R Hugh Storr-Best

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Brian Denman
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Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:02 am

R Hugh Storr-Best

Post by Brian Denman » Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:37 pm

I am sorry to have to report that Hugh Storr-Best passed away on 24th October at the age of 96. He had been born on 11th October 1918 in Brighton and came from a chess-playing family. His father, John, won the Brighton CC Championship on three occasions and played on a high board for Sussex while his uncles, Lloyd and Harold, were very strong Kent players. In one county match between Sussex and Kent played on 15th December 1934 there were no fewer than six members of the family in the teams, although none of them recorded a win!

In 1933 following a legacy by Col. Sir William Dupree a boys’ tournament was started in Brighton which offered remarkable prizes to the winners. Hugh competed in this and in the four seasons from 1934-35 and 1937-38 he won prize money of £194.7s.6d. This was a large sum of money in those days and is put into perspective by the £70 annual salary Hugh received when he started as a junior insurance clerk in London in September 1936. Not long after his move to London he sought to improve his play by having lessons from Vera Menchik. At that time before her marriage she lived in Bayswater in London with her sister and mother. Hugh also joined the Metropolitan CC and played some games in the London League.

When the war came, Hugh worked for nearly four years at an Army pay office at Sidcup. He played very little chess in this period, but, when hostilities ceased, he became a member of the London Insurance Club and it seems that he played for this club for about fifty years.

In 1961 Hugh married Julia and started a family living near Tunbridge Wells. I also believe that he came to live at Whitchurch near Oxford before moving eventually to Petersfield. He won the championship of the Hampshire club several times and also competed in the Portsmouth League. I believe that he later joined the Emsworth CC.

I knew him for about twenty years and he was always very polite, friendly and gentlemanly.

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