Minor Pieces

Last time you met, amongst other chess playing Leicester Ladies, Elsie Margaret Reid, a British Ladies’ Championship contender, and witnessed her marriage to Alfred Lenton.

It’s now time to meet her husband.

Perhaps you’ve see Michael Wood’s 2010 documentary series Story of England. If you have, you’ll be aware that it tells its story from the perspective of Kibworth, seen as being a typical village in the middle of the country. In fact it’s two villages in one, owned by different families in the Middle Ages. Kibworth Harcourt is north of the railway line, and, the more significant part, Kibworth Beauchamp (just as Belvoir is pronounced Beaver, Beauchamp is pronounced Beecham), where the shops are, is south of the railway line. There used to be a school there too: a Grammar School founded in about 1359, but in 1964 it migrated to the Leicester suburb of Oadby. You’ll meet one of the new school’s most distinguished former pupils next time.

The Lenton family had been prominent in the village for centuries, perhaps arriving there from the area of Nottingham bearing that name. There’s a brief mention in one of the Story of England episodes, but they don’t seem to have educated their children at the Grammar School.

Join us now on 28 December 1744, when, between the Christmas celebrations and the dawn of the new year, the community welcomed the arrival of Robert Lenton, who was baptised that day. We know his father’s name was Richard, but it’s not entirely clear whether this was Richard the son of Robert, born in 1710, or Richard the son of Richard, born in 1719. I suspect they were cousins, but there’s no way of telling for certain from the extant parish registers. There are reasons to believe – and hope – that it was the older Richard who was Robert’s father.

Robert was a butcher by trade: a significant member of the local community. His youngest son, William, was born in 1787. He married a girl from Bedworth, Warwickshire, in 1811. Maybe he had moved there to seek work, or perhaps she was in service in Leicestershire. They soon returned, settling in Smeeton Westerby, a small village just south of Kibworth Beauchamp.

The first census as we know them today was taken in 1841, and we can pick William up there in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses, where his occupation is given as FWK – Framework Knitter. This was a very common occupation in the East Midlands at the time: William and his family would have been working at home using mechanical knitting machines. By 1851 his oldest son, also named William, had moved into Leicester, but was still working as a framework knitter. In 1853 he married a widow, adopting her children and presenting her with two more sons, William and Thomas.

His younger son, Thomas, very typically for his place and time, spent his working life in the footwear industry, involved in various aspects of making shoes. So here we see a very common pattern of men and their families moving out of villages and into cities where there was plenty of factory work available. His oldest son, another Thomas, also sought factory work, but rather than on the manufacturing side, he worked as a warehouseman for the clothing company Hart & Levy. Sir Israel Hart, one of the company’s founders, was Mayor of Leicester 1884-6 and 1893-94 and President of Leicestershire Chess Club. between 1894 and 1896.

In 1910 this Thomas married Ethel Wood, born in 1888. Ethel was perhaps slightly higher up the social scale: her father, John, was a School Attendance Officer, although his background was also very much working class. Here he is, on the right. John and his wife Sarah had five daughters (Ethel was the fourth), the oldest of whom married into a branch of the Gimson family, followed by a son.

In the 1911 census Thomas and Ethel, not yet able to afford their own house, were living with Thomas’s widowed father and two brothers. He was described as working in the tailoring industry.

On 1 November that year, their first son, Alfred, was born, followed in 1914 by another son, whom they named Philip.

In this family photograph, taken in about 1917, you can see the proud parents with their two boys.

By 1921 the family were living at 27 Halkin Street, north of the city centre (the door of this very typical two up two down Victorian terraced house is open to welcome us in). I would have passed the end of the road regularly in my first year at what was then the Leicester Regional College of Technology, when I was living in digs in Thurmaston. Ethel’s mother had died a few months earlier, and her father was now living with them.

By now Ethel was expecting a third child, and another son, named Clifford was born later that year.

Alfred, a bright, bookish and perhaps rather quiet boy, won a place at Alderman Newton’s Grammar School, where he was a contemporary of the historian Sir John Plumb and a few years below novelist CP Snow, a member of Leicestershire Chess Club during the 1923-24 season.

This was a time when chess was becoming popular amongst teenage boys, and it was when he was 15 that young Alfred learnt the moves.  The earliest appearance I can find is in December 1928, at the age of 17, losing his game on bottom board for the Victoria Road Institute (I’d encounter his son playing chess for Leicester Victoria more than four decades later.)

