2020, Biographies, Deaths, History, Players
Remembering Norman Littlewood (31-i-1933 29-iv-1989)
April 29, 2020 John Upham	6 Comments
Norman Littlewood
BCN remembers Norman Littlewood (31-i-1933 29-iv-1989)
Norman Littlewood circa 1967
From British Chess Magazine, Volume 109, June (#6), page 265 we have the following obituary which appears to have been lifted and used in the BCF Yearbook from 1989 – 1990, page 14, (editor Brian Concannon) with no acknowledgement :
"We were sorry to (announce the) hear of the death from cancer of Norman Littlewood of Sheffield(31 i 1933 – 29 iv 1989) who played with great force in British Championships of the 1960s.
Born into a working class family of 11 children, Norman played for England in the 1951 Glorney Cup, but did not make his debut in the British Championships until 1963 when he finished second to Penrose. He was then joint runner-up in the next three title contests, impressed at Hastings Premiers, particularly 1963-4 when he was the best of the English players, and represented England in the 1964 and 1966 Olympiads. By 1969, however, he was drifting away from play in the direction of problem and study composition, and his other interests such as bridge. He was also a skilled pianist, a true all-rounder.
[Event "GBR-ch 51st"] [Site "Whitby"] [Date "1964.08.19"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Golombek, Harry"] [Black "Littlewood, Norman"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D94"] [Annotator "Norman Littlewood"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "1964.08.17"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GBR"] [SourceTitle "BCM, Volume LXXXIV, November, page 339-340"] {[%evp 0,78,19,31,14,-14,43,38,70,9,18,34,40,11,18,25,28,17,7,31,34,54,54,36, 13,13,13,-3,2,0,24,-27,18,0,3,0,0,0,0,-2,-4,0,0,0,0,0,7,24,46,64,79,33,10,20, 27,23,42,-2,-3,-63,-62,-53,-100,-108,-108,-114,-114,-112,-111,-111,-155,-180, -183,-185,-193,-202,-214,-215,-155,-224,-252]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 e5 $1 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. Rd1 Qh4 $1 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Bxd5 Rad8 16. Bd2 { [#] A reasonable pawn sacrifice, as the alternatives are not very attractive.} Bxb2 17. Rab1 Ne5 $1 18. Qe4 Qxe4 19. Bxe4 Nc4 {Now follows an exciting struggle for the initiative.} 20. Bb4 $1 ({For the moment the pawn is held as} 20. Bxb7 $2 Rb8 21. Be4 Na3 $1 {winning the exchange .}) 20... Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Re8 {This and the following two moves, aim at keeping the Rook actively posted, despite the risks involved.} ({The passive although offering a sufficient defence to the immediate threats, cannot, one feels, hold out much prmise for the future.} 21... Rb8) 22. Bd5 b5 23. Bc6 $1 (23. Bxc4 $2 bxc4 {would give Black a strong passed pawn.}) 23... Re5 24. Rd8+ (24. Rd7 {also leads to critical play} {e.g.} a5 25. Be7 Kg7 26. Rxc7 Ba3 $1 {with a position difficult to assess.}) 24... Kg7 25. Ra8 a5 {[#]} 26. Bf8+ $2 {starting a tempting attack, which, however, turns out to be insufficient.} ({The alternative was} 26. Bxa5 Rc5 $1 27. Be8 Nxa5 28. Rxa5 Rc1+ 29. Kh2 b4 { with Black having the better chances.}) 26... Kf6 27. Ra6 b4 $1 28. Bd5+ ({If} 28. Bb5+ Nb6 29. Rxa5 $2 c6 {wins the bishop}) 28... Nb6 29. e4 Bd4 $1 30. Bh6 (30. Rxa5 $2 {is again} {met by} c6 $1) ({A longer resistance, however, could be waged with either} 30. Kf1) ({or} 30. h4) 30... a4 31. Bf4 Rxd5 $1 32. exd5 b3 33. axb3 axb3 34. Bc1 ({If} 34. Ra5 b2 35. Rb5 Nxd5 {etc., winning easily.}) 34... Ke5 $1 ({Inconclusive is} 34... b2 $2 35. Bxb2 Bxb2 36. d6 $1 Be5 37. dxc7 Bxc7 {etc.}) 35. Ra7 Nxd5 36. Rb7 Bb6 37. Bb2+ Ke4 38. Rb8 Kd3 39. Re8 Bd4 {Resigns} 0-1
A great impression was made on the top players at the 1964 British Championships when Norman won his first four games with his dynamic style. His victims included both Golombek and Clarke. Had he won his next game against Haygarth, as he deserved to do, he would have surely taken the title which fell to his Yorkshire colleague.
Norman was always a modest but assertive character, and with more management might well have challenged Penrose even more closely than he did. Our thanks to elder brother John Littlewood for some of the above information."
The 1964 England Olympiad (Tel Aviv) Team : Owen Hindle, Čeněk Kottnauer, Peter Clarke, Michael Franklin, Norman Littlewood & Michael Haygarth
Here is a splendid article from Yorkshire Chess History
See BCF Yearbook 1989-90, page 14.
