The GazetteNovember 2018

Registered Charity Number 263049

Supporting Chess Players with Sight Loss.The BCA is grateful to Geoff Patching, whose

legacy will fund 4 issues.BCA Website Address: www.braillechess.org.ukEmail: customerservices@braillechess.org.ukTwitter: https://twitter.com/braillechess @braillechess

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrailleChess

To contact a member of the committee, please see the Braille Chess Association’s website where there is a facility for emailing each officer.

Note: The views expressed in the Gazette do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the BCA, nor those of the editor.

CONTENTSEditorial.......................................................................................................................................................................3Forthcoming Events.....................................................................................................................................................4All Under One Roof.....................................................................................................................................................5Call for Haaksbergen...................................................................................................................................................6Windermere Chess Theme Break 2019.......................................................................................................................6Finances.......................................................................................................................................................................7Millennium Club, the BCA’s monthly lottery.............................................................................................................7Circulated Membership List........................................................................................................................................7Membership Secretary’s Report..................................................................................................................................7Correspondence Chess Director’s Report....................................................................................................................89th BCA Email Tournament.........................................................................................................................................9From Sofa to Sofia - IBCA World Team Championship 2018...................................................................................9Games from the IBCA World Team Championship 2018........................................................................................11David Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Prize 2018.......................................................................................15Final Echo of an Olympiad........................................................................................................................................15Puzzles Selected by Chris..........................................................................................................................................19Personalia...................................................................................................................................................................19Large v Crouch..........................................................................................................................................................19RIP Mike Meaney 21st August 1940 – 20th July 2018...............................................................................................20RIP Robin Edward Brown 5th June 1935 – 2nd August 2018.....................................................................................21RIP Mary Marshall....................................................................................................................................................22

EditorialOn a recent visit to a bird of prey centre I was instructed to put on a leather gauntlet that extended well above my elbow, then hold my arm out straight at my side like a branch and stand as still as a tree. Moments later, a South African spotted eagle owl was flying straight towards me with its large round eyes fixed firmly on its target. The owl’s wings spanned more than a metre and flapped so fast that they were just a blur, yet the bird’s approach was completely inaudible. Coming in to land, it spread its lethal talons wide to get a firm grip on my thankfully well protected forearm. Never in my life have I been more relieved that I’m not a mouse!Owls are silent hunters that snatch up unsuspecting prey. How satisfying it is to use the same technique in chess! Occasionally a rook might have the chance to swoop down a file and seize an unguarded pawn. More often, a subtler plan is needed, such as preparing an attack so imperceptibly that by the time an unwary opponent realises the danger they’re in it’s already too late to escape the stealthy predator.In Greek mythology, the owl was a symbol of Athene, Goddess of Wisdom, and to this day owls remain tradition-ally associated with wisdom. Socrates wrote, “Wisdom begins in wonder”. If that is true readers should brace themselves for a surge of sage ideas as there is plenty to marvel at in these pages! There is a fascinating report on the IBCA World Cup in Sofia, a city whose very name is derived from the Greek word for wisdom. The article is accompanied by a selection of intriguing games from the event with some astute comments from the players. As the half centenary year draws to a close, we take a final look back at the 1968 Weymouth Olympiad to admire the skill of the participants and the prudence of the organisers.A veritable wise owl at BCA quizzes, Geoff Patching, is sadly no longer with us but he is still supporting us through a generous legacy which will sponsor the gazette for a whole year. Donations remain crucially important to the BCA. If you wish to help the good news is that you can easily do so by joining our monthly lottery for as little as £1 per month. We call it the Millennium Club but you don’t have to have been a BCA member in the year 2000 to take part. Please see the relevant article and contact the Treasurer today. You will have the chance of winning but more importantly you can be certain of playing a vital part in raising funds. Our Millennium Club needs you-hoo!Some species of owl are renowned for their hooting calls. Often heard at night, they can have a ghostly quality, perhaps not unlike the nocturnal wailing that sometimes emanates from the rooms of chessplayers as they analyse a lost game to discover where they went wrong. In sharp contrast, there is nothing ethereal about a call to action from Gill Smith, who is seeking everyone’s permission to be included in the next Membership List. Please read Gill’s article for further details and then contact her to opt in or out as soon as possible.Learned readers will know that Athene was the Greek Goddess of War as well as Wisdom. Therefore, her symbol, the owl, was believed to be a protector of Greek armies. An owl flying over before a battle was taken as a predic-tion of victory. If chess is a metaphor for war then perhaps an owl is a good omen for a player too, but please note that in BCA tournaments owls will not be admitted to playing rooms under any circumstances.Speaking of tournaments, I look forward to seeing many members at the BCA International Open Tournament later this month. As this is the final issue of 2018, I will take the opportunity to send best greetings of the season to all readers. Please send me your contributions for the February issue by the end of December or before Christmas if at all pos-sible. Many thanks.Julie Leonard

3

Forthcoming Events16 th to 18 th November 2018: International Open Tournament, Hallmark Hotel, Derby This year's International Autumn tournament will be held at the Hallmark Hotel, Derby. The hotel has excellent facilities and is very conveniently located within a few yards walk of Derby railway station.There will be two five round chess tournaments. The Open section is open to all visually impaired chess players and associate members of the BCA. The Challengers is limited to those graded 100 or below. The entry fee for both tournaments is £10. Arbiters will be Julie Leonard and Matthew Carr. Tristram Cole will act as steward.The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for members and associate members is £40 per person per night for Friday and Saturday nights in a single room, and £37 per person per night sharing a double/twin room. For non members and those staying on the Sunday night, the cost will be £58 per person in a single room and £51 per person sharing a double/twin. The closing date has now passed, but if you’re very quick it may still be possible to enter subject to availability and payment of the late entry fee as per our Booking Conditions.Please direct any queries relating to the tournament to the organiser, Voldi Gailans.15 th to 17 th March 2019: The Les Whittle Memorial AGM Weekend Chess Congress This will take place at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. The AGM will be held at 2pm on Saturday 16th March. We are pleased to be returning to this popular hotel with its excellent facilities. The hotel is located close to the town centre, and a short taxi ride from the railway station.There will be two five round chess tournaments. The Open section is open to all visually impaired chess players and associate members of the BCA. The Challengers is limited to those graded 100 or below. The entry fee for both tournaments is £10. The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for members and associate members is £42 per person per night for Friday and Saturday nights regardless of room type. For members and associate members staying on the Sunday night, the cost will be £59 per person in a single room and £51.50 per person in a double/twin. For prices for non-members, please contact the organiser.The closing date for entries is 25th January 2019. Please send your entry fee and full payment for all accommodation to Gill Smith by this date. Please send any resolutions or other items for inclusion on the AGM agenda to Guy Whitehouse by 31st December 2018. Also, let Guy know if you are planning to attend the AGM without staying at the hotel so that we can let you have the AGM papers. Organiser Steve Burnell.Tuesday 9 th July to Tuesday 16 th July 2019: The Geoff Patching Memorial British Championship This will be held at The Livermead House Hotel, Torquay. It will be a seven round event, with one round each day, and will be open to all visually impaired chess players both from the UK and overseas. It will also be open to all associate members of the BCA. The British Champion will be the highest placed UK visually impaired player. Depending on the entry, there may also be a Challengers event in addition to the main championship.This is a new venue for the BCA but it comes with good recommendations. For the last few years it has been the venue for a very popular one week chess tournament run by the Devon Chess Association and a few of our members have attended that.The cost to BCA members and associate members will be £290 per person for the week, for dinner, bed and breakfast regardless of room type. The entry fee will be £10. For anyone staying part of the week only, the cost will be £42 per person per night for dinner, bed and breakfast. For anyone wishing to stay additional nights at the beginning or end of the tournament, the cost per night will be £69 per person regardless of room type. Payment for entry and all accommodation, including any additional nights, should be sent to the Treasurer by the closing date of 14th May 2019.Organisers Gary and Tanvi. Booking Conditions and ProceduresBy entering a BCA tournament, a player is deemed to have consented for their name and any special requirements to be passed to the hotel prior to the event. Also, consent is considered to have been given for a player’s name, club, results and possibly also their gender to be sent to the ECF for grading purposes. For juniors, the date of birth is also required if they are to get the age-related grading bonus they are entitled to.If you have any queries about the hotel or the tournament please contact the organiser. Blind and partially sighted UK residents under the age of 25 receive free entry and free accommodation when playing in BCA events. In appropriate circumstances, free accommodation is also available to a parent or guardian accompanying a junior.Visually impaired UK residents in their first year of membership receive their first BCA weekend event free or £100 reduction in the cost of a week-long event. They may also be accompanied by a guide or companion who

4

will receive the same concession. For a first event we ask for payment in advance and we then make a refund at the event.You may pay in these ways:Cheques payable to Braille Chess Association should be sent to Gill Smith, see the front of the Gazette for her address.Online or telephone payments may be made to: Braille Chess Association, sort code 40 52 40, account number 00082456.Credit/debit card payments may be made through the BCA website.If you pay by direct payment then you should inform Gill when the payment has been made. Bookings accepted after the closing date are subject to a £10 late booking penalty for each person. Late bookings and entries are accepted at the discretion of the organiser. Bookings are confirmed when full payment has been received. Payments can only be refunded within the time limit set in the terms and conditions set by the hotels. Members are advised to take out holiday insurance to cover themselves.When contacting Gill please let her know if you want a single, double or twin room and if you have a preference for a bath or a shower. And remember, if emailing Gill, copy in the tournament organiser.Also say whether any of the following apply.