At the Victoria Road Institute, Alfred received some instruction from their top player, building contractor Herbert William Lea, soon making rapid progress. By early 1930 he’d come to the attention of the county selectors, and was one of the promising young players they tried out in a match against Birmingham.

By 1931 Lenton was playing on top board for Victoria Road, taking a high board in the county team and participating in the county championship. Here was a talented and ambitious young man who was clearly going places.

If you’re an ambitious chess player, one of the places you’ll go to is Hastings, and, at the end of that year, he travelled down to the south coast where he was placed in the Major B section.

Here’s what happened.

Full tournament report here.

This was a whole new experience for him, and it’s not surprising that he found the going tough. In this game his hesitant opening play soon got him into trouble when he was paired against a creative tactician who unleashed a cascade of sacrifices. (Click here and paste the pgn if you’d like to play through any games in this article.)

[Event “Hastings Major B 1931/32”]
[Date “1931.12.??”]
[White “Lean, Richard Edward”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Qg4 a6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Qxg7 Qf8 9. Qg3 c5 10. dxc5 Nc6 11. f4 Nxc5 12. Nf3 b5 13. O-O-O Nb4 14. a3 Nc6 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. Qh4 b4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. Kb1 Rb8 19. Be2 Nc6 20. Nf5 exf5 21. Nxd5 Ne7 22. Nf6+ Kd8 23. Qf2 Nc6 24. Bxa6 Ra8 25. Qxc5 1-0

Alfred learnt from this experience that he needed to take the game more seriously: in an interview many years later he explained that, at this point, he was studying chess for three hours a day.

The following year he returned again – and seems to have brought a friend along with him – as you might remember from last time.

He did indeed maintain his lead to the end of the tournament, as you can see here. Perhaps the opposition was slightly weaker than the previous year, perhaps his hours of study were paying off, or perhaps it was Elsie’s presence that was responsible for his success.

Full tournament report here.

(As far as I can tell, Cecil Hunter Reid, Peter Reid, whom he played the previous year, and Elsie Margaret Reid were totally unrelated.)

In 1933 the British Championship was held separately from the remainder of the congress, which took place in Folkestone at the same time as the Chess Olympiad.

Alfred was one of a number of promising young players in the Premier Reserves, the second section down: you’ll meet some of them in future Minor Pieces. His 50% score was a good result in such a strong field.

Full tournament report here.

This game demonstrates that he’d been working on his openings since his first tournament appearance, and concludes with a neat tactic.

[Event “Premier Reserves Folkestone”]
[Date “1933.06.??”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Gulbrandsen, Andreas”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Rc1 Nd7 12. Bd3 Nf6 13. O-O h6 14. Rfe1 b6 15. Qc2 Bb7 16. Qc7 Qb8 17. Ne5 Qxc7 18. Rxc7 Rab8 19. f3 Rfd8 20. Rxf7 Rxd4 21. Re7 Rd6 22. Rc1 Ne8 23. Bb5 Rdd8 24. Nf7 Nd6 25. Nxd8 Rxd8 26. Ba4 Ba6 27. Bb3 Bc8 28. Rcc7 Ne8 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. Rxc8 Rxc8 31. Bxe6+ Kf8 32. Bxc8 1-0

The following month the Leicester Evening Mail had some important news.

Alfred had got himself a column in a local paper. Each week there would be the latest chess news, a game, which could be of local, national, international or historical interest, along with a puzzle for solving. He was a young man who enjoyed both reading and writing.

Here’s a powerful win against the stronger of the Passant brothers, slightly marred by his 17th move, giving his opponent a tactical opportunity which went begging.

[Event “Leicestershire Championship R5”]
[Date “1933.12.??”]
[White “Passant, Arthur Ernest”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Nf6 4. Bb2 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. c4 c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Nc3 e5 10. d3 e4 11. dxe4 dxe4 12. Ne1 e3 13. f3 Nc5 14. Qd1 Qe7 15. Nc2 Rd8 16. Qc1 Rd2 17. Ba3 Nfd7 18. Bb2 Nf8 19. Rd1 Bf5 20. Rxd2 exd2 21. Qxd2 Rd8 22. Qc1 Bxc2 23. Qxc2 Qe3+ 24. Kh1 Rd2 25. Qc1 Bd4 26. Ne4 Nxe4 0-1

By now established as his county’s second strongest player behind Victor Hextall Lovell, he returned to Hastings after Christmas, where he scored an excellent third place with only one defeat, well ahead of his Leicester Victoria clubmate Watts and former Leicestershire player Storr-Best.

