English Chess Forum

Google 'Chess Scotland' and enter 'Forum' directly from the link to the CS website, where you will find 'Obituaries' for much more, including some brief words from me. [NB: going into chessscotland.com directly at present, perhaps due to a recent admin glitch, doesn't seem to provide a ready link to...

Very sad news to me too. Alan was indeed a very strong junior and a threat to anyone, certainly through the early to mid 1970s before embarking on conventional full time professional employment (I recall his joining BA). He was indeed also an extremely friendly and approachable person. I played quit...

Oops! The great Vienna 1873 tournament: Anderssen (3rd) was fairly outdistanced by both Steinitz (who defeated Anderssen 2-0 in their individual games) and Blackburne. Steinitz won the tournament tie break against Blackburne 2-0. See (among other sources): Ch 2 'Achieving Supremacy 1867-1876' in my ...

I'll miss Stewart, too. Since the late-60s and especially through the 70s and 80s, he seemed to be a near, ever-present English, British and international chess organisational dynamo, offering encouragement and opportunities not just to aspiring youngsters of a good many countries but also to a much...

I'll miss Stewart, too. Since the late-60s and especially through the 70s and 80s, he seemed to be a near, ever-present English, British and international chess organisational dynamo, offering encouragement and opportunities not just to aspiring youngsters of a good many countries but also to a much...

Koenig's 'Chess from Morphy to Botwinnik' is an absolute gem. My current 'working copy', on loan from the 'Dr Aitken' collection in the Edinburgh chess club, is warmly inscribed (9/7/52) to his chess friend (Dr Aitken) 'in remembrance of the days in the Lud Eagle London'. I'm not even sure whether t...

Thanks, John. In 2011, I wrote that the Salvio (c 1850s-60s) was 'unfashionable ... poorly understood ... had a somewhat hazily doubtful theoretical reputation'. Whether it's wholly 'dubious', I'm not sure but that's not really the point ... which is (1) that Steinitz shone an extraordinarily clear ...

Although no 'William Booth' (see John Townsend's and other posts above), may I gently note that I did, in fact, make a very serious case for (at least a partial chess-historical) 'salvation' of the Salvio Variation in the King's Gambit on pp 15-22 of the chapter on Steinitz in my book: Giants of Inn...

Are there no women? Other than (the late) Mrs Nancy C Elder of Dundee: MBE 1974 for services to chess, whose name should be added to the list, that is. A Dundee school teacher, she was 15 times Scottish women's champion and very active in coaching, organising and captaining all levels of women's and...

Very sad news. I first played against Julian in the 1971 British Ch, a round 1 draw. He was a tricky tactician who played awfully fast and always for fun. He was also great fun and, of course, awfully good at the law. True top GM class there, as I recall, having once had to read one of his extremely...

I feel sure that Jack Rudd and Tim Harding's instincts (plus detailed points) are right and that the 'English' popularity, especially propelled by Staunton's early and quite skilful interpretations of the opening in the match v St Amant eventually led someone to naming 1.c4 'English Opening' but as ...

For the historic record: the defensive technique (N v BB) used most clearly in the Arkell-Lagarde game was all known and published at least as far back as the 1960s. The key endgame bible then was Cheron's work. You place N on a fianchetto square, say g7; then if your K can safely reach f7/g6, the w...

Many happy returns, Leonard! You have done so much for chess over the years and the quality of your chess journalism in The Guardian continues to set the very highest standards to all chess writers, bar none.

1976 The National Bank of Dubai Evening Standard London Chess Congress had 250 players for 6 rounds. Bojan Kurajica was the lone winner with 5.5./6. Fake news!? Or simply some other tournament?! I can quite categorically confirm that I finished outright first in that 1976 Bank of Dubai / Evening St...

Intrigued, I contacted a German friend, whose origin is Czech and who knew Janata when they were both youngsters in Prague. He says that mutual friends told him that Michael Janata died of cancer and confirmed that he had studied Arabic and Swahili. A sad loss.