Hastings memorabilia?

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Paul Buswell
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Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Paul Buswell » Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:52 pm

Hastings & St. Leonards Chess Club has use of a couple or three stands at the Hastings Museums around the Christmas period. Now we have to fill them

We'd be interested to know of anyone has anything interesting (to the layman) that they might be able to lend - ideally with at least a tenuous Hastings connection - please let me know.

PB

John Townsend
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by John Townsend » Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:56 pm

Just a thought, but I have visited a local history room, which I think must be part of the Museum at Hastings. In it I found one or two boxes containing chess memorabilia, including some 20th c. photographs of masters at the tournament, V. Korchnoi, etc..

Best wishes,

John Townsend,
Howard Staunton Research Project:
http://www.johntownsend.demon.co.uk/ind ... age324.htm

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:01 pm

I have a vague recollection that some of the commercial photo agencies with collections of old news photographs have some of chess players at Hastings. There were also some video clips on that British Pathe site news-reel site as well. In both cases, you have to pay, but I did suggest that a good use of archival/museum funding would be to obtain copies of such things. I'll try and pull together a list.

I remembered right. A search for "chess" + "hastings" at the Getty Images website gets 35 results (all but 2 are from the Hulton Archive), while a search of the British Pathe News website gets 1 hit (there may be more that aren't keyworded properly). I'll give the British Pathe one here, while I take a closer look at the Getty images:

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=73469

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Oct 31, 2010 9:17 pm

Those 35 Getty images, in descending chronological order (I'll give just the dates and people, and comments as well so that I'm commenting and not just regurgitating a list):

(1) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive

28th December 1977: Tigran Petrosian at the Hastings International Chess Congress.

[Great smile on his face!]

(2) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/79663136/Popperfoto

12th January 1972: Anatoly Karpov at the Hastings International Chess Tournament.

[Doesn't look like Karpov to me - maybe it was a bad hair day?]

(3) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/79663135/Popperfoto

4th January 1972: William Hartson playing Viktor Korchnoi at the Hastings International Chess Tournament.

[Pity the Getty watermark goes right across their faces - note the clocks being used and how the demonstration boards include clocks to indicate the times for each player!]

(4) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/79663656/Popperfoto

9th December 1971: Victor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov prior to the opening of the Hastings International Chess Congress.

[Both Korchnoi and Karpov look much younger here, though it was 39 years ago, of course! Karpov would have been 20 in this picture.]

(5) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/326 ... on-Archive

29th December 1970: Raymond Keene playing in the snow on the sea-front at Hastings with an American, while a Russian looks on.

[This is a great picture! It would be nice to see if Raymond Keene remembers this photo being taken - it is fairly obviously staged for the cameras, unless they were even more fanatical than usual - would also be nice to ask Keene if he knows who the other two players are. Presumably this is near the then-venue? Not sure who else was playing that year. In the background, you can even see the pier, which sadly is no more, having burnt down recently.]

(6) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive

29th December 1969: Jan Timman at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[Timman seems to have always had lots of hair! I suspect he had long hair even as a child...]

(7) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/330 ... on-Archive

December 1966: Mikhail Botvinnik at the International Chess Tournament in Hastings.

[Again, look at the clock they are using. I suspect, from the bored look on Botvinnik's face and the offhand handling of the chess piece, that this one was posed as well. Not sure what the rules were in those days about photographing during a game. They have also used a mis-spelling or variant spelling of Botvinnik's name, so there is a possibility that anyone looking to build a complete collection of Botvinnik photos might miss this one if they fail to check for variant spellings.]

(8) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/325 ... on-Archive

30th December 1963: Miklos Bely during the International Chess Conference at Hastings.

[This looks like a posed photo, as there doesn't seem to be room for a chess clock and there is no scoresheet. I have never heard of Miklos Bely, so I'm going to say here what I'll say for all those whose names I haven't heard of: hopefully someone can tell us more about Bely, whose name I don't recognise.]