Full tournament report here.

In this game he missed a win against his Dutch opponent.

[Event “Hastings Major A 1933/34 R9”]
[Date “1934.01.??”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “De Jong, Theodoor”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 g5 10. Nd4 Nxe5 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. Qh5+ Nf7 13. Nd2 Nf6 14. Qe2 Qd7 15. Re1 e5 16. Nf3 Bd6 17. Bxg5 Nxg5 18. Nxg5 O-O 19. Ne4 Kh8 20. Nxf6 Rxf6 21. Bxd5 Raf8 22. Bf3 Rxf3 23. gxf3 Qh3 24. Kh1 e4 25. f4 Bxf4 26. f3 exf3 27. Qf2 Rf6 28. Re8+ Kg7 29. Rae1 Bd6 30. R1e4 Bc5 31. Rh4 Bxf2 32. Rxh3 Rg6 33. Re7+ Kf6 34. Rxf3+ Kxe7 35. Rxf2 1/2-1/2

The 1934 British Championships took place in Chester, when Alfred was placed in the Major Open Reserves, in effect the third division, while his future wife Elsie (were they engaged at this point?) played in the British Ladies’ Championship.

Lenton was essentially a positional player, but here he unleased a very different weapon when Black against 1. d4 – the dangerous and, at the time, fashionable Fajarowicz variation of the Budapest Defence.  It proved rather successful against his clergyman opponent (you can read about him here) in this game, where his opponent miscalculated a tactical sequence, overlooking a queen sacrifice.

[Event “BCF-ch 27th Major Open Reserves: Chester”]
[Date “1934.08.??”]
[White “Lacy-Hulbert, Arthur Percival”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. Nd2 Bb4 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Bxd2 Nc6 7. Nf3 Qe7 8. Bf4 f5 9. exf6 Qxf6 10. Qc1 O-O 11. e3 g5 12. Nxg5 Nxg5 13. Qc2 d6 14. Bd3 Bf5 15. O-O-O Bxd3 16. Rxd3 Ne6 17. Bg3 Nc5 18. Rd5 a5 19. h4 Kh8 20. h5 a4 21. Bh4 Qf7 22. Rh3 Ne5 23. f4 Nb3+ 24. Kb1 b5 25. Be1 bxc4 26. Rxe5 dxe5 27. Bc3 Qf5 28. Bxe5+ Qxe5 29. g4 Rxf4 0-1

His opponent in this game, another talented young Midlands player, will need no introduction.

[Event “British CF-27 Major Open Reserves: Chester”]
[Date “1934.08.??”]
[White “Wood, Baruch Harold”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Qc2 d5 6. exd6 Bf5 7. Qa4 Bxd6 8. Bd2 Qe7 9. e3 Nc5 10. Qd1 O-O-O 11. Nc3 Nb4 12. Nd4 Nbd3+ 13. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 14. Kf1 Qh4 15. Qe2 Bg6 16. b3 Rhe8 17. Nf3 Qf6 18. Nd4 Bc5 19. Nd5 Rxd5 20. cxd5 Bxd4 21. Rd1 Nb2 0-1

You’ll see that he was extremely successful in this event, sharing first place. Full tournament report here.

He was rather less successful at Hastings that winter, as you’ll see below.

Full tournament report here.

On the home front, though, he was more successful.

Don Gould, in Chess in Leicestershire 1860-1960, sums him up at this stage of his career:

The new champion had left Alderman Newton’s School only six years previously. He was a fine all-round player, with a particularly good grasp of positional play. Unlike Lovell, he had been entering for national tournaments, and profiting by the better practice obtained thereat. Later on he twice won the Midland Counties Individual Championship, and finished in a tie for second place in the British Championship. At that time, he favoured the Reti Opening and the Buda-Pest Defence. Lenton for some years ran a chess column in the local press. 

This result (he’d repeat his success the following year) established him as the strongest player in Leicestershire, and, in the 1935 British Championships, held in Great Yarmouth, he was selected for the championship itself.

In this game Lenton displayed his endgame skill after his opponent missed an opportunity on move 17.