1 If you will be bringing a guide dog;2 If you are on a special diet;3 If you have mobility problems and would benefit from being located in a room near to a lift;4 If you are a wheelchair user;5 If you feel you would have any special difficulties in an emergency such as a fire evacuation;6 Any other special requirements.

The BCA reserves the right to refuse or cancel any entry or to exclude any person from any event it runs.

All Under One RoofA note from your Congress Support Officer, Mark Kirkham:If you would like to participate in any of the following events, or indeed any that are not listed here, then why not make use of the congress support scheme? It's designed to help BCA members meet the costs of entering mainstream congresses such as travel and accommodation expenses, or just the entry fee itself. It's open to all members who have played in a BCA event over the past year who have not also received international funding. For anyone who was previously deterred by the bind of writing a report on the event, you will be pleased to hear that this requirement has been removed as we felt it was somewhat formal. All we ask for now is a little feedback. In particular, if you are considering entering one of the events listed below, some of these are popular with BCA members so you may well find yourself in good company. Please contact me at least one week in advance of your proposed event if you wish to put in a claim. (See list of officers for Mark’s contact details.)List of All Under One Roof events by Guy Whitehouse: This list should not be treated as definitive and is only as complete as I can make it whilst complying with gazette deadlines. The following events take place in hotels so the accommodation and tournament are at the same venue.Castle ChessThese are organised by the Castle Chess directors, Tony and Barbara Corfe and Mark Shaw. The website www.castlechess.co.uk gives the email address. Castle Chess are well used to having visually impaired participants in their events. I have also found that other participants in Castle Chess events have got to know and befriended BCA players.Please note that unless otherwise stated, all Castle Chess congresses are now six-round Swiss events and you are allowed to take a half-point bye in any two of the first five rounds. The grading bands are an U195 Championship which also has an U175 Premier section, the Major for those under 155 with an Intermediate section for U135s, and a Minor section for those with a grade less than 115 with a Challengers section for U95s.18th – 20th January 2019, 14th Fareham Congress, Lysses House Hotel, FarehamThe hotel only has a few single rooms, so try to book up quickly if you want one! 8th – 10th February 2019, 6th Dudley Congress, Quality Hotel, Birmingham Rd, Dudley DY1 4RN

5

Other EventsIrish Chess Union tournaments: There are a number of chess events put on by the Irish Chess Union which all seemed to be based at the Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan Road Dublin. Contact the Tournaments Officer, Ivan Baburin for more details.5th – 9th November 2018, 19th Royal Beacon Seniors Congress, Royal Beacon Hotel, Exmouth‘Juniors’ 50-64 and Seniors 65+ No other details are given. Contact R. H. Jones.9th – 11th November 2018, 52nd Torbay Congress, Livermead House Hotel, TorquayThis is a five-round Swiss with four sections: an Open, a Major (U-170), an Intermediate (U-140) and a Foundation (U-120). Contact Phil McConnell. 18th November 2018 Lowestoft Rapid Play, Parkhill Hotel, LowestoftA six-round Swiss with an Open and a section for those with a rapidplay grade under 150. The rate of play is 20 minutes per player with 10 seconds added per move. Contact Stephen Cotterell.6th January 2019 Hull Rapidplay, Royal Hotel, Hull A five-round Swiss with an Open, a U-160 and a U-120. The rate of play is 25 minutes per player with a five-second increment from the first move. Contact Douglas Vleeshhouwer.12th – 13th January 2019, Somerset New Year Congress, Walton Park Hotel, ClevedonA five-round Swiss with a Major (U-175), an Intermediate (U-145) and a Minor (U-120). The rate of play is 36 moves in 90 minutes and a 15 minutes quick play finish. Contact Colin or Rebecca Gardiner.18th – 20th January 2019, 21st 4NCL Congress, the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate A five-round Swiss with a FIDE Open, FIDE U2000 (ECF U175) and ECF U135. Contact Mike Truran.26th January 2019 York Chess Rapidplay, Middlethorpe Hall Hotel, Bishopthorpe Road, York YO23 2GBA six-round Swiss competition, with an Open and an Under 140 section. Time control: 20 mins each for all moves. Contact: Tim Wall Email 8th – 10th March 2019 43rd Blackpool Chess Conference, The Imperial Hotel, Blackpool FY1 3HBFive sections: Lancashire Open, Imperial Major (U181), Intermediate (U155), Minor (U135) and Standard (U115)Contact: Bill O’Rourke.

Call for HaaksbergenNext year's IBIS chess tournament in Haaksbergen will be held from 6th to 7th April. It's an ideal tournament for those who value the social side of chess as much as the competitive side. You play on tables of four, with two games on the Saturday and one on the Sunday, and we all stay with host families, going out for a meal with them on the Sunday evening after the tournament.It would be nice to see more BCA members going. The committee usually subsidises the trip to the tune of £75 per person. If we travel by ferry we would leave on the 4th of April and travel back on the 8th, arriving back in the UK on the 9th. You are free to make your own travel arrangements, but I fill out the entry forms so if you decide to do this let me know.The deadline for letting me know you want to participate on the trip is end of January next year. If you haven't already, give it a try; and if you've been before, why not take the opportunity to renew old friendships? Guy Whitehouse.

Windermere Chess Theme Break 2019Anyone wishing to attend the popular Windermere Chess Theme Break organised by Peter and Celia Gibbs should book up without delay! The 2019 event will be from Saturday 26th January to Saturday 2nd February at the Windermere Manor Hotel. Please see the May 2018 gazette for full details of the cost and how to book.

6

FinancesThe BCA continues to benefit from Julia Scott’s excellent work. The income she brings in enables us to plan ahead for future tournaments and to buy adapted chess sets and clocks in batches, saving us money.We were sad to lose some long-standing members earlier this year. Friends of Geoff Patching, Les Whittle and Bob Brown have given the BCA donations in their memory. Geoff Patching left the BCA a legacy of £2,000 which is to be spent on our Gazette.If you shop online, please consider signing up to Give as you Live and help raise funds for the BCA at no extra cost to you. If you would like more information then please ask me.Gill Smith

Millennium Club, the BCA’s monthly lotteryFor just £1 a month you could take part in our prize draw. The Millennium Club raises funds for the BCA by holding a monthly draw at £12 per number per year. Each month a lucky winner receives £35. If you wish to enter the draw, send a cheque made payable to "Braille Chess Association" to the treasurer or make an online or telephone payment to the BCA. Or, even better, you could set up a standing order then next year’s subs will not be forgotten.Recent Millennium Club winners:

August: Julie Leonard, number 52.September: John Gallagher, number 58.October: Hazel Burnell, number 56.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Circulated Membership ListThe BCA maintains a membership list which includes name, address, membership type and preferred format for correspondence. To comply with the new GDPR rules we are asking members if they agree to have these details circulated to other BCA members. Unless you opt in you will not receive any further copies of the membership list.If you opt in then you will still be able to receive the membership list. The list which is circulated will only include those that have opted in.Thank you to those who have already replied. If you have not yet stated whether you wish to opt in or opt out then please contact me or any committee member to confirm your choice.Please note that this is a separate exercise to giving permission for your email address to be shared.Gill Smith

Membership Secretary’s ReportNew MembersOnly one new member this quarter, eight year old Fred Newell. However we will soon be getting four new young members from RNC Hereford as the members of a school chess club at the college plan to join the BCA as individual members. The BCA is supplying a number of chess sets for use by the club to supplement their meagre number of chess sets.DeceasedSadly I have to report a number of deaths of members.

Mike Meaney, who often came over from Ireland to join his many BCA friends at tournaments, passed away in July. We very much enjoyed his music and singing.Bobby Brown, a very popular BCA member, who passed away in August. He will be very much missed by members of our organisation.John Dawson died 5th January 2018, aged 93.Honorary Member Mary Marshall died on 1st September. Mary did excellent work on behalf of the BCA including recording much chess material.

Mark Hague

7

Correspondence Chess Director’s ReportThe 44th Championship (2017-18) has finished. A big thank you to the group leaders who have shared the workload. Entries to the 45th Championship, starting on 01 January 2019, are now being accepted, closing date 23 November 2018. Correspondence play can take place using a variety of methods, Braille, cassette, email, telephone, according to mutual agreement. For further information contact the Correspondence Chess Director, details as shown in list of Officers.

44th BCA CORRESPONDENCE TOURNAMENT 2017-18 Premier - Group Leader Paul Benson McElroy 1 - 0 Phillips, Queen's Pawn, 33. Phillips 0 - 1 Whittle, Queen's Pawn, 35. Final scores: Alec Crombie 4-4, Ernie McElroy 2.5, Les Whittle 2.5, George Phillips 1, Mike Hague 0. Challenger Group A - Group Leader Denis Warren Final scores: Denis Warren 3.5-4, Guy Whitehouse 3.5, Eric Gallacher 2, Voldi Gailans 1, Arthur Greatrex 0. Challenger Group B - Group Leader Gary Wickett The final three games in this group required adjudication. Patching 0 - 1 Heyes, Slav, 16. Tew 1 - 0 Patching, Queen's Pawn, 26. Wickett 1 - 0 Patching, 27. Final scores: Derek Heyes 4-4, Gary Wickett 3, Jim Cuthbert 2, Eleanor Tew 1, Geoff Patching 0. Congratulations to Derek Heyes on winning this group with a perfect score.

