English Chess Forum

Yes, have a good one young man

Happy Birthday Mr Barden,

I see your birthday has been good to you with wins on the 20th August v Bob Wade (1954), Clifford G Hilton (1959) and:

L.Barden - R F Boxall, Hasting 20/8/1953

Saccing a Bishop to get the Kingside pawn s rolling.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O a6 9. f4 Qb6 10. Nf3 Qc7 11. Qe1 O-O 12. Bd3 e5 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 Qd8 15. f5 b5 16. g4 Bb7 17. h4 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. g5 Be5 20. f6 Bxd5 21. exd5 g6 22. Qf1 h5 23. Rg1 Qd7 24. Qf3 Kh8 25. Bf1 Qc7 26. Qd3 Rae8 27. Kb1 Rg8 28. Be2 Ref8 29. Bxh5 gxh5 30. Qf3 Rg6 31. Qxh5+ Kg8 32. Qf3 Rc8 33. Qf5 Kf8 34. h5 d3 35. Qxd3 Rg8 36. Qf5 Rh8 37. h6 Rg8 38. h7 Rh8 39. Rg2 a5 40. Qh3 Ke8 41. Qh6 Kd7 42. g6 Bxf6 43. g7 Bxg7 44. Qxg7 Rcf8 45. Rf1 Kc8 46. Qxh8 Rxh8 47. Rg8+ Kb7 48. Rxh8 f6 49. Rh1 1-0

Hopefully you will have more but this is all I could lift from http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=13738

There is also this post today at chessgame.com by 'cardinal fang' (I' do not know who it is):

"In England in the 70s I remember well how Leonard Barden would appear at junior tournaments with a roll of paper,
and put up handwritten posters with up-to-date ratings of junior players - not just the top ones, but all the way down
through the rating levels. He was well aware that the six- or twelve-monthly rating lists got out of date very quickly,
and wanted us young players to see how rapidly we were improving and be inspired by it. Great memories."

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:08 pm

.....

There is also this post today at chessgame.com by 'cardinal fang' (I' do not know who it is):

"In England in the 70s I remember well how Leonard Barden would appear at junior tournaments with a roll of paper,
and put up handwritten posters with up-to-date ratings of junior players - not just the top ones, but all the way down
through the rating levels. He was well aware that the six- or twelve-monthly rating lists got out of date very quickly,
and wanted us young players to see how rapidly we were improving and be inspired by it. Great memories."

This reminds me of my own experience in 1982/3 when my "Barden" grade was 136, putting me (then!) in the all-time England "Barden" top ten for under 10 year olds. My enthusiastic school teacher, David Bull (whom I name just in case Leonard remembers him) was so pleased that he copied the list and put it on the school noticeboard with the capital letters NEWSFLASH! above it.

(yes, I have had a long chess career as a has-been, but at least I continued to play).

I recall that some years ago Leonard said that he would not reach ninety. I am pleased that this was one prediction that got away. Many happy returns!

Happy birthday, Leonard. I still haven't forgotten the tips you gave me when you kindly used to go over my games with me.

That kind of advice is priceless.

Happy Birthday, Leonard!

David Robertson has reminded me that the last time I saw Wynton Marslis playing the trumpet was in 2003 in the evening after the British Chess Championships in Edinburgh.
Leonard Barden has indeed touched our lives in many ways and long may he continue to do so.

A very good feature article on LB now up at Edward Winter's site.

It is a good article, Thanks Matt, here is a quick link.

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/barden.html

What everybody else said - sorry I'm late, I have managed to find the only two places in Kent and Surrey where there is no internet!

One of my fondest chess memories is Leonard telling me that he enjoyed some articles I wrote. I should have given up then. Such praise from him cannot be beaten.

It is difficult to keep up with all his achievements, so this might help.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Barden

I'm not sure it's 100 % accurate, but the mistakes are omissions, not exaggeration.

Thanks for all your good wishes, dear friends.
The Wikipedia article which Kevin Thurlow links to above was written from material I supplied to its editor, so any inaccuracies are down to me.

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:08 pm

I see your birthday has been good to you

All of my 12 British championship appearances encompassed 20 August, and I never lost on that date.
David Sedgwick will surely be ready with copy and paste again at 1201am on 20 August 2024, although that looks a bridge too far.
Thanks again to all of you.

Leonard Barden wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:49 pm

David Sedgwick will surely be ready with copy and paste again at 1201am on 20 August 2024, although that looks a bridge too far.

I certainly hope to be thus poised then and again at 1201 am on 20 August 2029.

My worry is that one or both will prove to be a bridge too far for me.

Leonard >All of my 12 British championship appearances encompassed 20 August, and I never lost on that date.<

Bill Hartston once said he lost ALL his games in the British Championship where his birthday was during the tournament. So he decided to imitate the Queen and have an Official Birthday on the middle Sunday - which was always a rest day in those days.
After that, he never lost on his actual birthday.