British Grandmasters

Historical knowledge and information regarding our great game.
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IM Jack Rudd
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British Grandmasters

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:36 pm

Does anyone here have a list of British grandmasters in order of when they were awarded their titles?

Paul McKeown
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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:41 pm

From Livre d'Or de la Fédération Internationale d'Echecs, FIDE, 1976, the first three - as recognised by FIDE:

1950 Mieses, Jacques Grande-Bretagne 27.2.1865 + 23.2.1954
1972 Mansfield, Comins Grande-Bretagne 14.6.1896 (composition)
1975 Richardson, Keith B Grande-Bretagne (ICCF)

Mieses title is not usually quoted by British sources; I'm not sure why, perhaps he was counted as a foreigner or perhaps because his title was for past accomplishments, rather than for active play. Or perhaps for other reasons. Someone else will explain.

Then, fished from the BCF Yearbook's (which I have borrowed from Richard James and am acutely aware I should return soon!), and missing out composition, solving and correspondence play (which I will try to fill in later for you):
[Note the years these titles were awarded might have been a year earlier than given here - I will try to get more accurate information for you tomorrow by checking against other sources]
1976 Miles, Anthony J
1977 Keene, Raymond D
1978 Stean, Michael F (note: Miles first player to beat the old grade of 1a, reaching 250)
1979 Nunn, John DM
1982 Speelman, Jonathan S (note could be 1981, note says "not previously recorded")
1982 Miles, Dr. Jana (IWGM)
1984 Short, Nigel D
1985 Plaskett, H James
1986 Chandler, Murray G; Mestel A Jonathan
1987 Flear, Glenn C

At this point, the BCF Year Books annoyingly stopped publishing grading lists.

Really, the ECF should be proud of its most accomplished players and should publish full information of this sort.

I will try to dig out the full list within the next few days, IGM for play otb, IWGM, HGM (Penrose and Golombek), ICCF GM, any further GMs for composition and solving.

Regards,
Paul McKeown.

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:01 pm

Using previous information and also the FIDE Golden Book 1924 - 2002, Wlly Iclicki, FIDE 2002:
[Not sure how much to trust this source; certainly less than 100%]
[Also using Gaige for DOB and DOD; given only for those who have passed away]

1950 Mieses, Jacques *27.2.1865 + 23.2.1954
1972 Mansfield, Comins *14.6.1896 +28.03.1984 (composition)
1975 Richardson, Keith B (GM ICCF)
1976 Miles, Anthony J *23.04.1955 +12.11.2001; then later, Keene, Raymond D
1977 Stean, Michael F (note: Miles first player to beat the old grade of 1a, reaching 250)
1978 Nunn, John DM
1980 Speelman, Jonathan S (note could be 1981, note says "not previously recorded")
1982 Mestel, A Jonathan
1982 Miles, Dr. Jana (IWGM) (given as CSR by FGB 1924-2002, when did she change nationality?)
1983 Chandler, Murray G (given as NZD, when did he change nationality?)
1983 Penrose, Jonathan (GM ICCF)
1984 Short, Nigel D
1985 Plaskett, H James
1985 Golombek Harry (HGM) (given as "Garry" !!) *01.03.1911 +1995
1987 Flear, Glenn C
1987 Arakhamia, Ketevan (WIGM) (then USSR, later Georgia, now Scotland, as Arakhamia-Grant)
1988 Hodgson, Julian
1988 Lalic, Bogdan (then Yugoslavia, now England)
1988 Arkell, Susan K (née Walker, now Lalic)
1989 King, Daniel J; Adams, Michael; Norwood, David
1990 Gallagher, Joseph (then England, now Switzerland, I think); Watson, William; Levitt, Jonathan
1991 Conquest, Stuart
1992 Hebden, Mark (given as Marc!); McNab, Colin (Scotland); Motwani , Paul (Scotland)
1993 Davies, Nigel D; Sadler, Matthew
1993 Penrose, Jonathan (HGM - although FGM 1924-2002 doesn't distinguish)
1994 Wells, Peter K
1995 Arkell, Keith; Emms, John (given as "Joan"!!); Howell, James;
N.B. FGB 1924-2002 gives Muir, Andrew J (Scotland) as having received the IGM title in 1995. I'm pretty sure that that is incorrect; he is still an IM, as far as I'm aware.
1996 McDonald, Neil; Ward, Christopher; Baburin, Alexander (Ireland)
1997 Kumaran, Dharshan; Summerscale, Aaron
1997 Hunt, Harriet (IWGM)
2000 McShane, Luke; Parker, Jonathan
2000 Houska, Jovanka (WIGM)
2001 Pert, Nicholas

At this point FGB 1924 - 2002 holds up. As it is, I'm sure it is fairly unreliable, giving e.g. Andy Muir as an IGM. Also what happened Jonathan Rowson's title?