(9) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/267 ... on-Archive

30th December 1963: Blind competitor Dragoslav Baretic at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[Note the glasses and the way the photographer has got the chess clock in the reflection as well as the board and pieces. Hopefully someone can tell us more about Baretic, whose name I don't recognise. I also don't know much about blind chess in the 1960s.]

(10) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive

27th December 1961: Mikhail Botvinnik at the International Chess Tournament in Hastings.

[Not much to say here. Bit of a boring photo, really. Might be one from a real game.]

(11) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive

30th December 1959: Milko Robotson at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[According to the Getty caption, Robotson was "the first Bulgarian Master to play at Hastings". Looks like a Brylcream advert to me! Maybe someone knows more about Robotson and his achievements?]

(12) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/325 ... on-Archive

30th December 1959: Lesley Fletcher at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[First woman chess player to feature in this list. According to the caption she was from "Richmond", which if it is the Richmond in London is local to me! Never heard of her, though, not that I would have expected to have heard of her. I wonder which section she was playing in?]

(13) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/325 ... on-Archive

30th December 1957: Max Blau at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[Note the different chess clock, and also the cigarette and ashtray! He seems to be about to lose on time, unless this is another posed photo. The name Max Blau does ring a bell, so he is probably a bit more famous than some in the previous couple of photos.]

(14) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive

29th December 1955: Jesus Diez del Corral at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[From Spain, according to the caption. Note the namecards at top left (he is playing Korchnoi, who features in the next photograph), the scoresheet, and the cigarette in hand and the cigarette packet and matches by the board! You can see more of the venue here. I wonder if anyone knows which venue this was? There are two unidentified gentlemen in the background who could possibly be identified, but might be random visitors. They could equally be two of the organisers - who knows! I think this is also the first in this list to feature an identified game between two players, so presumably it is possible to look up the result and the moves of the game, and maybe even work out what move they've got to! In terms of this list, this is the first of 9 images from the 1955 Congress. As for Jesus Diez del Corral, does anyone know more about him?]

(15) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive
(21) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/332 ... on-Archive

29th December 1955: Victor Korchnoi at the International Chess Congress in Hastings.

[These two photographs allegedly go with the one above of Korchnoi's opponent in this game (Jesus Diez del Corral), though I'm not convinced as the scoresheet is not there and there is no chess clock. Anyway, whether posed or not, it is a very young-looking Korchnoi, who would have been 24 here.]

(16) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive

29th December 1955: Klaus Darga (Germany) vs Jonathan Penrose (UK) at the International Chess Congress at Hastings

[British interest here, with a picture of a young (22-year-old) Penrose. The name Darga does ring a bell, but no more than that. Like the above, the moves and results for this game are presumably available in databases.]

(17) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/341 ... on-Archive
(22) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/326 ... on-Archive

28th December 1955: Fridrik Olafsson at the Hastings International Chess Congress.

[Caption says he was the "Icelandic chess champion". Don't think I've heard of him, though I have heard of an Olafsson, but there are probably many of those. Note the photographer in the background in the first of these two photos. Massive flash gun! It seems that the common sense practice of allowing initial photography before play started was in use even in the 1950s.]

(18) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive

28th December 1955: Jesus Diez del Corral at the Hastings International Chess Congress.

[Caption says he was the "Spanish chess champion". not much more to add to the comment on the previous photo of him, except that this is the better image. The clock shows the game has only just started. He is playing White, and we have the date, so it should be possible to work out who he is playing, the results and the moves of the game.]

(19) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/336 ... on-Archive

28th December 1955: Borislav Ivkov during the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[Caption says he is from Yugoslavia and was a World Junior Chess Champion. The name does sound vaguely familiar, but no more than that. Again, no chess clock, so I'm not convinced this was taken "during play" as the caption says, but maybe it was, who knows?]

(20) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/336 ... on-Archive

28th December 1955: Raaphy Persitz at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[Nice photograph of a young Persitz aged 21.]