BCA LEAGUE 2018-19 Division 1 - Group Leader Guy Whitehouse Mark Hague 0 - 1 McElroy, Sicilian, 26. Scores: Alec Crombie 1.5-2, Ernie McElroy 1-1, Mark Hague 0.5-2, Mike Hague 0-1. Division 2 - Group Leader Voldi Gailans Final scores: Derek Heyes 2-2, Voldi Gailans 1, Denis Warren 0. Congratulations to Derek Heyes on winning Division 2 with a maximum score. Division 3 - Group Leader George Phillips Phillips 1 - 0 Gallacher, Queen's Pawn, 20. Tew 0 - 1 Phillips, Queen's Pawn, 42. Scores: George Phillips 3-4, Guy Whitehouse 2-2, Arthur Greatrex 0-0, Jim Cuthbert 0-1, Eric Gallacher 0-1, Eleanor Tew 0-2.

FRIENDLY LADDER TABLE Anyone wishing to play a friendly game on the Ladder should now contact myself, details as shown in list of Officers. Any friendly games played under correspondence conditions, such as by Braille, cassette, email, telephone, can qualify as a Friendly Ladder game. Please report such games and let your efforts be reflected in your accumulating score. Scores: 8 Roger Bishop; 7 Jim Cuthbert; 5 Stan Lightowler; 4 Mark Hague, Dorothy Hodges, Stan Lovell, Eleanor Tew, Denis Warren; 3 Ernie McElroy, Lea Ryan; 2 Lionel Bryant, Derek Couchman, Tony Elbourn, Jason Pearce, Ann Saunders, Bill Tatum; 1 Christopher Huby. In closing, to those about to start a game: Break a peg!Paul Benson

8

9th BCA Email TournamentEamonn Casey and Philip Doyle write: There are 14 participants on this occasion, 3 less than in our previous tournament. We have divided these into two divisions of five players, and one division with four players. On this occasion division 3 will be the one contain-ing the 4 players. The divisions were based on BCA grades, performance in previous email tournaments where applicable, and where possible, incorporated promotion and relegation. In divisions 1 and 2 players will have two whites and two blacks, but because there are only 4 players in division 3 this is not possible, so half the players will have two whites, and the other half will have two blacks, dependent on the seeding.We are still waiting for our first result from Division 3.

Division 1: Peter Gibbs, Rod MacDonald, Philip Doyle, Colin Chambers, Steve Burnell.Six games have already been completed. Once again, Peter and Rod are leading the way.Doyle lost to GibbsChambers beat BurnellChambers lost to MacDonaldDoyle drew with ChambersMacDonald beat DoyleGibbs beat ChambersScores so far: Gibbs and MacDonald 2/2, Chambers 1.5/4, Doyle 0.5/3, Burnell 0/1

Division 2: Stan Lovell, Richard Murphy, Eamonn Casey, Steve Thacker, Voldi Gailans.Four games are finished, with Voldi making the early running on his first visit to Division 2.Thacker lost to GailansGailans beat LovellLovell drew with ThackerGailans beat CaseyScores so far: Gailans 3/3, Lovell and Thacker 0.5/2, Casey 0/1, no results in yet for Murphy.

Division 3: Denis Warren, Tony Lawton, Gill Smith, Tony Elbourne.Lawton beat SmithScores so far: Lawton 1/1, Smith 0/1, no results in yet for Warren or Elbourne.

From Sofa to Sofia - IBCA World Team Championship 2018Paul Benson writes:It has been 22 years since I've competed in an IBCA event, there have been a few changes since then. Your Gaz-ette Editor thought a pre-millennium perspective on post-millennium chess might be of interest, so here goes. The IBCA World Team Championship took place in Sofia (Bulgaria) from July 20 - July 31 2018. Following modern trends, your reporter suggests all relevant information can be found by a quick Google search on a few key words. Hey, technological advances haven't half made report-writing easier, if only playing chess had been made equally simpler. Hang on there, just had a go at a few sites and there are a lot of details missing. Looks like the old-fashioned art-icle is dramatically better than stabbing around on this new-fangled webby-thingy. The hard work done in Ohrid (Macedonia) in June 2017 yielded an invitation to compete in the IBCA 2018 World Team Championship. The Great Britain team of Chris Ross, Steve Hilton, Paul Benson, Bill Armstrong (Captain) and Graham Pennington was to be supported by coaches Neil Macdonald and Chris Beaumont, with Pat Arm-strong and Kathleen Pennington offering vital off-the-board guidance. Travel delays are just out there waiting to pounce on the unwary. Steve found himself delivered to the wrong Premier Inn for the overnight stop, while Bill, Pat, Graham, Kathleen, had their Manchester to London flight held up by a fire at Ringway airport. Eventually the complete squad met up for their last meal on home soil at about 21:00. Thoughts of having to cope with foreign food for almost a fortnight led to some last chance stocking up with Anglo-cuisine of kofta, pizza, curry and Medi-terranean salad. Though we were not to know, a restricted and repetitive diet was not to be on the agenda. The Hotel Marinela is a large complex on the outskirts of Sofia. Much of the Great Britain squad were billeted on the 17th floor, though for some reason others were to be found on lower floors. Despite this lofty location the call of peacocks from a nearby garden could still be heard. All meals were buffet style, breakfast a mix of cooked and

9

continental, lunch and dinner offering cooked meats or fish in sauces with side-salad vegetables to be followed with fruit salad or cakes. Poor chess could not be blamed on either poor cuisine or small portions. The tournament was split into two groups of eight teams of roughly equal strength using finishing places from the 2017 Macedonia Olympiad. Great Britain finished in 13th place back there, the opposition here in 2018 was going to be tough. Here are the Great Britain match results in Group A, the first mentioned team having white on the odd boards: Great Britain 1 - 3 Serbia. Macedonia 2.5 - 1.5 Great Britain. Great Britain 1 - 3 Germany. Great Britain 3.5 - 0.5 Bulgaria II. Turkey 1 - 3 Great Britain. Great Britain 1 - 3 Venezuela. Russia 4 - 0 Great Britain.

Final Group A Table with match points and board points: 1. Russia, 13, 25. 2. Germany, 11, 18.5. 3. Serbia, 8, 16. 4. Venezuela, 8, 12. 5. Turkey, 6, 12.5. 6. Macedonia, 5, 12. 7. Great Britain, 4, 11. 8. Bulgaria II, 1, 5.

Final Group B Table with match points and board points: 1. Poland, 14, 23. 2. Ukraine, 12, 20. 3. India, 8, 16. 4. Romania, 7, 14. 5. Bulgaria I, 6, 11.5. 6. Spain, 5, 12. 7. Slovenia, 4, 11. 8. Italy, 0, 4.5.

To determine the final places each group was cut into four sections of two teams in order to arrange cross-group semi-finals. In the top section the 1st place of Group A played 2nd place of Group B and the 1st place of Group B played 2nd place of Group A, the winners of these semi-finals then played for overall 1st and 2nd place, the losers played for overall 3rd and 4th place. This pattern was repeated for the remaining three sections, Great Britain be-ing in the 4th section were therefore competing for 13th - 16th place.

The final places were: 1. Russia, 2. Poland, 3. Ukraine, 4. Germany, 5. Serbia, 6. Venezuela, 7. Romania, 8. India, 9. Spain, 10. Macedonia, 11. Bulgaria I, 12. Turkey, 13. Great Britain, 14. Bulgaria II, 15. Slovenia, 16. Italy. Personal Great Britain scores in board order: Ross 6.5-9, Hilton 2-8, Benson 5-9, Armstrong 2.5-6, Pennington 1-4. The bare statistics can never tell the whole story. As the tournament proceeded a regular routine soon established itself. The posting of teams for that day generally happened about 10:00. which spurred the coaches into action. Depending on selection, Neil set to work with Chris R. and Steve while Chris B. visited myself, Bill or Graham. How to prepare was down to the individual concerned. The repertoire of the opponent needs careful examination to avoid being ambushed with a dangerous offbeat line. Sometimes one targets a specific variation of the oppon-ent, other times one focuses only on strengthening play in one's chosen system. There is also the possibility of the opponent changing their usual opening selection in order to try and catch one out on your "home ground". Such a disaster landed on me against Russia as my opponent cleverly shuffled his repertoire to drag me screaming into a very tricky system. The irony in that game is that the dangers of the gambit were extensively explored by me in several Skype coaching sessions a while back, and despite having all the study material still in mind, the tweaked

10

move order caught me out. Almost all of the games from the event can be found in the BCA web site archive, though be aware that some games are cut short, the result is correct but moves are missing. The team managed to collect three awards during the closing ceremony. Chris received a bronze medal and trophy for his 6.5-9 points on board 1, an excellent performance. There were also a couple of curious "Fair Play" awards given to both Graham and myself. Anyone who has played team chess knows full well about that nagging "what if" post-game guilt which can infect those who feel they have missed opportunities. Such personal retrospective speculation gains nothing. However it should be noted that certain events elsewhere beyond our control seemed to have influenced our final position. Favouring us was the non-attendance of Lithuania and Azerbaijan resulting in potentially weaker teams Turkey and Bulgaria II being invited, both of these substitutes appeared in our qualifying group. Working against us was the late arrival of Venezuela resulting in Turkey gaining a 4-0 default victory in the 1st round. Had this match been played it is likely that Venezuela would have won meaning we would have finished above Turkey. But then again, can anyone claim the remaining rounds would have been exactly the same had that 1st round match gone that way? There was also a 7th round pre-match agreement to play out four quick draws between neighbours Ser-bia and Macedonia which virtually guaranteed that Macedonia would finish above us. Had this match been fiercely fought with Serbia scoring well we could have been competing for 9th - 12th place. Having observed these points, a realist should respond by suggesting we held our own future in our hands during the qualifying group, this is true. We all fought hard, rest assured that lack of favourable results was not due to lack of effort.

