Those 35 Getty images, in descending chronological order (I'll give just the dates and people, and comments as well so that I'm commenting and not just regurgitating a list):
(1)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive
28th December 1977: Tigran Petrosian at the Hastings International Chess Congress.
[Great smile on his face!]
(2)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/79663136/Popperfoto
12th January 1972: Anatoly Karpov at the Hastings International Chess Tournament.
[Doesn't look like Karpov to me - maybe it was a bad hair day?]
(3)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/79663135/Popperfoto
4th January 1972: William Hartson playing Viktor Korchnoi at the Hastings International Chess Tournament.
[Pity the Getty watermark goes right across their faces - note the clocks being used and how the demonstration boards include clocks to indicate the times for each player!]
(4)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/79663656/Popperfoto
9th December 1971: Victor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov prior to the opening of the Hastings International Chess Congress.
[Both Korchnoi and Karpov look much younger here, though it was 39 years ago, of course! Karpov would have been 20 in this picture.]
(5)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/326 ... on-Archive
29th December 1970: Raymond Keene playing in the snow on the sea-front at Hastings with an American, while a Russian looks on.
[This is a great picture! It would be nice to see if Raymond Keene remembers this photo being taken - it is fairly obviously staged for the cameras, unless they were even more fanatical than usual - would also be nice to ask Keene if he knows who the other two players are. Presumably this is near the then-venue? Not sure who else was playing that year. In the background, you can even see the pier, which sadly is no more, having burnt down recently.]
(6)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive
29th December 1969: Jan Timman at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[Timman seems to have always had lots of hair! I suspect he had long hair even as a child...]
(7)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/330 ... on-Archive
December 1966: Mikhail Botvinnik at the International Chess Tournament in Hastings.
[Again, look at the clock they are using. I suspect, from the bored look on Botvinnik's face and the offhand handling of the chess piece, that this one was posed as well. Not sure what the rules were in those days about photographing during a game. They have also used a mis-spelling or variant spelling of Botvinnik's name, so there is a possibility that anyone looking to build a complete collection of Botvinnik photos might miss this one if they fail to check for variant spellings.]
(8)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/325 ... on-Archive
30th December 1963: Miklos Bely during the International Chess Conference at Hastings.
[This looks like a posed photo, as there doesn't seem to be room for a chess clock and there is no scoresheet. I have never heard of Miklos Bely, so I'm going to say here what I'll say for all those whose names I haven't heard of: hopefully someone can tell us more about Bely, whose name I don't recognise.]
(9)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/267 ... on-Archive
30th December 1963: Blind competitor Dragoslav Baretic at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[Note the glasses and the way the photographer has got the chess clock in the reflection as well as the board and pieces. Hopefully someone can tell us more about Baretic, whose name I don't recognise. I also don't know much about blind chess in the 1960s.]
(10)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive
27th December 1961: Mikhail Botvinnik at the International Chess Tournament in Hastings.
[Not much to say here. Bit of a boring photo, really. Might be one from a real game.]
(11)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive
30th December 1959: Milko Robotson at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[According to the Getty caption, Robotson was "the first Bulgarian Master to play at Hastings". Looks like a Brylcream advert to me! Maybe someone knows more about Robotson and his achievements?]
(12)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/325 ... on-Archive
30th December 1959: Lesley Fletcher at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[First woman chess player to feature in this list. According to the caption she was from "Richmond", which if it is the Richmond in London is local to me! Never heard of her, though, not that I would have expected to have heard of her. I wonder which section she was playing in?]
(13)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/325 ... on-Archive
30th December 1957: Max Blau at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[Note the different chess clock, and also the cigarette and ashtray! He seems to be about to lose on time, unless this is another posed photo. The name Max Blau does ring a bell, so he is probably a bit more famous than some in the previous couple of photos.]
