Bernard Cafferty (1934-2026)

[John Saunders]

Some desperately sad news - I've just been informed that Bernard Cafferty died last night (4/5 November). He had been unwell and in hospital for some time, latterly in palliative care.

Bernard Cafferty was a major figure in the game as a player (FIDE master), editor (British Chess Magazine) and writer/translator (e.g. The Soviet Championships, co-authored with Mark Taimanov). I had particular reason to admire him as he was associate editor of BCM throughout my stint as the magazine's editor (1999-2010) and he provided support and advice of inestimable value. As my editorial predecessor, Murray Chandler, told me: "you ignore Bernard at your peril" - and he was so right. Bernard himself wrote in an obituary of Harry Golombek: "I admit, I miss him." I miss you too, Bernard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Cafferty

http://www.hastingschess.club/cafferty-bernard/ (I believe Bernard himself wrote this)

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

[John Upham]

Totally agree John. In my five years at BCM I tried very hard to get advice on how to deal with one of the owners who Bernard simply referred to as "Low" even though his surname was Lowe. I met BC on a couple of occasions but regrettably never got to know him to any degree.

[JustinHorton]

Read this over and over in my teens, and after

[John Upham]

FM Bernard Cafferty, Hastings Congress 2013-14, courtesy of John Upham Photography

FM Bernard Cafferty, Hastings Congress 2013-14, courtesy of John Upham Photography

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[John Upham]

Remembering FM Bernard Cafferty (27-vi-1934 – 04-xi-2026)



https://britishchessnews.com/2026/11/05 ... y-bernard/



Bernard Cafferty, location, date and photographer unknown

Bernard Cafferty, location, date and photographer unknown

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[John Saunders]

For some tributes to Bernard while he was still alive (80th birthday), see the link...

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6674#p140288

[Nick Ivell]

A very fine servant of the game. I think he may have played for Lancs, but the one time I played him I think he was playing for Sussex. I was lucky to draw against his trusty Alekhine.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Sad news and another link to a past era goes.

But also a good age and he remained active until quite recently (his final games in the ECF database were just two years ago)

[Nick Ivell]

Bernard's collection of Spassky's games was one of the first books I studied.

Interesting that he did not consider himself to have a great talent for chess (unlike Spassky, of course). He certainly had a capacity for hard work, which is a talent in itself.

[James Pratt]

When I last saw Paul Buswell - we were on the train to the British Championships - I enquired about 'BC' but, local though they both were, Paul didn't know where he was. Diabetes troubled Bernard, I know, and he'd often excuse himself from our gatherings en route to the chemists. I interviewed him some years back, when he turned 75, and modesty ["I considered myself a diligent student"] and scholarly accuracy [" .. players I collaborated with were Taimanov, Botvinnik and Estrin"] remained his trademark. He'd correct here and there ["I can't help it"] and flex his linguistic muscles whether watching soccer with Russian commentary, moaning about Gufeld and his awful handwriting or collaborating with Taimanov on their book on the Soviet Championship. I would love to have asked him - hardly fair of me - what he made of the war with Ukraine and what we in the West should be making of it. By George, he would have told me in double quick time.
James

[Kevin Thurlow]

Very sad news - he was always helpful and informative whenever I spoke to him.

[Keith Arkell]

I played Bernard many times in various competitions in the Birmingham area when I was quite new to chess. He was always very correct and gentlemanly.

There was one team lightning event in which my team, St. James, were a player short, so we ‘sacrificed’ my mother on board one v Cafferty. She was there accompanying my brother and me, but didn’t know the moves.
It was a bit naughty of us to play out of sequence, but anyway some kind of game took place, at the end of which my mother asked Bernard: ‘Did I win?’. He very politely spent a fair few minutes talking chess with her and showing her a few basics.

Very sad news, but a good, productive innings.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Sad news. I did like some items from his storied chess career that I had not come across before. The 1980 Video Chess picture and caption on British Chess News is fascinating. Also winning the British Lightening Chess Championships five times in the 1960s is impressive.

[John Pitcher]

I was sorry to hear this news. I can't say that I really knew Bernard but we played a couple of times (1978 and 1979), both times in British Championship qualifiers. In those days, these were arranged on a regional basis with games being played in people's homes. Our games were in the West Midlands Zone and I remember playing Bernard at his home in Birmingham. I particularly remember seeing Russian chess magazines liberally scattered around! Needless to say, Bernard won both games, although I did at least make the second game an interesting one! He was encouraging and very helpful in his post-mortem comments on the games.

Bernard clearly loved chess and was deeply immersed in chess culture. A real pillar of the chess community and I'm sure he will be very well remembered by many people.

[John Upham]

From the BCM archive found abandoned in a Wokingham loft space:

FM Bernard Cafferty (27-vi-1934 – 04-xi-2026)

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