London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Historical knowledge and information regarding our great game.
LozCooper

Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by LozCooper » Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:32 am

I think there's three Felix Ynojosa's in the same family but fortunately they don't all play in the same section, if at all :)

Jonathan Rogers
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by Jonathan Rogers » Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:09 pm

yes! I ended up learning all their second names in order that I could have a sensible conversation with the family (who would generally come to the 4NCL as a family, along with the younger brother of Felix Jose)

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:00 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
John Cox wrote:Someone asked what happened to Peter J Lee. Assuming this was the chap who was British Champion in 1965(?), then he gave up the game for bridge and a few years ago won the Gold Cup. He lives in Surrey and can be found spectating at the London Classic.
That Peter Lee is Peter N Lee. I suspect, without knowing for certain, that Peter J Lee is a different player, perhaps distinguished by his middle initial.
Yes, Peter J Lee was a different and much younger player. I last saw him in 1976 iirc when he was just about to
go off to uni to study medicine and he made a point of giving up chess to focus on his studies. When in London
for a season or two before that, Peter J Lee visited several London clubs, including YMCA, but played mostly for/at
Streatham & Brixton.

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:06 pm

Another London CentYMCA player I'd forgotten about until now, was David Keen(e).
Around the time of the premises changeover David was a very enthusiastic young YMCA player still of secondary
school age IIRC when traveling to away matches with Andy Martin, Mike Wills and the rest, with concerns about
getting safely home in good time after a match... Anyone else here recall David Keen(e)?

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:16 pm

Was it the mid 70s or around 1980 that Isidoro Yedlin attended the London Central YMCA on a tour
from Argentina? I remember a long winded bus ride through rush hour traffic with Jimmy Adams to
introduce Isidoro to the players at Streatham & Brixton... wow, those were the days...

Malcolm Clarke
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by Malcolm Clarke » Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:28 pm

I remember David Keen vaguely. I first remember him playing in some of the YMCA tournaments that we frequently held on Sunday afternoons.

He also played for our London League teams, (mainly 2nd and 3rd teams when I was there). In 1985 we lost a few players due to the fallout with the YMCA, and it was about that time that David went to University.

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:48 pm

Reminiscing about the old Bayswater and London Central YMCA days conjured up another character who
used to be part of the Pierre Lunais and Sandys Dickinson group, namely, Roy Brent. Those guys, all heavy
smokers, would engage in friendly all night card playing sessions (poker, IIRC, with "very affordable" limits)
when not playing five minute chess, or otherwise kept busy. Roy, a happy-go-lucky type, was an actor
who AFAIK appeared mostly on TV (in shows like Dr Who) in small supporting roles. The actors' union kept
him going during those long gaps between filming sessions. I understand that he died of a heart attack
some time back in the 80s. Roy was not a "serious" chessplayer in terms of competing in teams and
tournaments, but he contributed to the ambiance that made the bohemian London chess scene as colorful
and friendly as it was. RIP.




Musica!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSSYZ0p8ueU

andrew martin

Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by andrew martin » Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:41 pm

Possibly Roy lost his elan when he found that his exclusive invitation to the European U140 Championship was a hoax.

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:28 pm

andrew martin wrote:Possibly Roy lost his elan when he found that his exclusive invitation to the European U140 Championship was a hoax.
I'm sure he took the humorous, if somewhat cruel, tease in his stride. He was "big" enough to handle it, wasn't he?
I wonder who thought up such a joke invitation... :wink:

Remember this played at one of those sessions at Barlow's before he "moved on"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhxfezG_l2M

Kinda reminds me of a particular Bach fugue... as well as desert travel.

Malcolm Clarke
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by Malcolm Clarke » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:21 pm

I never met Roy Brent, but doing a search on the name Roy Brent I found an actor with the same name who lived from 1903 to 1979, and also featured in Dr Who from 1969 to 1974.

In view of the ages and the fact that this Roy Brent's place of birth and death were both listed as being in America it may well be a different person, but I did not think there was any harm in mentioning my findings.

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Tue Dec 27, 2011 6:04 pm

Malcolm Clarke wrote:I never met Roy Brent, but doing a search on the name Roy Brent I found an actor with the same name who lived from 1903 to 1979, and also featured in Dr Who from 1969 to 1974.

In view of the ages and the fact that this Roy Brent's place of birth and death were both listed as being in America it may well be a different person, but I did not think there was any harm in mentioning my findings.
Thanks for that reference, but, yes, that RB is another, much older, actor. I found a couple of references to "our" Roy in searches on British TV, etc.

IIRC another member not yet mentioned, in the later YMCA CC days, was a young Robert (Bob) Harnett (spelling?). He was a pretty active player at the time, for another club, or two...

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:41 am

Korchnoi simul 1976. Recognize anyone?
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John Upham
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by John Upham » Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:50 am

From left to right we have:

George Szasvari, Jimmy Adams, Simon Brown, unknown (to me) and Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi

Who was the lady George?
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andrew martin

Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by andrew martin » Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:45 pm

The lady is Sylvia Cunliffe, wife of Steve Cunliffe, a genial, but at the same time very strong-willed person with a great sense of humour.

George Szaszvari
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Re: London Central YMCA (aka CentYMCA) Chess Club

Post by George Szaszvari » Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:18 pm

John Upham wrote:From left to right we have:

George Szasvari, Jimmy Adams, Simon Brown, unknown (to me) and Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi
Right about yours truly (with a 2nd Zeeee, pleeeze), Simon Brown and "Terrible" Viktor, but the player who Korchnoi is moving against is not Jimmy Adams.
Possibly Mike Wills or Ray Cannon might know who it is. I received this photo from Mike Wills soon after the event and it wound up in a photo album that made its way across the pond. :o
John Upham wrote:Who was the lady George?
Andrew beat me to it. Yes, it is the irrepressible Sylvia. :D

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