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Pat Armstrong for the photos of the event that she sent to me for the BCA Facebook page. The online response was very favourable! If any readers take photos of our members (with their permission, of course) at any chess event and would like to send the pictures to me I would be glad to receive them. Thanks in advance!

Games from the IBCA World Team Championship 2018Each of the players in our squad was asked to select a game for the gazette.

Steve considers this game to be the best one he played at the event. Round 1: D, Jandric (Serbia) 2197 v S. Hilton 1874 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nc6 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. h3 Rfd8 12. Bf4 d5 13. e5 Ne8 14. Qe2 Rac8 15. Rad1 Bb4 16. Rd3 Ne7 17. Bd2 Ng6 18. Nh2 Qe7 19. Rg3 Qd7 20. Ng4 Be7 21. Rd3 b5 22. a3 a5 23. g3 b4 24. axb4 axb4 25. Nd1 h5 26. Nh2 h4 27. Ng4 Qa7 28. Kg2 Rc4 29. b3 Rc2 30. Nde3 Ra2 31. Rc1 Qb7 32. Rc2 Rda8 33. Be1 Rxc2 34. Qxc2 Rc8 35. Qe2 1/2-1/2

Bill selected this game and points out how he could have made it even better. Round 5: W. Armstrong 1812 v E. Emre (Turkey) 1549 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. c3 Bb7 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Rc1 d6 10. Ne4 Qc7 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 12. dxc5 Ne5 13. cxd6 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 White could have replied 14. Qxf3 and made the win a much simpler process.14. … Qd7 15. Be4 Bxe4 16. fxe4 e5 17. Bg3 Rfd8 18. f4 Qe6 19. Qd5 Qxd5 20. exd5 exf4 21. Bxf4 Re8 22. Kf2 Rad8 23. Kf3 Be5 24. Bxe5 Rxe5 25. e4 Rxd6 26. c4 Rh5 27. c5 bxc5 28. Rxc5 g6 29. Kg3 Re5 30. Rc8+ Kg7 31. Rc7 Rf6 32. Rxf6 Kxf6 33. Rc6+ Ke7 34. Kf4 Rh5 35. Rc7+ Kd6 36. Rxf7 Rxh2 37. Rxa7 Rxb2 38. Ra6+ Kd7 39. Ke5 Rb7 40. Kf6 Rb8 41. e5 Ke8 42. e6 h5 43. d6 h4 44. Ra7 Kf8 45. e7+ Kg8 46. Rd7 1-0

Graham chose this game in which he lasted 41 moves against a FIDE Master before conceding. Round 7: G. Pennington 1701 v R. Draganov (Russia) 21491. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nge2 Re8 7. d3 d6 8. O-O Bg4 9. a3 a5 10. Qc2 Qd7 11. Bd2 Bh3 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Ne7 15. Nc3 c6 16. Qa4 Red8 17. e4 Qg4 18. Qd1 Qg6 19. Be3 cxd5 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 Rdc8 22. Qd2 a4 23. Rac1 b6 24. f3 Qf5 25. g4 Qd7 26. h3 Qb5 27. Bg1 Bxg1 28. Kxg1 Qxd5 29. Rxc8+ Rxc8 30. Rc1 Rxc1+ 31. Qxc1 Qc5+ 32. Qxc5 dxc5 33. Kf2 Kf8 34. Ke2 Ke7 35. Kd2 Kd6 36. Kc2 Kd5 37. Kd2 Kd4 38. Ke2 f6 39. Kd2 g6 40. Ke2 f5 41. Kd2 b5 0-1

11

Chris has written up his game against an International Master for us.Round 3: C. Ross 2214 v O. Müller (Germany) 2291 {B52: Sicilian: Moscow Variation}1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. Rd1 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 a6 10. c4 Nxd4 11. Rxd4 Qc6 12. Nc3 Be7 13. b3{13. a4 to restrain the black queen-side is also possible. Black has a cramped position and doesn’t have any obvi-ous pawn-breaks. The rook on d4 seems slightly precarious, but is indeed holding up a lot of ground and prevent-ing Black from freeing himself.}13... b5{Black takes the opportunity to break. The pin on the c4-pawn prevents White from capturing on b5.}14. e5{White attempts to create tension since Black is somewhat behind in development. The open diagonal from a1-h8 becomes a point of focus and with the white heavy pieces ranging along it, both sides have to tread very carefully not to lose material. 14. Bd2 and 14. a3 were the calmer routes.}14... dxe5 15. Qxe5 Nd7{Black aims to place his dark-squared bishop along the long diagonal as quickly as possible, since all of the white heavy pieces are lined up there. White is now threatening to take on b5, as the knight on c3 is indirectly defended by the queen on e5, since Rd8+ tactics would be available. White would have to be careful of his back-rank though, so this would have to be timed carefully. 15... Rc8 would avoid all of those tactics and keep the pressure down the C-file.}16. Qg3{Defending the loose knight on c3. 16. Qxg7 isn’t possible due to 16... Bf6 17. Qg4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Rg8 and Black’s winning.}16... Bf6 17. Rd6 Qb7{Black has to be very careful here. 17... Qc7 18. Rxe6+ is possible. 17... Qc8 18. Bg5 O-O 19. Rxd7 Bxg5 is fine for Black. White now has a very strong response.}18. Bf4{Preventing any forks with Be5. Annoyingly, White fails to appreciate that the threatened fork is not a threat! 18. Bg5! Puts Black in a really awkward position and should win a clear queen-side for White.18... Be5 19. Rxd7! Gaining tempo on the misplaced black queen (had she been on c8, this wouldn’t be possible.)18... Bxg5 19. Qxg5 and both g7 and b5 are attacked. b5 will fall giving White a clear advantage.}18... b4{Exploiting the pin on the c3-knight. Things will now get somewhat messy and it all depends on who can hold their nerve the best!}19. Rad1{Messy, but not playable is 19. Nd5 Bxa1 (19... exd5 20. Re1+ Kf8 21. Qg4 and the knight on d7 can’t move due to Rxf6 and Bh6+ tactics.)20. Nc7+ Qxc7 21. Rxe6+ fxe6 22. Bxc7 O-O and Black has too much for the queen.}19... bxc3 20. Rxd7 c2{A very scary position for White, but seemingly tenable due to the dark-squared bishop on f4 controlling the queening square. This advanced pawn on c2 can be a huge asset, or a weakness in an end-game.}21. R1d3 Qe4{White’s back-rank still proves to be a problem, but intriguingly, both the dark-square bishop and queen can de-fend backward to cover the all-important squares. IF White can survive the tactics, the end-game looms well for him. Unfortunately, there was a twist here, as Black had an unstoppable winning plan.21... Qb4 with the simple intension of Qa3 and supporting the pawn home. White doesn’t have time to protect the back-rank threat on e1 and stop Qa3 at the same time. 22. Qe3 Bb2 is crushing.}22. f3 Qe2 23. Bc1

12

{By this retreat, White has just about solved all of the tactics. The queening square is blocked and with Qf2 com-ing in, the pawn on c2 will soon fall, giving White a clear end-game advantage. Black only has one way to sal-vage the position now.}23... Rd8!{By this sneaky exchange, Black removes all White’s defensive opportunities. The rook on d3 will prove too loose to hold. White can’t defend the back-rank and stop the penetration of both the black queen and black dark-squared bishop without losing significant material. White has no option now apart from cash out in a perpetual.}24. Rxd8+ Bxd8 25. Rxd8+ Kxd8 26. Qd6+ Ke8 27. Qb8+{27. Qc6+ is the cleanest way to obtain the perpetual. Nevertheless, Black refrains from venturing into the middle of the board, where he would be cut down by the joint efforts of the white queen and dark-squared bishop.}27... Kd7 28. Qb7+ Kd8 29. Qb8+ Kd7 30. Qb7+ Kd8 31. Qb8+ Kd7 1/2-1/2