[Event “British CF-28 Championship: Great Yarmouth R4”]
[Date “1935.07.11”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Cross, Alfred Rupert Neale”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 O-O 9. Nbxd4 Qc8 10. b3 d5 11. Ba3 dxc4 12. Bxe7 Re8 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Rc1 c3 15. Nb5 Rd8 16. Qc2 Na6 17. a3 Qd7 18. Nxc3 Rac8 19. Ne4 Bg7 20. Qb1 Qe7 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Nfd2 Rd8 23. Qc2 b5 24. b4 f5 25. Nc3 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Qc7 27. Qb3+ Kh8 28. Ndb1 Nb8 29. Kg1 Qc4 30. Qxc4 bxc4 31. Rd1 Rxd1+ 32. Nxd1 Nd7 33. Ndc3 Nf6 34. Kf1 Kg8 35. Ke1 Kf7 36. h3 Ke6 37. Kd2 Nd5 38. Nxd5 Kxd5 39. Nc3+ Kc6 40. e3 Kb6 41. Ne2 Kb5 42. Nd4+ Ka4 43. Kc3 Kxa3 44. Kxc4 Ka4 45. Nc6 a6 46. f3 1-0

Endgame skill, along with hypermodern openings, were the key to his successes at this time of his life. His opponent here was unable to cope with the opening.

[Event “British CF-28 Championship: Great Yarmouth R9”]
[Date “1935.07.17”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Cole, Henry Holwell”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 d5 3. g3 d4 4. e3 c5 5. a3 Nc6 6. exd4 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8. Bg2 Qc7 9. d3 Bd7 10. O-O Bc6 11. Nd2 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 h5 13. Nf3 Qd7 14. Ne5 Qc7 15. Qa4+ Ke7 16. Bf4 Qd8 17. Bg5+ Nf6 18. Qb4+ Ke8 19. Qb5+ Ke7 20. Qxb7+ 1-0

Admittedly it wasn’t the strongest renewal of the British, but this was still an outstanding performance, which would have been even better but for a moment of tactical carelessness in the last round.

[Event “British CF-28 Championship: Great Yarmouth R11”]
[Date “1935.07.19”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Abrahams, Gerald”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. Nf3 b5 2. g3 Bb7 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O c5 5. d3 d5 6. c4 Nf6 7. cxb5 Bd6 8. d4 Nbd7 9. Nc3 h5 10. Bg5 Qc7 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Rc1 Qb8 13. Nd4 h4 14. Bxh4 Rxh4 15. gxh4 Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Ng4 17. Nxd5 Qd8 18. Rxc5 Qxh4 19. Nf3 Qh6 20. Qc2 Ne5 21. Rd1 Nxf3 22. exf3 exd5 23. f4 Bxf4+ 24. Kg1 Kf8 25. Rd3 Re8 26. Kf1 Qe6 27. Qd1 Qb6 28. Rcxd5 Bxd5 29. Rxd5 Qa5 30. a3 g5 31. Bh3 Qb6 32. a4 Qh6 33. Bg2 Qf6 34. b3 Rc8 35. Qd3 Qa1+ 36. Ke2 Qb2+ 37. Kf3 Rc3 38. Bh3 Qxb3 0-1

At this level you can’t afford to give your opponent an opportunity like that.

Full tournament report here.

Now top board for his county, and with a new job as a local government officer (he’d transferred his chess allegiance from VIctoria to NALGO) he returned to Hastings over the Christmas holidays. There were so many entries for the Premier Reserves that the organisers decided to run two sections of equal strength, with Alfred in the B section.

He used his favourite variation of the Caro-Kann in this game, grabbing a hot pawn early on (sometimes you can get away with Qxb2) and surviving to dominate the enemy rook in the ending.

[Event “Hastings Premier Reserves B 1935/36 R1”]
[Date “1935.12.27”]
[White “Jackson, Edward Mackenzie”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Ng3 e5 6. Nf3 exd4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. c3 O-O 9. Be2 Qb6 10. O-O Rd8 11. Be3 Bxd4 12. cxd4 Qxb2 13. Bc4 Qb4 14. Qc2 Nbd7 15. Rfe1 Nb6 16. Bb3 Nbd5 17. Bg5 h6 18. a3 Qxd4 19. Rad1 Qb6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Re7 Rxd1+ 22. Qxd1 Be6 23. Bxe6 fxe6 24. Qe1 Qb3 25. Rxe6 Rd8 26. Nf1 Rd1 27. Re3 Rxe1 28. Rxb3 b6 29. f3 Nd5 30. Kf2 Ra1 31. Rd3 Kf7 32. g4 Ra2+ 33. Nd2 Ke6 34. Kg3 g5 35. h4 Nf4 36. Rd8 Ke7 0-1

You’ll see from the tournament table this was another great success for the Leicester man. It’s perhaps significant that, while all three of his losses were published, the only win I’ve been able to find was the game above.

