Ken Bloodworth

[Matt Mackenzie]

The latest grading list still has him in it - at the age of 95!!

Can anyone beat that in the current list? Or indeed in past ones (ever been an active recipient of the Queen's Telegram?)

(and, yes, I think this counts as "Chess History" - living history innit? )

[Sean Hewitt]

Frank Oldaker of Nuneaton (6 months older than Mr Bloodworth) is the oldest active player in the grading list. Mr Bloodworth is second only to him.

[Rob Thompson]

I remember playing Ken 4 years ago at Paignton. I was 12 at the time - he was 92. This ensured that the game got written up in the local paper, so many people could see me walk into an opening trap that i hadn't seen before

[Matt Mackenzie]

Any advance on 95 year olds in previous grading lists, then?

[Paul Buswell]

Any advance on 95 year olds in previous grading lists, then?

My memory on this is vague indeed, but I seem to recall an active Northumbrian centenarian player 20 or 30 years ago - perhaps a reader from that neck of the woods can assist?

PB

[Matt Mackenzie]

George (G S) Sell is who you are thinking of I believe - but I don't think he played "seriously" beyond his early 90s.

There was another player in Northumberland around that time (Wells?) who kept on to a great age too.......

And slightly to the south there was more recently the almost as venerable Les Stuart (RIP)

[William Metcalfe]

Les was a close friend of mine if my memory serves me right he was still graded about 180 when he passed away he was still playing to a very high standard till a few months before he passed away i remember him beating a couple of 200 graded players.
Les was also runner up in the british champs sometime in the 50s i think then work and his wifes stroke kept him from playing competative chess for 25/30 years i think.
In his latter years he did a lot of work with tim wall and he did a lot of work which i helped him with in his pin line in the scillian

[Howard Grist]

According to the ECF grading database which goes back to 1994, the oldest player to appear on the grading list is Philip Gelman of Wood Green who appeared in the 2003 grading list at the age of 102.

[Matt Mackenzie]

So there's at least one then (telegram recipient I mean )

[Alex Holowczak]

So there's at least one then (telegram recipient I mean )

Not necessarily. Since 1982, you only get a "telemessage" if you apply for one.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Pedant You know what I mean

[Geoff Chandler]

I remember playing Ken 4 years ago at Paignton. I was 12 at the time - he was 92. This ensured that the game got written up in the local paper, so many people could see me walk into an opening trap that i hadn't seen before

Hi Rob,

Any chance of getting a copy of the game.

I did a little bit of surfing but no joy.

Geoff

[Rob Thompson]

not sure it will be that useful (i.e. horrible queen blunder) but here it is:

[Event "Paignton Congress"]
[Site "Paignton"]
[Date "2005.09.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bloodworth, Kenneth"]
[Black "Thompson, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. c3
Nc6 6. cxd4 cxd4 7. Qa4 Bc5 8. b4 Bxb4 9. Nexd4 Nge7 10.
Bb5 Qb6 11. Qxb4 a6 12. Bxc6+
1-0

I think i was aiming to use the pin on the queen to win back the bishop, without realising that i was actually just blundering horribly. I had been totallly confused by his line before that though, which may have contributed to the disaster.

[Geoff Chandler]

Brilliant - a perfect game for the Corner.

Pity I just posted one a few minutes ago - next week.