Nigel Short's Games

[John Saunders]

A major new initiative for BritBase - a collection of Nigel Short's games...

https://www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn/s ... iewer.html

Initially there are 269 games from his earliest period (1974-1981) - games from later on will be added to in due course. This is thought to be around 70 more than have previously appeared online or in commercial databases for the equivalent period.

Nigel and I have worked together on this. He contributed a few dozen previously unpublished games and I gathered together a similar number which hadn't yet been digitised. Of course it is not just about quantity and we're trying as far as possible to date games and find further details and sources to corroborate them, as well as proofreading the scores of these and previously published games.

As you will probably appreciate the initial file is far from complete. There are some very able chess detectives on this forum and it is our hope that they can help expand this collection from their personal game collections, or from games that they have found elsewhere. Also, some of the earliest games (provisionally dated 1975) have only the sketchiest details and need further investigation. Please read the notes I have appended to the file for further details of what's on the file and how you can help. Please send game scores and info to me by email (link below) or simply post them here.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Is it primarily dates you are after for the early games? I noticed the BBC TV games don't have exact dates. Is it the date the game was played that is needed, or the range of dates of the broadcasts (probably both, unless they were live games)? There is one given a date of 1976 and then some from 1980/81 and 1981/82. If it helps, the Radio Times archive will likely have the broadcast dates (though I suspect these are listed elsewhere as well).

https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/

(There are 2,124 hits when searching for "chess" if anyone is interested in delving into that...

Earliest result from 1923:

https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ea6224acd98 ... bf91960b64

Sat 16th Jun 1923, 22:00 on 2LO London
Men's Talk, Mr B.C. Laws, "The Art of the Chess Problem". 2LO Dance Band, foxtrot "Shuffling along," foxtrot "Zenda," one-step "Ain't got a minute," valse "Three o'clock the morning," foxtrot "Maggie Blues," foxtrot "Who tied the can the old dog's tail"

BBC Radio had only just started around 6 months earlier!

Erm, back to Nigel Short and the 1970s!)

https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20 ... ort%22#top

127 hits for "Nigel Short". All the Master Games he played should be detailed there in terms of broadcast dates.

EDIT: Beware OCR errors, as witness the above "B.C. Laws" (actually B.G. [Benjamin Glover] Laws).

[John Saunders]

Is it primarily dates you are after for the early games? I noticed the BBC TV games don't have exact dates. Is it the date the game was played that is needed, or the range of dates of the broadcasts (probably both, unless they were live games)? There is one given a date of 1976 and then some from 1980/81 and 1981/82. If it helps, the Radio Times archive will likely have the broadcast dates (though I suspect these are listed elsewhere as well).

Glad you mentioned the BBC games, Chris. Ideally it's the dates played I would like to have though that is more difficult since the tournaments weren't reported in the usual way. So far I've not been able to establish the precise date of any of them! But, no matter, I guess the nearest month will do for now. It would be good to know where they were played, too.

Generally I'm looking for dates but other details as well - in some cases confirmation that the game was played at all. Some of the games marked 1975 are very sketchy and might not have involved Nigel at all. Any or all of the header data might be wrong. This might be as a result of a ChessBase software meltdown on anybody's computer, most probably back in the 1990s when the software could be really flaky. (I remember once suffering a particularly horrible glitch when game scores suddenly switched their allegiance to completely different game headers, rendering the database useless.)

That said, those early scores are at least plausible and worthy of investigation by the forum's team of chess detectives. But we decided the following one really isn't. I did NOT add it to the Short file (and I'd advise people not to add it to theirs)...

[Event "ENG ch - DUBIOUS"] [Site "?"] [Date "1977.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Speelman, Jonathan S"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A35"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1977.??.??"] [SourceTitle "StarBase 4.56"] [SourceDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceQuality "2"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 d6 7. Be2 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. d5 Nb8 10. Nd4 Nbd7 11. Re1 a6 12. Be3 Ne5 13. h3 Qc7 14. b3 Ned7 15. Rc1 Nc5 16. Bf1 b6 17. Bg5 Re8 18. Qd2 Bb7 19. Re2 e5 20. dxe6 fxe6 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. b4 e5 23. Nf3 Ne6 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. cxd5 {Source: StarBase 4.56 - but it doesn't tally with any other known games by these players or anyone else.} 1-0

