English Chess Forum

Brian Forrest, Vice Chairman of Bury Chess Club reports:
“It is with great sadness that I have to report the death earlier today of Paul Mole.
As you will know he was a very active member of the chess club and served as chairman for many years. He was a good friend to me personally and always had a cheerful demeanour.
He will be sorely missed by many.
RIP Paul“

I would like to add that I was made very welcome at Bury by Paul, he was a very conscientious officer and a decent player, but much more importantly a kind and friendly gentleman. I was honoured to succeed him as Chairman, after serving as Secretary under his Chairmanship

Bury has now lost our 2 vice Presidents in the course of a couple of months

I will miss Paul, as will we all at Bury

Paul's funeral today, a sad occasion overwhelmed with many happy memories, and finished by a Bury Chess Club committee meeting in the sunshine outside a pub

Paul Malcolm Mole 30 March 1932 - 20 April 2013 RIP

Born Royal Leamington Spa, moved to Torquay aged 4, and back to Leamington in 1942, where he went to School and learnt to play chess

Left school at 16 to work at Ford, then up to Liverpool to work at Speke, then London, Heywood (when he moved to Bury where he spent the rest of his life) working at Oldham and in Cheshire

As a scientist, Paul was very methodical and very organised, but had a great sense of fun and played chess in an unscientific attacking manner - always played to win, but always played by the rules, with a strong ethical and moral stance

Involved at Bury from 1972 until months before his death, Paul was Chairman for 20 years and I was privileged to be Secretary and work with him, and then take over from him as Chairman

Paul was part of the Bury Chess Club trip to Granada in 1995, where his determination to see everything by following the map earned him the affectionate nickname of "Ordinance Survey Mole" and he enjoyed the trip as much as the rest of us, great memories (3 of us were there today, another couldn't be because he is actually in Granada at the moment)

Paul won the Mark Berry Trophy in 1994 and 2003, Most Improved Player in 1991/2, the Lodwig Gruchlik Memorial outright in 2004 and jointly in 2010

Paul was an excellent example of why the best chess players don't have the highest grades or play the most games

I learnt today that he was a competitive diver, despite his eyesight meaning he couldn't actually see where he was going into the water, and dived off a bridge regularly for money when he was young

His epitaph to me will be his favourite Bible verse, 2 Chronicles 15:7
You must be strong and not be discouraged. The work that you do will be rewarded.