English Chess Forum

I've gathered together 113 of his game scores which may be found here at BritBase: https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/players.html John, may I assume you have harvested all of GHBs games from CHESS , British Chess Magazine and Chess Moves (to save me looking!) :D Update: now 116 games. I've found tw...

Thanks. I see the birth registration of Howard G. Bennett in the final quarter of 1949 in the Bournemouth district. I assume from this that the various references to Gerald H. Bennett are not really accurate, or, perhaps, rather I should say, a departure from his birth names. He was always known as...

I first met Gerald whilst I was at Southampton University in the early 1970s and we played in Hampshire chess events. He was living in the Bournemouth area. He seemed to have plenty of time to play in chess tournaments, but I don't recall him being part of any of the University teams of that era. W...

One thing puzzles me. If Gerald H. Bennett was born in 1949, why is there no entry during that year in the indexes to birth registrations? Was he born outside England and Wales? Addendum: The official website doesn't cover that year, but I have searched on the FreeBMD site, which appears to be 99% ...

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:51 pm

GFBennett wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:46 pm

BH Woods Chess? Is that a book I can find?

Chess monthly magazine. I remember reading all about it at the time, though long gone now.

Any idea of the year and I’ll try and track down a copy.

We think Dad worked for BH Woods for a short while.

Gerald Bennett was an excellent player from my era who gave up the game soon after getting married. Does anyone know where he is now ? There are also lots of good players who have turned their "chess obsession" to bridge : Peter Lee + Jonathan Mestel are two obvious candidates whilst Mark Horton is...

Some reminiscences have appeared on Facebook . The link won’t take me to anything. Is it a chess group on FB? It's from a post by Paul Littlewood that several people have commented on. Maybe you need to be a friend of his to see it. Your father was, so, if you've got access to his Facebook account,...

That will bring a smile to many people's faces (having lots of chess books and magazines)! If there are no plans to keep the chess materials, and you need any help looking for ways to donate or otherwise find a good home for them, there will be many people here willing to help. Some people do look ...

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 11:45 pm

GFBennett wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 11:26 am

It would be lovely to hear any stories from those who knew him when he played. Please do get in contact.

Some reminiscences have appeared on Facebook.

The link won’t take me to anything. Is it a chess group on FB?

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:51 pm

GFBennett wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:46 pm

BH Woods Chess? Is that a book I can find?

Chess monthly magazine. I remember reading all about it at the time, though long gone now.

I’ll see if Dad has it. He has a lot of chess books and magazines!

If I remember right, the Bank Holiday traffic scuppered his chances of being in time for the first round at the week-ender, but he won the remaining five games in that event to finish in the prize-list. I think it was the other way round. I was at the Marlow event which was 5 rounds with the first ...

Nick Ivell wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 14, 2025 3:47 pm

I remember Gerald winning the first Guernsey tournament I played in. Must have have been 1975. A charming man and a very fine player.

He actually met Mum at this tournament as she was part of the chess club organising the tournament!

Thank you for informing us, and condolences on your father's passing. I assume this is the Gerald H. Bennett mentioned (and pictured) on these two pages? https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/197412islington-viewer.html https://hampshirechesshistory.co.uk/hampshire-individual-chess-championship-1973...

Thank you all for the posts and yes that is indeed Dad. We have a copy of the photo with the giant bottle! He was very proud of that win. Not playing myself I am delighted to have these links and background on this part of his life.

Gerald Bennett my father sadly passed away very unexpectedly this week. He was a very active chess player on the circuit in the 1970s and I believe into the early 1990s. Although he stopped playing club chess he was active online! It would be lovely to hear any stories from those who knew him when h...