Full tournament report here.

1936 was the year of the famous Nottingham tournament, which took place in August. The British Championship itself took place separately, in Bournemouth in June.

Again, many of the top players were missing, and Sir George Thomas, who would probably have been considered the most likely winner, was out of form. Would Alfred improve on his shared third place the previous year?

Here, he was outplayed in the opening, but his Birmingham opponent miscalculated the tactics, leaving him two pawns ahead in the ending.

[Event “British CF-29 Championship: Bournemouth R2”]
[Date “1936.06.09”]
[White “Morry, William Ritson”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. e3 O-O 6. Qb3 e6 7. Bd3 c6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Bd2 Qc7 10. Rac1 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. Nb5 Qb6 13. dxe5 Nc5 14. Qa3 cxb5 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Bb4 bxc4 17. Bxc5 Bxb2 18. Qb4 Qxb4 19. Bxb4 Bxc1 20. Bxf8 Bxe3 21. fxe3 Kxf8 22. Ng5 f5 23. Nxh7+ Ke7 24. Ng5 Be6 25. Re1 b5 26. e4 Kd6 27. e5+ Kd5 28. Rd1+ Kxe5 29. Re1+ Kf6 30. Nxe6 Re8 31. Rb1 Rxe6 32. Rxb5 Rc6 33. Rb2 Ke5 34. Kf2 Kd4 35. Ke2 Re6+ 36. Kd1 c3 37. Rf2 Kd3 38. Rf3+ Re3 39. Rf1 c2+ 40. Kc1 Kc3 41. h4 Rd3 0-1

He only needed 11 moves to defeat his Ipswich opponent in this game. White’s catastrophic error would be a good candidate for a Spot the Blunder question a future Chess Heroes: Puzzles book.

[Event “British CF-29 Championship: Bournemouth R4”]
[Date “1936.06.11”]
[White “Davey, Stanley Clifford”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. a3 Bxd2+ 7. Nxd2 Nxd2 8. Bxd2 Nxe5 9. Bc3 Qe7 10. Qd4 f6 11. g3 Nf3+ 0-1

As you’ll see above, he equalled his previous year’s score, which, this time round, was good enough for a share of second place. There were a lot of talented players in their mid 20s around at the time, and Lenton seemed at this point to be as good as any of them.

Full tournament report here.

Meanwhile, Alfred had reached the final of the Forrest Cup, the Midland Counties Individual Championship, where he faced future MP Julius Silverman. A rather fortuitous win brought him the title.

[Event “Forrest Cup Final”]
[Date “1936.07.??”]
[White “Silverman, Julius”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Be3 dxe4 6. fxe4 Qh4+ 7. Kd2 Qxe4 8. Nf3 Nf6 9. Bd3 Qd5 10. Rf1 c5 11. Qe2 Nc6 12. a3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Qxd4 15. axb4 Qxb4 16. Ra4 Qe7 17. Raf4 Bd7 18. g4 h6 19. h4 e5 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Nd5 Qd6 22. Nxf6+ Kd8 23. Kc1 Be6 24. Bf5 Ke7 25. Rd1 Qc5 26. Nd5+ Qxd5 27. Rxd5 Bxd5 28. Qxe5+ Be6 29. c4 Rac8 30. c5 b6 31. Qd6+ Kf6 32. Bxe6 fxe6 33. b4 bxc5 34. bxc5 Rhd8 35. Qf4+ Kg7 36. Qe5+ Kh7 37. g5 hxg5 38. Qe4+ Kh8 39. c6 Rd5 40. Qxe6 Rc5+ 41. Kd2 R8xc6 42. Qe8+ Kg7 43. Qe7+ Kg6 44. Qe8+ Kf5 45. Qf7+ Kg4 46. Qxa7 Rd5+ 47. Ke2 Re6+ 48. Kf2 Rf5+ 49. Kg1 Re1+ 50. Kg2 Re2+ 51. Kg1 Kg3 52. Qa3+ Rf3 0-1

Nottingham in August was only a short journey. The Major Open was split into two equal sections, both in themselves fairly strong international tournaments.