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:17 pm

Thanks for that.

Come to think of it, I should have known the Wells, Ward and Summerscale dates because I was there for the final norms of all three.

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Andy Burnett
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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Andy Burnett » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:31 pm

Andy Muir gained the ICCF GM title in 1995. OTB he is still only an IM.

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:37 pm

Using previously named sources and
a) ICCF website http://www.iccf.com/downloads/titles/2006_GM.pdf for correspondence GM titles up to 2006
b) PCCC website http://www.saunalahti.fi/~stniekat/pccc/titles.htm for composition and solving titles
c) FIDE website - which doesn't give info about inactive players

Personally not sure what value ICCF titles have post-1990, but, hey...

1950 Mieses, Jacques *27.2.1865 + 23.2.1954
1972 Mansfield, Comins *14.6.1896 +28.03.1984 (GBR) (PCCC composition)
1975 Richardson, Keith B (ICCF)
1976 Miles, Anthony J *23.04.1955 +12.11.2001; then later, Keene, Raymond D
1976 Hollis, Adrian Swayne (ICCF)
1977 Stean, Michael F (note: Miles first player to beat the old grade of 1a, reaching 250)
1978 Nunn, John DM
1980 Speelman, Jonathan S (note could be 1981, note says "not previously recorded")
1980 Clark, Peter Hugh (ICCF)
1982 Mestel, A Jonathan
1982 Miles, Dr. Jana (IWGM) (given as CSR by FGB 1924-2002, when did she change nationality?)
1983 Chandler, Murray G (given as NZD, when did he change nationality?)
1983 Penrose, Jonathan (ICCF); Webb, Simon (ICCF) *10.06.1949 +14.3.2005
1984 Short, Nigel D
1984 Markland, Peter Richard (ICCF)
1985 Plaskett, H James
1985 Golombek Harry (HGM) *01.03.1911 +1995
1986 Bryson, Douglas Marshall (ICCF)
1987 Flear, Glenn C
1987 Arakhamia, Ketevan (WIGM) (then USSR, later Georgia, now Scotland, as Arakhamia-Grant)
1988 Hodgson, Julian
1988 Lalic, Bogdan (then Yugoslavia, now England)
1988 Arkell, Susan K (née Walker, now Lalic)
1989 King, Daniel J; Adams, Michael; Norwood, David
1989 Povah, Nigel Edward
1990 Gallagher, Joseph (then England, now Switzerland, I think); Watson, William N; Levitt, Jonathan
1991 Conquest, Stuart
1992 Hebden, Mark; McNab, Colin A (Scotland); Motwani , Paul (Scotland)
1993 Davies, Nigel D; Sadler, Matthew
1993 Penrose, Jonathan (HGM)
1993 MacLeod, Norman (GBR) (PCCC composition)
1994 Wells, Peter K
1995 Arkell, Keith; Emms, John (given as "Joan"!!); Howell, James;
1995 Muir, Andrew J (Scotland) (ICCF)
1996 McDonald, Neil; Ward, Christopher G; Baburin, Alexander (Ireland)
1996 Prizant, Michael (ICCF); Johnson, Maurice W (ICCF); Kilgour, David A (ICCF) (Scotland)
1997 Kumaran, Dharshan; Summerscale, Aaron P
1997 Hunt, Harriet V (IWGM); Ciuksyte, Dagne (then Lithuania, now England)
1997 Millican, Peter JR (ICCF)
1997 Mestel, A Jonathan (PCCC solving)
2000 McShane, Luke; Parker, Jonathan
2000 Houska, Jovanka (WIGM)
2001 Pert, Nicholas
2001 Brookes, John G (ICCF)
2002 Hall, Richard VM (ICCF); Brooks, Dr Ian S (ICCF)
2002 Lee, Graham (PCCC solving)
2004 Coleman, Peter (ICCF)
2004 Jones, Mary E (ICCF LGM)
2004 Nunn, John DM (PCCC solving)
2005 Barber, Jill (ICCF LGM)
2006 Pugh, John (ICCF)

Need to find dates for the following (according to FIDE website):
ENG: David WL Howell, Gawain CB Jones, Stewart G Haslinger, Matthew J Turner, Simon K Williams, Daniel W Gormally
SCO: Jacob Aagard, John Shaw

Not sure if the list is complete, even then.
Last edited by Paul McKeown on Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:08 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:06 am

Jones wrapped up the title in May 2007 (final norm in the 4NCL). Aagaard and Haslinger wrapped it up in August 2007 (2500 rating at the British).

