. Rating 173. BCF Junior squad U-14 co-champion, 1978.”

In 2004 won the Australian Championship and was voted Player of the Year. According to Sharpen Your Chess Tactics Gary is a well-known trainer, and has been involved in coaching some of England and Australia’s top junior players.

IM Gary Lane at British Chess Championships 2013, courtesy of John Upham Photography

Gary and friends at the NatWest Bank Young Masters

From Wikipedia :

“Gary William Lane (born 4 November 1964) is a professional chess player and author. He became an International Master in 1987 and won the Commonwealth Chess Championship in 1988. He has written over thirty books on chess, including Find the Winning Move, Improve Your Chess in 7 Days and Prepare to Attack. There have been translations in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. In the 1980s the ITV documentary “To Kill a King” was screened nationwide in Great Britain. It featured a young Michael Adams and Lane. This feature is shown regularly at chess film festivals.”

“After his marriage to Woman International Master Nancy Jones, he moved to Australia, winning the Australian Chess Championship in 2004. He won the 2005 Oceania Chess Championship and represented Oceania at the Chess World Cup 2005.

He has also represented Australia in the 2002, 2004, and 2006 Chess Olympiads. In the 2004 Olympiad he helped Australia score a 2–2 draw with his former country England, scoring a decisive win over Nigel Short.[ He has been a chess coach for England or Australia at the World Junior and also European Junior championship for over a decade.”

Gary Lane & family at the London Chess Classic, courtesy of John Upham Photography

“In 2012 he won the George Trundle Masters in Auckland, New Zealand with a score of 7/9,[4] and the NZ South Island Championships in Dunedin, with a score of 8/9.[5] He was unbeaten in both events.

In 2015 at the Australian tournament the Doeberl Cup he beat Loek van Wely the reigning Dutch Champion and one of the world’s leading players. He played the Closed Sicilian which he has also written about in two books. In 2016 he came =1st at George Trundle Masters in Auckland, New Zealand with a score of 7/9, and followed this up with =1st place scoring 8/9 at the NZ South Island Championships in Canterbury. He did not lose any games in the two events. At the 2nd Fiji International Open Chess Tournament Lane dominated the event winning with the perfect score of 7/7. A score of 9/9 and clear first place was the result at the 1st Fiji International Rapid Open.

Lane is a supporter of Torquay United F.C. ”

Peter Wells, Gary Lane, John Emms and David Norwood

Gary has written almost 30 chess books :

(1990) The C3 Sicilian: Analysis and Complete Games. The Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-852233-18-1.

Lane, Gary (1991). The Ruy Lopez for the Tournament Player. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713468-12-0.

Lane, Gary (1992). Winning with the Closed Sicilian. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713469-72-1.

Lane, Gary (1993). Winning with the Bishop’s Opening. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713471-13-7.

Lane, Gary (1993). Winning with the Scotch. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-2940-0.

Lane, Gary (1994). Beating the French. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713473-90-2.

Lane, Gary (1994). Winning with the Fischer-Sozin Attack. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713475-80-7.

Lane, Gary (1995). Blackmar–Diemer Gambit. Batsford Chess Library / An Owl Book / Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-4230-X.

Lane, Gary (1996). A Guide to Attacking Chess. B.T.Batsford Ltd. ISBN 0-7134-8010-6.

Lane, Gary (1997). The Grand Prix Attack: attacking lines with f4 against the Sicilian. Batsford. ISBN 0-8050-2940-0.

Lane, Gary (1999). Victory in the Opening. Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 9780713484274.

Lane, Gary (2000). The Vienna Game. Everyman Chess. ISBN 0-8050-2940-0.

Lane, Gary (2001). The Ultimate Colle. Sterling Pub Co Inc. ISBN 9780713486865.

Lane, Gary (2001). The Ultimate Closed Sicilian. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713486-87-2.

Lane, Gary (2003). Ideas Behind the Modern Chess Openings: Attacking With White. Batsford. ISBN 9780713487121.

Lane, Gary (2003). Find the Checkmate. Batsford. ISBN 0-8050-2940-0.

Lane, Gary (2004). The Bishop’s Opening Explained. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8917-0.

Lane, Gary (2004). ‘Find the Checkmate. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-713488-61-6.
Lane, Gary (2004). Playing Chess: Step by Step. Mud Puddle Books. ISBN 978-1-594120-55-8.