(14)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive
29th December 1955: Jesus Diez del Corral at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[From Spain, according to the caption. Note the namecards at top left (he is playing Korchnoi, who features in the next photograph), the scoresheet, and the cigarette in hand and the cigarette packet and matches by the board! You can see more of the venue here. I wonder if anyone knows which venue this was? There are two unidentified gentlemen in the background who could possibly be identified, but might be random visitors. They could equally be two of the organisers - who knows! I think this is also the first in this list to feature an identified game between two players, so presumably it is possible to look up the result and the moves of the game, and maybe even work out what move they've got to! In terms of this list, this is the first of 9 images from the 1955 Congress. As for Jesus Diez del Corral, does anyone know more about him?]
(15)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive
(21)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/332 ... on-Archive
29th December 1955: Victor Korchnoi at the International Chess Congress in Hastings.
[These two photographs allegedly go with the one above of Korchnoi's opponent in this game (Jesus Diez del Corral), though I'm not convinced as the scoresheet is not there and there is no chess clock. Anyway, whether posed or not, it is a very young-looking Korchnoi, who would have been 24 here.]
(16)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive
29th December 1955: Klaus Darga (Germany) vs Jonathan Penrose (UK) at the International Chess Congress at Hastings
[British interest here, with a picture of a young (22-year-old) Penrose. The name Darga does ring a bell, but no more than that. Like the above, the moves and results for this game are presumably available in databases.]
(17)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/341 ... on-Archive
(22)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/326 ... on-Archive
28th December 1955: Fridrik Olafsson at the Hastings International Chess Congress.
[Caption says he was the "Icelandic chess champion". Don't think I've heard of him, though I have heard of
an Olafsson, but there are probably many of those. Note the photographer in the background in the first of these two photos. Massive flash gun! It seems that the common sense practice of allowing initial photography before play started was in use even in the 1950s.]
(18)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive
28th December 1955: Jesus Diez del Corral at the Hastings International Chess Congress.
[Caption says he was the "Spanish chess champion". not much more to add to the comment on the previous photo of him, except that this is the better image. The clock shows the game has only just started. He is playing White, and we have the date, so it should be possible to work out who he is playing, the results and the moves of the game.]
(19)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/336 ... on-Archive
28th December 1955: Borislav Ivkov during the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[Caption says he is from Yugoslavia and was a World Junior Chess Champion. The name does sound vaguely familiar, but no more than that. Again, no chess clock, so I'm not convinced this was taken "during play" as the caption says, but maybe it was, who knows?]
(20)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/336 ... on-Archive
28th December 1955: Raaphy Persitz at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[Nice photograph of a young Persitz aged 21.]
(21) see number 15
(22) see number 17
(23)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive
29th December 1954: Lieutenant John Sudean of Philadelphia, on what looks like a beach, "playing a warm-up game of chess" before the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[There could be an interesting story here. Presumably this is one of the top US players of the time. I also presume he is the one at right. Not a clue who the other person is. Like the Keene photo, this photograph is an arty kind of one, trying to be different. Though maybe people really did play chess on the beach in winter and in the snow!]
(24)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive
28th December 1950: Jonathan Penrose against A. R. B. Thomas at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[This is a different Thomas to the famous one, I think, but it should be possible to look up the moves and result of this game somewhere. In the earlier photograph, Penrose was 22. Here, five years earlier, he is only 17, and as the caption says, he was both British Boys' Champion and London Champion - though I'm not sure whether they mean a Boys' London Championship or a full London Championship proper.]
(25)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive
29th December 1949: Larry Evans at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[One of the more famous names on this list. Again, this is a very young Evans, only 17, but dressed smartly in a suit. The venue (wooden chairs) appears to be different from that in the previous photos in this list. There may be enough of the position on the board to work out which game this is (or just go by the date), presuming as always that this is not a posed photograph or one during analysis or offhand play.]
(26)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/328 ... on-Archive
28th December 1949: N. Rossolimo at the International Chess Tournament at Hastings.
[According to the caption, Rossolimo was French champion at the time. Wonder if there is more information about him anywhere, such as a first name? Given the date, it should be possible to work out which game this was.]