Neither Nigel nor Jon Speelman recognise it as one of their games (though they both admit to failing memories), and there was no such thing as the English Championship. It comes from the StarBase 4.56 database sold by Sid Pickard and co in the early 2000s, which was decidedly variable in quality. I've not been able to figure out the game score's provenance. Nevertheless, though it's in the reject pile, I'd be curious to know if anyone can recognise the moves from a database somewhere and discover if somebody actually played these moves, when and where.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Have been playing through the three games Nigel apparently lost against a computer in a blitz tournament in 1978. Nice back-rank tactics (over several moves) in the first one. Did Nigel really allow a mate in 1 in the second game below and then drop a rook in the third game? Those feel more like early computer 'blunders'? (Apologies if these are Nigel making blunders in time trouble! EDIT: And I see the second game was lost already. More a desparado.)

[Event "London blitz"] [Site "London"] [Date "1978.02.21"] [Round "5"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Computer CHESS 4.6"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A67"] [WhiteElo "2225"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1978.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "StarBase 4.56"] [SourceDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceQuality "2"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. e5 Nh5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O Bg4 12. exd6 Bd4+ 13. Kh1 Qxd6 14. Qd2 Bxf3 15. Rxf3 Nd7 16. Bc4 Nb6 17. b3 Qd7 18. Bb2 Rfe8 19. f5 Bf6 20. fxg6 hxg6 21. Raf1 Qg4 22. Rxf6 Nxf6 23. Rxf6 Nxc4 24. bxc4 Qd4 25. Nb1 Qxb2 0-1

[Event "London blitz"] [Site "London"] [Date "1978.02.21"] [Round "7"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Computer CHESS 4.6"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2225"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1978.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "StarBase 4.56"] [SourceDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceQuality "2"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nxe5 O-O 5. Nd3 Bxc3 6. dxc3 Nxe4 7. Be2 d6 8. O-O Bf5 9. f3 Nf6 10. Nf4 Nc6 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. cxd3 Re8 13. d4 Nd7 14. b3 Kh8 15. Bb2 Qg5 16. Qd2 Nf6 17. Rad1 Ne7 18. c4 Ng6 19. Nxg6+ Qxg6 20. d5 Nd7 21. Qd4 f6 22. Rde1 Qc2 23. Qc3 Qg6 24. Re6 Nc5 25. Ree1 Nd3 26. Rd1 Re2 27. Rd2 Qxg2# 0-1

[Event "London blitz"] [Site "London"] [Date "1978.02.21"] [Round "10"] [White "Computer CHESS 4.6"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A00"] [BlackElo "2225"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1978.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "StarBase 4.56"] [SourceDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.11.04"] [SourceQuality "2"] 1. f3 e5 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Be6 5. Qa4+ Nd7 6. Be3 c5 7. Bf4 a6 8. Bg3 b5 9. Qf4 Ngf6 10. e3 b4 11. Nce2 Be7 12. Qc7 O-O 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. a3 a5 15. axb4 axb4 16. Rxa8 Rxa8 17. Nc1 Ra1 18. Kd2 c4 19. Nge2 Nc5 20. Nd4 c3+ 21. bxc3 bxc3+ 22. Kd1 Na4 23. Bb5 Ba3 24. Ndb3 Nb2+ 25. Ke2 Nc4 26. Nxa1 1-0

EDIT: I see now that the blitz games (as would be expected) were not entirely serious games. Fun to play through them though (Nigel beat the computer more times than he lost).

[Christopher Kreuzer]

A final comment for now: I do like the self-published annotations to the games contributed from "Forever a 180" by Oliver Jackson. There is only one win by Mr Jackson against Nigel, but it is quite a nice one.