Lane, Gary (2005). Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black. Batsford. ISBN 9780713489507.
Lane, Gary (2005). The Scotch Game Explained. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8940-5.

Lane, Gary (2005). The Scotch Game Explained. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8940-5.

Lane, Gary (2006). The Ruy Lopez Explained. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8978-2.

Lane, Gary (2007). Improve Your chess In 7 Days. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-9050-3.

Lane, Gary (2008). The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857445770.

Lane, Gary (2009). Sharpen Your Chess Tactics in 7 Days. Batsford. ISBN 9781906388287.

Lane, Gary (2011). Prepare to Attack. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1857446500.

Lane, Gary (2013). Gary Lane’s Chess Puzzle Book. e+books. ISBN 978-1-927179-14-7.

IM Gary Lane, courtesy of John Upham Photography

2021, Biographies, British Championships, Deaths, History, Players, Remembering

Remembering Reginald Broadbent (03-viii-1906 29-x-1988)

October 29, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

We remember Reginald Broadbent who passed away on October 29th 1988.

Reginald Joseph Broadbent was born on Friday, August 3rd 1906 (the year of the San Francisco earthquake) in Durban, South Africa. His father was Joseph Edward Broadbent (born 1879) who married Alice Cook on January 4th, 1903 in Durban.

According to the 1911 Isle of Man Census (FindMyPast, Richard James; thanks!) the Broadbent family (sans father) stayed at a guest house in Onchan on the night of February 2nd 1911. Reg (aged 4) was a boarder together with mother Alice (33), brother Roland (1) and sister Laura (4). Since Reg and Laura are both recorded as 4 years old it is reasonable to suppose that they were born as twins. We think that Reg had an additional sibling who had passed away and that the name is not recorded. Reassuringly Steve Mann agrees with this conclusion.

He married Catherine H Broadbent (née Crawford, born 19th September 1895) and were recorded as living (in 1939) in “Cheadle and Gately”, Cheshire. His profession was as a “Telephone Traffic Superintendent, Class II, Post Office Telephones” which was a a civil service occupation. Catherine carried out “unpaid domestic duties”.

They resided at 72, South Park Road, Gatley, Cheshire :

72, South Park Road, Gatley, Cheshire. SK8 4AN

According to Steve Mann in his excellent Yorkshire Chess web site :

“At some time in 1946 or 1947, Broadbent moved down south to live in the general vicinity of East Grinstead, at Far End, Limes Estate, Felbridge, 2 miles NW of East Grinstead, and later at Southway, Priory Road, Forest Row, 3 miles SE of East Grinstead”

Reg was eight times Northern Counties Chess Union (NCCU) Champion in 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936. 1937, 1938, 1945 and 1946.

The British Chess Magazine, Volume CVIII (108, 1988), #12 (December), p. 553 records this brief death announcement :

“Reginald J. Broadbent, British Champion 1948 and 1950 died on October 29 at the age of 82. He was a member of Manchester and Bradford Chess Clubs in his day, and was famous for his remarkable record in Anglo-Dutch matches.

After he moved to London around 1950 he was less free to play due to his senior post with the Post Office. A fuller notice will appear next month.”

As advertised in the British Chess Magazine, Volume CIX (109, 1989), #1 (January), p. 27 we have :

“Reginald Broadbent (3 viii 1906-29x 1988) was born at Durban and was British Champion in 1948 and 1950. In the latter content he actually won his last six games in a row to reach a score of 8.5 points, ahead of Klein, Penrose and Milner-Barry. He was often spoken of as “playing himself into form” in the first half of a contest as his work as a civil servant (the GPO) did not allow him the chance to practise regularly against strong opposition.

He was a member of the Manchester and Bradford clubs before the war when he built up a fine record in Anglo-Dutch matches and Northern Counties champion on many occasions.

Brian Reilly recalls that Broadbent was selected for the BCF Olympiad side in 1954, but was forced to turn down the invitation due to the exacting nature of his work in London, and thereafter his main connection with the game was a chess column in a West of England newspaper (The Western Morning News*) . He was a subscriber to BCM right up to his death.”

*Thanks Gary Lane.

With the white pieces Broadbent was a die-hard 1.e4 player who allowed the Marshall Attack against the Ruy Lopez.

As the second player RJB defended the Nimzo-Indian Defence and played Open games.

