English Chess Forum

Lionel Burrell an actor who appeared in 1920's silent movies and had speaking parts in the 1930's says in his biography that he was a chess player.

" We use to meet in a café for a game of chess not far from Euston in London. My partner brought along the chess set, there was no clock, and we sipped coffee while we played. On one occasion I was white and enjoyed playing the King's Gambit. I played King takes King Bishop two check. My opponent paused and said 'You have played a reckless move and hope to defeat me.' I considered the position for twenty to twenty-five minutes after his reply and then said 'In fourteen moves it's mate or you lose your queen. At the end of the game he walked off without paying for his coffee and I never saw him again."

Francis Fields wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:47 pm

I played King takes King Bishop two check.

Bishop takes King Bishop two check, presumably.

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:00 pm

Francis Fields wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:47 pm

I played King takes King Bishop two check.

Bishop takes King Bishop two check, presumably.

Could be K if it's discovered check. "King Bishop two" makes no sense if it's a capture. If it's BxB then the "King" in the "King Bishop" is probably redundant.

Francis Fields wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:47 pm

.' I considered the position for twenty to twenty-five minutes after his reply and then said 'In fourteen moves it's mate or you lose your queen. At the end of the game he walked off without paying for his coffee and I never saw him again."

DNH, as they say on Twitter.

Richard Bates wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:53 pm

NickFaulks wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:00 pm

Francis Fields wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:47 pm

I played King takes King Bishop two check.

Bishop takes King Bishop two check, presumably.

Could be K if it's discovered check. "King Bishop two" makes no sense if it's a capture. If it's BxB then the "King" in the "King Bishop" is probably redundant.

Makes little sense as the writer claims to have had the White pieces.

I wouldn't mind knowing what films this chap was apparently in.

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:31 am

I wouldn't mind knowing what films this chap was apparently in.

Just insert Francis Fields in the Forum search box above and you should be able to work out a possible/probable answer to that query.

Should Lionel fail to appear, as is customary, when the curtain is about to go up there's a stand-in waiting in the wings. Ladies (ever noticeable in this auditorium by their almost complete absence), gentlemen & groundings I give you...

Mr. Herbert Heckford Burrell

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=126064

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:31 am

I wouldn't mind knowing what films this chap was apparently in.

There is a record of a George Berrell (sometimes billed as George Burrell) who was a stage actor and appeared in silent films in the 1920s here;-

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

- he often appeared in Euston when not in Hollywood.

Leonard Barden wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:05 am

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:31 am

I wouldn't mind knowing what films this chap was apparently in.

Just insert Francis Fields in the Forum search box above and you should be able to work out a possible/probable answer to that query.

I tried googling the first sentence of Mr Fields's initial post. The only result of the search was that post.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised.

David Sedgwick wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 12:30 pm

Leonard Barden wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:05 am

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:31 am

I wouldn't mind knowing what films this chap was apparently in.

Just insert Francis Fields in the Forum search box above and you should be able to work out a possible/probable answer to that query.

I tried googling the first sentence of Mr Fields's initial post. The only result of the search was that post.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised.

You will therefore not be surprised to find that

""These four walls are closing in. Look at the mess you put me in." Lyric from a Rainbow song taken from an 18th century poem, is also not correct.

The correct quote is "These four walls are closing in. Look at the fix you put me in." from the Rainbow song "Since You've been gone"

Having diligently checked the works of Blake, Keats and Wordsworth to name but three poets, the chances of this lyric coming from an 18th century poem are negligible - the song was written by 'Jay Schellen, John Timothy Payne & Guthrie Govan and is a standard rock classic.

It was a mistake to say that it was King takes King Bishop two check. As it was the King's gambit it should have been Bishop takes etc. This is then the explanation for 'mate in 14 or ...'.

Lionel Burrell starred alongside Charlie Chaplin in Midnight Express, Charlie Chaplin's first speaking film in 1931.

In 1931, Lionel Burrell played in the Blackpool Open, the town in which he was born, and scored 2/5. As a quick estimate to his supposed grade would it be 170?

Francis Fields wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:22 pm

Lionel Burrell starred alongside Charlie Chaplin in Midnight Express, Charlie Chaplin's first speaking film in 1931.

You do realize people can actually look this sort of thing up on IMDb and work out that you're bluffing, yes?

I doubt if there was a "Blackpool Open" back in 1931, either.......

Francis Fields wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:22 pm

Lionel Burrell starred alongside Charlie Chaplin in Midnight Express, Charlie Chaplin's first speaking film in 1931.

I can recall the Midnight Express film of 1978, which caused quite a furore at the time, but not an earlier similarly-titled film. Curiously, when I checked the full list of Charlie Chaplin's movies on Wikipedia, Midnight Express was conspicuous by its omission.