A fragment from Chester 1934

[John Saunders]

More excellent sleuthing, Gerard. I've added these two to BritBase. Many thanks. It's been a productive day for 1930s games in particular as I've also added material to the Nottingham 1936 file (thanks to Irish chess researcher Sean Coffey) while German researcher Ulrich Tamm has sent me games from the 1936/37 Hastings tournament, the 1939 Margate and Bournemouth congresses, as well as the 1949 Southsea tournament.

[Gerard Killoran]

Thank goodness Alfred Lenton liked boring draws.

[Richard James]

Thank goodness Alfred Lenton liked boring draws.

So did his son (and so do I): we played out two boring draws in the Leicestershire League in 1969 and 1970. I was winning in the final position of our second encounter, but apparently agreed a draw.

[John Saunders]

Tartakower world champion. Who knew?

From the Leicester Evening Mail, Wednesday 09 January 1946. Maybe the sub-ed couldn't read the columnist's hand-writing?

1946-Tartakower-Aitken.jpg

[Roger de Coverly]

Tartakower

It appears to have been common knowledge even at the time that Lt Cartier of the Free French forces was Tartakower. Is it known why he didn't serve under his own name?

[John Clarke]

It appears to have been common knowledge even at the time that Lt Cartier of the Free French forces was Tartakower. Is it known why he didn't serve under his own name?

He probably thought a French-sounding name would go over better with his comrades. The Germany-USSR non-aggression pact was still in force at the time, while Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania were all either pro-Axis or soon became so. In that situation anyone with an eastern European surname could easily have become a target for suspicion.