English Chess Forum

Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer has died at the age of 91. He was a very strong bridge player in the sixties, but he was also a more than useful chessplayer. Can someone contribute a few remarks about his chess activities and/or one of his game scores?

The following link is to an interview with him. He mentions in the interview that he was captain of the University chess team (about 25:50) https://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1131073

Thanks for letting us know. I've found three game scores for him but this is the only win (I think we should adhere to a chess version of the normal principle which I can render as 'de mortuis nihil nisi victoriae')...

[Event "County Match"] [Site "?"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Swinnerton-Dyer, H Peter"] [Black "Wormald, Robert Douglas"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B24"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1951.??.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [WhiteTeam "Shropshire"] [BlackTeam "Worcestershire"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. g3 Be7 7. Bg2 a6 8. O-O O-O 9. Nb3 d6 10. Nd2 d5 11. exd5 exd5 12. Nb3 Bg4 13. Qd2 Bb4 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Qxc3 Rc8 16. Be3 Ne4 17. Qe1 Be6 18. c3 Nf6 19. Nc5 b6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Qe2 b5 22. a4 bxa4 23. Qxa6 Qa5 24. Rxa4 Qxa6 25. Rxa6 e5 26. Bg5 e4 27. Bh3 Rc7 28. Bf4 Nb8 29. Rxf6 {Source: History of Shropshire Chess (web)} 1-0

I was in contact with Sir Peter some years ago when I was researching the Varsity chess match. In his email he told me he "was made to give up chess at the end of 1950 when [he] was elected to a Research Fellowship". But he was senior treasurer of the Cambridge University Chess Club during my time (1971-74) and probably some time before and after, though I don't think that involved him in putting in an appearance at matches or competitions.

He played for CUCC in four Varsity chess matches: 1946 (loss to Richard Shermer Lankester, board 7); 1947 (win against Robin Charles Oliver Matthews, board 5 - RCO Matthews also became a Cambridge prof); 1948 (loss to Dennis Morton Horne, top board); 1949 (loss to Alan Fraser Truscott, top board).

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 5:09 pm

Can someone contribute a few remarks about his chess activities and/or one of his game scores?

He gets a couple of name checks in MCO 10 (Modern Chess Openings) published in 1965. They are on page 118 about the Ponziani.

Specifically the line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. Qa4 Nf6 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7. d3 0-0 8. Be2 Ng4 9. Bxg4 Bxg4 10. e5 "wins" which is quoted as Swinnerton-Dyer v Barrett, Cambridge 1949

Also
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 f5 4. d4 d6 5. exf5 exd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Qh5 is attributed "Swinnerton-Dyer gives".

Sir Peter played, and I think defeated, Jacques Mieses in the Hastings Premier Reserves in 1949-50. He was thus among the last Morphy 3 survivors via the Mieses-Bird and Mieses-Paulsen routes.

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:07 pm

RCO Matthews also became a Cambridge prof)

An Oxford one too (1965-75).

If we are talking academics who play chess, the list could get quite long. If you limit it to professors, the two mentioned here are a starting point, to which can be added Trevor Robbins (mentioned here and here).

Peter Swinnerton-Dyer
Robin Matthews
Trevor Robbins

(Sorry for the side-track - anything more on professors should go in another thread - back to Swinnerton-Dyer. Though if I may be permitted to stay briefly on the topic of academics playing chess, those who were at Cambridge in the late 1990s will remember the Senior Treasurer at the time - Dr Nick Pyper - I am now trying to figure out if the Pyper juniors [from Sussex] are related.)

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:41 pm

If we are talking academics who play chess, the list could get quite long. If you limit it to professors, the two mentioned here are a starting point, to which can be added Trevor Robbins

If you go outside of Oxbridge, there's Professor DB Scott of Sussex.
http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/193 ... ml#schultz

It was many years before I realised that the DB Scott who was an author of a textbook on Mathematical Analysis was the same DB Scott who was a Sussex top board and Congress regular.

Peter Swinnerton-Dyer gets the full obit here. I never met him, but knew of him - by reputation, and by deed. He emerges well - a good man, a competent head of the UGC, and a committed liberal in the defence of universities and their Enlightenment values. We can't get enough of them these days. On the other hand, he was a product of native English elitism, of Eton & Oxbridge and its attendant soi disant entitlements. I gather from those that knew him that he carried these burdens of privilege lightly. I'm sure that's true.

RIP

His father was President of the British Chess Federation between 1956 and 1958. Here he is with another famous figure from the past.

"Peter Swinnerton-Dyer gets the full obit here."

I like his deliberate illegal bid at Bridge which got the rules changed!

Two more games


[Event "Hastings 4748 Major C"] [Site "Hastings"] [Date "1947.12.30"] [Round "2"] [White "Swinnerton-Dyer, H. Peter"] [Black "Broome, W."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C64"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: classical (Cordel) defence"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. O-O Nge7 5. c3 d6 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4 8. a3 {Hastings and St Leonards Observer - Saturday 03 January 1948} 1-0

[Event "Hastings 4748 Major C"] [Site "Hastings"] [Date "1948.01.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Lavers, N."] [Black "Swinnerton-Dyer, H. Peter"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C02"] [Opening "French: advance, Nimzovich variation"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Qg4 Nc6 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. Bd3 Nge7 7. O-O Ng6 8. Re1 Qc7 9. Qg3 Nb4 10. Nxd4 Nxd3 11. cxd3 Bd7 12. Bd2 Rc8 13. Nc3 Be7 14. Rac1 Qb6 15. Nb3 Bh4 16. Qf3 O-O 17. g3 Be7 18. d4 a5 19. Qd3 f6 20. Ne2 a4 21. Na5 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Ra8 23. Qc3 Bd8 24. b4 axb3 25. Nxb3 Rxa2 26. Nc5 Bc6 27. Qe3 Qb2 28. Rd1 Qc2 29. Nc3 Ba5 30. Qe1 Bxc3 31. Bxc3 Qe2 32. Qxe2 Rxe2 33. Ra1 h6 34. Ra8+ Kh7 35. Ra7 Rc2 36. Ra3 Rc1+ 37. Kg2 Nxe5 38. dxe5 d4+ 39. Kh3 Rxc3 {Hastings and St Leonards Observer - Saturday 10 January 1948} 0-1

In the first game, 5. .. d6 is the error. It had previously been played in 1862 by Mongredien, after which no other examples are recorded until the mass capture of games in the internet era.

I will be quite keen to play bridge against him in Heaven when the time comes. 100 grapes per hundred.

Andrew Martin wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:20 pm

I will be quite keen to play bridge against him in Heaven when the time comes. 100 grapes per hundred.

Yes, if the heavenly rules haven't also changed, 8 clubs doubled and vulnerable down (say) 4 would result in a small feast!