Paul has given his choice the subtitle: “A Good Knight Out in Sofia”!Round 4: S. Stoykov (Bulgaria II) - P. Benson 1928Scotch Game, C45(White was not FIDE rated but during this event generated a rating of 1716.)1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4(The Scotch Game, both strategically and tactically easier to handle than the Ruy Lopez or the Giuoco Piano. However, do not become lured into thinking the Scotch Game is easy to play. Knowing which minor pieces should be retained and which ones to remove according to how the pawn structures evolve is vital. Get this appar-ently simple task wrong and long-term suffering is your legacy.)3. ... exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 bxc6(Excellent, some pawn structure imbalance offering opportunities for both players to test the other during the middlegame struggle.)6. Bd3 Qh4 (Aggressive, the black queen goes on a kingside sortie before the g8 knight shuffles out.)7. Qe2 Nf6 8. h3 O-O 9. g3 Qh5 10. Qxh5(A rather shallow understanding of the position, White is thinking purely of the black pawn islands being problem-atic in any ending. Fine as far as it goes, just the little problem of getting to an endgame with an equal position from which to start grinding. Instead the more knowledgeable players seem to prefer, 10. g4, leaving Black to choose between either e5 or h4 for the queen.)10. ... Nxh5 11. Nc3 Re8 (Black correctly starts a siege on the white e4 pawn. White on the other hand has abso-lutely no chance of trying to mount anything on the black c6 pawn, well not for a very long while.)12. Kf1 (Castling by hand seemed at the time to be the sensible plan of developing the h1 rook, finding king safety, and avoiding losing the h3 pawn. Retrospection suggests a plan of putting pawns on g4, f3, combining Bg5 with O-O-O would create fewer problems.)12. ... Bb7 13. Kg2 d5 (The dynamic approach. A calmer method was to play Bb4 to be followed by putting pawns on d6 and c5 and increasing the pressure with Nf6.)14. Bd2 (In time Black will bring more pressure to bear on the e4 pawn with Nf6 so perhaps White should try to eliminate this potential attacker with pawn g4 and then Bg5.)14. ... Nf6 15. Rhe1 Rad8 (Black is setting up a tactic trying to exploit the undefended white d2 bishop. Instead a slower system involving pawn h6 combined with doubling rooks on the e-file should also keep White on the defensive.)16. f3 dxe4(A critical decision. On the plus side Black fixes a target on the light squares, the big discussion is now over the relative futures of each light square bishop. On the minus side the black queenside pawns will now find safe mo-bilisation a difficult task.)17. fxe4 Nd7 (Eyeing the excellent outpost for a knight on e5.)18. Be3 (The white king will eventually become uncomfortable on the h1 - a8 diagonal so the f2 square is re-claimed to permit advancement toward the centre.)18. ... Re7 19. a3

13

(A sure sign that all is not happy in the white camp. Such a non-entity of a move suggests White does not have a plan of action, only sad reactions to whatever Black produces.)19. ... Bxe3 20. Rxe3 Nc5(Is this the first hint of something amiss in the black strategic planning department? Outposts such as the e5 square scream louder than a banshee to be occupied by this knight. Perhaps Black does not wish to limit the activ-ity of the e7 rook? No problem, the e7 rook is ready to do a sidestep with Red7 increasing pressure up the d-file with the plan of pawn c5 then pawn c4 to follow.)21. Kf2 Nxd3+ (A very serious misjudgement. It is most likely as further trading down occurs there will be a white knight left fighting against the black bishop, so which of them will have the better prospects? It is not the pieces themselves which determines superiority, it is weaknesses in the relative pawn formations, and the emphasis is on the word - "Weaknesses".)22. Rxd3 Rxd3 23. cxd3 f6 24. Na4(Heading for a good outpost on c5 from where it will fight for control of light squares in the black defences.)24. ... Bc8 25. h4 f5 (Very committal. There is no need for Black to challenge like this yet, simply centralise the king before thinking about pawn moves.)26. Nc5 fxe4 (Again very committal, king centralisation is preferable.)27. dxe4 (The white e4 pawn needs to be defined - Is it isolated or passed? The answer has nothing to do with the pawn itself but everything to do with the remaining pieces around it. If the black king, rook and bishop can gang up on it, forcing all the white pieces to defend it, then it is most definitely isolated. If the black trio fail to combine against it then the status of the e-pawn is passed, meaning one of the black units must be continually on guard against advancement.)27. ... Bg4 (Preventing any ideas of Rd1 with Rd8 and Ra8 in mind, though if this is really what White wishes for then, Rc1 with Rc4 and Ra4 targets the black a7 pawn.)28. Rf1 (White prefers not to send the rook wandering into the black queenside. If 28. Rc1 Rf7+ 29. Ke3 Rf3+ costs white the g3 pawn without any obvious compensation. Instead 28. Rc1 Rf7+ 29. Kg2 and the white king is cut off from the centre.)28. ... Rf7+ (Black must make a challenge on the f-file at some point, White must not be permanently allowed to have a rook preventing the black king from centralising.)29. Ke1 Rxf1+ 30. Kxf1(It is likely both kings will centralise and prevent each other from making serious incursion. The critical factor will be whoever has more pawn weaknesses in need of defending. The black queenside pawns cannot offer any defensive support to each other, but providing they stand still they are not easy targets for the white knight. The entire white pawn formation could probably be transferred onto the dark squares if required. The black queenside pawns cannot force the creation of a passed pawn. White does not need to create another passed pawn, the knight will simply keep jumping around with threats of forks in several directions, sooner or later something should hap-pen. Enough chat, just bear in mind the above points while observing each minor piece in action.)30. ... Kf7 31. Kf2 (White must not fall into 31. Na6 Bf3 32. Nxc7 Bxe4 when the valuable passed e4 pawn has been given up for a virtually useless c7 pawn.)31. ... Ke7 (The black king is placing itself close enough to the c7 pawn to offer a defence should White now try Na6. Perhaps a summary of the important factors in the position might assist? The black c7 pawn is a fixed weak-ness continually in need of a defence, this will tie the black king down to remaining on certain squares. The white passed e4 pawn is a strength in need of restraint. The black kingside pawns are potential targets to be threatened into advancing until they become fixed. Any king and pawn ending is winning for White, the doubled black c-pawns would behave as a single pawn, White would only need to advance the queenside pawns planning abandon-ing the passed e-pawn in favour of winning both black c-pawns and then forcing a queenside pawn through to pro-motion. In retaliation the black king would have to take the white e-pawn, sprint kingside to wipe out the white pawns and then push a pawn through, but this should be far too slow, a white queen should make her presence felt long before a black promotion can occur.)32. Ke3 Bd1 (Black chooses to place the bishop aggressively, the alternative was to place it on the h5 - e8 diag-onal and shuffle, waiting for White to try to force something.)33. Kd4 Bc2

14

(More testing was 33. ... Kd6 forcing White to work much harder to gain a dark square entry for the king.)34. Ke5 (The white king now has ideas of invading the kingside once the knight has prodded the black kingside pawns into movement.)34. ... Bb1 35. Nb3(More temptation to be resisted is 35. Ne6 apparently winning a pawn but 35. ... Bxe4 is an annoyance as White dare not capture the bishop as there is no way to win such a pawn ending. Of course after 35. Ne6 Bxe4 36. Nxg7 White should be able to make something with the kingside pawn majority, but as the black kingside pawns are al-ways vulnerable why take the risk of losing the passed e-pawn?)35. ... Kd7 (Instead 35. ... Ba2 36. Nd4 Bc4 37. Nf5 g6 after which the knight slowly shuffles itself onto either g5 or f6, forcing the h7 pawn to advance, the black kingside pawns will soon become fixed after which White will soon pick off a pawn or two somewhere.)36. Nd4 Bd3 (An unfortunate square but sensible options were in short supply. Instead 36. ... g6 37. Ne6 forces the black king to remain defending the c7 pawn and threatens Nf8+ picking off the black h7 pawn or the black g6 pawn should Black try 37. ... h6. Note that if 36. ... g6 37. Ne6 Bxe4 fails this time as 38. Nc5+ followed by 39. Nxe4 and White wins a piece.)37. Ne6 h5 (Black is very short of time, instead 37. ... Bc2 38. Nxg7 and White should have a decisive pawn ma-jority on the kingside.)38. Nc5+ 1-0 (It is reckoned backward knight captures are the most difficult to envisage, a good generalisation but not a rule, White will play 39. Nxd3 winning a piece.)

David Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Prize 2018Members (including associate members) in the British Isles are reminded that they can enter games for the 2018 competition by sending them to any committee member in the format of your choice. The year is drawing to a close so if you play a game that you’re pleased with in our International Autumn Tournament, the 9th Email Tour-nament or any other eligible event, please send it in without delay! The judge for 2018 is our reigning champion, Bill Armstrong. The competition covers over the board and corres-pondence games which must have been played in a BCA event or for a BCA team during the year. The aim is to consider games at all levels in the BCA, whatever the grade of the players.