2020British ChampionshipsDeathsEnglishHistoryPlayer
2020, Books, Everyman Chess, Problems, Reviews, Tactics, Training
Practical Chess Puzzles
April 28, 2020 John Upham	Leave a comment
Here is the publishers blurb from the rear cover :
Chess puzzle books are undoubtedly popular – and with good reason. Solving chess puzzles helps to sharpen a player's tactical and combinational skills. This ability is absolutely fundamental for chess development. You won't get better at tennis until you can consistently hit the ball with accuracy and you won't get better at chess until you improve your ability to calculate. It is that simple and there are no shortcuts.
Many puzzle books take a far too simplistic approach and offer endless positions where the solution is nearly always along the lines of: queen takes something check, king takes queen, check, check and a pretty mate. Aesthetically pleasing perhaps but of minimal use for actual improvement as the patterns are so familiar. Practical Chess Puzzles avoids this pitfall. The positions chosen are far more like those that actually appear on the board during the vast majority of games. Furthermore, at all stages, the puzzles are ranked, enabling the student to gauge progress and identify and correct weaknesses.
600 puzzles featuring instructive, typically "game-like" positions
A ranking system to assess progress.
and about the authors :
Guannan Song is a FIDE Master with one International Master norm from Canada. He won the 2010 Canadian Youth Chess Championship and scored bronze at the 2015 North American Junior Chess Championships. He also played for Team Canada at the 2010 World Youth Chess Championship and the 2014 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad. He represents Western University on board 1 of its Championship team and led his team to 2nd place at the 2019 Canadian University Chess Championship.
Dachey Lin is a FIDE Master from the United States, having achieved the title in 2016. He is a seven-time All American Team member and participated in three World Youth Chess Championship events, tying for ninth place in 2009. Though he is not as active as some of the other chess players, he enjoys following and helping other chess players and watching them grow and succeed.
Edward Song is an International Master from the United States. He won the 2014 US Cadet Championship, the 2017 Supernationals (tie), and the 2017 Denker Tournament of High School Champions (tie). He is also a four-time All American Team member and played two World Youth Chess Championships, achieving top ten both times. He is looking forward to making further progress towards grandmaster.
As with every recent Everyman Chess publication high quality paper is used and the printing is clear. Each diagram is clear as is the instructional text. Figurine algebraic notation is used throughout and the diagrams are placed adjacent to the relevant text.
The book consists of five chapters :
Model Games : six games
Combinations : 250 positions
Evaluation : 100 positions
Tests : 250 positions
The first aspect that leaps out is that material is largely based on real games from the last ten years. Secondly, those games have largely not found themselves into databases such as MegaBase 2020. Thirdly, many of the games are from North American tournaments and a good number featured are from the authors own practise.
The model games are entirely practical : real games played by strong but not super strong players with flaws and blunders that human beings make. They set the scene for the main course.
The Combinations chapters provides 250 unthemed positions which range from simple tactics of all types to deep combinations of tactics. The variety is excellent and, much like the Carsten Hansen book we reviewed earlier the positions are real and "messy". Therefore very much for the tournament player rather than sanitised positions for teaching children and beginners.
Here is an example (#25) from M. Kernighan-J.Lipoka, Winnipeg, 2010.
2rr2k1/p4p1p/2p1b3/1pb1q3/3nP1p1/1P2B1P1/P3NPBP/2QRR2K w - - 0 1
You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.
Potentially the most interesting is the Evaluation section. The student is asked to study and pick apart the positions inorder to assess the correct outcome. Part of that assessment includes finding the best continuation. The solutions to these exercises focus on the latter it has to be said : We would like to have seen more of the assessment angle !
Here is an example (#343) from A.Jayakumar-G.Garcia, Philadelphia, 2012 :
2kr3r/pppq1pp1/8/4n2p/1PPN3n/P3P2b/1B1N1PB1/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 1
Finally (the solutions do not count !), combining all of the previous elements, is the Tests section. If you were only to work on one section (but why would you do that ?) then this would be the most rewarding.
Here is an example (#435) from R.Ulrich-A.Wang, St Louis, 2017
8/Q7/4p3/7p/4q1p1/5kP1/7K/8 w - - 0 1
In summary, the content lives up to the title and any tournament player from say 1200 Elo to perhaps 2200 will derive much benefit from working through the content. It is good to find a whole tranche of new material and ideas from real games played by mostly amateur players.
A small gripe (but not important) with the production is : Some (so why not this one) Everyman books have an extra folding part to the front and rear covers. These we find protect the book from damage and also can be used as an emergency book mark !
John Upham, Cove, Hampshire, 28th April, 2020
John Upham
Publisher: Everyman Chess (1 Jan. 2020)
Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 1.7 x 23.8 cm
Official web site of Everyman Chess
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2020, Biographies, Birthday, Player, Players, Writers
Happy Birthday IM Lawrence Trent (28-iv-1986)
IM Lawrence Trent
BCN wishes IM Lawrence Trent (28-iv-1986) Happy Birthday !