[Event "vs Atherton"] [Site "Manchester"] [Date "1978.05.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Jackson, Oliver"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C19"] [WhiteElo "2090"] [BlackElo "2250"] [Annotator "Oliver Jackson"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1978.05.20"] [EventType "team-match"] [EventRounds "1"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "Oliver Jackson"] [SourceDate "2023.05.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.03.04"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. a4 Qa5 8. Bd2 {At the time the preferred move was Qd2 as played by Bobby Fischer vs Weinstein in USA Championship. I didn't like this move because it allowed Black to swap Queens by cxd4 which didn't suit my style so I started playing Bd2 which, over time, became the standard move in this position.} Nbc6 9. Nf3 Bd7 10. Be2 f6 11. O-O O-O-O 12. Qb1 {Nowadays I'd prefer to play c4 once Black has 0-0-0 as the game opens up for the 2 Bishops which suits my style} c4 13. Qb2 Qc7 14. Rfb1 (14. a5 $5 Nxa5 15. Rfb1 {By sacrificing the "a" pawn this ensures that the Rook on the "a" file is not shut out of play}) 14... Na5 $1 {Making it virtually impossible to attack Black's King. This was the first time I'd seen this move and it was extremely worrying that my attacking chances were effectively reduced to zero so early on and, to add salt to the wound, by a junior} 15. Qa3 Ng6 16. Be3 {My best chance is to sacrifice the "e" pawn and hope that my Be3 can create some attacking chances against the Black King} Kb8 17. Bf1 {Aiming to bring the Bishop to g2 or h3 to become more active} Ka8 {It's not for me to criticise Nigel's defensive moves, which show a degree of maturity for such a young player, but with the King in the corner it is more likely to be attacked by my Bishop when it gets to g2 although Black's Bishop can come to c6 to defend the King} 18. Rb2 b6 19. Rab1 Rb8 20. g3 Nc6 21. Bg2 Rhf8 22. Nd2 $1 {With possible threats of sacrificing on c4 and playing a5 at the right time.} fxe5 23. dxe5 Ngxe5 $6 {Taking the "e" pawn gives White's Bishop on e3 much more scope. I think he shouldn't have taken it yet} 24. Bf4 h6 25. a5 $1 {Sacrificing the "a" pawn to open up the file for the Queen and to temporarily take support from the other Knight} Nxa5 26. Re1 Nac6 27. Ra2 (27. Nxc4 $2 Nxc4 $19) 27... Rxf4 (27... a5 28. Nxc4 $1 Rxf4 29. Nxe5 Rxf2 30. Nxd7 Rxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Qxd7 $13) 28. gxf4 Ng4 29. h3 Qxf4 30. Nf3 Nf6 31. Ne5 a5 32. Nxd7 Nxd7 33. Rxe6 Rf8 34. Ra1 $1 (34. Qd6 Qxf2+ 35. Kh1 Ndb8 36. Qxd5 Rf6 37. Re7 Qf5 38. Qxc4 $16) 34... Nde5 35. Rxe5 $1 Nxe5 36. Bxd5+ Kb8 37. Qd6+ Kc8 38. Be6+ {I knew I had him in a mating net and threw this move in to gain time on the clock.} (38. Qxb6 Rf6 39. Be6+ Rxe6 40. Qxe6+ Kc7 41. Qe7+ Kc6 42. Rxa5 Nf3+ 43. Kf1 Nd2+ 44. Kg2 Qf3+ 45. Kg1 Qd1+ 46. Kh2 Nf3+ 47. Kg3 $18) 38... Kb7 39. Bd5+ Ka6 $2 {Perhaps Nigel didn't like the previous variation starting with Qxb6 or perhaps he didn't see the mate at the time...knowing Nigel he would be in time trouble and was looking for any way to win the game} (39... Ka7 40. Qe7+ Ka6 41. Bb7+ Kb5 42. Rb1+ Ka4 43. Rb4+ Ka3 44. Rb3+ Ka2 45. Qa3#) 40. Rxa5+ $3 {Perhaps he had seen the mate (40...Kxa5 41.Qa3+ Kb5 42.Qb4+ Ka5 43.Qa4 mate) as he resigned immediately Source: "Forever a 180" by Oliver Jackson (self-published) via Nigel Short} 1-0

(There are some nice wins by Nigel in the games collection as well! )

[Matt Mackenzie]

Of course at the end 41 Qb4+ mates a move quicker

[John Saunders]

In the space of a day the number of games in the Short file for 1974-1981 has gone up by 16 game entries to a running total of 285. My thanks to all those who have responded so promptly to my appeal for games and info: in no particular order, Simon Brown, Mark Page, Bob Taylor, Sean Coffey, Kevin Thurlow, Andy Ansel, John Swain and Chris Kreuzer. Retrospective thanks are also due to the late, great John Littlewood: I remembered that I had been sent a file of his games by Phil Adams some time ago, some of which feature JEL's typically robust comments. I've included four more of his games. I know that some of you are also enjoying Oliver Jackson's similarly entertaining annotations on his encounters with Nigel. Do keep them coming...

