FM Graham Morrison

[Simon Rogers]

It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of Graham Morrison at the age of 65.
Graham suffered a stroke on Wednesday 8th May and died in Blackpool Victoria Hospital on Monday 13th May.
He was Scottish champion in 1981 & represented Scotland at international level, playing in Olympiads in 1984, 1988, 2010 & 2012, and in many European Team Championships.
Graham was also a long-standing player in the 4NCL, formerly with Barbican and then moving to Alba.
My condolences and thoughts are with his wife, Lynne.
Lynne played for Lytham St. Anne's Chess Club and have played me many times, Graham picked Lynne up after matches and sometimes went through our games.
I believe Graham also played top board for Lancashire on numerous occasions.
RIP

[Nick Ivell]

Sad news. I did not know Graham well but he was my teammate for many years. I was always impressed with his solid style of play. He understood chess.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Never played him but chatted a few times and he seemed like a really nice guy - and yes, someone who was genuinely passionate about chess.

No age that, either (had actually thought he was a bit older)

[IM Jack Rudd]

Ah, Graham Morrison. A bit of symmetry with our results: each of us got an IM norm in the 4NCL involving a win against the other.

[James Plaskett]

Ai, ai ai...

The fourth contemporary, after Marcel Sisniega, Gerardo Barbero and Paul Botto, each of whom took part in the 1978 World Junior Chess Championship with me in Graz, Austria, has now shuffled off this mortal coil.

R.I.P. and my condolences to his widow.

[Peter Sowray]

I’m very sorry to hear this news. Graham and I played quite a few times over the years and he was always a friendly and gracious opponent. My condolences to Lynne and Graham’s friends and family.

[Alistair Campbell]

A minute’s silence was held yesterday prior to the commencement of the finals of the national team competitions in Glasgow to mark Graham’s passing.

I didn’t really know him, having only met him a couple of times (once when he explained some opening theory, instantly forgotten, after I had played Lynne, and then several years later when I found myself behind him in the queue for matriculation at Heriot-Watt University). I remember him telling me he used to play the King’s Gambit in his youth but presumably his style had changed.

I believe he became Scottish Champion after a play-off – if memory serves he missed a winning chance in the first game but had the fortitude to win the second game and the title.

I think he represented Scotland at the European Championships last year, so he was a current internationalist. I will be interested to read more in the forthcoming Scottish Chess magazine, but there is no doubt he will be greatly missed.

[John Upham]

I was lucky to capture this rather pleasing portrait of Graham at the final 4NCL weekend of the 2014 season:

JB4_7632-X2.jpg

[Nick Burrows]

A tribute from Matthew Sadler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op4l6Dy ... iliconRoad

[Nick Ivell]

A very fine game. I don't feel this was stylistically typical; more 'playing one of the best players in 4NCL so throw the kitchen sink at it'.

[Jonathan Rogers]

I am sorry to have taken so long to post in memory of Graham (although come to think of it, my Barbican team mates are still waiting for their email congratulating them on winning the second division...)

Graham first played for North West Eagles in the 4NCL, I think, from 2005/6. I noticed him at once because in those two weekends against our two Barbican teams, he made 1.5/2 with Black against Jonathan Parker and Craig Pritchett! He made an IM norm when playing for them in 2008/9, but that was to be the last season for that incarnation of the Eagles, who were struggling with the more southern venues of the time. Rarely being too shy to ask, I then asked Graham to join us the following season. It was a very suitable match in many ways: Graham wanted to play the strongest possible opposition, and Barbican's second team wanted someone who wanted to play on the top boards in the first division! Between 2009/10 and 2017/18 he played for us consistently, when work permitted (and he missed the odd weekend to play for Scotland) and he played two Black games against Adams, another against McShane, and many more besides ... in terms of results, he regularly beat FMs and IMs and also beat at least two GMs (Neil McDonald and John Shaw). Surprisingly perhaps he only made one more norm when playing for us, in his first season (so he made consecutive norms in 2008/9 and again in 2009/10, for different teams).

I very much liked Matthew (Sadler)'s tribute to Graham. You can see how well prepared Graham was, and how much he had been looking forward to it. I was in the same second team when the game was played and everyone was getting up from their chair to look at it (or to get away from their own position ...). I still don't know whether Graham had prepared it especially for that game. He might well have done (and he would have been much more sure that he would play White v Matthew than Matthew could be sure that he would play Graham). However, Matthew's repertoire is not so very predictable and Graham enjoyed studying openings for their own sake; and so it is also possible he may have been wanting to spring the line leading to g2-g4! for some time. It was a great shame that he lost; a draw would have been a logical result and, like Matthew, I wonder whether the fatal f3 was indeed a winning attempt. But I don't remember Graham being too downhearted. In fact, I think he got a lot of enjoyment from his wins, and could cope well with his losses - would that this were so for everyone!