(21) see number 15

(22) see number 17

(23) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive

29th December 1954: Lieutenant John Sudean of Philadelphia, on what looks like a beach, "playing a warm-up game of chess" before the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[There could be an interesting story here. Presumably this is one of the top US players of the time. I also presume he is the one at right. Not a clue who the other person is. Like the Keene photo, this photograph is an arty kind of one, trying to be different. Though maybe people really did play chess on the beach in winter and in the snow!]

(24) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive

28th December 1950: Jonathan Penrose against A. R. B. Thomas at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[This is a different Thomas to the famous one, I think, but it should be possible to look up the moves and result of this game somewhere. In the earlier photograph, Penrose was 22. Here, five years earlier, he is only 17, and as the caption says, he was both British Boys' Champion and London Champion - though I'm not sure whether they mean a Boys' London Championship or a full London Championship proper.]

(25) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive

29th December 1949: Larry Evans at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[One of the more famous names on this list. Again, this is a very young Evans, only 17, but dressed smartly in a suit. The venue (wooden chairs) appears to be different from that in the previous photos in this list. There may be enough of the position on the board to work out which game this is (or just go by the date), presuming as always that this is not a posed photograph or one during analysis or offhand play.]

(26) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive

28th December 1949: N. Rossolimo at the International Chess Tournament at Hastings.

[According to the caption, Rossolimo was French champion at the time. Wonder if there is more information about him anywhere, such as a first name? Given the date, it should be possible to work out which game this was.]

(27) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive

31st December 1948: Mrs E Mitchell at the Hastings Congress.

[This is a rarity - a picture from one of the lower sections. In the background are signs saying "Major B" and "Major C", so presumably Mrs Mitchell was in one of the many lower sections at this time - I think the usual format, in the days before Swisses and grades, was to put people in all-play-all sections according to estimated playing strength. I doubt it is possible to find the moves of the game or the result, but like everyone else she is wrapped up warm against the Hastings winter, though that looks like it is advisable, given her age.]

(28) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive

30th December 1948: Paul Schmidt at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[From Germany, so might be moderately famous. Presumably the venue at the time was one where everyone needed to wrap up warm, judging by the woolly hat and coat being worn at the board.]

(29) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/326 ... on-Archive

6th January 1947: "Check Mate On Beach"

[Not sure if the tournament was still going on, given the date, but the photographer obviously had an eye for a good tableau here. According to the caption, fishermen playing chess on the beach, with international players watching them (presumably the two above?). It's a nice photograph, as it shows how people will play chess anywhere, given the chance and the most rudimentary equipment, using boxes for chairs and table.]

(30) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/320 ... on-Archive
(33) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/820 ... on-Archive

29th December 1936: William Winter at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[These last 6 photos are from before the Second World War, and all from the 1930s. Once again, the ubiquitous ashtray and cigarette packet and box of matches are present. It is a pity that Winter is so deep in thought that we can't see his face clearly. But given the date, it should be possible to identify his opponent and the game.]

(31) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/320 ... on-Archive

29th December 1936: Sonja Graf at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[A German woman player. Only the second woman to feature in this list. It should be possible to find out her opponent and what game this was. She is dressed in a suit and tie, which might not have been that common in those days. I hope Sonja is a woman's name!]

(32) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/820 ... on-Archive

29th December 1936: Alexander Alekhine at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.

[One of several world champions in this list. Note the clock design is different yet again. Alekhine is Black, but it doesn't look like the defence that bears his name was played. Should still be possible to identify the game played here and his opponent, who is partially seen and is balding, which doesn't narrow it down much.]

(33) see number 30

(34) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive

1st August 1933: C. H. O. D. Alexander playing Sultan Khan at the British Chess Championships in Hastings.

[The last two pictures on this list are not from the Hastings International Congress, but are from two other events that took place in Hastings that year, the second of these being the British Championships. The game is at an advanced stage, and it should be possible, given a game score, to identify the approximate move when the photograph was taken, as well as the result of the game.]