Lawrence Trent plays Tony Miles in 2001 at the British Championships in Scarborough
Here is his extensive Wikipedia entry
[Event "BCF-chT 0203 (4NCL)"] [Site "West Bromwich"] [Date "2003.05.04"] [Round "10.6"] [White "Trent, Lawrence"] [Black "Tan, Desmond"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2257"] [BlackElo "2307"] [Annotator "British Chess News"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2002.11.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2004"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2003.11.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2003.11.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Barbican II"] [BlackTeam "Wood Green II"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] {[%evp 0,53,25,16,16,-2,4,19,5,5,23,-23,-4,0,48,32,32,39,40,36,23,20,13,-24, -20,-30,67,53,51,38,34,4,-4,-32,-27,-48,-16,-59,36,0,31,30,56,74,107,201,476,0, 0,428,29987,29988,29989,29990,29991,29992]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Qd2 d5 6. Nc3 c6 7. O-O-O $146 Bb4 8. e5 Qd8 9. a3 Be7 10. f4 a5 11. Nf3 b5 12. a4 Bb4 13. Qe3 Bxc3 14. Qxc3 bxa4 15. h4 Qb6 16. Rh3 Ba6 17. Rg3 O-O 18. f5 exf5 19. Qe3 Kh8 20. e6 f6 $2 (20... fxe6 21. Qxe6 $14) 21. e7 $18 Re8 {[#]} 22. Ne5 $1 Ra7 23. Rxg7 $1 Kxg7 24. Qg3+ Kh8 25. Nf7+ Kh7 26. h5 Rg8 27. e8=Q $1 {[#]} 1-0
[Event "Andorra op 31st"] [Site "La Massana"] [Date "2013.07.22"] [Round "3"] [White "Steingrimsson, Hedinn"] [Black "Trent, Lawrence"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D08"] [WhiteElo "2557"] [BlackElo "2420"] [Annotator "British Chess News"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2013.07.20"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "AND"] [SourceTitle "CBM 155 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.08.26"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.08.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,126,18,21,30,-23,38,28,39,39,33,18,57,50,48,76,61,65,78,65,71,39,84, -9,197,-73,49,81,101,5,64,84,45,83,107,-39,-39,-21,-21,-39,-21,-28,-28,-161, -59,-158,-158,-129,-132,-135,-126,-258,-236,-273,-272,-272,-272,-274,-274,-301, -293,-301,-300,-321,-277,-336,-261,-356,-350,-363,-272,-315,-325,-319,-233, -237,-246,-246,-260,-249,-258,-257,-276,-274,-276,-300,-274,-302,-301,-325, -321,-325,-253,-244,-236,-267,-261,-257,-238,-237,-235,-271,-272,-265,-264, -247,-241,-249,-226,-243,-235,-239,-253,-266,-266,-292,-292,-292,-292,-307, -310,-370,-370,-507,-525,-665,-712,-751,-844]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. a3 Bg4 6. Qb3 Qd7 7. Qxb7 Rb8 8. Qa6 Nge7 9. Nbd2 Ng6 10. g3 d3 11. e3 Bb4 12. Bg2 Bxd2+ 13. Nxd2 Ngxe5 14. O-O Bh3 15. Bxh3 Qxh3 16. f4 O-O 17. c5 Ng4 18. Nf3 d2 19. Bxd2 Rxb2 20. Qe2 Re8 21. e4 h6 22. Rfb1 Rxe4 23. Qf1 Qxf1+ 24. Rxf1 Re2 25. h3 Nh2 26. Nxh2 Rexd2 27. Nf3 Rg2+ 28. Kh1 Rxg3 29. Rad1 Rxh3+ 30. Kg1 Rg3+ 31. Kh1 Rb3 32. Ng1 Rgd3 33. f5 Rxa3 34. f6 gxf6 35. Rxd3 Rxd3 36. Rxf6 Ne5 37. Rxh6 c6 38. Rh4 Rd1 39. Rf4 Rc1 40. Kg2 Rxc5 41. Ne2 a5 42. Ng3 Kf8 43. Kf1 Rc3 44. Kg2 Rc2+ 45. Kf1 c5 46. Ra4 Nc6 47. Nf5 Rh2 48. Nd6 Ke7 49. Nb7 Rc2 50. Nxa5 Nxa5 51. Rxa5 Ke6 52. Ke1 f5 53. Kd1 Rc4 54. Ra8 Re4 55. Kd2 c4 56. Ra5 Kf6 57. Ra1 Kg5 58. Rg1+ Kf4 59. Rf1+ Kg4 60. Rg1+ Kh3 61. Rf1 f4 62. Rh1+ Kg2 63. Rh4 Kg3 0-1
The Smith-Morra Gambit
The Amazing Albin Counter-Gambit
The Bombastic Bird's
2020AuthorBirthdaysEnglishPlayer
2020, Biographies, Deaths, History, Player, Players
Remembering Michael John Haygarth (11-x-1934 27-iv-2016)
April 27, 2020 John Upham	1 Comment
Michael John Haygarth, British Champion, 1964 (from British Chess Magazine, 1964)
BCN Remembers Michael John Haygarth (11-x-1934 27-iv-2016)
Here is an article from Yorkshire Chess History
Owen Hindle, Michael Franklin, Harry Golombek and Michael Haygarth
Here is an obituary written by Steve Mann which was published on the ECF web site.
