English Chess Forum

One of THE most significant facilitators of British Chess.

More detail on his parents, siblings, wife and child.

One of our largest biographies including previously unseen photographs recovered from unloved and abandoned boxes from a loft in Wokingham by Yours Truly


Remembering GM Harry Golombek OBE (01-iii-1911 07-i-1995)

The article is excellent, with a great deal of information which was new to me.

I recall a Guernsey tournament some time ago, where Harry turned up at the hotel and said to the organizer (John Bisson), "Hello - I'm here to report on the tournament. Where am I staying?" A slightly bemused John and the hotel found a room that was available. The next day, Harry remarked that he had not packed enough shirts, and recruited Peggy Bisson (John's wife) to take him to a good clothes shop in St Peter Port to get some more. It's a measure of the Bissons' attitude that they took all this in their stride! Harry wrote good reports and was always pleasant to talk to. I may have mentioned before that I told him that the Guernsey Occupation Museum had an Enigma Machine and he then gave me detailed information on how it worked, which was rather special...

I was wondering who the two female players were in the picture of the 1985 Varsity match. John Saunders' Britbase site has a picture of two different players, Laura Cohen (Cambridge) vs Anita Rakshit (Oxford). One of the pictures must have the wrong date? Perhaps Leonard Barden can enlighten us, as he is "Staring at the board" in both pictures.

The photo of the 1985 Varsity match at BritBase correctly shows Laura Cohen and Anita Rakshit.

The photo shown in BCN's Golombek tribute which purports to be from the 1985 Varsity match (with a caption which doesn't mention the names of the players) is actually from 1989, as shown on the 1989 Varsity match page at BritBase, the two players being Alison Franklin and Anna Jillings.

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 09, 2021 5:16 pm

The photo of the 1985 Varsity match at BritBase correctly shows Laura Cohen and Anita Rakshit.

The photo shown in BCN's Golombek tribute which purports to be from the 1985 Varsity match (with a caption which doesn't mention the names of the players) is actually from 1989, as shown on the 1989 Varsity match page at BritBase, the two players being Alison Franklin and Anna Jillings.

Many thanks for the correction.

I'm planning a gallery of Lloyds Bank "staring at the board" photographs later in the year.

Candidates for most staring include :

Adrian Hollis, Harry Golombek, Bob Wade, Henry Mutkin and Leonard Barden.

The only one who seems to enjoy these posed pictures is Henry Mutkin. Even the Lloyds Bank photographer probably wasn't too impressed.

However breaking all records is this one :


Naming ALL the spectators could win you the opportunity to be placed in a random draw for the chance to win the star prize!

The star prize is a night out at an all-you-can-eat-buffet with one of the spectators (I think you know which one).

I recognise a youthful Raymond Keene.