In the March issue of CHESS for 1963, (Volume 28, Number 427, pp.147-155) William Winter wrote this:

R. J. Broadbent’s one weakness

R. J. Broadbent I consider to be typical of the best type of English amateur the Atkins type. A civil servant by profession he wins the Championship title, then retires to his country home in Surrey where he happily spends his time in gardening till the next championship comes along. Occasionally he is dragged out to play in a County match but he takes a lot of dragging. As a player he has great natural attainments and a temperament for the game, but he handicaps himself by the paucity of his opening knowledge. This compels him to start thinking almost from the word ‘go’ and the result is that he invariably gets on bad terms with his clock.

One of his great assets is his endgame in which he is perhaps superior to any practising British player. His skill in this department has rescued him from many a grim position. If he had studied the openings, and played in more tournaments, he might have gone far. As it is he is, and I fear will remain, just a first class British amateur. Probably he prefers it that way.

Here is one of his best games :

For an element of déjà vu here is RJBs obituary from the 1989 – 1990 BCF Yearbook, page 14 :

(The Yearbook editor was Brian Concannon and it would appear standard practise, at the time, not to credit or attribute sources for obituaries.)

A detailed biography (from Steve Mann) may be found here

2020, Biographies, Birthday, Organiser, Player, Players

Best Wishes IM Susan Lalic (28-x-1965)

October 28, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

BCN wishes IM Susan Lalic Happy Birthday

Susan Kathryn Walker was born on Thursday, October 28th, 1965 in Chatham, Kent. Her mother’s maiden is / was Bacon. She has a brother, Stephen.

She attended Nonsuch High School for Girls from 1977 to 1984.

Susan married Keith Arkell in 1986 and then Bogdan Lalic in Lewes, East Sussex in 1994 and finally Graeme Buckley in Sutton in 2001.

With Bogdan she had a son, Peter D, who is a strong player in his own right.

There are ten players in MegaBase 2020 whose surname is Lalic.

She became a Woman’s FIDE Master in 1986, Woman’s International Master in 1987, Woman’s Grandmaster in 1988 and an International Master in 1996.

According to Felice and Megabase 2020 Susan achieved a peak rating of 2405 in January 1997 at the age of 29.

From the Praxis Bath Zonal Tournament of 1987. Susan Walker is at the rear on the left.

Susan has played in the Four Nations Chess League for Slough, Wood Green and Guildford and her most recent games in MegaBase 2020 are from 2012.

Keith Arkell, Susan Walker and Jeremy Morse at the Lloyds Bank Masters

She is five-time British Women’s Champion: 1986, 1990–1992, and 1998 and has represented England in nine Olympiads.

LK Semenova vs Susan Walker at the 1984 Women's Olympiad — LK Semenova vs Susan Walker at the 1984 Women’s Olympiad

Susan is very active is Surrey junior chess and teaches in many schools.

With the White pieces Susan is almost exclusively an e4 player (preferring the Scotch Game) but curiously (and why not you might ask) she has employed The Polish Opening more than once with success. She is well-known for employing the Sicilian Alapin as her main weapon against the Sicilian Defence.

As the second player she defends the Caro-Kann, Larsen-Spassky, Smyslov and the Classical Variations and the Nimzo-Indian Defence.

From Wikipedia :

“Susan Kathryn Lalic (née Walker; born 28 October 1965) is an English chess player, holding both International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) titles. She is five-time British Women’s Chess Champion: 1986, 1990–1992, and 1998.[2]

Lalic has played for England nine times in Chess Olympiads, from 1984 to 2000, inclusive. From 1986 to 1998, she played on the top board.[3]

Lalic was educated at Nonsuch High School for Girls from 1977 to 1984, and has been married in the past to Keith Arkell and then to Bogdan Lalić. Currently she is married to International Master Graeme Buckley.[4][5]

Highest rating from 1987-2012 is 2356(within 133 games)[6]”

Susan Lalic and friends, rear, second from left. — Susan Lalic and friends, rear, second from left

Your Chess Questions Answered by Susan Lalic,, 1999

2023, Biographies, Deaths, History, Players

Remembering Sir Theodore (“Theo”) Tylor (13-v-1900 23-x-1968)

October 23, 2020 John Upham 1 Comment

BCN remembers Sir Theodore Tylor who passed away on Wednesday, October 23rd, 1968.