This time his performance was slightly disappointing. The three games I’ve been able to find include two losses and this game, where he did well to survive and share the point.

[Event “BCF-ch 29th Major Open B: Harrogate R3”]
[Date “1936.08.19”]
[White “Abrahams, Gerald”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 g6 5. Bf4 Bg7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 b6 8. Ne5 Bb7 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. h4 Nbd7 11. h5 Nxh5 12. Rxh5 gxh5 13. Qxh5 Nf6 14. Qh4 Qc8 15. Bg5 Rd8 16. Bxf6 exf6 17. Qxh7+ Kf8 18. Bf5 Qc7 19. Ng4 Bc8 20. Nh6 Bxh6 21. Qxh6+ Ke7 22. e4 Bxf5 23. exf5 Qd7 24. Qe3+ Kf8 25. Qh6+ Ke7 26. Qe3+ Kf8 27. Qf3 Qe7+ 28. Kf1 Qb4 29. Qh3 Ke7 30. Re1+ Kd7 31. Qh5 Rf8 32. Kg1 Rae8 33. Rd1 Qc4 34. Qf3 Kd6 35. Rc1 Rh8 36. Qf4+ Ke7 37. b3 Qc6 38. Ne2 Qb5 39. Rc7+ Kf8 40. Qd6+ Kg7 41. Qg3+ 1/2-1/2

Full tournament report here.

After the tournament, Alekhine visited Leicester to give a simultaneous display, winning 33 games, drawing 5 and losing 2, one of which was to Lenton.

[Event “Simultaneous Display: Leicester”]
[Date “1936.09.05”]
[White “Alekhine, Alexander”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 dxc4 7. d5 Na5 8. Bxc4 Nxc4 9. Qa4+ Bd7 10. Qxc4 e6 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. Qe2 Qb6 13. dxe6 Bxe6 14. Nf3 Bc5 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Nd5 Qa5 17. Kb1 Kf8 18. g4 Be7 19. Qe4 Rc6 20. Nb4 Rc4 21. Nd4 Qxb4 22. Nxe6+ fxe6 23. Qxe6 Re4 24. Qd5 Re2 25. Qd4 Kf7 26. Qd5+ Kg7 27. Qb3 Qxb3 28. axb3 Rc8 29. Rd7 Kf8 30. Ka2 Rcc2 31. Rb1 b5 32. b4 Rc4 33. Rxa7 Rxg4 34. Kb3 Rxf2 35. Re1 Bxb4 36. Rd1 Be7 37. Rdd7 Re4 38. h4 Re3+ 39. Ka2 b4 40. Rdb7 Rff3 41. Kb1 b3 42. Kc1 Rd3 0-1

Alfred’s marriage to Elsie Margaret Reid was registered in the fourth quarter of 1936. They both decided to give Hastings a miss that year.

His favourite Réti Opening wasn’t always successful against stronger opposition, but it could be devastating against lesser lights, as shown in this game from a county match.

[Event “Leicestershire v Nottinghamshire B1”]
[Date “1937.01.23”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Peck, George Arthur”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 d5 7. Qb3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Nbd7 9. d4 Nb6 10. Qd3 Nbd5 11. e4 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Be6 13. Ng5 Qd7 14. f4 Nh5 15. f5 gxf5 16. exf5 Bd5 17. f6 Nxf6 18. Rxf6 Rfd8 19. Qxh7+ Kf8 20. Bxd5 1-0

In May that year, Alfred made his international début in the inaugural Anglo-Dutch match, scoring a win and a draw (he was losing in the final position) against Klaas Bergsma. He also won the Forrest Cup for the second time.

Then it was on to Blackpool for the British Championship. Would he improve on his performances in the two previous years?

It was soon clear that the answer would be no. Something was clearly wrong in the first week, when he lost his first five games. Was he unwell? Who knows? But he fought back well to score 4½ points from his last six games, including wins against two venerable opponents.

He won this game against a man who must have been one of his heroes, 9 times British Champion and Leicester’s finest ever player, now in the twilight of his career. A powerful pin on the e-file proved decisive.

