Chess history trivia

[John Upham]

In which feature film does Dr. Charles (S?) Hunter make an appearance alive and then dead without moving a non-autonomic muscle?

No search "engineing" now!

OK, nobody found the correct answer so I'll provide it.

The film is "2001: A Space Odyssey", directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Dr. Charles Hunter is sent on the main mission cryogenically stored until such time as he needed to be revived.

Sadly, HAL turned off his life support once HAL's paranoia had set in.

[John Townsend]

Alexander McDonnell ended his days in Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, London. Today's problem is to name another player, who was at one time regarded by some as England's best, who died in Tavistock Square a number of years later.

[John Townsend]

The answer was intended to be Samuel Standidge Boden. Most of the newspapers gave Tavistock Square as his place of death, but I now think that it was Tavistock Street, Bedford Square, as given in the National Probate Calendar.

[John Townsend]

P. W. Sergeant reported the legend that one international master, on going to Hastings, insisted on a quiet hotel, as he intended to win. Name him.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"P. W. Sergeant reported the legend that one international master, on going to Hastings, insisted on a quiet hotel, as he intended to win. Name him."

No idea - but did he find a quiet hotel?

[John Townsend]

Sergeant implied that the "legend" said he did. He won the tournament. It was H. N. Pillsbury in 1895.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Sergeant implied that the "legend" said he did."

One more thing he did which I didn't (mind you, there is at least one thing in his life I am glad I have not emulated...)

[Neil Blackburn]

. You didn't try hard enough!

[John Townsend]

The images of 34 people are represented in Marlet's famous painting of the Saint Amant v. Staunton match in Paris, November 1843. Jean Oliver Leconte has a fine article on the subject on the website of the Chess History & Literature Society:

https://www.kwabc.org/en/news.html

Today's question: name the year in which the last survivor of those depicted died.

[Roland Kensdale]

There is one key, with possible errors here:
https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ext ... tures.html

[Roland Kensdale]

http://www.creb.be/ under publications then cahier04 there is a long work in French with analysis of the painting's contents for about 5 pages from around page 30.

Sorry if I am spoiling the fun of research or just adding confusion.

[John Townsend]

The answer I was looking for was 1878, when François Jules Devinck died. He was identified as "the last survivor" in an insertion in The Chess Player's Chronicle, edited by Rev. C. E. Ranken, February 1879, page 42. His death had been announced in La Stratégie.

He was also referred to as "the last survivor of the group" in P. W. Sergeant's Morphy's Games of Chess, page 307 (footnote).

[MJMcCready]

Can you name someone who has both played Lasker and Karpov?

[Kevin Thurlow]

Botvinnik (if you include a simul in the case of Karpov)

[MJMcCready]

Yes that's true Botvinnik did play him in a simul but that's not what I had in mind. I mean classical chess. I believe (but could be wrong) there is only one person who has achieved the feat of playing both Lasker and Karpov in classical chess. Do you know who it is?