Arturo Pomar in London in 1946 (British Pathe clips)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/wot-n ... -version-1
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/wot-n ... -version-2

Someone back in 1946 had a sense of humour. These clips, titled 'Wot! No Thrills?', are described as:

"Sunday Chronicle Chess Tournament in London. Various shots of chess game between Arturo Pomar, 14 year old chess champion from Spain, and a man." [...] "Motor cycle racing in Vienna. Various shots of motorcycle sidecar race around track."

Stills here (for those unable to access video):

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/still ... -version-1
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/still ... -version-2

Yes, chess interspersed with motorbike (sidecar) racing. You have to watch it to appreciate the humour. Wonder if any of the other people playing chess can be identified at this long remove in time?

Actually, it is still possible to ask Arturo Pomar himself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Pomar

Went on to become a grandmaster! Would be 83 now.

[Richard James]

The London 1946 Tournament Book was illustrated by Philip Poyser, who was a member of R&TCC for many years. There's a copy in the Chess Palace which Chris might like to consult at some point.

This is discussed at http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php ... 7&start=45.

[Barry Sandercock]

It was good to see those British Pathe clips. I don't know anything about the motorbike (sidecar) racing, but I remember seeing Pomar when I visited the 1946 London Tournament. It was a very cold day and a number of the players were wearing their overcoats while playing. In those days it was amazing to see a young player of that age playing the top players. Nowadays not so surprising.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

It is amazing (as I was saying in the other thread on those playing chess around the time of WWI) that you get so many people here who have records or memories of these events. No longer memories for the WWI era, of course, but it is humbling that some people here were actually at that event back in 1946 and they (including Pomar if he is aware of the footage) can go and view the British Pathe films like you have done, Barry. Would it be terribly rude of me to ask how old you were then and if you have other memories of the event? I'm now wondering if anyone else posting here was visiting that tournament...

I did, back in 2012, do an (incomplete) list of other British Pathe film clips involving chess. There may be new ones that have gone up since, but maybe not as I think they digitised and then launched in one go. The list is here:

http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php ... 896#p39896

I see I never did go back and add links...

Might be easier to just search for chess on the British Pathe site and see what comes up.

[Barry Sandercock]

Hi Christopher, thanks for taking an interest. I was 15 at the time, a year older than Pomar and living in Hillingdon so easy to get to London. I had only been playing chess a couple of years so it was quite interesting for me. Other big names at the time were there, Max Ewue, Herman Steiner, Tartakover, Golombek and Willie Winter. I'm still playing in tournaments. Once you'r hooked on chess. you are hooked !

[Stewart Reuben]

Arturo was one of the few chess prodigies not to become a major player. He was never more than an 'ordinary' GM. But I wan't to learn the chess rules for another 4 years at 11. I did meet him briefly in Spain.

1946 was a very cold winter and fuel was rationed. I remember rolling a snowball in the Islington street higher than me. The following summer is remembered as one of the hottest.

[Stephen Saunders]

I suppose Pomar, like his British contemporary Peter Clarke, suffered from relative lack of high level competition in his home country.

[Matt Mackenzie]

That and well documented personal problems.

IIRC he also mentioned later in life that his family had never been keen on the Franco regime, and this could well have hindered his progress.

[JustinHorton]

That and well documented personal problems.

IIRC he also mentioned later in life that his family had never been keen on the Franco regime, and this could well have hindered his progress.

You haven't got a source on that?

[Matt Mackenzie]

Can't remember where I read it, tbh - it may be mentioned on Edward Winter's site?

[JustinHorton]

Nothing I can find.

[JustinHorton]

It suggests here that Pomar was unhappy with the support he received (or rather, didn't) when he played in the Stockholm Interzonal, but that's nothing necessarily to do with anything.

There's some discussion (albeit nothing very helpful or specific) on his Chessgames page, including some postings by one "Justinpatzer", whoever that might be. Unfortunately the Leontxo García piece referred to is not online.

I didn't reaslise Pomar lived in Sant Cugat, I work there every April.

[Matt Mackenzie]

That discussion on chessgames.com does mention his parents were allegedly republicans pre-1939, though no actual evidence is provided.

[John McKenna]

Can't remember where I read it, tbh - it may be mentioned on Edward Winter's site?

See Chess Note No. 5736 for a photo of Franco & Pomar -

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/wint ... w_of_Chess

"5736. Franco and Pomar
Tim Jake Gluckman (Cologne, Germany) asks whether information is available on any contact between Francisco Franco and Arturo Pomar.

At present we can think of nothing apart from a photograph of them standing together, which was published, in small format, on the front cover of the 1 January 1997 issue of Jaque." (C.N. 5736)

See C.N. 5801 for the full-length version of the photo with the following caption -

Mr Rodríguez comments:

‘We know for sure that Franco officially met Pomar twice, in 1944 and in 1946. From the picture, we estimate that it was most likely taken in 1946, when Pomar was 15 years old.’