Dave Lynch

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Simon Rogers
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Dave Lynch

Post by Simon Rogers » Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:41 am

I am sorry to inform you that Dave Lynch died back in May at the age of 70.
Dave was a Kings Head Chess Club member and played for them between 1979 and 1992.
He also took part in the Kings Head trips to Cappelle and was the organiser of the Rapidplay Tournaments.
Dave also played for the Hendon London League team in the 1970s.
His passing was posted on the Kings Head twitter page on 20th May 2021 along with a picture of him.
There was also a nice tribute by GM Daniel King who remembers losing to Dave at a Weekend Tournament when he was a junior and learning a lot from it.
RIP

Roger Lancaster
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by Roger Lancaster » Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:58 pm

Another very sad loss. I played alongside Dave for Kings Head around 1980 when I seem to recall he was around 180 in then money. Apart from being a decent player, Dave was also willing to do some organising [which can't be said of everyone] as well as being a thoroughly nice guy.

Mark Page
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by Mark Page » Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:09 am

That is very sad news. I played alongside Dave for a couple years when he was - relatively briefly - a member of Mitcham. John Saunders will doubtless remember the years rather better than me, but probably mid/late 1980s? I recall he was recruited to our club completely by chance when we descended on the King Lud pub at Ludgate Circus after a London League match at St Brides (that should help date things!) He and Paul Lamford were in there and after a drink or two they decided they wanted to play for us in the Surrey League. Yes please! He shared a flat with Steve Berry in Wimbledon for some time. I seem to remember that Steve nicknamed him The Lynch Mob! He was a very sociable guy and excellent company. He certainly liked a pint. I don't suppose I have spoken to him in around 30 years, but this is still depressing news as another old chess friend passes on. RIP Dave.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Wed Jul 14, 2021 12:27 pm

I played a Dave Lynch (graded 185ish) in the Civil Service League in 1980 and 1981. Would this be the same one? I don't have a note of his club on the database.

Roger Lancaster
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by Roger Lancaster » Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:12 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Wed Jul 14, 2021 12:27 pm
I played a Dave Lynch (graded 185ish) in the Civil Service League in 1980 and 1981. Would this be the same one? I don't have a note of his club on the database.
Almost certainly. I knew Dave around that time and wasn't aware of any near-namesake with a 185ish grade.

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John Saunders
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by John Saunders » Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:31 pm

Very sad news. Following on from Mark's comments, I think Dave's dalliance with Mitcham CC may have been only for the 1983/84 season as I'm struggling to find his name in club records other than for that season. But he was well-known to us all around that time.

I remembered my first encounter with him over the board without recourse to my database. Falling into an opening trap that you don't know is bad enough, but falling into one that you already know is all the more embarrassing. This occurred in a Bucks vs Middlesex match in 1982 (full result here, page 9) when Bucks managed to record its second successive victory over mighty Middlesex. But this was no thanks to me and my bad memory...



When I checked my database, I was delighted to discover that Dave and I had played a second time, and that I had got my revenge. (I suppose this backs up Hartston's adage about the pleasure of victory being greatly exceeded by the pain of defeat.) In the interests of fairness (and my ego), I present the second game, played in a match between COMPOST and King's Head Northern in 1984 in a summer team competition ironically called the Winter's Trophy. Anyone curious to know what the letters of the acronym COMPOST stand for should buy and read Kevin Thurlow's splendid new book which has the answer on page 221.



Dave was an excellent player, usually graded in the mid-190s, and an even more excellent bloke to share a pint with. Like Mark, I don't recall seeing him for decades but the memories of him are all good. RIP.
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John Hodgson
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by John Hodgson » Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:07 pm

As others have said, a sad loss.

To fill in part of the time line as best I can, I shared a house in Kenton, North London, with Dave, Steve Berry, and Paul Lamford for a couple of years before 1981. We all played for Hendon in the London League, which at the time had quite a strong team.

Since none of us was married at the time the house was full of chess sets and books. I can remember staggering down in the morning to be greeted with the sight of the carnage of the night before.

Two of the four have passed away. Paul has many achievements in bridge and backgammon. If anyone is still in contact with him please could you let me know.

Paul Lamford
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by Paul Lamford » Thu Mar 24, 2022 9:34 am

Yes I recall the Hendon chess team well. Howard Williams, Steve Berry, Paul Lamford, Alan Potts, John Hodgson, Jim Johnson, Dale Taylor, Mark Adkins, Dave Lynch, Ken Davies and others. We won the London League when Streatham were the strongest team and Wood Green were also useful. I have switched to bridge and backgammon but still have an interest in studies and problems.

David Sedgwick
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by David Sedgwick » Thu Mar 24, 2022 12:08 pm

Paul Lamford wrote:
Thu Mar 24, 2022 9:34 am
Yes I recall the Hendon chess team well. Howard Williams, Steve Berry, Paul Lamford, Alan Potts, John Hodgson, Jim Johnson, Dale Taylor, Mark Adkins, Dave Lynch, Ken Davies and others. We won the London League when Streatham were the strongest team and Wood Green were also useful. I have switched to bridge and backgammon but still have an interest in studies and problems.
Good to see you on here, Paul. Welcome to the Forum.

Roger Lancaster
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Re: Dave Lynch

Post by Roger Lancaster » Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:46 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
Thu Mar 24, 2022 12:08 pm
Paul Lamford wrote:
Thu Mar 24, 2022 9:34 am
Yes I recall the Hendon chess team well. Howard Williams, Steve Berry, Paul Lamford, Alan Potts, John Hodgson, Jim Johnson, Dale Taylor, Mark Adkins, Dave Lynch, Ken Davies and others. We won the London League when Streatham were the strongest team and Wood Green were also useful. I have switched to bridge and backgammon but still have an interest in studies and problems.
Good to see you on here, Paul. Welcome to the Forum.
Yes, welcome, Paul.

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