[Event "British CF-46 Championship"] [Site "York/ North Yorkshire"] [Date "1959.08.13"] [Round "4"] [White "Milner Barry, Philip Stuart"] [Black "Haygarth, Michael John"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C34"] [Annotator "PS Milner-Barry"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1959.08.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GBR"] [SourceTitle "BCM, LXXIX, #12, p.377"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,42,19,28,31,6,-20,-21,36,-3,-20,-23,-31,-15,16,-37,8,18,43,27,13,4,58, 5,5,7,6,28,32,6,17,-3,17,-180,-177,-176,-78,-490,-494,-500,-503,-500,-511,-511, -507]} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 ({I never do any good with} 4. e5 Nh5) 4... d5 5. Nxd5 (5. exd5 {would be a straight transposition into the 3… d5 defence. The text move allows interesting alternatives.}) 5... Nxd5 (5... Nxe4 6. Nxf4 {is another possibility, which I rather fancied for white.}) 6. exd5 Be7 7. Be2 Bh4+ {Although it achieves a dramatic success, I don't beleive this is right.} (7... Qxd5 {is certainly safer}) 8. Kf1 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 {The weakness of the bishop at Rook 5 is that its gets in the way of …g5} 10. Bxf4 Bf5 {[#]} 11. Bd3 $2 ({As so often happens in the cut-and-thrust game, the loss of one tempo can be fatal. After} 11. Qd2 {Black need not play} Qxd5 { but White then remains a pawn ahead, with no obvious anxieties.} 12. Bxc7 Nc6 13. Kf2 {White just has time to unite his Rook, and remains with his passed Queen's pawn.}) 11... Qxd5 12. Bxc7 Nc6 13. c3 Rfe8 14. Kf2 Re7 15. Bg3 (15. Bf4 g5 {merely makes a bad matter worse.}) 15... Rae8 16. Re1 {It is now or never.} ({The touble about} 16. Bxf5 Qxf5 17. Qd2 {is that after} Re2+ 18. Qxe2 Rxe2+ 19. Kxe2 Qb5+ {followed by …Qxb2+ the Rooks are no real match for the Queen. Though no doube White could make a fight.}) 16... Rxe1 17. Nxe1 {[#]} Nxd4 $1 18. cxd4 Qxd4+ 19. Kf1 Rxe1+ 20. Kxe1 Bxd3 {White is reduced to comical helplessness. He is threatened with Qe3+} {So he tries} 21. Bf4 ({If} 21. Qd2 Qg1#) ({If} 21. Bf2 Qe4+ 22. Kd2 Bg5+ 23. Kc3 Qc4#) ({If} 21. Qf3 Qxb2 22. Qxd3 Qxa1+ {and then …Qxa2+}) 21... Qe4+ $1 {Resigns} {Immediately decisive for if now} 22. Kd2 {comes} Qxf4+ 23. Kxd3 Qd4+ 24. Ke2 Qxb2+ 25. Kf3 Qxa1 {and there is no mate with} 26. Qd8+ {A fine combination by Black. What with this, and the equally fine positional play whereby Mr. Littlewood reduced me to similar straits. I flet that I had met more than my fair share of young tartars in this championship.} 0-1
2020DeathsEnglishHistoryPlayer
Remembering Malik Mir Sultan Khan (1905 25-iv-1966)
Malik Mir Sultan Khan
Death Anniversary of Malik Mir Sultan Khan (1905 25-iv-1966)
Perhaps the greatest natural player of modern times. Born in the Punjab, he learned Indian chess when he was nine, was taken into the household of Sir Umar Hay at Khan, and learned the international game in 1926, Two years later he won the All-India Championship and in the spring of 1929 his patron and master took him to London. Within a few months he won the British Championship, returning to India shortly afterwards. In Europe in May 1930 he began a brief career that included defeats of many leading players.
A striking figure, of dark complexion, with a lean face and broad forehead, his black hair usually turban tied, he sat at the board impassively, showing no emotion in positions good or bad. He did not believe he possessed any special skill, rather that the player applying the greater concentration should win. In events of about category 10 Sultan Khan came second to Tartakower at Liege 1930, third (+5=2-2) after Euwe and Capablanca at Hastings 1930-1, and third ( + 6=3—2) equal with Kashdan after Alekhine and Flohr at London 1932, In events of about category 9 he came fourth or equal fourth at Scarborough 1930, Hastings 1931-2, and Berne 1932 ( + 10=2-3). Sultan Khan won the British Championship again in 1932 and 1933 and played first board for the British Chess Federation in the Olympiads of 1930, 1931, and 1933. In match play he defeated Tartakower (+4=5—3) in 1931 and lost to Flohr ( + 1=3—2) in 1932. At the end of 1933 he went back to India at the bidding of his master. When Sir Umar died Sultan Khan was left a small farmstead near his birthplace, and there he lived out his days. Apparently he had few regrets, A friend visiting him in 1958 found him sitting quietly under the shade of a tree smoking his hookah, chatting with
neighbouring farmers while the womenfolk did the work.
