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Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 6:56 pm
by Simon Rogers
Stewart Reuben mentions there is no book collection of Harry Golombek best games. That is a great shame.
Perhaps there is a gap in the market for games by British Chess Champions.
Perhaps during lockdown a British titled player could start writing a book about Harry Golombek.
Even series of books titled " Best of British " might be an idea featuring other British Chess Champions.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 7:05 pm
by Matt Mackenzie
Apart from his games he had an interesting life both in and out of chess, so there are worse gaps in the market to fill.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 7:13 pm
by John Upham
There is definitely a market for a book about Jonathan Penrose.
One about the Penrose family would not go amiss either.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 9:26 pm
by Paul Habershon
Phil Neatherway wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 12:05 pm
Golombek's book "The Game of Chess" was my first chess book. I expect many players of a similar vintage may say the same.
When I was seven years old (1953) I happened to find on my father's bookshelf 'Chess Lessons for Beginners' by the Rev. E.E. Cunnington. Despite its title the book is simply a collection of instructive games and makes no attempt to teach the moves from scratch. I was fascinated by the diagrams and, without knowing how the pieces moved, just wanted to play through the games to reach the diagrams correctly. My father explained the descriptive notation and that was it. When he found me using pieces of paper instead of chessmen (I must have found a draughts board or something), he bought me a small wooden chess set. I can't remember being taught the moves and I wonder if I picked them up gradually from playing through the games. Perhaps it was a benefit to experience master games before making my own beginner's moves.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 5:10 am
by Paul Habershon
Paul Habershon wrote: ↑Fri May 01, 2020 9:26 pm
Phil Neatherway wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 12:05 pm
Golombek's book "The Game of Chess" was my first chess book. I expect many players of a similar vintage may say the same.
When I was seven years old (1953) I happened to find on my father's bookshelf 'Chess Lessons for Beginners' by the Rev. E.E. Cunnington. Despite its title the book is simply a collection of instructive games and makes no attempt to teach the moves from scratch. I was fascinated by the diagrams and, without knowing how the pieces moved, just wanted to play through the games to reach the diagrams correctly. My father explained the descriptive notation and that was it. When he found me using pieces of paper instead of chessmen (I must have found a draughts board or something), he bought me a small wooden chess set. I can't remember being taught the moves and I wonder if I picked them up gradually from playing through the games. Perhaps it was a benefit to experience master games before making my own beginner's moves.
Apologies - typical old man repeating himself. This was the more appropriate thread. At least it was 2014 and not yesterday.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7082
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 8:35 am
by David Sedgwick
Paul Habershon wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 5:10 am
Apologies - typical old man repeating himself. This was the more appropriate thread. At least it was 2014 and not yesterday.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7082
Don't beat yourself up about it too much. I once repeated myself in the same thread, quite unaware that I had done so.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 6:19 pm
by Stewart Reuben
I retired as a teacher at the age of 40. I remember, more than once, telling the class an anecdote and, in he middle of it, realising a glazed look had come on their eyes..
'I've told you that one before.' 'Yes sir, came the weary response.'
But GM Donner did even better. He lost a game in about 17 moves. Many years later he played, and lost, the same game, but this time carried on for two more moves.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 8:14 pm
by Reg Clucas
Phil Neatherway wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 12:05 pm
Golombek's book "The Game of Chess" was my first chess book. I expect many players of a similar vintage may say the same.
Indeed! Unfortunately I no longer have it.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 10:21 pm
by John Upham
Reg Clucas wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 8:14 pm
Phil Neatherway wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 12:05 pm
Golombek's book "The Game of Chess" was my first chess book. I expect many players of a similar vintage may say the same.
Indeed! Unfortunately I no longer have it.
81rdeg2bmqL.jpg
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sun May 03, 2020 1:11 pm
by Gerard Killoran
When a chess player was famous enough to be name-checked in a advert in The Tatler.
The Tatler - Wednesday 27 July 1955.png
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sun May 03, 2020 3:32 pm
by JustinHorton
That's quite a spot.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Sun May 03, 2020 3:34 pm
by Reg Clucas
John Upham wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 10:21 pm
Reg Clucas wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 8:14 pm
Phil Neatherway wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 12:05 pm
Golombek's book "The Game of Chess" was my first chess book. I expect many players of a similar vintage may say the same.
Indeed! Unfortunately I no longer have it.
81rdeg2bmqL.jpg
I think mine may have been a later edition - it had a newly added chapter 'The Younger School' in which he wrote about two emerging talents, Tal and Fischer.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 7:27 pm
by Simon Rogers
I've enjoyed reading the interesting posts about Harry Golombek. I didn't realise that Harry was a wartime codebreaker aswell.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 8:25 pm
by Stewart Reuben
Harry told me that one way in which he was valuable was that he could work all night and hand things over to the morning group. Few people could do that.
Re: Harry Golombek games
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 9:14 pm
by Kevin Thurlow
" I didn't realise that Harry was a wartime codebreaker aswell."
HG sometimes attended the Guernsey tournament as journalist for the "Times" (although he didn't always warn Guernsey CC he was attending!). One morning I visited the "Occupation Museum" (still well worth a look, and with the same guy running it!), where they had an Enigma machine. I reported this to HG in case he wanted to see another one and he then gave me a brief talk on how it worked, which was nice of him. I'm not entirely sure I understood the explanation, but that was my fault not his.