English Chess Forum

Does anyone here know more on this author?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_A ... r_(writer)

In this game he blundered a piece on move 8. No relation, as far as I know, to CHO'D, FFL or Laurie. Also, I think, played for Surbiton. Not a very strong player: graded about 110.

[Event "R&T1 v Mushrooms"] [Site "?"] [Date "1974.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Alexander, Patrick"] [Black "James, Richard"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B06"] [Annotator "Stockfish 10 64"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "1974.??.??"] [EventType "game"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 c6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Qb6 {last book move} 7. Na4 Qa5+ 8. c3 $4 $19 ({-3.03 Stockfish 10 64:} 8. Nc3 c5 9. Be3 Nc6 10. d5 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Nd4 12. O-O Nxe2+ 13. Nxe2 Nf6 14. c3 Nd7 15. Ng3 b5 16. a3 h5 17. Qd2 Qc7 18. h4 Bf6 19. Qh2 O-O 20. f5 Ne5 21. b3 Kh7 22. Kg2 Nd3 23. Rad1 $14 {0.61/25}) 8... b5 9. b4 Qxa4 10. Qxa4 bxa4 11. e5 Nd7 12. O-O Nh6 13. Bd3 O-O 14. Ba3 a6 15. Rae1 Nb6 16. Bb2 Be6 17. a3 Bc4 18. Bxc4 Nxc4 19. Bc1 dxe5 20. Nxe5 Nxe5 21. fxe5 e6 22. Bg5 Rae8 23. Rf3 Nf5 24. Rh3 h6 25. Bd2 Kh7 26. g4 Ne7 27. Rf1 Nd5 28. Bxh6 Bxh6 29. g5 Nxc3 30. Rxh6+ Kg7 31. Rf3 Ne2+ 32. Kf2 Nxd4 33. Rfh3 Rh8 0-1

Heh, thanks, Richard. I have been following the threads on the other Alexanders, it was a complete coincidence that I came across another one! That reminds me of another chess history thread that deserves another look...

Yes, I knew Pat Alexander slightly back in the 1980s when he came to some Mitcham Chess Club meetings, though I think he was more closely affiliated to Surbiton Chess Club. He was graded 113 on the 1979 SCCU Grading List, which showed three affiliations (Mushrooms as well as Surbiton and Mitcham). I recall he decided to give up chess in the early 1980s, and brought a part of his large chess library to Mitcham to give away to anyone who wanted a book. He had been a journalist and a screenwriter before writing novels. I believe he wrote scripts for a TV show of the time called Crown Court though his IMDb CV doesn't include this. I vaguely remember reading his novel Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal, which is Frederick Forsythe-ish. The central character was said by other club members to be loosely based on another Mitcham player of that time called Terry Ashby (who disappeared from the chess scene in the mid to late 1980s). Pat lived in Worcester Park. I have no games played by him on my database.

Thanks, John. The novel was made into a film and does sound Frederick Forsythe-ish! Not sure if the chess made it into the film.

"The central character was said by other club members to be loosely based on another Mitcham player of that time called Terry Ashby (who disappeared from the chess scene in the mid to late 1980s)."

I played him in 1973 (Redhill vs Mitcham), and also played an Adam Alexander in 2001 in the Surrey League, curiously in both games I was the white side of a Dragon...

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 05, 2020 8:32 am

… which showed three affiliations (Mushrooms as well as Surbiton and Mitcham) ...

The Mushrooms connection would explain why Pat's name rang a bell with me - other present/former Mushrooms, of whom there are only very few on this site, might have more distinct memories.

Roger Lancaster wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 05, 2020 10:32 am

The Mushrooms connection would explain why Pat's name rang a bell with me - other present/former Mushrooms, of whom there are only very few on this site, might have more distinct memories.

Before my time, but I shall enquire.

David Sedgwick
Mushrooms CC Chairman

I was looking for something else when a CHESS August 1983 tucked between my chess books fell out.
Inside is a report on a Quick Play tournament at the King's Head by Roger Lancaster. Mention is made that Patrick Alexander donated the brilliancy prize won by Michael Basman.

WIki states; "Alexander was a chess fanatic; people in his novels often share his enthusiasm for the game. Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal features a "considerable description of a tournament" that chess player Stewart Reuben had organised."

I've submitted the game in question to chessgames. The judge was Ray Keene.

[Event "King's Head Quick Play"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "1983.06.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Michael Basman"] [Black "Russell Granat"] [Result "1-0"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Bf5 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. e3 Nb4 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 Nd3+ 9. Kf1 Nxc1 10. Rxc1 Nf6 11. Ne5 Qb6 12. g4 Bg6 13. g5 Ne4 14. Nxd5 Qxb2 15. Rc2 Ng3+ 16. hxg3 Bxc2 17. Bxc2 cxd5 18. Qf3 O-O-O 19. Bf5+ Kb8 20. Kg2 Qxa2 21. Nxf7 Bb4 22. Nxd8 Rxd8 23. Rxh7 Bf8 24. Be6 a5 25. Rh8 Qa3 26. Bxd5 Qe7 27. g6 a4 28. Rh1 Qb4 29. Qe4 Qb5 30. Bxb7 Bb4 31. Bc6 Qa5 32. Qf4+ Bd6 33. Rb1+ Ka7 34. Qf7+ 1-0

Hi Geoff. You get name checked (so to speak) in Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal:

Patrick Alexander wrote: Chess in England is usually played in conditions of near squalor. Here the conditions were near luxury. Three enormous rooms had been given over to the congress. In one was a grandmaster tournament, in another an open tournament. In the third were demonstration boards showing the progress of the grandmaster games with explanatory commentaries by chess masters or leading players. This was the room Abbott wandered into. He sat in an armchair and was soon lost in consideration of backward pawns, weak squares, the fearsomeness of the Dragon bishop and other intricacies of the game that Chandler called the greatest waste of human intelligence outside an advertising agency.

(though some spoilsports would claim that it was Raymond Chandler who said that)

Having done a little research on Patrick Alexander this evening, I've come to the conclusion that he was born on the 19th April, 1920 (not 1926) and died on the 5th October, 1997.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/pe ... s/P9ZX-Z7W

This is partly based on the 1921 census, where Patrick James Alexander can be found living next door to a billiards hall in Peckham, which is very similar to how he describes his beginnings on the dust jackets of his novels.