Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

The reporting of notable birthdays and anniversaries in the chess arena.
Post Reply
User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by John Upham » Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:24 am

Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Bill did more to put chess into the public domain in the UK than most.





BVmhV2bCQAAOWFV.jpg
M William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)
BVmhV2bCQAAOWFV.jpg (18.5 KiB) Viewed 1282 times
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

User avatar
Matt Mackenzie
Posts: 5205
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:51 pm
Location: Millom, Cumbria

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:11 pm

And he has written a few more books - decent ones - than even that selection.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

Simon Rogers
Posts: 2337
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2020 4:30 pm

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by Simon Rogers » Thu Aug 12, 2021 3:48 pm

Happy Birthday bill. I true legend of the game.
I remember watching the Master Game series which gave me the inspiration to take up the game.

Reg Clucas
Posts: 602
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 3:45 pm

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by Reg Clucas » Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:00 pm

Picture captioned "Bill plays his trusty Sicilian Taimanov against an unknown opponent" - is it Jan Timman?

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by John Upham » Thu Aug 12, 2021 6:49 pm

Reg Clucas wrote:
Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:00 pm
Picture captioned "Bill plays his trusty Sicilian Taimanov against an unknown opponent" - is it Jan Timman?
I'm wondering if it is Joaquim Durao from the 1969 Praia da Rocha Zonal, 31st October, 1969?
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

Matthew Turner
Posts: 3600
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 11:54 am

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by Matthew Turner » Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:08 pm

I'll share a story which I hope readers will find amusing. As a 14 year old, I played in the British Rapidplay Championships in 1990 and after day 1 I had 5/6 and was in second place, half a point behind Speelman. Having faced 7 GM's in a row, I duly fell back through the field and faced Bill in the last round. I took another beating and after the game he consoled me the memorable phrase "Didn't you use to a promising junior?"
We've subsequently met at a number of matches and dinners and I've always enjoyed his wit and wisdom. His book, Better Chess is in my opinion a true classic. If you want to understand the thinking of strong players there is no better starting point.

LawrenceCooper
Posts: 7173
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:13 am

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by LawrenceCooper » Fri Aug 13, 2021 8:41 am

Matthew Turner wrote:
Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:08 pm
Having faced 7 GM's in a row, I duly fell back through the field and faced Bill in the last round. I took another beating and after the game he consoled me the memorable phrase "Didn't you use to a promising junior?"
After a rapidplay tournament someone greeted me with "When I saw you were an IM I thought you'd be really good" Clearly my abject capitulation to Mike Surtees from a huge position a pawn up had convinced them otherwise.

User avatar
Matt Mackenzie
Posts: 5205
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:51 pm
Location: Millom, Cumbria

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Fri Aug 13, 2021 7:10 pm

Matthew Turner wrote:
Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:08 pm
His book, Better Chess is in my opinion a true classic. If you want to understand the thinking of strong players there is no better starting point.
Yes an excellent work and one that i was thinking of when I mentioned books of his not included in this profile.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

User avatar
John Clarke
Posts: 710
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:07 pm

Re: Happy Birthday IM William ("Bill") Hartston (12-viii-1947)

Post by John Clarke » Tue Aug 17, 2021 6:40 pm

John Upham wrote:
Thu Aug 12, 2021 6:49 pm
Reg Clucas wrote:
Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:00 pm
Picture captioned "Bill plays his trusty Sicilian Taimanov against an unknown opponent" - is it Jan Timman?
I'm wondering if it is Joaquim Durao from the 1969 Praia da Rocha Zonal, 31st October, 1969?
Doesn't seem likely to me. Durao would have been in his late thirties by then, quite a lot older than the player in the photo (and unlikely to have been sporting that hairstyle). I don't think it's Timman either - the hair's a bit too sleek and dark.
"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)

Post Reply