English Chess Forum

Alexander Peckover was the maternal grandfather of Lionel Penrose

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander ... n_Peckover

He was also an active member of Wisbech Chess club and often visited Simpson's Divan in London.

Included in Penrose's papers held by the Wellcome Collection is a collection of Peckover's games which included the following two, which are of some historical interest.


[Event "Offhand Game"] [Site "Simpson's Divan"] [Date "1884.12.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Peckover, Alexander"] [Black "Mason, James"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C58"] [Opening "Two knights defence: Bogolyubov variation"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O Bg4 10. Qc3 cxb5 11. Qxc7 Be7 12. Qxa5 Bd7 13. Qc3 {https://wellcomecollection.org/works/fq ... canvas=227} 1-0


[Event "Offhand Game"] [Site "Simpson's Divan"] [Date "1884.12.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Peckover, Alexander"] [Black "Mason, James"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C52"] [Opening "Evans gambit"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O Nf6 7. Ng5 O-O 8. f4 exf4 9. Rxf4 h6 10. Bxf7+ Rxf7 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. e5 Bb6+ 13. d4 Nxe5 14. Qh5+ Ng6 15. Ba3 d6 16. Nd2 Qe7 17. Raf1 Qe3+ 18. Kh1 Bd7 19. Ne4 Re8 20. Bc1 Qxf4 21. Rxf4 Rxe4 22. Rxf6+ Kxf6 23. Qd1 d5 24. h3 c6 25. Qf3+ Bf5 26. g4 Rf4 27. Bxf4 Be4 {https://wellcomecollection.org/works/fq ... canvas=228} 0-1

Even for an offhand game, that's a bit of a howler from a player of Mason's strength in the first one.

Are these previously unpublished. If so, an amazing find even by Gerard's already high standards! They are in really good condition as well. Love the "188<blank>" bit. And the "the celebrated American champion chess player" note. Pity about the quality of that first game.

Thanks mate! I was going to do a blog with these games at some point. Your copies are much clearer than the ones I have for some reason. Cheers!

So, the Penrose "chess dynasty" extends two more generations back! Was "AP" any relation to the endgame study composer Joseph Edmund Peckover (1896-1982)? The latter was British-born, but emigrated to the USA in his mid-twenties.

John Clarke wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 11, 2026 7:48 pm

Was "AP" any relation to the endgame study composer Joseph Edmund Peckover (1896-1982)? The latter was British-born, but emigrated to the USA in his mid-twenties.

I'd asked myself the same question some time ago. It seems they were only very distantly related. They were both from the Quaker Peckover family from Fakenham. Their shared ancestor, at a quick look, might have been Joseph Peckover (1697-1771). Unlike many Quaker families, the Peckovers haven't been very extensively researched.

I'll be visiting the church where JEP was baptised on Friday evening. I'll think of him then. His branch of the family, I'd assume, were no longer Quakers, which might explain the lack of research. I'm not sure why he was baptised in Richmond: they were living in Hampstead at the time and neither parent (his father was a tailor) had any immediate connection to the area. Perhaps the minister was a friend.