I will put some of his games for us in another post, They are just his best games for us; there were wins when playing for Scotland against GMs over 2500, and so anyone wishing to find his best scalps might want to start there.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Four of Graham's "Barbican" games then; and as always, if anyone could put them into a easy to play format, that would be most appreciated.

We start with 2011/12, the season when Barbican's second team came of age and first finished in the championship pool (top eight) of division one. The decisive weekend was the second, when we narrowly beat Blackthorne and then Bristol. Graham, with 2/2 against IMs, was the hero:

[
[Date "2012.01.14"]

[White "Morrison, Graham"]
[Black "Ledger, Andrew J"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2348"]
[BlackElo "2424"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4 11. f3 Bd7 12. Rb1 Qc7 13. Bf4 Qc8 14. d5 Na5
15. Bd3 c4 16. Bc2 e5 17. Be3 b6 18. Qd2 Nb7 19. f4 f6 20. f5 Nd6 21. g4 Qe8
22. Ng3 Kf7 23. g5 gxf5 24. exf5 Kg8 25. gxf6 Bxf6 26. Bg5 Kh8 27. Bxf6+ Rxf6
28. Rbe1 Nf7 29. Qe2 Rd8 30. Qg4 Qe7 31. Qxc4 Rc8 32. Qd3 Qc5+ 33. Qe3 Qa5 34.
Ne4 Rxf5 35. Rxf5 Bxf5 36. Qf3 Bg6 37. Bb1 Qxd5 38. Qf6+ Kg8 39. Qxg6+ hxg6 40.
Nf6+ Kg7 41. Nxd5 Rc5 42. Rd1 Ng5 43. Kf2 Rc4 44. Ne3 Rxc3 45. Rd7+ Kh6 46.
Rxa7 Nh3+ 47. Kf3 Rc1 48. Bc2 Nf4 49. h4 1-0


[Date "2012.01.15"]

[White "Rudd, Jack"]
[Black "Morrison, Graham"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2300"]
[BlackElo "2348"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Be7 8.
Qe2 O-O 9. O-O-O a6 10. f4 Qc7 11. g4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 e5 13. g5 exd4 14. gxf6
dxc3 15. fxe7 cxb2+ 16. Kb1 Qxe7 17. Rhg1 Be6 18. Bd3 Qf6 19. Qe3 Rac8 20. Rg3
Kh8 21. Rdg1 Qc3 22. Rxg7 Rc5 23. Qxc5 dxc5 24. e5 f5 25. exf6 Bg8 0-1

Barbican 2 actually managed this feat in three consecutive years. In 2013/14, the crucial result was beating Wood Green 2 in round six, and Graham was the architect of our 5-3 win:

2014.02.16
Morrison, Graham
Shaw, John K
1-0

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Rd1 Qa5 13. Na2 Qxa4 14. e4 Qa5 15. e5 Nd5 16. h4 Rfe8 17. h5 gxh5 18. Qxh5 g6 19. Qg4 Bf8 20. Bd2 Qb6 21. Nc3 Nxc3 22. bxc3 a5 23. Bd3 Bg7 24. g3 a4 25. Kg2 a3 26. Qh4 a2 27. Rh1 Nxe5 28. dxe5 Qd8 29. Qh7 Kf8 30. Bh6 Qd5 31. f3 Bxh6 32. Qxh6 Ke7 33. Qg5 Kd7 34. Rhd1 Kc7 35. Qf6 Qb3 36. Qxf7 Kb6 37. Qf4 Red8 38. Qd2 Ra3 39. Rdb1 axb1=Q 40. Rxb1 Qxb1 41. Qe3

Then, at the start of the following season 2014/15:

2014.11.15
Grund, Holger
Morrison, Graham
0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. e5 d4 5. cxd4 cxd4 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxd4 Bxb5 8. Nxb5 Nc6 9. O-O a6 10. N5c3 Nge7 11. Re1 Ng6 12. Na3 Bxa3 13. bxa3 O-O 14. Rb1 b5 15. Qh5 Qd3 16. Rb3 Nd4 17. Rb2 Rac8 18. h4 Nc2 19. Rf1 Rc4 20. g3 Nd4 21. Kg2 Nf5 22. Qe2 Nfxh4 23. Kh1 Qf5 24. Kh2 Nf3 25. Kg2 Ngh4 26. Kh1 Qh3#

For my part, I have enjoyed playing through these games again. It is a funny thing; when Matthew, in his tribute to Graham, said that he regarded Graham as a solid player, I nodded along, but as you can see, this is not at all obviously the case. He had a flexible playing style but still with no especially solid Black openings - I never saw him meet 1 e4 with anything other than the Sicilian and he showed a good intuitive sense when he had the initiative.

If anyone is able to post other games, here or on the Scottish forum, I should be very interested to see them.