Theodore Henry Tylor was born on Sunday, May 13th, 1900 in Bournville, (at the time) in northern Worcestershire. Now Bournville is in the metropolitan borough of Birmingham.

His father was Henry Bedford Tylor and his mother Minnie Belle Cater were both 29 when Theo was born. He had one sister Rachel Hope who was born on 1 November 1909 in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, when Theodore Henry was 9 years old.

In the 1911 census Theo is shown as living in Worcester as a student. His father passed away on 26 February 1915 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, at the age of 44.

Theodore Henry Tylor, Courtesy of John Saunders and Britbase

In 1939 Theo was living at 2, Rawlinson Road, Oxford where he continued to live until his death.

We are grateful to John Foley writing in Floreat Domus (the Balliol College magazine) who wrote this about Tylor :

and, following this, John reproduced an item from On the Basis of of Hearsay, Grosvenor House Publishing, 2018 :

Chess in the 1950s : Fred Fishburn Remembers

From British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXXIX (1969), Number 1 (January), pp 6-7 we have the following article :

Sir Theodore Tylor-An Appreciation

By W. RITSON MORRY

“The death of Sir Theodore H. Tylor at the age of sixty-eight was reported in The Times of October 24th. The announcement will be received with deep regret by the many chess enthusiasts who will remember him as a cheerful and extremely resourceful opponent who triumphed over the handicap of near-blindness and lived such a full and distinguished life that it earned him the admiration and respect of the world.

The Times has already done full justice to his work as Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence at Balliol for nearly forty years and to his service to organizations for the blind for which he was most justly knighted in 1965, but it barely mentioned that side of his life with which we chess-players were more intimately acquainted.

His education at Worcester College for the Blind naturally brought him into contact with chess and he became a very strong player. ln 1925, at the age of twenty-five, he was among the twelve players selected for the British Championship at Stratford-on-Avon and fully justified the selectors’confidence by taking fourth prize, behind Atkins, Yates, and Edmund Spencer, and ahead of Winter.

It was another four years before he became really active, but in 1929 he again played in the Championship and shared fourth prize with J. H. Morrison and W. Winter behind, Sultan Khan, H. E. Price, and R. P. Michell. He followed this with his first visit to Hastings and in the 1929-30 congress put up the best performance of his career, sharing first prize with Koltanowski, in front of Flohr, Reijifir, Rellstab, Alexander, Jackson, Noteboom, Vidmar Jnr., and Winser. This, by the way, was only a Premier Reserves!

This performance evidently impressed the selectors, for the following summer brought an invitation to play for the B.C.F. team in the Hamburg Olympiad, where he won one, drew four, and lost two games. ln the 1930-31 Hastings Congress he made the first of nine appearances in the Premier Tourney, but he never managed to maintain sufficient consistency to win honours in this exalted company and was never able to finish higher than equal sixth (in
1936-7). ln the nine tournaments he won ten tames (of which only two were against non-British opposition-Feigin and Medina) and drew thirty-three (including World Champions Alekhine and Euwe and grandmasters Fine, Flohr (three times), Keres, Sultan Khan, Tartakower, and Vidmar). ln 1934-5 he again tied with Koltanowski for first place in the Premier Reserves.

ln twelve British Championships his best performance was at Hastings in 1933 where he finished second, 1/2 point behind Sultan Khan and lost only to C. H. O’D. Alexander. In nine of the twelve he was in the first six, and was four times a prize-winner. He was chosen to play for England against Holland in 1938, 1948, and 1952, and against Yugoslavia in 1951. ln these games he won four and lost four. He was selected to play against
the U.S.S.R. in 1946, but had to withdraw at the last minute.

In 1936 he was chosen as one of the four British players in the Nottingham lnternational Tournament. This caused some dissatisfaction among other disappointed aspirants, but he came ahead of Alexander, Thomas, and Winter and captured the scalps of Flohr and Tartakower. ln the same year he was fifth at Margate, where he drew with Capablanca, Lundin, and Stahlberg.

Finally, a word should be said about his work away from the board. For six years he was President of the Chess Education Society, in whose work he took a lively interest from its foundation in 1943. He was President of the Midland Counties Union from 1946-9. He played top board for Oxfordshire for many years and captained the team for a period. We mourn a great friend of chess and a fine player who was a true amateur and obviously enjoyed every minute he spent among us.”

