World Junior Championship 1961

[JustinHorton]

Played D.A. Smith in the British U-21 championship in 1961. We agreed a draw after 35 moves. If Adrian Hollis was on board. 1, that would be correct, since I seem to remember Adrian winning the U-21 Championship.

It's not the same David Smith as this chap, is it?

[Roger de Coverly]

It's not the same David Smith as this chap, is it?

It looks as if it fits. What isn't so obvious is what he had to do or win, to get the nomination for the place at the tournament in Holland or for board 2 on the Student Olympiad team. Being the England representative in the World Junior puts him alongside some very elite company.

[Gordon Cadden]

Yes, this must have been the David Smith that I played at Whitby in the British U-21. He had a rating in 1958, the year that I started playing chess. I was at the bottom end of the U-21, and was very pleased to secure a draw.

[JustinHorton]

Is anybody who posts here from Cleveland, and might know?

[JustinHorton]

I've been contacted by Pip Mitcheson and Ron Stather from the Cleveland Chess Association, who have both been kind enough to confirm that we have indeed identified the correct David Smith.

[John Clarke]

What isn't so obvious is what he had to do or win, to get the nomination for the place at the tournament in Holland or for board 2 on the Student Olympiad team. Being the England representative in the World Junior puts him alongside some very elite company.

I don't know that he had a lot of real competition. At the time, the UK was pretty short of top-notch players generally. The old guard (Golombek, Alexander, Abrahams et al) were all well over their comparatively modest hill, while the next generation born 20 or more years later (with the exception of Penrose, who alone had the talent but not the desire) were never quite consistently up to standard. The cohort after that (Keene, Hartston, Basman and the rest) were only in their early or mid teens, still with some way to go. Our student teams sometimes relied on foreign-born players like Raaphy Persitz to be competitive.

Should have added to my earlier post that the comments about the Zuidema-Hort game were based on what I remember of David Smith's report on the event for Junior Chess. Regarding Justin's response, I wonder if Hort's federation pulled him out from the later stages, as a demonstration of their displeasure. In the circumstances, his handling of the Zuidema game was rather irresponsible, far from the disciplined approach Iron Curtain countries tended to be noted for in those days.

[JustinHorton]

Should have added to my earlier post that the comments about the Zuidema-Hort game were based on what I remember of David Smith's report on the event for Junior Chess.

I'm guessing you no longer possess this periodical...

[John Clarke]

Should have added to my earlier post that the comments about the Zuidema-Hort game were based on what I remember of David Smith's report on the event for Junior Chess.

I'm guessing you no longer possess this periodical...

Alas, no. I had 17 issues (not the complete set by any means) which were parked with a friend when I emigrated in 1977, along with several other treasures including an unbroken run of Chess nos 501-750. The understanding was, he'd forward them on when asked. Didn't happen. Some years ago he was taken into care, and most of his effects, my stuff doubtless included, were sold off / trashed / incinerated /whatever.

JC was a good little mag, just the ticket for less talented types like me who were nonetheless keen to improve, and invaluable source material for the early careers of Hartston, Basman, Whitely and others. I'm still mildly surprised at the extent to which it seems to have disappeared from both memory and physical existence.