In the Indian game of his time the pieces were moved as in international chess but the laws of promotion and stalemate were different, castling was not permitted, and a pawn could not he
advanced two squares on its first move. The game opened slowly with emphasis on positional play rather than tactics, and not surprisingly Sultan Khan became a positional player. He had few peers in the middle-game and was among the world's best two or three endgame players, but he never mastered the openings which, by nature empirical, cannot be learned by the application of common sense alone*
When Sultan Khan first travelled to Europe his English was so rudimentary that he needed an interpreter. He suffered from bouts of malaria and, in the English climate, from continual colds and throat infections, often turning up to play with his neck swathed in bandages. Unable to read or write, he never studied any hooks on the game, and he was mistakenly put in the hands of trainers who were also his rivals in play. Under these adverse circumstances, and having known the international game for a mere seven years, only half of which was spent in Europe, Sultan Khan nevertheless became one of the world's best ten players. This achievement brought admiration from Capablanca who called him a genius, an accolade he rarely if ever bestowed on anyone else.
R. N. Coles, Mir Sultan Khan (rev, edn, 1977) contains 64 games.
Sultan Khan-Flohr 3rd match game 1932 Caro-Kann
Defence, Exchange Variation
[Event "Match Flohr-Sultan Khan +2-1=3"] [Site "London"] [Date "1932.02.24"] [Round "3"] [White "Sultan Khan, Mir"] [Black "Flohr, Salo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "British Chess News"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "1932.02.22"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "HCL"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,139,19,31,76,76,67,45,61,48,38,31,31,23,36,37,35,21,17,9,3,-21,14,2, -8,-25,-11,-8,-13,-15,-15,-15,5,-28,-16,-14,-15,-36,-12,-25,-12,-16,-10,6,13, -12,18,32,27,34,31,18,22,24,33,29,40,40,34,26,41,44,31,5,8,19,19,23,14,20,48, 57,53,65,62,55,58,29,58,10,7,16,8,9,23,27,80,71,88,88,118,0,0,46,25,20,96,89, 119,107,126,80,115,121,109,102,94,64,72,51,49,57,125,137,135,138,154,153,168, 166,171,155,157,158,145,161,234,161,216,224,241,200,247,209,489,614,700,720, 738,788,808,688]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. f3 Bh5 8. Ne2 e6 9. Nd2 Bd6 10. Bg3 Qc7 11. Nb3 Bg6 12. Rc1 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 O-O 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. O-O Rfe8 16. Ng3 g6 17. Rce1 Rac8 18. Re2 Nb8 19. a4 Nfd7 20. a5 Qa6 21. Qxa6 bxa6 22. Ra1 Rc7 23. Nc1 Rec8 24. Nd3 Rb7 25. Ra3 Nc6 26. Nf1 Rb5 27. b4 Nd8 28. Ne3 Rbb8 29. Kf2 Nb7 30. Nc5 Ndxc5 31. bxc5 Nd8 32. f4 Nc6 33. Ng4 Rb1 34. Ne5 Nxe5 35. fxe5 Kf8 36. Ke3 Rcb8 37. Rf2 Ke7 38. Rc2 Kd7 39. Raa2 R8b3 40. Kd3 Rd1+ 41. Rd2 Rc1 42. Rac2 Rcb1 43. Rf2 Ke7 44. c6 Rb8 45. c4 R1b3+ 46. Rc3 dxc4+ 47. Kxc4 R3b4+ 48. Kd3 Re8 49. Ke3 Rb5 50. Ra2 Rf8 51. g4 Kd8 52. c7+ Kc8 53. Rf2 Rxa5 54. Rc6 Ra3+ 55. Ke4 Kd7 56. Rxf7+ Kxc6 57. Rxf8 Kxc7 58. Rf7+ Kd8 59. Rxh7 g5 60. Rg7 Rh3 61. Rxg5 Rxh2 62. Rg8+ Kc7 63. Rg6 a5 64. Rxe6 Kb7 65. Rf6 Rg2 66. e6 Rxg4+ 67. Kd5 Kc7 68. Rf7+ Kd8 69. Rxa7 Rh4 70. Kc5 1-0
Malik Mir Sultan Khan (right)
Here is an excellent article from chess.com
2020DeathsHistoryPlayer
2020, Biographies, Birthday, Gambit Publications Ltd., Player, Players, Writers
Happy Birthday GM John Nunn (25-iv-1955)
"John DM Nunn Britain' Number 2 chess grandmaster and winner of the Benedictine International Chess Championship Tournament in Manchester pictured during the Benedictine Tournament. September 15th , 1980. Photograph by John C Madden"
BCN wishes GM John Nunn Happy Birthday (25-iv-1955)
From The Encyclopedia of Chess by Harry Golombek :
British International master and European Junior Champion, 1975. Born in London, Nunn learned chess at the age of four and soon revealed a great aptitude for the game.
Graham Ladds and John Nunn. See full caption below.
Supplied caption for above picture.
He came 6th in the Norwich Junior international tournament in 1970 and went up to Oxford University to take a mathematics degree at a very early age. He played on top board for the University from 1972-6 and is now preparing for a doctorate there.
John DM Nunn
He won the European Junior Championship and with it the international master title in Groningen in 1975. In that year too he was equal first in the IBM Master tournament, and at London in 1975 he reached an international master norm coming 5th in the international tournament there. He played on bottom board at the Haifa Olympiad 1976 and scored 64.2%
GM John Nunn
English player. International Grandmaster (1978), British champion 1980. He went to Oxford at the unusually young age of 15, graduated in 1973. Gained his B.Sc. the following year and his
doctorate in 1978.
