English Chess Forum

I've now updated the Comins Mansfield page on BritBase to correct the dates when games were played... https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/mansfieldc-viewer.html I have also added a crosstable (which I worked out for myself but it also tallies with the table in Tony's booklet). I echo what David wr...

It is from a game I played as an 18 year old and I provided it for the director. Sorry, I have never learnt how to put it on the site. Peter Byre (Westminster City School) v Stewart Reuben (William Ellis School) London Schools League 1957. I was 18. From memory 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 0-0 5...

They [the Scottish Chess Championships] are now open to both men and women – but no woman has ever entered the Scottish championship itself. The 1935 Scottish Chess Championship was a six-player all-play-all, won by Dr Aitken. One of the six competitors was Mary Dinorah Gilchrist, who finished fifth.

The Manchester Presidents in the 20s were: ... 1924-25 Lilian Letitia Barber Having raised the topic of Bertie Cohen, I'm now going to break the forum record for going off-topic as I was struck to see a female name amongst the MCF presidents in the 1920s! That must have been quite unusual for the t...

Whilst updating the HE Atkins file on BritBase , I came across a name that was unfamiliar to me - Bertie E Cohen. Brian Denman sent me the score of the game Cohen drew with Atkins in January 1926 in a Lancashire vs Yorkshire match. This was referred to in the Guardian as follows: Great interest was ...

Many thanks for these games, Gerard: I've added them to the BritBase collection of Aitken games which now numbers 962 games. Re your question about J Smail: it was a new name on me but I think I've tracked him down. Firstly, I found seven games by a J Smail / John Smail on the StarBase 4.56 database...

I frequent the Crossword Help Forum where some posters know compilers. Apparently Qaos, Saturday's Guardian setter, said on Twitter that there are 18 chess related clues. Ah, that's interesting... I recounted and still only found 15. Then I decided to check Twitter and found the dialogue Paul refer...

"I suggest you have a look at today's (Saturday) Guaurdian cryptic crossword. The whole puzzle is chess themed." Your spelling of "Guardian" is fitting tribute to the paper's reputation! I'm obviously spending too much time on sudoku as I have been struggling with this one. Assuming I've got 18A ri...

Considering the era, is it possible that the reason his forename is so hard to find is that he wasn't inclined to reveal it? He would have been Mr Mackay to most, maybe DG to work colleagues and friends. If he was still around, as he might be, would he think this whole thread impertinent, and it's ...

Gerard, thanks for identifiying Solomon Adler - may I ask how you tracked that information down - was it in a newspaper clipping and is the game score extant? Adler must have been a good player to have defeated Alexander, unless there was a need to win because of the match situtation? I wrote a few...

Alan McGowan has kindly shared some of his researches with me. Having examined them, I'm about 90% convinced he's right in suggesting that the player in question was named Donald G Mackay and that his birth was registered in the 4th quarter of 1931 in Richmond, Surrey. Further to that (having done a...

I think Kevin already knew about Philip Coy's 1970 success as I mentioned it on Britbase last year when making available 74 of Coy's games...

https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/c ... iewer.html

My source for games and info was Kevin.

According to Di Felice, it's DUNCAN G MACKAY - see for instance the index of his 1961-63 Volume and also the next one. There is some mention of Chess Magazine 60-61 as a possible source. Page 248, if anyone has it. Page 248 of CHESS, 22 April 1961 (Vol.26) has a crosstable of the 1961 Stevenson Mem...

B H Wood refers to Mackay as a professional boxer. The database https://boxrec.com/ does not list D G Mackay. Thanks for this, Gerard. I did wonder what evidence BH Wood had that DG Mackay was a professional boxer. It smacks of something which I'm sure we are all familiar with, when non-players, di...

"Here is a weird game won by D. G. Mackay, of Balham, an irrepressible character who could seriously claim to be the strongest player never to take part in the British Championship. He seems to alternate between the Civil Service and professional boxing, finding the latter both more enjoyable and m...