English Chess Forum

Very sad news about Dave Welch, whom I worked alongside at numerous Isle of Man, Gibraltar and 4NCL events over the past 20 years or so.

I've posted a personal tribute here: http://johnchess.blogspot.com/2019/11/d ... -2019.html

Thanks for your help, chaps. I shall have to look further into it when I get time.

Yes, sorry chaps, it's very annoying and there's only so much I can do about it as it is the fault of Google's new security regime. A while back someone noticed that, when they arrived at BritBase, they were getting what Geoff shows above. And then I noticed that, in some cases, arriving via Google,...

OK, here goes. Incidentally, if Black had played 35...Qb1! then this trick would not have worked, according to Stockfish. [Event "ECF County Championships 2019"] [Site "Kettering, United Kingdom"] [Date "2019.07.13"] [Round "1.12"] [White "Rosen, Daniel B"] [Black "Sucikova, Svetlana"] [Result "0-1"...

The Counties' Championship this afternoon has provided excellent entertainment. This game was particularly good value... [Event "ECF County Championships 2019"] [Site "Kettering, United Kingdom"] [Date "2019.07.13"] [Round "1.12"] [White "Rosen, Daniel B"] [Black "Sucikova, Svetlana"] [Result "0-1"]...

An update: I was pleased to be able to put the last piece in the jigsaw of British men's and women's champions' names yesterday when I discovered a forename for 'Miss Fatima' who won the 1933 British Women's Championship with a then record score of 10½/11*. I found her name on a ship's passenger lis...

This is rather a weird coincidence. I've just read this thread an hour or so after researching a bit of chess history which led me unexpectedly to a website about Oswald Mosley. I've just put up a new item at BritBase with games played by the strong Hampshire player Wilfred Pratten (1908-1985). The ...

Many thanks to Richard for posting those scans/photos which were very useful (I have a long run of BCMs but my CHESS magazine collection has significant gaps - I had a feeling that Richard's splendid Chess Pavilion would provide the answer). I also support Chris's suggestion of moving some of these ...

His son mentions his dad was a good chess player and after Hastings (no year given) Bronstein played a simul v Cambridge University Chess Club P.25 W.19. D.5 L.1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_J._Thouless That gives his year of birth as 1934, so it's likely to have been Bronstein's "Alexander...

Worth highlighting a superb effort from forum member Mark Page in round 5 of the Over-65 yesterday. Playing for England 2, Mark (rated 2107) drew with several-times East German champion GM Rainer Knaak (rated 2482) who was playing top board for Germany. And Mark had the better of it for much of the ...

Another example of Mason's disorderly behaviour, plus a bonus bit of nonsense uttered in a pulpit... No. 5165 - There will be much leading-edge chess this issue, so a delve into the past might add variety. In 1888 James Mason was in court charged with breaking windows. His defence counsel said that ...

Further delvings into online records show a James Mason marrying an Annie Grant in Hackney in 1896. In the 1891 census I then found an Annie Grant (aged 37, hence within a year or two of the right age, born in Swanage, Dorset) visiting a family in Walthamstow. Quite good circumstantial evidence, per...

I have now tracked down James Mason in the 1901 census. 1901 census - 24, Fairlight Road, Walthamstow, Essex James Mason - married - age 51 - occupation: author & writer of books & chess player - working at home - where born: Ireland, American citizen Annie Mason - married - age 46 - occupation [bla...

The Irish Chess Union features an interesting biography of James Mason by Jim Hayes. In it Jim Hayes tries to narrow down the possibilities for James Mason's birth name. James Mason never revealed his real name save to confide it to his friend Robert J.Buckley, chess columnist of the Birmingham Week...

That Mason was married seems to be confirmed by the reference to a Mrs Mason in the following snippet from the Morning Post of 23 January 1905... 1905-01-23-Morning-Post.jpg I suppose there is an outside chance that Mrs Mason could be his mother or sister-in-law but wife must be infinitely more like...