back of which was signed by all the great players she had met, from Capablanca onwards. Spassky duly added his signature on this occasion.

Above: Rowena with Spassky and the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman Pascho.

Rowena with Spassky and the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman Pascho.

(photo: Western Morning News)

She got Spassky to add his autograph to the reverse side of a special chessboard she kept at home for this very purpose. It was already covered with the signatures of great players from Capablanca onwards.

1970 marked the start of the age of Jana Malypetrova who won 8 of the next 10 British Championships under her married names of Hartston and Miles, though Rowena was 3rd in 1971 and Runner-up in 1972. This made her eligible to represent England in theEast European Zonal Tournament held near Sofia, Bulgaria in November 1972 a remarkable achievement at the age of 53, and a watershed.

In round 2 she was playing top board at the front of a stage before a large audience, when suddenly she slumped forward over the board, scattering pieces everywhere. She’d had a cerebral haemorrhage, and was rushed to hospital where she spent several weeks in intensive care. She had not been accompanied by any family on this occasion and they had great difficulty finding out what was going on, as communications between Plymouth and the remote Communist dictatorship were fraught. Eventually, when well enough she was flown to Heathrow where she was met at the plane by an ambulance that took her direct to hospital in London.