From The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek (article by Ray Keene) :

“In spite of the handicap of partial blindness, Tylor enjoyed a successful academic career and was for nearly forty years a Fellow and tutor in jurisprudence at Balliol College, Oxford. He took up chess seriously while a schoolboy at Worcester College for the Blind and later as an undergraduate captained the Oxford University chess team.

At Hastings 1929/30, Tylor shared first prize with Koltanowski in the Premier Reserves ahead of Flohr, Reijfir, Rellstab, Alexander, Jackson, Noteboom, Vidmar Jr. and Winser. He played in the Hastings Premier event on nine occasions, but never finished in the top half. He competed in the British Championship twelve times, his best result being 2nd to Sultan Khan in 1933. He was selected for the BCF team in the Hamburg 1930 Olympiad and was British Correspondence Champion in 1933, 1934 and 1935.”

Worcester, circa 1931: Mir Sultan Khan (left) plays Theodore Tylor, while Sir George Thomas (far left) and Arthur Mackenzie (far right) spectate. Photo courtesy of Britbase. — Worcester, circa 1931: Mir Sultan Khan (left) plays
Theodore Tylor, while Sir George Thomas (far left) and
Arthur Mackenzie (far right) spectate.
Photo courtesy of Britbase.

We are grateful to Tim Harding who sent us this link to his research on Tylor

From Wikipedia:

“Sir Theodore Henry Tylor (13 May 1900 – 23 October 1968)[1] was a lawyer and international level chess player, despite being nearly blind. In 1965, he was knighted for his service to organisations for the blind. He was Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence at Balliol College, Oxford for almost forty years.[2]

Born in Bournville, Tylor learned to play chess at age seven. His chess skill increased while he attended Worcester College for the Blind from 1909 to 1918. He studied at Oxford University beginning in 1918, and captained the Oxford University Chess Club. Tylor received First-class Honours in Jurisprudence in 1922 and was made an honorary scholar of Balliol College. The next year, he became a Bachelor of Civil Law and a lecturer at Balliol College. Called to the Bar by the Inner Temple with a certificate of honour, he was made a Fellow at Balliol College in 1928.”

“Tylor competed in twelve British Championships, finishing fourth in his first appearance in 1925. His best result was in 1933, finishing second to Mir Sultan Khan.[2][3] He tied for first at the 1929/30 Hastings Premier Reserves alongside George Koltanowski ahead of Salo Flohr, Josef Rejfiř, Ludwig Rellstab, C.H.O’D. Alexander, Daniël Noteboom, and Milan Vidmar.[2] Tylor played in the top section, the Hastings Premier, nine times beginning in 1930/1. His best finish was 6th= in 1936/7.[3] He was first reserve for the English team at the Hamburg 1930 Chess Olympiad.

Tylor won the British Correspondence Chess Championship in 1932, 1933, and 1934.[1][2] He shared 5–6th at Margate 1936 with P. S. Milner-Barry, but he won their individual game and drew with 2nd- to 4th-place finishers José Raúl Capablanca, Gideon Ståhlberg, and Erik Lundin (Salo Flohr won). Although he finished 12th at Nottingham 1936, he had the best score of the British participants, ahead of C. H. O’D. Alexander, G. A. Thomas, and William Winter.[5] Mikhail Botvinnik noted that Tylor was using a tactile chess board that he incessantly fingered, as well as a device for counting the number of moves made.”

“Tylor was President of the Midland Counties’ Chess Union from 1947 to 1950, but his work for the university and for the welfare of the blind limited the time he had to devote to chess. Tylor also enjoyed bridge.[3] He died in Oxford on 23 October 1968.”

2021, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday GM John Shaw (16-10-1968)

October 16, 2020 John Upham 1 Comment

GM John Shaw, courtesy of John Upham Photography

BCN offers birthday greetings to GM John Shaw

John K Shaw was born on Wednesday, October 16th, 1968 in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland.

On this day Americans Tommie Smith (gold 19.83 WR) and John Carlos (bronze) famously give the Black Power salute on the 200m medal podium during the Mexico City Olympics to protest racism and injustice against African-Americans.

He became a FIDE Master in 1994 at the age of 26. Five years later in 1999 he became an International Master and finally a Grandmaster in 2006 at the age of 38.

He won the Scottish Championship in 1995 (with IM Steve Mannion and GM Colin McNab), outright in 1998 and in 2000 with AJ Norris.