A Junior Research Fellow, he lectured in mathematics until 1981 when he became a professional player. By then he had already achieved several good results in international tournaments: Budapest 1978, first; Hastings 1979-80, first (4-5 = 10) equal with Andersson; Baden-bei-Wien 1980, category 12, third (+5=10) after Spassky and Belyavsky: Helsinki 1981, first (+5 = 6) equal with Matulovich; and Wiesbaden 1981, first (+6=3). In the category 12 Wijk aan Zee tournament 1982, Nunn came first ( + 5=7 — 1) equal with Balashov ahead of Tal, Hubner, and Timman and at Helsinki 1983 he came second (+5 = 6) after Karlsson.
Maia Chiburdanidze and John Nunn from Lloyds Bank, 1985
Possessing a remarkably quick sight of the board, Nunn is an expert solver: he made the second highest individual score in the world team solving championship, 1978, and won the solving championship of Great Britain in 1981.
Lubomir Kavalek and John Nunn
Here is an excellent article from ChessBase
Polugayevsky-Nunn European team championship :
[Round "1.3"] [White "Polugaevsky, Lev"] [Black "Nunn, John DM"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A77"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [BlackElo "2515"] [Annotator "johnu"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "1980.01.20"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [SourceTitle "EU-chT"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Soviet Union"] [BlackTeam "England"] [WhiteTeamCountry "URS"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] {[%evp 0,64,19,9,21,44,45,37,46,15,12,56,70,84,108,114,123,92,82,65,73,58,59, 13,30,26,27,27,27,27,29,6,17,-128,-135,-75,-75,-69,-89,-122,-70,-43,-75,-145, -164,-153,-153,-194,-194,-235,-235,-235,-260,-278,-279,-284,-290,-290,-290, -465,-460,-617,-537,-536,-555,-1071,-878]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 e6 4. c4 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 Ne5 12. b3 Nh5 13. Bxh5 gxh5 14. Bb2 Bd7 15. Rae1 Qh4 16. f4 Ng4 17. Nf3 Bd4+ 18. Kh1 Nf2+ 19. Rxf2 Qxf2 20. Qc1 Bh3 21. Rg1 Kf8 22. Nxd4 cxd4 23. f5 dxc3 24. Qxc3 Rxe4 25. gxh3 Ke8 26. Qd3 Re1 27. Rxe1+ Qxe1+ 28. Kg2 Rc8 29. f6 Kd7 30. Qxh7 Qd2+ 31. Kg3 Qxd5 32. Kh4 Re8 0-1
The Benoni for the Tournament Player
Solving in Style
The Complete Pirc
Secrets of Rook Endings
Secrets of Pawnless Endings
New Ideas in the Pirc Defence
Beating the Sicilian 3
The King Hunt
Secrets of Grandmaster Chess
Secrets of Practical Chess
Nunn's Chess Openings
John Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book
101 Brilliant Chess Miniatures
Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings
Understanding Chess Move by Move
John Nunn's Best Games
Endgame Challenge
Tactical Chess Endings
Learn Chess Tactics
Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games
Grandmaster Chess Move by Move
Understanding Chess Endgames
Nunn's Chess Endings
Understanding Chess Middlegames
Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids
[Event "Lugano op"] [Site "Lugano"] [Date "1986.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Nunn, John DM"] [Black "Tukmakov, Vladimir B"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B57"] [WhiteElo "2585"] [BlackElo "2570"] [Annotator "Nunn,J"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1986.02.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [SourceTitle "CBM 001"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2004.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.01.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,51,38,23,44,51,80,55,53,51,51,30,53,39,69,55,69,52,71,22,61,56,51,50, 40,38,35,40,42,33,42,48,68,30,37,45,45,46,48,50,51,29,39,0,25,-81,84,84,119,72, 72,106,183,177]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 Qb6 7. Nb3 e6 8. O-O Be7 9. Bg5 Ne5 $6 {Although 9…Ne5 forces the bishop to retreat, Black will waste time later after White plays f4.} ({Black's best line is probably} 9... a6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Qh5 Nd4 {as played in Nunn-Martinovic, Amsterdam 1975.}) 10. Be2 Bd7 11. Kh1 Ng6 {A necessary precaution since} (11... O-O 12. f4 Ng6 13. e5 dxe5 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Qxd7 { does not give Black enough for the piece. Now, on the other hand, 12 f4 is met by 12…h6.}) 12. Be3 Qc7 13. f4 O-O 14. Qe1 {We have reached a type of Scheveningen position in which Black's knight is on g6 rather than c6. This favours White since the knight is subject to attack by f5 and has less influence on the centre.} Rfe8 15. Rd1 Bc6 {Here the bishop is exposed to attack by Nd4, so it would have been safer to play 15…Bf8.} 16. Bf3 d5 17. e5 Ne4 18. Nd4 Nxc3 (18... Bb4 19. Nxd5) 19. Qxc3 Rac8 20. Qe1 {The queen returns to the kingside to help an attack based on the move f5.} Bd7 21. Qg3 Qb6 $6 {Black provokes a crisis by attacking the b2 pawn, which White cannot easily defend (e.g. 22 b3 Rc3). However by placing his queen opposite White's bishop he allows a tactical breakthrough. 21…Qa5 was a better defence.} 22. f5 $1 exf5 {22…Bh4 23 Qh3 exf5 is no better after 24 Bxd5 Rxe5 25 Bxf7+ Kh8 (or 25…Kxf7 26 Nxf5 with a winning attack) 26 Bxg6 Qxg6 27 Bf4 and White wins material.} 23. Bxd5 Bh4 24. Nxf5 $6 {Flashy, but not the best. Simply 24 Qh3 transposes to the last note and wins safely.} Bxg3 25. Bxb6 axb6 $2 {The obvious move, but it loses immediately. 25…Bxe5 was the best, when White has nothing better than to play 26 Bxa7 with an extra pawn – winning perhaps, but much more complex than 24 Qh3.} 26. Nd6 $1 {Surprisingly Black has no way to play on, e.g. 26…Bxe5 27 Bxf7+ Kh8 28 Bxe8 Rxe8 29 Nxe8 Bxe8 30 Rd8 or 26…Bh4 27 Bxf7+ Kh8 28 Bxe8 Rxe8 29 Nf7+ and 30 Rxd7.} 1-0
