English Chess Forum

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:17 pm

Name the Oxford academic who floored Flohr's Winawer in an international tournament.

I suppose that leads on to another history question as to which Oxford academics have been international chess players. As a loose definition, repesented their country in major team tournaments, major tournaments such as Nottingham or Hastings or been in the UK top ten.

Excluding those who studied at Oxford as undergraduates or post graduates, Adrian Hollis and John Nunn spring to mind plus various overseas visitors akthough most of these were there to study rather than teach.

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:42 pm

Yes, very good, Leonard.

No,just too easy a question. I played, met, saw or corresponded with 12 of the 15 at Nottingham 1936-all but Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine. Tylor was the law professor at Balliol when I was an undergraduate, was my round two opponent in 1949 in my first British championship, and we played next to each other on the Oxfordshire county team.

That is an interesting question, Roger. Let's see if any suggestions roll in.

It is quite a thought that Leonard had contact with all those Nottingham participants. I find it a fascinating period in chess history: several players had plausible claims to be the world's best, so the position was unclear.

Incidentally, Edward Winter's latest feature article is all about another international tournament on British soil - London, 1922:

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ext ... n1922.html

"It is quite a thought that Leonard had contact with all those Nottingham participants."

It certainly is...

I was a bit stunned when Peter Svidler said in the Wijk commentary today that he had never spoken to Mikhail Tal, when I have. This is one of the advantages of old age I guess. The conversation was only along the lines, "please will you sign this book?" and "thank you." It doesn't take long to write "M Tal". Peter was still a junior when Tal died.

Though he is a contemporary of Kramnik who not just met Tal but (I think) played with him.

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 15, 2022 5:55 pm

Incidentally, Edward Winter's latest feature article is all about another international tournament on British soil - London, 1922:

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ext ... n1922.html

Even in a 1922 article, I was a bit taken aback to see the Australian Champion described as part of the British Contingent.

Just imagine if you said that in 2022.

David Sedgwick wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:07 am

Even in a 1922 article, I was a bit taken aback to see the Australian Champion described as part of the British Contingent.

or even maybe the Serbian contingent?

David Sedgwick wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:07 am

Even in a 1922 article, I was a bit taken aback to see the Australian Champion described as part of the British Contingent.

I think that's British as a shorthand for British Empire or British Commonwealth of Nations. The latter term appears in international treaties of the period. Elsewhere in the collected articles there's reference to British America, presumably as Newfoundland was still a separate state.

When Sultan Khan was playing, the BCF team in Olympiads was sometimes described as British Empire.

I think too that staff at Australia House in London were deemed eligible to play in the Civil Service League round about then. Roger is probably right.

Yes, in the 1920s (and even in the 1930s to an extent) the overarching presence of the British Empire or Commonwealth was still a dominating influence in 'British' and Anglophone circles. Canada (and Newfoundland) and Australia (and New Zealand) were either already, or well on the way to being further along the road to full nationhood, but that process took time.

Some of the steps along that road include:

Balfour Declaration of 1926
Statute of Westminster, 1931

The Union (later Republic) of South Africa and Ireland (the Irish Free State) were a bit more complicated for specific reasons. India is noticeable for its absence from such declarations. What happened there is a whole other story.

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:47 pm

India is noticeable for its absence from such declarations. What happened there is a whole other story.

India was a founding member of the League of Nations though alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_st ... of_Nations

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 16, 2022 5:49 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:47 pm

India is noticeable for its absence from such declarations. What happened there is a whole other story.

India was a founding member of the League of Nations though alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_st ... of_Nations

Yes, the same five were also separate signatories to the Treaty of Versailles the previous year.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_o ... s/Protocol

They also featured, alongside the UK itself, on the souvenir flag of the 1924-25 British Empire Exhibition - see here for more information and image (it's too big and not sufficiently chess-related to post on-site).

By a strange coincidence Mrs C was researching the flag only yesterday, having found one among her late mother’s effects and knowing nothing about its design or significance.

That is a great example. And skipping forward another 13 years or so from Wembley, we arrive in Glasgow at the 1938 Empire Exhibition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Ex ... ,_Scotland

Quite a few of them when you start looking:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Ex ... uth_Africa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_of_Empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Colonial_Exposition

(That last one is French of course, not British!)

From a poem by Charles Tomlinson:

"The Lion rose, and gave his mane a shake,
Then bade his Tiger - Hungary Tiger he -
Punish the Fox for his temerity."

Who was the Fox?