(27)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive
31st December 1948: Mrs E Mitchell at the Hastings Congress.
[This is a rarity - a picture from one of the lower sections. In the background are signs saying "Major B" and "Major C", so presumably Mrs Mitchell was in one of the many lower sections at this time - I think the usual format, in the days before Swisses and grades, was to put people in all-play-all sections according to estimated playing strength. I doubt it is possible to find the moves of the game or the result, but like everyone else she is wrapped up warm against the Hastings winter, though that looks like it is advisable, given her age.]
(28)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/329 ... on-Archive
30th December 1948: Paul Schmidt at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[From Germany, so might be moderately famous. Presumably the venue at the time was one where everyone needed to wrap up warm, judging by the woolly hat and coat being worn at the board.]
(29)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/326 ... on-Archive
6th January 1947: "Check Mate On Beach"
[Not sure if the tournament was still going on, given the date, but the photographer obviously had an eye for a good tableau here. According to the caption, fishermen playing chess on the beach, with international players watching them (presumably the two above?). It's a nice photograph, as it shows how people will play chess anywhere, given the chance and the most rudimentary equipment, using boxes for chairs and table.]
(30)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/320 ... on-Archive
(33)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/820 ... on-Archive
29th December 1936: William Winter at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[These last 6 photos are from before the Second World War, and all from the 1930s. Once again, the ubiquitous ashtray and cigarette packet and box of matches are present. It is a pity that Winter is so deep in thought that we can't see his face clearly. But given the date, it should be possible to identify his opponent and the game.]
(31)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/320 ... on-Archive
29th December 1936: Sonja Graf at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[A German woman player. Only the second woman to feature in this list. It should be possible to find out her opponent and what game this was. She is dressed in a suit and tie, which might not have been that common in those days. I hope Sonja
is a woman's name!]
(32)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/820 ... on-Archive
29th December 1936: Alexander Alekhine at the International Chess Congress at Hastings.
[One of several world champions in this list. Note the clock design is different yet again. Alekhine is Black, but it doesn't look like the defence that bears his name was played. Should still be possible to identify the game played here and his opponent, who is partially seen and is balding, which doesn't narrow it down much.]
(33) see number 30
(34)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/337 ... on-Archive
1st August 1933: C. H. O. D. Alexander playing Sultan Khan at the British Chess Championships in Hastings.
[The last two pictures on this list are not from the Hastings International Congress, but are from two other events that took place in Hastings that year, the second of these being the British Championships. The game is at an advanced stage, and it should be possible, given a game score, to identify the approximate move when the photograph was taken, as well as the result of the game.]
(35)
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/309 ... on-Archive
27th April 1933: Frank Parr against A. W. J. Down at the British Boys' Chess Championship at Hastings.
[This is the second of the non-HICC pictures, and it features a game from the British Boys' Chess Championship held at Easter in Hastings. The caption says it is Parr vs Down, but I'm trying to read the namecards on the table in front of them, and the names don't quite seem to match up. Maybe they posed for a picture with the wrong namecards? The clock is certainly in the wrong place and seems to be showing meaningless times. Not sure if it is possible to find a game score here, though the result should be recorded somewhere. Nice picture of the trophy. Parr would have been 14 here.]
Sorry if that was a bit long! I think it technically qualifies as Hastings memorabilia, even if it is 'commercial' news memorabilia rather than photos mouldering away in someone's photo album. It would be nice if one day these photos were gathered together in a book, but some publisher would have to pay for that. I do wonder, though, what market there is for photos like that, outside of chess historians and curious players, or people visiting a museum display?
Paul, if you don't mind me asking, do Hastings and St. Leonard's Chess Club have photos similar to these already, or are some of these completely new and not well-known?
I agree about Milko Bobotsov (never trust information supplied by a photographer - they jot things like names down on bits of paper and then lose them). Is the spelling for (27) definitely Michell, or did you mean Mitchell? Amazing about both Graf and Menchik becoming Stevensons!