English Chess Forum

Arguably the most influential person on the development of British Chess (along with Leonard!)


Remembering IM Bob Wade OBE (10-iv-1921 29-xi-2008)

My father played in a simul at Streatham against Bob in the mid-50s, which was immortalized in a cartoon in the local paper. About 12 years later, my school was thinking of having an expert give a simul, so we asked Bob, who said yes, and my father drove him to the venue, where he (I think) beat everyone except the teacher, then we gave him dinner and drove him home. He was so encouraging to all the players and I think avoided beating some of them too quickly. My father commented that he had played him some years earlier and was a bit startled that Bob started commenting on the game. Bob did the same to me next time I played him. Thereafter he always said hello when I saw him at tournaments right up to Gibraltar 2007 when I last saw him.

He fully deserved all those lengthy tributes.

I really enjoyed this. Thanks very much, John.

John Moore wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:48 am

I really enjoyed this. Thanks very much, John.

You are most welcome. I enjoyed putting it together.

If anyone deserved a full biography to be written it is Bob.

Hi John.

I recall using Bob in a Christmas Quiz a while back saying he came from Australia!
I had used a game he played in the Australian Championship so adopted the typical Chandler formula 2+2 = 5
(this mix up is probably akin to calling a Scot English.)

I had to to do a hasty correction which included adding a New Zealand flag.
(it was actually part of the quiz to see how many people noticed.....it was not!)

His name will be forever linked to the Fischer - Spassky match which is well documented elsewhere.
Copying out, twice!, by hand Spassky's games for Fischer.

(gremlins and sneaked in John, the picture 'Theodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953...' appears twice.)

Geoff Chandler wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 29, 2020 12:12 pm

Hi John.

I recall using Bob in a Christmas Quiz a while back saying he came from Australia!
I had used a game he played in the Australian Championship so adopted the typical Chandler formula 2+2 = 5
(this mix up is probably akin to calling a Scot English.)

I had to to do a hasty correction which included adding a New Zealand flag.
(it was actually part of the quiz to see how many people noticed.....it was not!)

His name will be forever linked to the Fischer - Spassky match which is well documented elsewhere.
Copying out, twice!, by hand Spassky's games for Fischer.

(gremlins and sneaked in John, the picture 'Theodore Tylor vs Bob Wade at Paignton 1953...' appears twice.)

Aha, you fell for my little trap : study the two Paignton 1953 pictures carefully!

John Upham 1 Geoff Chandler 0.

I witnessed a mildly amusing incident involving Bob. Back in the 1970s I worked in London for a while, and turned up one night to an event at Athenaeum Chess Club, which in those days was in the vicinity of Leicester Square. There was a delay opening the venue, so a gaggle of players had gathered outside, one of whom was Bob. A teenage player took the opportunity to ask Bob to look at an adjourned position, which he had set up on a pocket set. Thrusting the board in front of Bob, he excitedly reeled off a list of the variations he had considered, talking non-stop, and finishing up with "...what do you think?" With a slightly pained expression, Bob quietly replied "I'm still trying to count the pieces!"

Thanks to the kind offices of David Jarrett we have added a previously unseen photograph of Bob at the 1958 Munich Olympiad.

See https://britishchessnews.com/2020/11/29 ... 9-xi-2008/

This has appeared on the New Zealand Chess Federation website Calendar:
10th April 2021 Bob Wade Memorial, Auckland.
"Venue: Waipuna Conference Centre and Hotel, Mt.Wellington.
Organiser: Paul Spiller."
"A one day tournament on the date of the 100th birthday of the great New Zealand player Bob Wade 1921-2008.
More details to be announced."

I played Bob in a simultaneous over 30 years ago on London. I was doing well, ending up in an endgame 3 pawns up. The other games were finishing around me leaving just mine and someone else's. He recovered two of the three pawn deficit and then kindly offered me a draw. I nearly took his hand off.