Ranyl Hughes

[Andrew Zigmond]

Ranyl Hughes, a long standing member of Harrogate Chess Club, died recently after a short illness.

Ranyl was one of the greats of our club; serving in several capacities over the years. He was B Team captain during the 1980s through to the mid 90s and then had two stints as club treasurer where he presided over the club's finances with great diligence. Perhaps more importantly he was regular at our club nights until this summer, always happy to take on players of any standard and to generally support the life of the club. His conduct was never anything than that of an absolute gentleman.

I first met Ranyl when I joined the Harrogate club as a teenager in 1994. He was always gracious and encouraging towards me in the days when I was raw and impetuous; as I became more involved in the running of the club he was always supportive and I came to greatly value his advice. He was also active in the York league and, while primarily a club player, he competed in York and Doncaster congresses. He was a familiar face to visiting teams across Yorkshire.

He was latterly resident in Brayton, near Selby, where a private funeral took place earlier this week. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.