(35) http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/309 ... on-Archive

27th April 1933: Frank Parr against A. W. J. Down at the British Boys' Chess Championship at Hastings.

[This is the second of the non-HICC pictures, and it features a game from the British Boys' Chess Championship held at Easter in Hastings. The caption says it is Parr vs Down, but I'm trying to read the namecards on the table in front of them, and the names don't quite seem to match up. Maybe they posed for a picture with the wrong namecards? The clock is certainly in the wrong place and seems to be showing meaningless times. Not sure if it is possible to find a game score here, though the result should be recorded somewhere. Nice picture of the trophy. Parr would have been 14 here.]

Sorry if that was a bit long! I think it technically qualifies as Hastings memorabilia, even if it is 'commercial' news memorabilia rather than photos mouldering away in someone's photo album. It would be nice if one day these photos were gathered together in a book, but some publisher would have to pay for that. I do wonder, though, what market there is for photos like that, outside of chess historians and curious players, or people visiting a museum display?

Paul, if you don't mind me asking, do Hastings and St. Leonard's Chess Club have photos similar to these already, or are some of these completely new and not well-known?

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun Oct 31, 2010 11:10 pm

(5) Keene photo - Robert Byrne and N Krogius were in the Premier that year, so it could be them... looks as if it might be near the Queens Hotel?
(11) Er, probably Milko Bobotsov!
(27) probably Edith Michell (nee Tapsell), born 1872 ish - died 1951. She was British Women's Champion and a high finisher in the Women's World Championship a couple of times. She would have been about 76 at the time the photo was taken, which seems plausible, and she would probably have been in a lower section by then.
(31) Sonja Graf did dress like that - she was Vera Menchik's main rival, and became Mrs Stevenson, as did VM (although a different Stevenson!).

I think Rossolimo, Darga, Ivkov, Blau and ARB Thomas are well enough known not to comment. Coincidentally I was reading about the latter only today. Google will find info...
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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Oct 31, 2010 11:25 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:(5) Keene photo - Robert Byrne and N Krogius were in the Premier that year, so it could be them... looks as if it might be near the Queens Hotel?
(11) Er, probably Milko Bobotsov!
(27) probably Edith Michell (nee Tapsell), born 1872 ish - died 1951. She was British Women's Champion and a high finisher in the Women's World Championship a couple of times. She would have been about 76 at the time the photo was taken, which seems plausible, and she would probably have been in a lower section by then.
(31) Sonja Graf did dress like that - she was Vera Menchik's main rival, and became Mrs Stevenson, as did VM (although a different Stevenson!).

I think Rossolimo, Darga, Ivkov, Blau and ARB Thomas are well enough known not to comment. Coincidentally I was reading about the latter only today. Google will find info...
Wow, thanks! :) I agree about Milko Bobotsov (never trust information supplied by a photographer - they jot things like names down on bits of paper and then lose them). Is the spelling for (27) definitely Michell, or did you mean Mitchell? Amazing about both Graf and Menchik becoming Stevensons!

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:07 am

"Is the spelling for (27) definitely Michell, or did you mean Mitchell? "

Yes, Edith Tapsell married the very fine player Reginald Pryce (or Price, can't remember which) Michell. In 1922 he won the Major Open, when there was no British Championship because a rather impressive international tournament took place, and his wife won the Women's title.

I should have said last time that GM Olafsson is very well-known as well. Sadly for him, he is more remembered for trying to rescue the 1972 World Championship than for his play, although he did play in a Candidates tournament!
"Kevin was the arbiter and was very patient. " Nick Grey

Leonard Barden
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Leonard Barden » Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:29 am

Most of the players depicted here are well-known, but I can provide some background to No 12, Lesley Fletcher.

