English Chess Forum

I'm following through on my enigmatic posts about East Ham Town Hall, where Dave and several hundred others slept on the floor. The giveaway clue was the date, which happened to be the night of Easter Sunday/Monday 1961. By the nature of this forum, most of us knew Dave Rumens in a chess environment...

In response to Stewart Reuben. Sorry, I don't know the other identities. But I do know that the date was after mid-August in 1958, because of something very silly that happened. There was a celebrity autograph stand, that attracted hourly queues for each celebrity in turn. When a particular celebrit...

The jpg-files that I wanted to post are both "too big". Sorry. This smaller one was accepted. It was taken at Olympia in late 1958 (or just possibly early in 1959). Olympia.jpg I am at the far right, in play (my wink can be seen in flight) and Dave, of course, is on my immediate left. Everything tha...

The photograph of Dave Rumens playing Bielicki is indeed from the World Junior Championship in 1959 - (I cannot explain the bye-line referencing January 1955.) Dave Rumens was a member of Cedars Chess Club more or less from its outset. Cedars evolved from the grandiosely-named Carmelite Chess Club, ...

Adding a little more information about the East Ham Town Hall story - there were several hundred people trying to sleep on that floor that night, mostly exhausted people. But there was so much background noise, and comings and goings, that sleep was highly sporadic. Everybody left together the follo...

Nick Ivell asked, "where was Dave Rumens in the 1960s ?". I can confirm that he spent the night of April 2nd-3rd, 1961, on the floor of East Ham Town Hall.

( I shall leave this post unfinished for the moment, to give anyone who wishes to the chance to find the reason why ! )

I was so pleased and relieved to read Leonard Barden's comments. (I am seldom able to outdo you, Leonard, but in this case my recollections outscore you by two years.) In 1959 V J Soanes was similarly non-playing match captain for an England team - albeit not so exalted: the Under-21 European team t...

Dave Rumens' travel misfortunes seem to be a recurring theme. I can add another example. In 1958, Dave landed a dream job, working for British Rail at Kings Cross. Railways were his passion from childhood, and he would now enjoy free rail travel. That same year, at the age of 18, he qualified for th...

In answer to John Clarke, I don't have the score of the London Boys' game. In 1964 I gave up chess "for ever", and in typically stupid and over-the-top manner, I acted as if I was giving up an addiction that I risked again succumbing to. So I got B H Wood to come to my home and take away everything ...

Several contributors have made the connection - … “major incident” … “Dave Rumens” … “FIDE had to be consulted” … “opponent was one David Mabbs, no less”. Courtesy demands that I give some kind of response. For 59 years the full story has never been told. It is one of high drama, verging on melodram...

Dave Rumens was a totally genuine person: what you saw was what you got. He had no airs or graces, no facade – you took him as he was. He believed in allowing people to discover themselves, and to be themselves. He extended this approach to his own family – Carol, his wife, and Becky and Kelsey, his...

One of Dave Rumens' greatest coups was not on the chess board at all. On the free day at one of the Eastbourne Open tournaments, we and several other players had taken the bus out to the Long Man of Wilmington (an ancient chalk figure carved on a hillside). We walked back to Eastbourne, six or so mi...

One autumn evening after Cedars Chess Club, Dave Rumens and I wandered off to Pinner Park. It was the most beautiful starry night, shortly after the launch of Sputnik One. We sat on a park bench, miles from any artificial light source, and we marvelled at the universe. We felt curiosity and inspirat...

One evening, after a London League match in town, Dave Rumens, Norman Stephenson and I amused ourselves in the West End before catching the last Bakerloo Line train back to Headstone Lane. Norman had one of those plug-in sets, with red and white men, and two troughs for captured pieces. We spent the...

Dave Rumens and I held one guilty secret for forty years. Those who knew Cedars Chess Club will remember us as loud, brash, arrogant – we marketed ourselves, we talked the talk. On this particular evening we travelled to Hayes Chess Club for a league match, only to find the press and photographers w...