Chess Endgame Workbook for Kids
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2020, Biographies, Composition, Deaths, Problems
Remembering Godfrey Heathcote (20-vii-1870 24-iv-1952)
April 24, 2020 BCNWPWord	Leave a comment
Godfrey Heathcote (20-vii-1870 24-iv-1952) [Source: Chess Pie, 1922; scanned by M.McDowell]
BCN remembers Godfrey Heathcote (20-vii-1870 24-iv-1952)
From The Encyclopedia of Chess(Robert Hale, 1970 and 1976) by Anne Sunnucks :
"Problem composer, and deemed to be on of the great masters of the art. Heathcote was born on 20th July 1870 in Manchester, and died on 24th April 1952. whilst in office as the President of the British Chess Problem Society. An advocate of the model mate, Heathcote was one of few composers with the power to combine model mates with strategy. In 1918 a collection of his problems appeared in the A. C. White Christmas series under the title Chess Idylls"
Here is an appreciation from chesscomposers.blogspot.com
Chess Idylls (1918)
2020, Biographies, Deaths, History, Organiser, Players
Remembering George Walker (13-iii-1803 23-iv-1879)
William Lewis, George Walker and Augustus Mongredien
BCN Remembers George Walker (13-iii-1803 23-iv-1879)
From The Encyclopedia of Chess by Anne Sunnucks :
"Leading organiser and chess columnist in the last century. Born on 13th March 1803. Founded the Westminster Chess Club in 1831. Published New Treatise on Chess in 1832 and Chess and Chess Players in 1850. Edited the chess column in Bell's Life of London from 1835 to 1870. Died on 23rd April 1879.
"English chess writer and propagandist. Born over his father's bookshop in London he later became a music publisher in partnership with his father. At a time when he was receiving odds of a rook from Lewis he had the temerity to edit a chess column in the Lancet (1823-4); the first such column to appear in a periodical, it was, perhaps fortunately, short-lived. He tried his hand at composing problems, with unmemorable results; but his play improved. In the early 1830s he was receiving odds of pawn and move from McDonnell, after whose death (1835) Walker was, for a few years, London's strongest active player.
Walker's importance, however, lies in the many other contributions he made to the game. He founded chess clubs, notably the Westminster at Huttman's in 1831 and the St George's at Hanover
Square in 1843. From 1835 to 1873 he edited a column in Bell's Life , a popular Sunday paper featuring sport and scandal. Many of his contributions were perfunctory, but on occasion he wrote at length of news, gossip, and personalities in a rollicking style suitable for such a paper. As with many of his writings he was more enthusiastic than accurate. He edited England's first chess magazine The Philidorian (1837-8). Above all, Walker published many books at a low price: they sold widely and did much to popularize the game. The third edition of his New Treatise (1841) was as useful a manual as could he bought at the time and its section on the Evans gambit was praised by Jaenisch, Walker established the custom of recording games, and his Chess Studies (1844), containing 1,020 games played from 1780 to 1844, has become a classic. For the first time players could study the game as it was played and not as authors, each with his own bias, supposed it should be played. Throughout his life Walker helped chess-players in need. He raised funds for La Bqurdonnais, Capt. W. D. Evans, and other players, and often for their destitute widows.
After his father died (1847) Walker sold their business and became a stockbroker, reducing his chess activities but continuing 'his many kindnesses. With an outgoing personality he enjoyed the company of those, such as La Bourdonnais, whom he called "jolly good fellows', an epithet which might well be applied to himself. He was occasionally at odds with Lewis, who was jealous of his own reputation, and Staunton, imperious and touchy; but it seems unlikely that the easy-going
Walker, who believed that chess should be enjoyed, intentionally initiated these disputes. He left a small but excellent library of more than 300
books and his own manuscript translations of the works of Cozio, Lolli, and other masters. He should not be confused with William Greenwood Walker who recorded the games of the Bourdon-
nais-McDonne 11 matches 1834, and died soon afterwards "full of years'.