Lesley was the daughter of L Elliott Fletcher, a club standard player who became friendly with Julius du Mont, one-time BCM editor and my predecessor as Guardian columnist. Du Mont was the chess adviser to the Routledge and Kegan Paul, who published Fletcher's book Gambits Accepted. Later du Mont persuaded Routledge to publish A Guide to Chess Openings, my own first book.

Routledge, which had offices in Carter Lane, London, near St Paul's Cathedral, was owned by the Franklin family. Colin Franklin, who was the director in charge of the chess series, became the grandfather of Samuel Franklin of Dulwich College, the 219-graded English junior who was joint second in the 2009 Guernsey Open.

Lesley Fletcher, who from memory was about 120 strength and so would have been competing in one of the lower sections at that Hastings, married a chessplayer, who I think might have been Brian Halliwell of Leeds, though I'm not sure of that. She also had a chessplaying sister, Antoinette, of whom I have fond memories from the British championship at Nottingham 1954.

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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Richard James » Mon Nov 01, 2010 11:25 am

Leonard Barden wrote:Most of the players depicted here are well-known, but I can provide some background to No 12, Lesley Fletcher.

Lesley was the daughter of L Elliott Fletcher, a club standard player who became friendly with Julius du Mont, one-time BCM editor and my predecessor as Guardian columnist. Du Mont was the chess adviser to the Routledge and Kegan Paul, who published Fletcher's book Gambits Accepted. Later du Mont persuaded Routledge to publish A Guide to Chess Openings, my own first book.

Routledge, which had offices in Carter Lane, London, near St Paul's Cathedral, was owned by the Franklin family. Colin Franklin, who was the director in charge of the chess series, became the grandfather of Samuel Franklin of Dulwich College, the 219-graded English junior who was joint second in the 2009 Guernsey Open.

Lesley Fletcher, who from memory was about 120 strength and so would have been competing in one of the lower sections at that Hastings, married a chessplayer, who I think might have been Brian Halliwell of Leeds, though I'm not sure of that. She also had a chessplaying sister, Antoinette, of whom I have fond memories from the British championship at Nottingham 1954.

Lesley married Robert Pinner of Richmond & Twickenham CC. Her father was also the author of an unpublished book on McDonnell-LaBourdonnais 1834.

More on Robert and Lesley Pinner here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obitu ... 82025.html

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John Saunders
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by John Saunders » Mon Nov 01, 2010 11:59 am

There is a photo of Antoinette Fletcher here...

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/104 ... a-Keystone
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James Pratt
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by James Pratt » Mon Nov 01, 2010 2:09 pm

Lesley Fletcher is dead I'm affraid. She is pictured in BCM in about 1965, large page of little photos.

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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by James Pratt » Mon Nov 01, 2010 2:12 pm

The John Mills who wrote the obit of Robert Pinner left chess for postcards, I think, another of my interests. If he is still alive he's probably still living in Wales.

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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Stewart Reuben » Tue Nov 02, 2010 11:42 pm

The Museum has material on DVD from the Hastings Chess Congress.
That includes one prizegiving with Lord Callghan, which is not copyright - or if it is, would be copyright to me.
Is the exhibition going to continue until the congress? It would be ridiculous if it didn't.
I have at least one sweatshirt.
Stewart Reuben

Paul Buswell
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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Paul Buswell » Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:01 am

Thanks for all suggestions.... will go through, though by and large I think we are fairly well covered for photos, and have the various Mac cartoons (Question: the style looks similar, anyone know if it is the same Mac as of newspaper cartoons?)

John Townsend: any recollection of when and where you visited?

Stewart: what design sweatshirt, one of the F&C ones?

All being equal we will instal a couple of cabinets in mid-December and they will be there for a month or so.

PB

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Re: Hastings memorabilia?

Post by Stewart Reuben » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:56 pm

I have three Hastings sweatshirts.
Centenary black
Foreign & Colonial blue
Foreign & Colonial white
Make certain there is a photo of the giant chess set in the Old Town

Stewart Reuben

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