Not that many years previously (1988) John had a rating of 1700 at the age of 19 and therefore he falls into that rather rare category of GMs who were not strong players as juniors.

According to Felice and Megabase 2020 his peak FIDE rating was 2506 in January of 2002.

FIDE Rating profile for GM John Shaw

John’s FIDE federation is Scotland and is currently ranked fifth in that country.

In 2005 John was interrogated by ChessBase upon his return from Gibraltar.

He acquired his three GM norms at Gibraltar 2003, Calvia Olympiad 2004 and 4NCL Season 2005/6.

According to ChessBase (in 2005) :

“IM John Shaw has written two books for Everyman Chess and co-edited Experts vs. the Sicilian. He has represented Scotland on many occasions, recently in the Olympiad in Calvià, where he obtained his second GM-norm. As John has once had 2500 in Elo, it is his hope that he will complete his Grandmaster title in 2005 with a third GM-norm.

Together with Jacob, John constitutes two thirds of the new chess publisher Quality Chess Europe which has published Experts vs. the Sicilian by ten different authors and Learn from the Legends – Chess Champions at their Best by Romanian GM Mihail Marin.”

John plays / has played for 4NCL Alba and his peak ECF grading was 240B in July 2009.

With the white pieces almost exclusively plays 1.e4 and the Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation.

As the second player John has a wide repertoire versus 1.e4 essaying the Sicilian La Bourdonnais (Löwenthal) and against 1.d4 the Slav is the weapon of choice.

A writer of chess books, John is the Chief Editor of the publishing house Quality Chess and has written the following (amongst others) :

starting out : the queen's gambit — starting out : the queen’s gambit

Experts on the Anti-Sicilian (Grandmaster Repertoire Series)

2021, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players

Best Wishes IM Michael Hennigan (08-x-1970)

October 8, 2020 John Upham 2 Comments

We send best wishes to IM Michael Hennigan.

Michael Thomas Hennigan was born on October 8th, 1970 in Hammersmith, London. His mother’s name was Donnelly.

Michael attended the City of London School.

Michael became World Under-18 Youth Champion in 1988 in Aguadilla (Puerto Rico).

He became a FIDE Master in 1990 and an International Master title in 1991 and in the same year was British Under-21 Champion at Eastbourne and was British Champion in 1993 in Dundee beating Dharshan Kumaran in the play-off.

In 1995 he was 1st= in the Arnold Cup in Gausdal with Igor Rausis

His peak FIDE rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2465 in July 1994 at the age of 24.

He played for North West Eagles in the Four Nations Chess League.

Michael married WIM Rita Zimmersmann and settled in London. Rita subsequently became Rita Atkins.

Michael stopped playing in 2010 but has recently in 2020 started playing online chess on the chess.com platform.

Michael is a Senior Director with FTI Consulting

With the white pieces Michael used to be an e4 player but in 2020 has switched to 1.g3 to get back into the swing of things.

As the second player he plays the Sicilian Four Knights and the King’s Indian Defence.

Stuart Conquest vs Michael Hennigan at 4NCL,, photo by Meri Grigoryan

2021, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, Players, Quality Chess, Writers

Best Wishes IM Andrew Greet (05-x-1979)

October 5, 2020 John Upham Leave a comment

BCN sends IM Andrew Greet best wishes on his birthday.

Andrew Neil Greet was born on Friday, October 5th, 1979 to Brian and Janet Greet (née) Neal in the cathedral city of Truro, Cornwall and has resided in St. Austell, Cornwall.

“Message in a Bottle” by The Police held the number one spot in the UK singles chart (three weeks in total). Andrew has a brother David who played as a junior.

Andrew attended Truro School leaving in 1998.

Andrew became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2005. His peak rating (according to Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2456 in April 2016 at the age of 37.

Andrew was British Under-18 Champion in 1996 at the age of 16 sharing the title with Oliver Rosten & Rohan Churm. In 1998 Andrew won the title outright.

From 1998 – 2001 had a break from chess to study Psychology at The University of Kent in Canterbury.

In 2005 he scored a record breaking 11/11 in the Four Nations League playing for Hillsmark Kingfisher. By now, Andrew had moved to Glasgow and had changed his FIDE federation from England to Scotland.

Andrew was joint winner (with Simon Knott) of the Southend Open in 2006.

In April 2009 Andrew joined Quality Chess in Sales and Marketing which led to the position of editor.

