English Chess Forum

Harrow Chess Club deeply regret to announce that Colin Crouch has passed away.

Colin was 58 years old and a member of the club since 1970.

Further details will follow once available


http://www.harrowchessclub.org.uk

Thanks for letting us know Nevil. Very sad. RIP my old adversary and friend.

RIP Colin. I was his captain at Pinner for many years and he was exactly what you wanted- very reliable and very strong.

I am also greatly saddened to hear this news. Colin was a great ambassador for chess on many fronts and touched many players of all strengths throughout the entire UK, not excluding Scotland, where he was one of the first of the early English players to compete regularly in Scottish events in the 1970s. He will be greatly missed.

Oh, poor chap. I knew his health had been bad for years, but it still comes as a surprise.

That's very sad. He played a large part in (London) Barbican's various successes in the 1990s, including four National Club wins at a time when the event was highly competitive, and played for Barbican 4NCL until 2002. He still holds a Club record of sorts for GM slaying: he beat three (Norwood, Baburin and Spraggett) in the space of four rounds in 1999/2000.

He was very creative too, and had his own way of assessing positions, and played his own variations. Neverov v Crouch, Hastings 1992 would be an obvious game to dig out for anyone writing proper obituaries, along with Chandler v Crouch, 4NCL 1994.

I think he had medical problems throughout most of his life, sadly; but as we know, chess can be a lifeline for many such people.

This is very sad news.

Let us also remember that he wrote high-class, excellent chess books.

Very sad news. I greatly enjoyed two of his books that I read, one on Carlsen (Magnus Force) and the classic Rate Your Endgame (which he co-authored with Edmar Mednis). I also greatly enjoyed reading his thoughts on current top-level chess, especially where he tried to gauge which of the up-and-coming young players might challenge Carlsen. I didn't know Colin well (though I would see him at some Middlesex county matches), but it was inspirational to see how he took on the challenge of resuming playing and writing about chess following his stroke in 2004.

His shakthinking blog (linked by Loz above) has some gems in there. I think that he then continued writing here:

http://crouchnotes.blogspot.co.uk/

214 posts there from 2014 and 51 posts from 2015.

He appears to have last posted there on 11 April:

http://crouchnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/ ... spute.html

RIP, Colin.

I share everyone's sorrow. Not only was Colin a friendly, thoughtful and sensitive person, but he had a magnificent, mischievous sense of humour. He penned one of the funniest parodies of a chess writer I have read http://www.kingpinchess.net/2014/11/che ... -fine-art/

Very sad news

When I first came to London to work in 1990 I joined Pinner chess club and I made it onto the first team where I was on the bottom board and Colin was on the top.

Colin was always as the club before anyone else and was the main coach there coaching the Pinner juniors and running the Pinner junior chess teams. Several years ago he and the Pinner juniors moved to the Harrow chess club and he set up his coaching of juniors there.

Colin had many numerous achievements at the chess board but his greatest (less known?) achievement in chess must surely have been the decades of work and coaching that he gave to childrens and junior chess. Many young stars in chess were guided by Colin.

RIP Colin.

Have known Colin for 40+ years. He travelled the UK playing in tournaments, and was a good ambassador for the game.
Had a serious illness some years ago, but made a recovery. Had a reputation as an end-game analyst. He will be missed.

Far too young

when and where did Colin die?

Matt Mackenzie wrote:Far too young

Agreed. This is really sad news. I have his Hastings 1895 Centenary book. It is excellent.