[Nick Ivell]

Apologies for my lack of modesty in presenting the masterpiece Ivell v Short, Fylde League v Bolton, 1976:

1. Nc3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. Bf4 b6 4. g3 c5 5. e3 cd 6.ed a6 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. Nf3 Bb7 9. 0-0 Nf6 10. Re1 Be7 11. Ne5 b5 12. a3 Rc8 13. h4 Qb6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Re3 a5? 16.Bf1 Ba6 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. a4 Bb4 19. Nxb5 0-0 20. c3 Be7 21. h5 Rc4 22. h6 g6 23. Bg5 Qd8? 24. Rxe6 Bxb5 25. Rxe7 Rc7 26. ab 1-0

It wasn't long after this game that Nigel overtook me, and was soon way out of sight...

[Paolo Casaschi]

Apologies for my lack of modesty in presenting the masterpiece Ivell v Short, Fylde League v Bolton, 1976:

1. Nc3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. Bf4 b6 4. g3 c5 5. e3 cd 6.ed a6 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. Nf3 Bb7 9. 0-0 Nf6 10. Re1 Be7 11. Ne5 b5 12. a3 Rc8 13. h4 Qb6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Re3 a5? 16.Bf1 Ba6 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. a4 Bb4 19. Nxb5 0-0 20. c3 Be7 21. h5 Rc4 22. h6 g6 23. Bg5 Qd8? 24. Rxe6 Bxb5 25. Rxe7 Rc7 26. ab 1-0

It wasn't long after this game that Nigel overtook me, and was soon way out of sight...

[White "Ivell"] [Black "Short"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "1976"] 1. Nc3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. Bf4 b6 4. g3 c5 5. e3 cd4 6.ed4 a6 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. Nf3 Bb7 9. 0-0 Nf6 10. Re1 Be7 11. Ne5 b5 12. a3 Rc8 13. h4 Qb6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Re3 a5? 16.Bf1 Ba6 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. a4 Bb4 19. Nxb5 0-0 20. c3 Be7 21. h5 Rc4 22. h6 g6 23. Bg5 Qd8? 24. Rxe6 Bxb5 25. Rxe7 Rc7 26. ab5 1-0

[John Saunders]

Apologies for my lack of modesty in presenting the masterpiece Ivell v Short, Fylde League v Bolton, 1976:

1. Nc3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. Bf4 b6 4. g3 c5 5. e3 cd 6.ed a6 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. Nf3 Bb7 9. 0-0 Nf6 10. Re1 Be7 11. Ne5 b5 12. a3 Rc8 13. h4 Qb6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Re3 a5? 16.Bf1 Ba6 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. a4 Bb4 19. Nxb5 0-0 20. c3 Be7 21. h5 Rc4 22. h6 g6 23. Bg5 Qd8? 24. Rxe6 Bxb5 25. Rxe7 Rc7 26. ab 1-0

It wasn't long after this game that Nigel overtook me, and was soon way out of sight...

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the game. Do you happen to have the exact date it was played?

[Nick Ivell]

I decipher 18 September from my scoresheet. It must have been some inaugural match to the season - board 4 as I recall.

I've no idea how the match went.

[John Saunders]

I decipher 18 September from my scoresheet. It must have been some inaugural match to the season - board 4 as I recall.

I've no idea how the match went.

Thanks, Nick, much appreciated.

[Paul Cooksey]

Jobava London, Alpha Zero pawn to h6, tactical finish. All very nice. Nick clearly a man ahead of his time.

[Nick Ivell]

Thank you! Fact is, I caught Nigel at the right time.

Bracket me with Abe Turner...

[Simon Rogers]

The only time I played Nigel Short was in a simul at Blackburn back in December 2010.
Nigel played twenty Lancashire players, Martyn Hamer won the best game prize, I was the second last to finish after nearly four hours of play.
Nigel complemented me after the game and said that I was "very tenacious".
I still have a copy of the very lengthy game.
My close friend Marjorie Ellison would have some of her late husband, George Ellison's games against Nigel Short from that era including when Nigel played at George's house.
I'll ask Marjorie to have a look for them the next time I ring her.