In 2010 Andrew became Scottish Champion outright.

In 2017 won outright the Dundee grandmaster tournament : here is the story of the tournament.

In 2018 he played board one for Scotland in the 43rd Olympiad in Batumi.

Andrew is a successful martial artist specialising in a a discipline known as Brazilian Jiujitsu, which is a form of grappling.

Here is an article (by Dave Regis) concerning a simultaneous display at Exeter Chess Club in 2010

From britishchess.co.uk :

“He has a very friendly personality which works well when coaching, and he has coached England juniors on foreign trips.”

Andrew has written a number of publications as follows :

Play the Ruy Lopez, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2007

Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5, Andrew Greet, John Emms & Glenn Flear, Everyman, 2008

Starting Out : The Accelerated Dragon, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2008

Beating Unusual Chess Defences to 1.e4, Andrew Greet, Everyman, 2011

Play the Queen's Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet — Play the Queen’s Indian, Everyman, Andrew Greet

2021, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Players, Writers

Happy Birthday GM David Norwood (03-x-1968)

October 3, 2020 John Upham 3 Comments

We wish David Norwood all the best on his birthday,

David Robert Norwood was born in Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester on October 3rd 1968. His mother’s maiden name was Mellor and his father was an electrician.

Mary Hopkin was still UK number one with “Those were the days” and would remain at number one for six weeks in total.

David read history at Keble College, Oxford before pursuing a successful business career (see below).

David became an International Master in 1985 and a Grandmaster in 1989 and his peak FIDE rating (Felice and Megabase 2020) was 2545 in July 1994 at the age of 26.

David has a score of +2 against Viswanathan Anand, +1 against Neil McDonald, +2 against Keith Arkell and +2 against Mark Hebden.

Preparing for David would have been fairly straightforward as he played almost the same opening with white and black playing 1.g3 (and less frequently, 1.d4) and the Modern Defence although his did flick the Modern Benoni into the mix every now and then.

As well as moving to Oxford for University he was =1st at the 1988 (fifth) NatWest Young Masters with 6/9 (along with Adams and Kudrin) securing a GM norm :

Crosstable for 1988 NatWest Young Masters

IM David Norwood at the 1988 NatWest Young Masters. Photo by Tom Elek

In 1990 David became the first Grandmaster to play in the annual Varsity match. This was the 108th such encounter and David played on board one against Jeremy P Sharp of Downing College, Cambridge. David first played in the 107th match in 1989 on board two below James Howell. David played one more time in 1991 scoring 2/3 from his three appearences.

IM David Norwood at the 1991 Varsity Match. Henry Gerald Mutkin (organiser and sponsor) is seated.

According to FIDE David is registered with Andorra which appropriately (for DN) has Catalan as its national language. David has yet to win the Andorran Championship. He first played in the Andorran Open in 2011 and came close to winning in 2013 with 7/9. Since 2017 David has not played in a FIDE rated event.

One of David’s most important claims to fame was being the Best Man at the wedding of Julian and Lizette Hodgson.

A powerful Unisys personal computer being present to Bolton-born GM David Norwood by Alva Rodger (centre), general manager of Unisys banking district ad Dr Brian Bailey, managing director of Infolink, a credit referencing agency.

David is an active director of Genomics Plc, and 4D Pharma Plc, both companies operate in the biomedical sector.

Here is a detailed article about David from the Oxford alumni pages.

As a writer David wrote a chess column for The Daily Telegraph and The Economist (London) and he has written the following books :

The Usbourne Book of Chess Puzzles, David Norwood, 1992

Winning with the Modern, David Norwood, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 1994

The Modern Benoni, David Norwood, Cadogan, 1994

Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, Steve David and David Norwood, 1995

The Usbourne Guide to Advanced Chess, David Norwood, 1995

Chess Super-Talent, David Norwood, Batsford, September 1995, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805042238

From Wikipedia :

“David Robert Norwood (born 3 October 1968) is an English businessman who runs an investment fund that finances spin-off companies from Oxford University science departments. He is also a chess grandmaster, chess writer, former captain of the English chess team and now represents Andorra at chess.”

“The son of an electrician, Norwood graduated with a history degree from Keble College, Oxford University in 1988 before joining city investment bank Banker’s Trust in 1991.”