Final Echo of an OlympiadJulie Leonard writes: This is the last article in a series featuring the Weymouth Olympiad of 1968 to mark the 50th

anniversary of this pivotal event in IBCA history. The Olympiad organiser, John Graham, sent daily reports to the local press and these have been reproduced with the kind permission of Paul Roper at the Dorset Echo. Much gratitude is due to them both and also to BCA member Philip Doyle, whose idea it was to research these newspa-per reports.Thank you to everyone who has given feedback on this commemorative series of articles during the year. It’s wonderful to know that so many readers have enjoyed them and that the long daytrip that my husband, Olly, and I took to the offices of the Dorset Echo in order to research their archives was worthwhile!In the August issue we covered the final round in which the U.S.S.R. clinched Gold. This time we have the Best Game of the event. One of the players involved is a current BCA member, though sadly he was not on the win-ning side of that particular encounter. There is also a retrospective report written by John Graham more than twenty years after the Olympiad.The article that follows appeared in John Graham’s Chess Chat column in the Dorset Echo on 17th April 1968. The game score was originally given in English Descriptive notation but it has been converted to algebraic for the benefit of younger readers. Best Game in Blind OlympiadThe following game won the best game prize during the 3rd Blind Olympiad. It was played at board one in round two between Albert Sandrin, of the U.S.A., and S. Loftus of Ireland, and the winner, Albert Sandrin, was awarded a handsome striking braille clock for his creation.White: A. Sandrin (U.S.A.); black: S. Loftus (Eire). Queen's Gambit declined. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Be7 8.Qc2 O-O 9.Nf3 h6 10.h4

15

An interesting sacrifice (Golombek).10. ... Re8 11. O-O-O hxg5 Black accepts the challenge. It is really very difficult to see where white is going to get much for his sacrificed piece (Golombek).12. hxg5 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14.g6 This is the key move in white's offer of a piece for a king side attack. At this time black can take neither the white bishop or the knight, e.g., if 14 ... exf3; 15. Bc4 Rf8 and then white forces mate starting with gxf7+ and Qh7 to follow, or if 14. ... exd3; 15. Qb3 Rf8 16. Rh2 begins an unstoppable check-mate threat (Sandrin). 14. ... Nf6 15.gxf7+At this point white could win the black queen by 15. Ne5, and if fxg6; 16 Rh8+, followed by the knight check on f7, but black's game would be much too strong. After all he would have three pieces for the queen, and a good po-sition (Sandrin).15. ... Kxf7 16. Ne5+ Kg8 17. Bxe4 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Bf6 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. Qg6 Be6 21. e4 This keeps the black queen from d5 (Sandrin).21. ... Qc7 22. Rh5 Bxe5 23. dxe5 Rad8 24. Rxd8 Qxd8 25. Rh8+ Bg8 26. Qh7 Qg5+After this black loses the piece he had been given earlier. It was better to have played 26. Kf7; when the white queen would check at f5 (Sandrin). 27. Kb1 Kf7 What a difference a move later makes (Golombek).28. e6+ Kxe6 29. Rxg8 Kf7 30. Rxe8 Kxe8 31. Qh3 Qd8 32. Qh8+ Kd7 33. Qxg7+Qxd8+ wins faster, the zugzwang of the pawns that follow after the exchange of queens makes this pretty game even more exciting (Golombek).33. ... Kc8 34. Qg4+ Kc7 35. Qf4+ Kc8 36. Qg4+ Kc7 White's repetitious queen checks were intended only to gain time on the clock (Sandrin).37. Qe2 Qh4 38. a3 Qh1+As can be seen white loses a pawn all due to that confounded clock (Sandrin). 39. Ka2 Qxg2 40. Qe3 Qg8+ 41. Qb3 Qg2 42. Qg3+ Qxg3 43. fxg3 Kd6 44. g4 Ke5 45. g5 c5 46. a4 b6 47. Kb3 a6 48. Kc4 Ke6 49. a5 Resigns 1-0The knowledge of what to do with pawns and king in the end-game is what most players can do with. Sandrin is an American master and his ending shows it. The annotations in this game are the work of Sandrin while he recited the game for me and also the work of Go-lombek who was on the best game committee. This committee sifted through a large number of the 440 games played, by double checking games which were noted by one or other of the members of the committee. ***International Master Harry Golombek was on the control team at the Weymouth Olympiad. I have it on good au-thority from a close friend of his, Gerry Walsh, that Harry was very much of the opinion that it takes two players to make a “Best Game”. Both must play exceptionally well in order to make the contest an interesting one. So al-though Sean Loftus, was on the losing side that day, he is nevertheless to be congratulated on putting up a good fight! After all, Harry Golombek himself remarked that at first it was hard to see what Sandrin hoped to gain from his piece sacrifice!

John Graham concludes his Chess Chat article as follows:The Olympiad is over and those of us who have worked more than a year for the even are left with a sense of loss, but fortunately chess is a game which can be recorded and the games can be played over again and again to bring back the atmosphere and competition of the most important chess tournament Weymouth has seen. As a postscript, may I thank all those who have helped in any way, however small, to make the Olympiad a suc-cess. It is impossible to write to everyone to thank them individually, but tribute should be paid to the manage-ment of the Fairhaven Hotel, the Round Table, the Southern National Bus Co., the Railway Station staff, the Wey-mouth Chess Club, the Pavilion Ballroom staff, the Dorset Evening Echo, and Weymouth Borough, and of course all those who joined in with us in making this an event to remember. Thank you.***

16

Finally, here is John Graham’s account in which he looks back on the Weymouth Olympiad. It gives a frank, fas-cinating and often humorous insight into the challenges he faced as organiser and the delicate manoeuvring that took place in order to keep people happy! Needless to say, the Hans to whom he refers was Hans Cohn, who worked tirelessly to promote Braille chess nationally and internationally for decades. Weymouth Olympiad 1968 by John Graham“It had seemed such a good idea the year before” said the Weymouth organiser, “now, at one o’clock in the morn-ing, standing on a bare railway platform in Weymouth and listening to the broken English of a helper explaining that the interpreter had died on the way from Poland, the idea was wearing thin.”A year before, a blind friend had asked if I would organise the third world championship for blind chess teams. It was not an unreasonable request - I was already editing and producing an international tape-recorded chess magazine for the blind - I had the contacts - I was a contributor to the ‘Dorset Evening Echo’. I had a seaside re-sort for the venue. I was sighted. I said “O.K. - as long as I don’t have to collect the funds.”I need not have worried. Hans, the Secretary of the British Blind Chess Association, was a whiz at collecting funds. As teams began to respond to our invitation, he first persuaded Mr. Marks of ‘Marks and Spencers’ to sponsor the Israeli team because the Russians were sponsoring a team. Then he told the Soviet Embassy that the Israelis were fully funded but the Soviet team couldn’t afford to come. We only told one lie. Meanwhile, I had formed a group of U.S. blind players into a national team and persuaded George Koltonowski, the San Francisco chess columnist, to accompany them. A San Diego violinist’s foundation provided the funds once they knew that Koltonowski was coming. Funds grew on other funds, with a little persuasion, and soon the event was ON. Now it was up to me and Weymouth.The Fairhaven Hotel was being reconstructed and I was able to persuade the owner of the rambling building on the sea front to add elevators. Since the building had been assembled from three older hotels, its corridors and innu-merable staircases invited accidents if you were sighted or not. In the final event, the elevators were unnecessary and the blind visitors rejected warning tapes that I had planned for each staircase. They would take their chances, they said. In the two weeks of the tournament, three players fell down flights of stairs but no one was injured - if you’re blind you relax in falling, you don’t grasp for a hold that you cannot see.We invited every blind chess team we knew - those from 20 nations. Eventually, they all managed support and all turned up. Each brought a team of four players with two sighted helpers. In 1968, Britain did not recognise East Germany and I was warned by the U.K. Foreign Office that East German nationals would only be allowed to enter the country as individuals rather than as a team. I had to promise that they would neither be allowed to wave their flag nor sing their anthem. That was annoying because I had arranged for each table to show the flag of its competing nation (and the media would be watching) and we might even sing to each other in the evenings. So, when the East Germans came and learnt of the restrictions, they naturally objected - they announced that they would go home and take the other Soviet bloc countries with them. How strange that now sounds since the Soviet Union is no more but it was a serious threat in 1968. I found a solution.Since I, the organiser, was the only one who had actually made the promise to the British Government, I offered to leave and they could organise everything between them. “Well, let’s not be hasty.” was the unanimous reply.We worked it out: inside the hotel the East Germans would be allowed to wave whatever flag they chose (even the Welsh one that I offered), and sing whatever anthem they chose. Outside the hotel we asked for more decorum. However, since play would take place only in hotel rooms they were the only places where flags were needed. All was well. My threat, together with a little diplomacy, worked.Apart from arranging for two weeks of team play I was also charged with providing entertainment each evening for 80 blind players, and their 40 sighted helpers. So, the months before the event had been a fury of looking for opportunities which entranced senses other than sight - a visit to the Devenish brewery (which we had to repeat several times), a visit to the seaside, a concert, a musical get-together, and an international evening with the local blind of Weymouth. Apart from a chess magazine for the blind, Weymouth volunteers ran ‘The Sound of Weymouth’, a recorded en-tertainment for the blind, a sort of local radio program of recorded interviews and music before local radio came into being. I planned to make a similar tape of entertainment for the international evening. Thus, I contacted each of the twenty embassies for a sample of their nation’s music together with, perhaps, a recorded message of wel-come to their national blind team. All save one immediately sent music and recorded contributions. ‘The U.S. was too busy.’ I wrote saying that I understood their dilemma and that I was simply looking for advice. Should I play “Yankee Doodle-Dandy”, since it was the only piece of American music that I had at hand?