RIP Graham.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Four of Graham's "Barbican" games then; and as always, if anyone could put them into a easy to play format, that would be most appreciated.

We start with 2011/12, the season when Barbican's second team came of age and first finished in the championship pool (top eight) of division one. The decisive weekend was the second, when we narrowly beat Blackthorne and then Bristol. Graham, with 2/2 against IMs, was the hero:
[Date "2012.01.14"] [White "Morrison, Graham"] [Black "Ledger, Andrew J"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2348"] [BlackElo "2424"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4 11. f3 Bd7 12. Rb1 Qc7 13. Bf4 Qc8 14. d5 Na5 15. Bd3 c4 16. Bc2 e5 17. Be3 b6 18. Qd2 Nb7 19. f4 f6 20. f5 Nd6 21. g4 Qe8 22. Ng3 Kf7 23. g5 gxf5 24. exf5 Kg8 25. gxf6 Bxf6 26. Bg5 Kh8 27. Bxf6+ Rxf6 28. Rbe1 Nf7 29. Qe2 Rd8 30. Qg4 Qe7 31. Qxc4 Rc8 32. Qd3 Qc5+ 33. Qe3 Qa5 34. Ne4 Rxf5 35. Rxf5 Bxf5 36. Qf3 Bg6 37. Bb1 Qxd5 38. Qf6+ Kg8 39. Qxg6+ hxg6 40. Nf6+ Kg7 41. Nxd5 Rc5 42. Rd1 Ng5 43. Kf2 Rc4 44. Ne3 Rxc3 45. Rd7+ Kh6 46. Rxa7 Nh3+ 47. Kf3 Rc1 48. Bc2 Nf4 49. h4 1-0

[Date "2012.01.15"] [White "Rudd, Jack"] [Black "Morrison, Graham"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2300"] [BlackElo "2348"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Be7 8. Qe2 O-O 9. O-O-O a6 10. f4 Qc7 11. g4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 e5 13. g5 exd4 14. gxf6 dxc3 15. fxe7 cxb2+ 16. Kb1 Qxe7 17. Rhg1 Be6 18. Bd3 Qf6 19. Qe3 Rac8 20. Rg3 Kh8 21. Rdg1 Qc3 22. Rxg7 Rc5 23. Qxc5 dxc5 24. e5 f5 25. exf6 Bg8 0-1

Barbican 2 actually managed this feat in three consecutive years. In 2013/14, the crucial result was beating Wood Green 2 in round six, and Graham was the architect of our 5-3 win:

[Date "2014.02.16"] [White "Morrison, Graham"] [Black "Shaw, John K"] [Result "1-0"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Rd1 Qa5 13. Na2 Qxa4 14. e4 Qa5 15. e5 Nd5 16. h4 Rfe8 17. h5 gxh5 18. Qxh5 g6 19. Qg4 Bf8 20. Bd2 Qb6 21. Nc3 Nxc3 22. bxc3 a5 23. Bd3 Bg7 24. g3 a4 25. Kg2 a3 26. Qh4 a2 27. Rh1 Nxe5 28. dxe5 Qd8 29. Qh7 Kf8 30. Bh6 Qd5 31. f3 Bxh6 32. Qxh6 Ke7 33. Qg5 Kd7 34. Rhd1 Kc7 35. Qf6 Qb3 36. Qxf7 Kb6 37. Qf4 Red8 38. Qd2 Ra3 39. Rdb1 axb1=Q 40. Rxb1 Qxb1 41. Qe3

Then, at the start of the following season 2014/15:

[Date "2014.11.15"] [White"Grund, Holger"] [Black "Morrison, Graham"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. e5 d4 5. cxd4 cxd4 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxd4 Bxb5 8. Nxb5 Nc6 9. O-O a6 10. N5c3 Nge7 11. Re1 Ng6 12. Na3 Bxa3 13. bxa3 O-O 14. Rb1 b5 15. Qh5 Qd3 16. Rb3 Nd4 17. Rb2 Rac8 18. h4 Nc2 19. Rf1 Rc4 20. g3 Nd4 21. Kg2 Nf5 22. Qe2 Nfxh4 23. Kh1 Qf5 24. Kh2 Nf3 25. Kg2 Ngh4 26. Kh1 Qh3#

For my part, I have enjoyed playing through these games again. It is a funny thing; when Matthew, in his tribute to Graham, said that he regarded Graham as a solid player, I nodded along, but as you can see, this is not at all obviously the case. He had a flexible playing style but still with no especially solid Black openings - I never saw him meet 1 e4 with anything other than the Sicilian and he showed a good intuitive sense when he had the initiative.

If anyone is able to post other games, here or on the Scottish forum, I should be very interested to see them.

RIP Graham.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Thank you Chris, this is most appreciated.

[Simon Rogers]

Deleted