Marianne Allwright

[Richard James]

While researching HG Wright I came across a girl prodigy from 1950 named Marianne Allwright.

You can read about her on Edward Winter's Chess Notes site: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/win ... _Allwright.

After the press interest had died down she continued playing occasionally in girls' tournaments up to 1957, without any conspicuous success. After that, it appears to have been So Long, Marianne.

This seems to have been an early example of very young children being encouraged to play chess at school. Comrie House School in Finchley would now be considered a prep school: "for the sons and daughters of gentlefolk".

There's quite a lot of information about the school online: for instance http://www.friern-barnethistory.org.uk/ ... r-2006.pdf, but nothing about chess.

I can't find a birth record for Marianne, or anything else at all beyond her chess career. Does anyone have any more information?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"So Long, Marianne"

I hope for a series of Leonard Cohen related chess players... (Suzanne shouldn't be difficult.)

Marianne certainly seems to be concentrating hard in some of those pictures.

[Geoff Chandler]

Leonard Cohen and Chess by Kevin Spraggett...alas Cohen's Marianne was born in 1935.

http://www.spraggettonchess.com/the-sec ... ard-cohen/

[JustinHorton]

While researching HG Wright I came across a girl prodigy from 1950 named Marianne Allwright.

Was she any good?

[Matt Mackenzie]

I see what you did there

[Richard James]

While researching HG Wright I came across a girl prodigy from 1950 named Marianne Allwright.

Was she any good?

Marianne was alright, but nothing special.