17

A reply telegram appeared by return - ‘Do not play the suggested music, recorded contribution on way.’ They eventually did us proud - the ambassador had recorded a resounding cheer for the team with an exhortation to do well. He had also included a musical contribution that would not offend any Civil War sensibilities. After all the arrangements, the joint meeting was a great success and the local blind felt they were part of the Olympiad, which, of course they were. But I get ahead of myself again.In those days I did not delegate well. I did most things myself. Amongst other things, I wrote letters, negotiated with the hotel hosts and selected the meals. I purchased the medals and flags, arranged for sets and boards, and wrote to firms, like Wedgwood, for gifts for participants and organized volunteer helpers. In addition, I wrote the newspaper columns for the Dorset Evening Echo (weekly before the event but daily during it) for delivery at 1:00 a.m., I laid out the tables for play before 7:00 a.m., calculated scores, and drove the rented van to meet incoming teams at the railway station. Now here I was, at one o’clock in the morning, meeting the Polish team, which had just announced that one of their sighted guides had died on the way and they had brought the body with them.That next morning, amongst all other tasks, I had to move the body to a mortuary and find a Polish speaker in an English seaside resort - one who could devote the better part of two weeks to helping four young blind men to play chess. Astoundingly, I found one.Besides the grim reality of a Polish death, each team had its own problems. The event was held in April to avoid the summer resort prices. So, the U.S. team was always cold at night and needed extra blankets. George Koltonowski, a man who was famous for his photographic memory and intelligence, rose one morning, too cold to sleep, and in the bathroom, still dazed from sleep, cleaned his teeth with my hair cream.The Israeli team had arrived with full security. They had a sighted chess organiser and a security man from the Haganah. But the young men of the team, all North-African Arabs who had suffered more war wounds than simple blindness, were always eluding their “helpers” and going out on the town alone. They would walk, single file, each with a hand on the next man’s shoulders, and blunder through the streets, each taking the lead after the prior lead had been battered enough in knocking into walls and railings. I rescued them one evening after they blundered into a Chinese restaurant to find beer and failed to understand Britain’s quaint restaurant licensing laws: ‘no food, no drink’. Even today, the picture of a Chinese restaurant proprietor explaining English law to four blind French-speaking Arab Jews is unique. These lively young men did not play strong chess but they were in-tent on having a good time. They elected at the end of the tournament to return to Israel via Paris in order to ‘see’ the Moulin Rouge nudist display.Tournament play was arranged with a preliminary session to grade the teams, and then a longer final session as the real competition. Each game had a primary chess set on which the moves were made by helpers and each player had a smaller set (about 7” square) over which he, or she, could feel the entire span of pieces with their hands. A player would make his move on his small board, announce his move aloud in German, and record it in Braille. The opponent would then make the move on his board and a helper would make it on the large set for the sake of onlookers. It was a little more complicated than in a sighted tournament, but it went well. The hall buzzed with announced moves and the chattering of Braille recorders. The whole competition went well - there were enough boards and sets, hall facilities were good, there were plenty of guides and helpers, refreshments and meals were on time and well received, and the day’s reports were being printed each day in the local newspaper. I couldn’t believe that there could be no problems when I had spent the past year running from one crisis to another. Evening entertainment - another earlier concern was much less trouble than I had expected. The visit to the old brewery was the greatest success. Its creaky wooden stairs and floors, the smell of fermenting grain, malt, and brew, coupled with a taste of various samples, was such a sensory feast that the visitors were not content with a single visit - they insisted that they return the next day and the next. The coach visit to the beach culminated in paddling on the shingle shore was another sensual experience that the visitors enjoyed. Most had never paddled before. Then the international evening proved so musically inspiring that the visitors decided to put on their own musical evening. Overnight, I was asked to find several guitars and an accordion. A notice in the paper the following morning provided instruments within hours and we had a real German ‘biergarten fest’ ready made. At the end of two weeks, there was a grand awards evening. After all the good fellowship of chess and music, the opportunity provided by speeches brought the old political ambitions to the surface.After all, each team had two sighted helpers - a chess expert and an official. The official was generally political. Certainly, they were for the Soviet Union and Israel. This was their turn in the sun. Immediately, a dispute broke out - the Israelis had brought a gift for Weymouth’s Mayor so they demanded that they speak first to present the

18

gift. However, the Soviet team had won the tournament so they demanded first spot on the program. Impasse! Everyone shouted and argued. A decision had to be made. Thank the lord for international chivalry: I re-membered that the Rumanian team alone was led by a woman so I announced that she would speak first. The protests ceased and we had smiles for the remainder of the ceremony.In my home, there are reminders of that hectic fortnight: a pair of magnificent black Wedgewood chess pieces and a small white bear. The little bear is in recognition of the difficulties that the East German team brought me. I have a memory of the team waving its flag in public at the closing ceremony in the Town Hall along with every-one else. And so it should be.

Puzzles Selected by ChrisAugust Puzzle Lindner/Szentgyorgyi 1933FEN: 8/8/8/2K5/2P5/2k5/P1b2P2/2Q5White: King c5, Queen c1, Pawns a2, c4 and f2 Black: king c3, bishop c2White to play and mate in two. Solution: 1. Kb5 Kd3 or Kd4 2. Qe3#November Puzzle FEN: 8/8/8/7p/5Kpk/8/8/1R4N1White: King f4, Rook b1, Knight g1 Black: king h4, pawns g4, h5White to play and mate in two. The solution will appear in the February issue.Chris Ross

PersonaliaYou may recall from the previous issue that Steve Bailey headed off to Barbados in July in his capacity as coach for the UK Women’s VI Cricket Team. They were going to face the West Indies in their first international series and I’m delighted to report that they triumphed 4-1! Many congratulations to Steve and the rest of the squad!Meanwhile, back on these shores, Lancashire took on Yorkshire in the 2018 Under 160 County Championship Final. Our own Lancastrian member, Colin Fisher, played on board 8 of the 16 board team. Colin won his game and Lancashire was victorious in this particular war of the roses. Congratulations to Colin and his team!Sadly, two former BCA members who both came to us via the Teesside chess club for the blind died this summer. George Glass passed away in a nursing home on 25th July, aged 87. George was awarded an MBE in the Diamond Jubilee Queen’s Birthday Honours list in recognition of his hard work for the charity BlindVoice UK. Graeme Parry passed away while on holiday on 29th July aged 40. Graeme had Alström Syndrome and other conditions, yet led a full life and helped his local community by running a Facebook page about local social clubs. Condolences to their families and friends. BCAI news from Philip Doyle:Fifteen BCAI members and friends met up in Wynns Hotel in Dublin City centre on Friday evening 27th July for dinner. We decided to do this because we no longer hold tournaments at home and nowadays seldom have an opportunity to get together as a group. The big news of the night was the announcement that Michael Delaney and his partner Fionnuala Ní Bhrádaigh had tied the knot a few days earlier on the 16th of July! Editor’s Note: Wedding congratulations to Michael and Fionnuala! Your many friends in the BCA wish you every happiness!Grateful thanks to everyone who responded to my plea for news snippets. Please keep them coming in!

Large v CrouchMany thanks to Hugo Roman for sending in this game, which was played in the Youth Championship in London 1971. We think it highly likely that the player with black was our own late member, IM Colin Crouch. Even if this is not the case, the game is still an efficient and enjoyable miniature!White: Large Black: Crouch1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5 Ne5 5. Bf4 Ng6 6. Bg3 f5 7. h4 e5 8. dxe6 Bxe6 9. h5 N6e710. Nb5 Nd5 11. c4 Bb4+ 12. Ke2 Nf4+ 13. Bxf4 Bxc4+ 14. Ke3 Bc5+ 15. Nd4 Bxf1 16. Qa4+ b5 0-1

19

RIP Mike Meaney 21st August 1940 – 20th July 2018Philip Doyle writes: Our friend and colleague Michael Meaney passed away on Friday 20th July 2018 after a long illness. Mike had been a member of the BCA for many years. He attended events on several occasions and was a regular at the Windermere Theme Break. He also took part in the Irish Open Tournaments and organised two of the most successful in his native Limerick. In recent years Mike was an enthusiastic participant in email and Skype tournaments. This is hardly surprising since it brought together two of his chief interests, computer technology and the Royal game.

Sean Loftus recollects:I got to know Mike when he came to St. Mary’s school for the blind in Merrion, Dublin, in early 1946. He had some degree of vision at that time, but this was not enough to allow him to read print and he was very happy to learn Braille and to read it by touch. He and I moved at the same time to St. Joseph’s boys’ school for the blind in Drumcondra, Dublin, in 1951. When we returned from our summer holidays five years later, Mike had become totally blind. By then some of us had learnt the basics of chess, but there was no competitive element and interest soon faded.By the time Ernie and I joined the BCA in 1960, Mike had become very interested in music. He pretty well taught himself to play the accordion and his ability as an entertainer soon came to the fore.At the end of 1960 Mike moved back to his home city of Limerick and took up employment with the local health board as a telephonist. He joined Limerick Chess Club where he was a popular member for many decades. In the 70's, when athletics became an option for blind people, Mike became a regular competitor in events such as the shot, discus and javelin.

Philip Doyle adds: In the 1980s Mike was B1 Irish Champion discus thrower and shot putter. He also competed for Ireland at the 1981 and 1983 European Athletics Championships. In 1990, Mike represented Ireland in the IBCA World Individual Chess Championship in Wunsiedel, Germany.Mike was a former Chairman of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and a former guide dog owner who trained in England in the 60's and later at Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. But well ahead of any of Mike’s many talents and achievements came his musical prowess, be it with accordion or guitar. We all remember his wonderful voice and the songs that could have us close to tears or in stitches of laughter. Who for example can forget his rendition of "Paddy's Sick Note"? That song, together with other favourites such as “I’m My Own Grandpa” and “Piddling Pete” brought the house down at the BCA’s 70th Anniversary celebration in York in 2002 where Mike generously provided the entertainment. At that event and so many others, he was often seen surrounded by his admiring fellow BCA artists, which was a further indication of the esteem in which he was held. May he rest in peace.