“Norwood cofounded Oxford Sciences Innovation, a £600m investment company dedicated to funding deep science from Oxford University, and was its CEO from 2015 to 2019. Formerly he was founder of IP Group plc, a fund that invested in spinoffs from Oxford University’s Chemistry department, in exchange for 50% of the revenues from the licensing of the department’s intellectual property.

In 2017, Norwood donated £1.9M to Keble College’s future hub for innovation at Oxford University.”

From The Times of London, November 20th, 2008 by Ian King, Business Editor :

“Entrepreneur David Norwood swaps City for sun, sea and writing

One of the City’s best-known entrepreneurs resigned all his directorships yesterday – to move to a desert island (in the Bahamas) where he plans to become a writer.

IM David Norwood and IM Aldo Haik (France) taking a drink at the bar during Cappelle-Le-Grande, 1988. Photograph by Caroline Winkler

David Norwood, a former chief executive of the stockbrokers Evolution and Beeson Gregory, resigned from the boards of a number of companies, including Oxford Advanced Surfaces, ORA Capital, Oxeco and Plus-listed Green Chemicals. He has also given up his role as special projects director at IP Group, the intellectual property commercialisation company, which he started eight years ago and floated on AIM in 2003. Shares of all five companies fell after the news was released.”

2021, 4NCL, Biographies, Birthday, British Championships, Coaching, Players

Happy Birthday IM Tom Rendle (29-ix-1986)

September 29, 2020 John Upham Leave a comment

Best wishes to IM Tom Rendle on his birthday.

Thomas Edward Rendle was born on Monday, September 29th 1986. “Stuck with You” by Huey Lewis and the News was the UK’s number one single.

Tom was born in Hastings, East Sussex and his mother’s maiden name is Jefferies. Tom resides in Hastings.

Tom attended Bede’s School, Sussex and then St. Leonard’s College.

Tom studied physics at The University of Warwick and has two brothers, Tim and James and a sister Theresa.

Tom became a FIDE Master in 2004. In 2006 he became an International Master and achieved a peak rating (according to Felice) in July 2007 of 2416 at the age of 21. Tom has one Grandmaster norm.

Tom Rendle, sponsored by local printing company, FDM. Courtesy of Gary Lane

Tom has played for 4NCL Grantham Sharks, Hammersmith (in the London League), Drunken Knights (in the London League), West London and Sandhurst (in the Surrey Border and Berkshire Leagues).

His first ECF grade to appear on the grading web site was 82A in July 1994 (however it could be earlier than that) at the age of 7 :

Tom played in the World U12 Championship won by Teimour Radjabov and his first major success was scoring 7.5/10 in the 2001 Smith and Williamson Young Masters. He became Hampshire Champion in 2001 with 5/6 and won the 2004 Rosny Sous Bois tournament with 7/9 and a TPR of 2568. He was runner-up in the Paignton Open of 2005 followed by runner-up in the Coulsdon Christmas tournament of 2005.

Tom’s GM norm was earnt at Gibraltar 2007.

Tom has his own popular YouTube Channel

With the white pieces Tom is almost exclusively an e4 player but he has flirted with Bird’s Opening many times. Having shared accommodation with Gawain Jones there are signs of influence in the choice of the Grand Prix Attack.

As the second player Tom plays both the Winawer and the Classical French and is a noted expert on the Classical Dutch and Dutch in general.

IM Tom Rendle at the King's Place Rapidplay, 2013, Courtesy of John Upham Photography — IM Tom Rendle at the King’s Place Rapidplay, 2013, Courtesy of John Upham Photography

From Wikipedia :

“Thomas Edward Rendle (born 29 September 1986) is a British FIDE International Master chess player and coach. Rendle became an International Master in June 2006 and is part way towards becoming a Grandmaster, with one GM Norm.

He gained an interest in chess at an early age, and soon entered chess tournaments, gaining success in his age categories (such as becoming Mini Squad Under 7s Champion, England Under 11 Champion).[citation needed] He was put on top board for the England under 11 team and won the Sussex Under 18 Championships, whilst still under 12.”

In 1998 Rendle played Garry Kasparov in the BT Wireplay Challenge 1998. In 2005 he was a coach for England’s team at the 1st FIDE World Schools Championship in Halkidiki, Greece and in 2006 he coached with the England Team at the European Youth Chess Championships in Montenegro.

Rendle currently works as a chess coach, both online and face-to-face. He is a regular coach of England Juniors.”