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:13 am

Using the previously listed sources and:
i) posting by Jack Rudd
ii) English Chess Federation THE OFFICIAL CHESS YEARBOOK 2006
iii) BCM for 2002, 2003

1950 Mieses, Jacques *27.2.1865 +23.2.1954
1972 Mansfield, Comins *14.6.1896 +28.03.1984 (GBR) (PCCC composition)
1975 Richardson, Keith B (ICCF)
1976 Miles, Anthony J *23.04.1955 +12.11.2001; then later, Keene, Raymond D
1976 Hollis, Adrian Swayne (ICCF)
1977 Stean, Michael F
1978 Nunn, John DM
1980 Speelman, Jonathan S
1980 Clark, Peter Hugh (ICCF)
1982 Mestel, A Jonathan
1982 Miles, Dr. Jana (IWGM) (given as CSR by FGB 1924-2002, when did she change nationality?)
1983 Chandler, Murray G (given as NZD, when did he change nationality?)
1983 Penrose, Jonathan (ICCF); Webb, Simon (ICCF) *10.06.1949 +14.3.2005
1984 Short, Nigel D
1984 Markland, Peter Richard (ICCF)
1985 Plaskett, H James
1985 Golombek Harry (HGM) *01.03.1911 +1995
1986 Bryson, Douglas Marshall (ICCF)
1987 Flear, Glenn C
1987 Arakhamia, Ketevan (WIGM) (then USSR, later Georgia, now Scotland, as Arakhamia-Grant)
1988 Hodgson, Julian
1988 Lalic, Bogdan (then Yugoslavia, now England)
1988 Arkell, Susan K (née Walker, now Lalic)
1989 King, Daniel J; Adams, Michael; Norwood, David
1989 Povah, Nigel Edward
1990 Gallagher, Joseph (then England, now Switzerland, I think); Watson, William N; Levitt, Jonathan
1991 Conquest, Stuart
1992 Hebden, Mark; McNab, Colin A (Scotland); Motwani , Paul (Scotland)
1993 Davies, Nigel D; Sadler, Matthew
1993 Penrose, Jonathan (HGM)
1993 MacLeod, Norman (GBR) (PCCC composition)
1994 Wells, Peter K
1995 Arkell, Keith; Emms, John; Howell, James;
1995 Muir, Andrew J (Scotland) (ICCF)
1996 McDonald, Neil; Ward, Christopher G; Baburin, Alexander (Ireland)
1996 Prizant, Michael (ICCF); Johnson, Maurice W (ICCF); Kilgour, David A (ICCF) (Scotland)
1997 Kumaran, Dharshan; Summerscale, Aaron P
1997 Hunt, Harriet V (IWGM); Ciuksyte, Dagne (then Lithuania, now England)
1997 Millican, Peter JR (ICCF)
1997 Mestel, A Jonathan (PCCC solving)
2000 McShane, Luke; Parker, Jonathan
2000 Houska, Jovanka (WIGM)
2001 Pert, Nicholas
2001 Brookes, John G (ICCF)
2002 Hall, Richard VM (ICCF); Brooks, Dr Ian S (ICCF)
2002 Lee, Graham (PCCC solving)
2003 Turner, Matthew J (seems to have snuck in as IGM on the Jan 2003 IRL without fanfare)
2004 Coleman, Peter (ICCF)
2004 Jones, Mary E (ICCF LGM)
2004 Nunn, John DM (PCCC solving)
2005 Barber, Jill (ICCF LGM)
2006 Pugh, John (ICCF)
2007 Jones, Gawain CB; Haslinger, Stewart; Aagard, Jacob (Scotland)

Need to find dates for the following (according to FIDE website):
ENG: David WL Howell, Simon K Williams, Daniel W Gormally
ENG WGM: Jackson, Sheila
SCO: John Shaw

Not sure if the list is complete, even then.

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:34 am

Simon Williams: January 2008 (got 2500 rating at Hastings)

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:54 am

Effing XP BSOD. Need to type in again! :evil:

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:01 am

Consolidating what we know already and post-editing using further contribution by Jack Rudd (referenced CB site rather than Wikipedia, as seems more authoritative):

Sources:
a) Livre d'Or de la Fédération Internationale d'Echecs, FIDE, 1976
b) FIDE Golden Book 1924 - 2002, Wlly Iclicki, FIDE 2002
[Note:- perhaps not 100% reliable]
c) Chess A Biobibliography, Jeremy Gaige, McFarland & Co., 1987
d) ICCF website http://www.iccf.com/downloads/titles/2006_GM.pdf
[Note:- for correspondence GM titles up to 2006]
e) PCCC website http://www.saunalahti.fi/~stniekat/pccc/titles.htm
[Note:- for composition and solving titles]
f) FIDE website
[Note:- doesn't give info about inactive players]
g) English Chess Federation THE OFFICIAL CHESS YEARBOOK 2006
h) BCM 2002, BCM 2003
i) two postings to this thread by Jack Rudd
j) Chessbase website, article titled David Howell becomes a grandmaster at 16, http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3591, viewed 23 Jan. 2009