John Toothill (Grade 184) – Michael Meaney (Grade 64), French Fort KnoxSimultaneous display, Windermere, 27th January 20121. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. 0-0 Be7 8. Re1 Ngf6 9. c4 0-0 10. a3 Bxe4 11. Bxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4 Nf6 13. Re1 c5 14. Be3 Qc7 15. Rc1 h6 16. Qa4 Rad8 17. Red1 Ng4 18. h3 Nxe3 19. fxe3 b6 20. Ne5 Bg5 21. Kf2 cxd4 22. Ng4 dxe3+ 23. Kg1 Qc5 24. Kh1 e2 25. Rxd8 Bxc1 White resigns 0-1

Editor’s note: Mike has given his many friends in the BCA so many wonderful memories to cherish; his music, his sense of humour, but above all his friendship. We will miss him very much indeed. On behalf of us all, sincere condolences to Mike’s wife Eileen, daughters Aileen and Sinead, sons Mike, Damian, Alan and Jason and twenty-one grandchildren.

20

RIP Robin Edward Brown 5th June 1935 – 2nd August 2018 Two friends from schooldays have teamed up to put together this piece in memory of their pal. Stan Lovell writes:Bob, as he was probably most often known, enjoyed several other nicknames. During his school days, it was Rob, later, that became Bob, still later, there was Bobby and Digger and, my wife, Jan, and some others sometimes called him Bobbykins. For the purpose of these thoughts I will refer to him as Bob.Bob's childhood was spent in Dorset, for much of the time, with his Aunt Elsie and Uncle Arthur, who were landlord and landlady of the Horns Inn, a country pub at the tiny hamlet of Parley Cross.In 1946 Bob became a boarder at the Royal School for the Blind, in Bristol, where I first met him. Later, we became friends when we were both students in the school Piano Tuning department. Upon leaving Bristol, Bob worked for a while trying to build up a piano tuning practice in the rural area of Dorset where he lived. Things were not easy for piano tuners in the 1950's, particularly in rural areas, and Bob found ways to augment his income with a variety of odd jobs, including, grave digging, hence the nickname, Digger, given to him by his son-in-law, Kendon.Shortly after leaving the school in Bristol, Bob attended a school reunion, where he met another ex pupil, Christine Johnson. They formed a friendship, and it was not long before Bob was making regular trips to Cheltenham, where Chris was living. In 1959 they married and moved into a house just around the corner from where I was living. For the next ten years we were regularly in each other’s company.Bob was an industrious, resourceful person. When he found the travelling from Cheltenham to Woodchester, near Stroud, where he had obtained employment in the Bentley Piano Company, took up too much time, and took too much from the modest wages the company paid, he found himself a job in Cheltenham Town Hall. Here, he saved all the travelling expenses by cycling to work. Later, he was employed by Smith's Industries, a company just outside of Cheltenham.Bob was a man of many skills. He made many cane trays, baskets and stools. There are few of his friends who do not have an example of this work in their home. He was also handy at a variety of tasks, including: DIY, gardening, laying garden paths and painting and decorating. The strength of Bob's home brewed beer was legendary, as I can testify, to my shame!He was generous with his time, and if anyone needed a helping hand, they knew where to turn.Bob learned to play chess at the school in Bristol. He never aspired to great heights, but, as in other leisure pursuits, such as playing cards or dominoes, for Bob, it was just a game to be enjoyed, but, never to be analysed!Bob and Chris greatly enjoyed membership of the BCA, they particularly enjoyed the social events, such as: the Chairman's Cup, as it is now known. They also greatly enjoyed the Windermere Chess Theme Breaks, run by Peter and Celia Gibbs.I shall miss Bob as a good generous friend, with a wicked sense of humour. Always ready with a quick quip, a witty catch phrase, or a joke just around the corner.

Colin Chambers writes: When Barbara and I moved to Cheltenham in 1989, we knew very little about the town and the people who lived there. I vaguely remembered Bob from my school days in Bristol in the mid 1950’s. Fortunately, Stan Lovell introduced us to Chris and Bob Brown. We became very good friends and socialised regularly. Bob was a tremendous help to us in finding our way around the unfamiliar town of Cheltenham. As a small thank you, we gave Chris and Bob a year’s membership of the Braille Chess Association. They became regular attendees at BCA tournaments and both loved the Windermere Chess Theme Break. Ironically, our last holiday at The Lauriston Hotel, Weston-super-Mare, in April this year included the following people; Chris and Bob’s daughter Penny and her husband Kendon, Stan Lovell and, of course, Bobby Brown.Stan mentioned Bob's skills with home brew and manufacturing a variety of items. I often joked with Bob about trying to find the key to his cellar but I never succeeded. Also, my chess pieces currently live in a box especially made by Bob.Bob's funeral was held on Friday, 24th August, in Cheltenham and was extremely well attended. A Civil Celebrant gave an excellent speech outlining Bob's life and interests. These centred around the BCA and Liverpool Football Club. The BCA was represented by Mat Williams, Stan Lovell, Julie and Oliver Leonard, and Barbara and Colin Chambers. Donations went to the BCA.Rest in peace Bob.

21

Editor’s Note: Sincere condolences to all the family. I have a cane tray that Bob made and I treasure it.

22

RIP Mary Marshall Honorary member Mary Marshall died peacefully in her sleep at home on the 1st of September. She was 93 years old. Mary’s nephew contacted us to give the sad news. He was aware that Mary had made audio recordings of chess literature for us for many years and he wondered whether we still had any of them. His aunt had been a remarkable lady and he was hoping to “let Mary speak for herself” as much as possible at her funeral service by playing a recording of her voice. Fortunately, our efficient Audio Librarian, Mark Kirkham, was able to help him.In this obituary a similar approach is adopted i.e. using Mary’s own words wherever feasible. Mary wrote a letter for the Gazette in 2002 in which she told us a little about her life and explains how she first came into contact with the BCA. The letter is reproduced at the end of this piece. It perfectly conveys Mary’s witty sense of humour, her strong work ethic and her desire to be useful to others.By 2004, Mary’s own eyesight had deteriorated to the point where she had to retire from reading for us. She was made an honorary member and was sent a gift token. With it, Mary purchased an orchid, which she described as being “a wonderful shade of deep pink and purple”. Astonishingly, when Mary wrote to us again in 2015, she still had the orchid and gave the following update: “It is not only still alive but this spring it has produced a second stalk and that is now in flower.”Mary was an excellent reader. Her recordings were both instructive and enjoyable and many BCA members gained a huge amount from the time which she so generously devoted to making them. We are by no means alone in having benefitted enormously from her work though. When an announcement about Mary’s death was placed in the local newspaper, Mary’s nephew was contacted by a man, now 63 years old, who was the second baby that Mary had ever delivered! No doubt there are countless others who are profoundly grateful to this talented, selfless and industrious lady. Sincere condolences to her family and friends. Rest in peace Mary.Mary’s letter from 2002:THE VOICE BEHIND THE MICROPHONE: “YOUR READER IS …”We are three ladies living in retirement, grey-haired and a little doddery, (but we all have our own teeth). The oldest is Biscuit, a sort of mini-lurcher aged 14. Bryony is a sort of collie-King Charles, and I am a sort of retired nurse. Bryony and I are doubtful about our ages, but certainly quite old.I trained during and just after the war, starting at Great Ormond Street, then doing general at St. George’s, Hyde Park Corner, later moving to Brighton where I trained and practised as a midwife for some years. After that I returned to London where I did district and health visitor training, and came to know South East London very well, pedalling round Camberwell and Brixton and Peckham on a second-hand bicycle bought for £5. I left London to work in Kent around Ashford and Canterbury and spent the last 25 years of my career doing a mixture of general nursing, midwifery and health visiting in a rural area in East Sussex.Faced with unexpectedly early retirement for health reasons, in 1980 I looked for useful things to do, and, encouraged by a patient who had joined the recently formed Calibre, I sent in a sample tape and was accepted to read for their “special requests” section. Soon I was reading for 2 local talking newspapers and then Calibre telephoned to say B. C. A. had asked if someone would read chess for them, and I agreed to have a go. I received a very indistinct instruction tape which I found difficult to follow, only to hear in the last seconds a clear voice saying “I hope you can understand this – I find I’ve been sitting with my back to the microphone!” At that time there were several notations used for printed chess, which I found confusing, and it was some time before I could persuade anyone to give me a clear idea of what was wanted and how to do it. The first few years must have been just as difficult for the listeners as for me!So now you know how it all began and why I started to read chess. I remember playing occasional games with my older brothers sometimes, but I have no head for figures and can only marvel at the complicated manoeuvres and great feats of memory required to play the game. I am more competent with knitting needles than knights, better with crosswords than kings and queens.In 1992 I spent the weekend in Rutland for the 60th anniversary of B. C. A. and was at last able to meet some of you, and watch, spellbound, as you played in the tournament. (There’s a lot of walking about involved, isn’t there?) I still have, hanging over the mantelpiece, the gold medal presented to us as a memento of the occasion. I have also met some of you when I have been up to Waterloo station on days when you were fundraising and playing demonstration games with interested passers-by.

23

Perhaps one day you will hold an A. G. M. somewhere down in this part of the world and I shall be able to meet some more of you. In the meantime, as I say on Sunday afternoons “This is the end of this recording.”

24