Jonathan Penrose

Simon Rogers · Post by **Simon Rogers** » Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:32 pm

I've learnt a lot about Jonathan Penrose.
Thank you very much to the people that posted.
Any more information?
Sounds like 1979 or 1980 was when he last played in major tournaments.

John Upham · Post by **John Upham** » Sun Feb 21, 2021 6:09 pm

Simon Rogers wrote: ↑
Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:32 pm
Any more information?

http://britishchessnews.com/2020/10/07/ ... nrose-obe/ might be of use to you.

John McKenna · Post by **John McKenna** » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:16 am

Leonard Barden wrote: ↑
Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:40 am
Penrose became a GM and not the inferior honorary version. How it happened is through another of Bob Wade's services to English chess.

In the late 1970s when Jonathan had virtually finished his over the board career I thought my friend and contemporary was worthy of the GM title. This was round about the time when, for a year or two, I was BCF international grader, so i had some status in putting his name forward. I thought that Penrose's performances in the 1961 Enschede zonal and in the 1968 Lugano Olympiad were of norm level and would satisfy the then regulations. Harry Golombek was FIDE delegate, so I put the matter to him. At that time Fide were going back and awarding some titles based on events from 10-25 years previously.

Thinking that Jonathan's case was slightly marginal, I thought it would improve his chances if a second English player was put up for the title. My crafty plan was to appeal to HG's ego by suggesting that he also put up himself on the basis of his result at Venice 1950 (probably close to a GM norm, and Prins who was half a point in front of HG in Venice did get the title using that as one of his norms), the 1951 Bad Pyrmont zonal, and one or two other events which I now forget.

Alas, the members of the qualification committee were in a mean title-giving mood at that time, were offended by England's presumptuous act of putting up two candidates, and turned both applications down, adding cynically that Penrose (by then in his mid-forties and with the fainting episode at Siegen 1970 and his poor result at Nice 1974 in his history) should try to earn it by future achievements.

There the matter rested for some 15 years. For part of that time Ray Keene was Fide delegate and, knowing he didn't rate Jonathan highly, I felt it was pointless to put his name forward again.

In 1992 or 1993 I visited Bob on another matter and found out in the course of conversation that he was then on the Fide qualifications committee. I suggested he put forward Penrose again. Bob agreed at once, and was emphatic that he would only go for the proper title and not for the HGM version which he regarded as inferior and not for players of true GM strength.

I mentioned Enschede and Lugano and Bob immediately went to his tournament collection and picked out the tournament bulletins for both events. We made out the application between us there and then, and Bob took it to the next qualifications committee meeting.

As he told me later, almost all of these eminent people, chosen presumably for their supposed expertise, hadn't heard of Penrose, knew little or nothing of his achievements, or were unsure whether Enschede and Lugano were sufficient. So they turned to Lothar Schmid, who was present and who they regarded as a fount of knowledge and asked "Lothar, what's your opinion?" As a direct contemporary who knew of Jonathan's achievements, a friend of English chess and of Bob, Lothar gave the application lavish praise and it was granted......

I see that Wikipedia and other sources call Penrose HGM or GM emeritus, but they are wrong.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=632&start=15#p7787

Gerard Killoran · Post by **Gerard Killoran** » Thu Mar 26, 2026 5:43 pm

Penrose in 1947.

I've come across two of his earliest games, but need help on opponents and dates. They are both from County matches, the second against the former champion of Hertfordshire.

: Evening News (London) _ Friday 18 April p,3.jpg (100.24 KiB) Viewed 1770 times

: Daily Mirror - Monday 19 May 1947 p.6.jpg (68.41 KiB) Viewed 1770 times

John Townsend · Post by **John Townsend** » Thu Mar 26, 2026 6:36 pm

(Regarding the Morton game)

"The following game was played recently, in a county match, Essex v. Herts., on Board 8 ...

So far the Boy Champion has played five games this season, three for Hampstead, and two for Essex, winning all five!"
(B.C.M., January 1948, pages 9 - 10)

Sorry, no date.

John Saunders · Post by **John Saunders** » Fri Mar 27, 2026 3:13 pm

Many thanks to Gerard for publishing the two Penrose games on the forum.

The 1946/47 BCF Yearbook has a county fixture list on pages 40-41. It includes a 50-board Amboyna Shield match between Essex and Hertfordshire scheduled for 1 November 1947. I was unable to find a detailed result for the match in BCM, CHESS or the following year's BCF Yearbook (though I did discover that Essex won the match by 31-19). Given that was the only scheduled match between the two counties during that season, we can probably take it that the 1947 Morton v Penrose game was played on that date (with the caveat that other county matches found on similar fixture lists in that era have occasionally been found to have been played on different dates).

I've not been able to find out anything more about the earlier 'Anon' v Penrose game (which I had already come across some time ago).

DouglasGriffin · Post by **DouglasGriffin** » Sun May 03, 2026 5:52 pm

Mikhail Tal annotated his famous loss to Penrose for the Latvian magazine 'Šahs'/'Shakhmaty'.
A translation of these annotations is available to download via the page on Tal on the 'Soviet Chess History' blog site - the specific URL is here: https://dgriffinchess.wordpress.com/wp- ... g-1960.pdf

Matt Mackenzie · Post by **Matt Mackenzie** » Sun May 03, 2026 6:42 pm

Welcome to the forum Douglas.

English Chess Forum

Jonathan Penrose

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