1950 Mieses, Jacques *27.2.1865 Leipzig +23.2.1954 London
1972 Mansfield, Comins (GBR) (PCCC composition) *14.6.1896 Witheridge +28.03.1984 Paignton
1975 Richardson, Keith Bevan (ICCF)
1976 Miles, Anthony John *23.04.1955 Edgbaston +12.11.2001; then later, Keene, Raymond D
1976 Hollis, Adrian Swayne (ICCF)
1977 Stean, Michael F
1978 Nunn, John DM
1980 Speelman, Jonathan S
1980 Clark, Peter Hugh (ICCF)
1982 Mestel, A Jonathan
1982 Miles, Dr. Jana (IWGM) (née Malypetrova, then Hartston, later Miles, now Bellin) (given as CSR by FGB 1924-2002, when did she change nationality?)
1983 Chandler, Murray G (given as NZD, when did he change nationality?)
1983 Penrose, Jonathan (ICCF); Webb, Simon (ICCF) *10.06.1949 London +14.3.2005
1984 Short, Nigel D
1984 Markland, Peter Richard (ICCF)
1985 Plaskett, H James
1985 Golombek Harry (HGM) *01.03.1911 London +1995
1986 Bryson, Douglas Marshall (ICCF)
1987 Flear, Glenn C
1987 Arakhamia, Ketevan (WIGM) (then USSR, later Georgia, now Scotland, as Arakhamia-Grant)
1988 Hodgson, Julian
1988 Lalic, Bogdan (then Yugoslavia, now England)
1988 Arkell, Susan K (née Walker, now Lalic)
1989 King, Daniel J; Adams, Michael; Norwood, David
1989 Povah, Nigel Edward
1990 Gallagher, Joseph (then England, now Switzerland, I think); Watson, William N; Levitt, Jonathan
1991 Conquest, Stuart
1992 Hebden, Mark; McNab, Colin A (Scotland); Motwani , Paul (Scotland)
1993 Davies, Nigel D; Sadler, Matthew
1993 Penrose, Jonathan (HGM)
1993 MacLeod, Norman Alisdair (GBR) (PCCC composition) *06.12.1927 Glasgow +?
1994 Wells, Peter K
1995 Arkell, Keith; Emms, John; Howell, James;
1995 Muir, Andrew J (Scotland) (ICCF)
1996 McDonald, Neil; Ward, Christopher G; Baburin, Alexander (Ireland)
1996 Prizant, Michael (ICCF); Johnson, Maurice W (ICCF); Kilgour, David A (ICCF) (Scotland)
1997 Kumaran, Dharshan; Summerscale, Aaron P
1997 Hunt, Harriet V (IWGM); Ciuksyte, Dagne (then Lithuania, now England)
1997 Millican, Peter JR (ICCF)
1997 Mestel, A Jonathan (PCCC solving)
2000 McShane, Luke; Parker, Jonathan
2000 Houska, Jovanka (WIGM)
2001 Pert, Nicholas
2001 Brookes, John G (ICCF)
2002 Hall, Richard VM (ICCF); Brooks, Dr Ian S (ICCF)
2002 Lee, Graham (PCCC solving)
2003 Turner, Matthew J (seems to have snuck in as IGM on the Jan 2003 IRL without fanfare)
2004 Coleman, Peter (ICCF)
2004 Jones, Mary E (ICCF LGM)
2004 Nunn, John DM (PCCC solving)
2005 Barber, Jill (ICCF LGM)
2006 Pugh, John (ICCF)
2007 Howell, David WL; Jones, Gawain CB; Haslinger, Stewart; Aagard, Jacob (Scotland)
2008 Williams, Simon K

Need to find dates for the following (according to FIDE website):
ENG: Daniel W Gormally
ENG WGM: Jackson, Sheila
SCO: John Shaw

Still not sure that the list is complete or entirely accurate. Know that some more of the players given have passed away; will supply biographical data later.

Would be nice to give biographies of these players, particularly of those no longer with us.
Last edited by Paul McKeown on Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:39 am, edited 4 times in total.

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:13 am

Wikipedia tells us that David Howell became a grandmaster in January 2007. The page for Danny Gormally does not tell us when he became a grandmaster, the page for John Shaw does not yet exist, and there is no mention of Sheila Jackson.
Last edited by IM Jack Rudd on Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:20 am

Thanks, Jack, just post-edited my previous post, to stop this one becoming inordinately long.
Regards,
Paul McKeown.

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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:20 am

Jack,

I assume you are not interested in the "Commonwealth Grandmaster" titles awarded by Ray Keene? :mrgreen:

Regards,
P.

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: British Grandmasters

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:04 am

Paul McKeown wrote:Jack,

I assume you are not interested in the "Commonwealth Grandmaster" titles awarded by Ray Keene? :mrgreen:

Regards,
P.
The whats? No, I don't think so. :D

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