English Chess Forum

I'm saddened to report news that former Kent and Lewisham player Len M Pickett has died after a long illness.

Len's time at Lewisham pre-dates my own, and he hasn't been active since the turn of the Century. Older members remember he was a strong player who turned out for our top teams and for the Kent County. He also participated in strong tournaments including the Lewisham International of 1984, performing with an ELO of 2200.

Len's legacy will be that of an author, with his work on opening theory having been referenced on the forum previously - see Delayed Exchange Ruy Lopez (DELRD), Sicilian Defence Moscow Variation and French Poisoned Pawn 'Pickett's Charge'

His funeral is at Hither Green Crematorium on the 4th September, 2026.
https://adrianmoorefunerals.co.uk/funeral-notices/

RE: Funeral.

This may not be going ahead at the location/time stated. Len died with little/no money and had fallen out with his brother, who initially was going to pay for the service, has now indicated he is not willing to do so.

I ought to write something about Len for BCN. Anyway, a small reminder of a couple of his publications:




and





and

I seem to remember seeing an old Foxy DVD with Andrew Martin on "Pickett's Charge" in the French - Named from an idea by Len if I'm not mistaken?

There's an article about this here:
https://www.irlchess.com/tnwr-dir/tNWR-14.pdf

The game (I'm not sure about the name of the Black player). "Pickett's charge" is 11. h4 rather than the normally played 11. f4
[White "Len Pickett"] [Black "Graeme Rivers"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. h4 dxc3 12. Rh3 d4 13. Qe4 Bd7 14. Nxd4 Qxe5 15. Qxe5 Nxe5 16. Nb5 Nd5 17. Nxc3 Nxc3 18. Rxc3 Bc6 19. Bg5 Rg6 20. f3 f6 21. Bf4 Nd7 22. h5 Rg7 23. h6 Rg6 24. O-O-O Nb6 25. Bb5 Bxb5 26. h7 Ke7 27. Rc7+ Bd7 28. Bd6+ Kf7 29. Bc5

[Edit: Article doesn't actually seem to be by Andrew Martin]

[SetUp "1"] [FEN "r1b1k1r1/ppq1np1Q/2n1p3/3pP3/3p3P/P1P5/2P1NPP1/R1B1KB1R b KQq h3 0 11"]

I think I've sat next to that position. It also became an Andy Smith speciality.

I encountered Len the best part of 40+ years ago at Charlton House during their congress. I had the bye and outside we played a friendly game in deadly earnest. I tried 3 Bb5 against his Sicilian, a line now popular popular. It wasn't then.
I managed a draw and said I'd got the move from a book by Pickett. He said "I am Pickett". He didn't smile or swallow his pipe but friendship kindled. He mentioned that his books had sold better in the US than here, though his criteria for this now escapes me. He mentioned the railway game 1829, his new departure, friendship with Norman Oliver, his line with h4 against the Winawer. I listened and learnt.
James

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 16, 2026 9:00 pm

[SetUp "1"] [FEN "r1b1k1r1/ppq1np1Q/2n1p3/3pP3/3p3P/P1P5/2P1NPP1/R1B1KB1R b KQq h3 0 11"]

I think I've sat next to that position. It also became an Andy Smith speciality.

I’ve had Black in that position. Against Andy Smith.

I remember Len from Lewisham in the 70s and 80s. Never played him, but I do remember him joining a post mortem after I played Les Blackstock, he was very insightful and very amusing. RIP

I met him just once, in the late 1970s perhaps, chez Bob Wade.I told him I had heard he was something of a bridge player.
He eplied, "Yeah. I`m the best."
Bob then mentioned something about a board game Len had invented - something to do with space travel, if memory serves...

I first went to Charlton Chess Club when I was 11 or 12 and soon became a member. At the time and for many years the club nights were held in the long gallery of Charlton house on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I wandered in and was very impressed at the sight of so many players and games in progress in this very impressive venue. I asked Stuart Fancy who had suggested I come to the club how I got a game and he just said "ask someone" so I did, My first opponent absolutely thrashed me and turned out to be Les Blackstock who was about 2350 at the time and whose book I had read. My next opponent was Len Pickett who also thrashed me but was kind enough to give me some tuition. I got to know him at Charlton and Lewisham Chess Clubs over the years and, despite his sometimes contrary disposition, always liked and valued our friendship. I'm very sad to hear that he's died.

James Plaskett wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 19, 2026 9:32 pm

I met him just once, in the late 1970s perhaps, chez Bob Wade.I told him I had heard he was something of a bridge player.
He eplied, "Yeah. I`m the best."
Bob then mentioned something about a board game Len had invented - something to do with space travel, if memory serves...

He showed myself and some friends his game and it had a rule book about the size of a 1970s MCO and, as can be imagined, was incredibly complicated and also long drawn out. He spent about 3 hours explaining the game from start to finish and when asked at what stage we'd reached said "these are just the preliminaries". I can understand why he never managed to market it which was certainly his intention. He was a very bright guy but I don't think he understood other people very well, assuming that if that was his thinking, so must it be so for everyone else. He had a degree in mathematics and my impression was he was pretty good at it. On one occasion at Lewisham a fellow club member, Fred Knight, who was apparently dabbling in maths asked Len how a certain theorem could be proved.

"Show it to me."

He ummed a little, said he'd take it home and work it out and came back a couple of weeks later with a four page proof which he gave to Fred.

Fred scratched his head and looked through the pages in some consternation.

"I don't understand it, Len"

Len looked at his in apparent shock.

"What do you mean you don't understand it? It's obvious!"

Laughter around the table except from Len and Fred. I don't think Len had any idea what was so funny.

RIP Len.
We met at Bob Wade's (Alan Phillips' house in Blackheath). We did a lot of joint analysis on a semi main line of the Philidor. I do not remember whether that resulted in a publication, but I think it probably did.

The recent (2019) book "Side-stepping mainline theory" by Gerard Welling and Steve Giddins (which advocates playing Philidor type structures as both black and white) contains a move (Qe8) which it describes as "the Pickett Shuffle".

In some ways Len was quite a character as when I was at Lewisham in the late 60s and 70s he never worked apart from writing his 2 or 3 opening books and explaining to lesser players like me what and how they should be playing. I still have one or two of his books.

He always had ideas about becoming a top player but sadly was never able to make the jump from top club player to the next level. He was once made to take a job as a bus conductor but on his first working day he said he suffered from travel sickness and an inspector had to take over from him. To my knowledge he didn't work again.