Walker is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, also known as All Souls Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green, London Borough of Brent, Greater London, W10 4RA England.
The Walker Attack is a variation of the Allagier Gambit :
rnbq1bnr/pppp1k2/7p/8/2B1PppP/8/PPPP2P1/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 1
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2020, Biographies, Birthday, Players
Happy Birthday FM Gary Kenworthy (22-iv-1957)
Gary Kenworthy at the 2012 UKCC Terafinal
Gary was born in Bradford and became an FIDE Master in 2002 and achieved a peak rating of 2315 in July 1994.
In 1994 Gary represented London in a match with Paris over nine boards and has played from London Central YMCA (CentYMCA) and Barbican in the London Chess League and in the BCF National Club competition.
In 2003 he was runner-up (to Kidami Sundararajan) in the Ron Banwell Masters in Blackpool.
Gary has played for King's Head in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) and now plays for Mindsports.
In 2019 Gary joined the England Chess Coaching Team. He founded Bletchley Junior Chess Club and Chess School.
He has been board 1 for Milton Keynes and Open University First team. He is board 1 for the Bedfordshire County Chess Team and has retained the Bedfordshire Individual County Chess Championship Title. In 2019/2020 he was board 1 for the Leighton Buzzard Chess Club.
Gary Kenworthy, inaugurator of the new M25 Congress series, on his way to victory in the Spalding Quickplay. Earlier in the summer he defeated Grandmaster Michael Adams, photograph by Francis Bowers
Gary is a former Director of Chess Coaching for the (then) British Chess Federation (BCF).
Gary lives in Fenny Stratford, Milton Keynes and is an IT consultant and local councillor. He has been a former Director of the BCF.
Gary Kenworthy (holding board) at a BCF National Club Final (1992)
[Event "Sussex-Kent match"] [Site "England"] [Date "1987.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Gary Kenworthy"] [Black "Jonathan James Ady"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2412"] [Annotator "British Chess News"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1987.??.??"] {[%evp 0,81,19,21,40,50,37,24,47,-12,1,1,14,-22,-22,-21,-16,-20,-15,-11,9,0,14, 17,10,22,15,14,31,31,31,-7,26,27,60,5,68,49,35,20,157,95,60,-90,-79,-79,94, -132,-62,-100,-87,-109,-120,-125,-125,-125,-106,-87,-55,-194,0,45,-56,-56,-56, -56,370,357,458,459,888,572,572,567,1019,592,1566,2037,2086,2619,29981,29982, 29989,29990]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d6 6. c3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2 Bd7 9. a4 a6 10. Nc4 b5 11. axb5 axb5 12. Rxa8 Qxa8 13. Nb6 Qa2 14. Nxd7 Nxd7 15. Bh3 $146 (15. d4 b4) 15... Nb6 16. d4 b4 17. d5 bxc3 18. dxc6 cxb2 19. Bg5 $16 Na4 $6 (19... c4 $142) 20. Bxe7 Nc3 21. Qxd6 (21. Qc2) 21... b1=Q (21... Nxe4) 22. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 23. Kg2 Nxe4 24. Bxf8 Nxd6 25. Bxd6 f5 26. c7 Qb7 27. g4 Bf6 28. gxf5 g5 29. Kg3 (29. Kf1) 29... c4 30. Nxg5 c3 $2 31. Bg2 $1 Qa6 32. Bd5+ Kh8 33. Bf4 $18 c2 34. Be6 c1=Q 35. Nf7+ Kg7 36. Bxc1 Qd3+ 37. Be3 Bh4+ 38. Kxh4 Qe4+ 39. Kg3 h5 40. Bh6+ Kh7 41. Ng5+ 1-0
[Event "Ramsgate op"] [Site "Ramsgate"] [Date "1981.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Kenworthy, Gary"] [Black "Van der Sterren, Paul"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2245"] [BlackElo "2440"] [Annotator "British Chess News"] [PlyCount "27"] [EventDate "1981.??.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2000"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.11.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,27,19,31,34,15,22,22,18,5,8,-7,43,-28,5,-19,-17,-71,-70,-79,-44,-157, -206,-189,-45,168,178,66,66,-28]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nd5 Nxe4 6. Bc4 (6. Qe2 f5 7. Ng5 d3 8. cxd3 Nd4 9. Qh5+ g6 10. Qh4 c6 11. dxe4 cxd5 12. exd5 $17) 6... Be7 7. Nxd4 (7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Nf6 9. Nxe7+ Nxe7 10. Bg5 Ng6) 7... O-O 8. Nb5 Bb4+ 9. c3 Nxf2 10. Qh5 Nxh1 $17 11. cxb4 Nxb4 $2 ( 11... Re8+) 12. Bg5 $18 Re8+ 13. Kf1 Re5 14. Re1 $1 {and Black resigned.} 1-0
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2020, Composition, Deaths, Mathematics, Problems
Remembering Theophilus Harding Willcocks (19-iv-1912 19-v-2014)
Theophilus Harding Willcocks
An innovator in both mathematics and fairy chess.
Here is an excellent article on squaring.net
An article from matplus.net
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