[Event “British CF-30 Championship: Blackpool R9”]
[Date “1937.07.14”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Atkins, Henry Ernest”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 c6 5. b3 Bd6 6. Bb2 Qe7 7. d4 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Ne5 Rd8 10. Qd3 c5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nxd7 Bxd7 13. Nc3 Bc6 14. Nb5 Bxb5 15. Qxb5 a6 16. Qd3 Ne4 17. Rad1 b5 18. dxc5 Bxc5 19. e3 Bb6 20. Rc1 Rab8 21. Rc2 Nc5 22. Qc3 Ne6 23. Qe5 d4 24. exd4 f6 25. Qe4 Bxd4 26. Re1 Bxb2 27. Rxb2 Rb6 28. Bh3 Rdd6 29. Rbe2 Qf7 30. Bxe6 Rxe6 31. Qa8+ 1-0

Against the tournament runner-up he demonstrated his knowledge of Réti’s hypermodern ideas: note the queen on a1. His position wasn’t objectively good, but it seemed to leave Sir George confused.

[Event “British CF-30 Championship: Blackpool R11”]
[Date “1937.07.16”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Thomas, George Alan”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. b3 Nf6 4. Bb2 Bf5 5. g3 e6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 h6 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. Re1 Bh7 11. Rc1 Re8 12. Rc2 Qb6 13. h3 Bc5 14. Rf1 Rad8 15. Qa1 Qc7 16. Rfc1 Bf8 17. Ne5 Nb8 18. Ndf3 Qa5 19. a3 dxc4 20. Nxc4 Qc7 21. Bd4 Nbd7 22. b4 Qb8 23. Nfe5 Nd5 24. Nxd7 Rxd7 25. Ne5 Rdd8 26. Qb2 f6 27. Nc4 e5 28. Bc5 e4 29. dxe4 Bxe4 30. Rd2 Bxg2 31. Kxg2 b6 32. Bxf8 Kxf8 33. Qc2 Ne7 34. Rcd1 Rxd2 35. Qxd2 Nd5 36. Qd3 b5 37. Na5 Re6 38. e4 Nb6 39. f4 Qe8 40. Nb7 Nc4 41. Qf3 Ke7 42. Rd8 Qxd8 43. Nxd8 Kxd8 44. Qf2 Rxe4 45. Qxa7 Re7 46. Qc5 Kd7 47. Kf2 Ne3 48. Kf3 Nd5 49. a4 bxa4 50. b5 Re3+ 51. Kf2 Rc3 52. Qa7+ Kd6 53. b6 Rc2+ 54. Kf3 Nxb6 55. Qxb6 Rc4 56. Qd8+ Kc5 57. Qe7+ Kb5 58. Qxg7 a3 59. Qxf6 Kb4 60. Qa1 Rc3+ 61. Kg4 Rc2 62. f5 a2 63. f6 Rf2 64. f7 1-0

Full tournament report here.

Two games from this period demonstrate again how lethal his queen’s bishop could be in his favourite double fianchetto set-up. You might want to see them as a diptych: both being decided by a Bxg7 sacrifice.

[Event “Leicestershire v Birmingham B1”]
[Date “1937.11.20”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Blow, Ronald”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 b5 2. g3 Bb7 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O e6 5. b3 Be7 6. Bb2 O-O 7. d3 c5 8. Nbd2 Nc6 9. c4 b4 10. e4 Qb6 11. e5 Ne8 12. Ne4 f6 13. d4 cxd4 14. exf6 Nxf6 15. Nxd4 Rad8 16. Rc1 Kh8 17. c5 Qa6 18. Qc2 Nd5 19. Nf3 h6 20. Nd6 Bxd6 21. cxd6 Qb5 22. Nh4 Kg8 23. Bxg7 Rf7 24. Bxh6 Rf6 25. Qd2 Nc3 26. Qg5+ Qxg5 27. Bxg5 1-0

[Event “Leicestershire v Nottinghamshire B1”]
[Date “1937.12.04”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Hingley, Frederick John”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 Nbd7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. d4 Re8 10. Nc3 c4 11. Ne5 Nb6 12. bxc4 dxc4 13. Na4 Qc7 14. Rc1 Be6 15. e4 Bd6 16. f4 Bxe5 17. fxe5 Ng4 18. Rc3 Red8 19. Nc5 Nxe5 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bh3 Qd6 22. Re3 Nc6 23. d5 exd5 24. exd5 Nxd5 25. Be6+ Kh8 26. Bxg7+ Kxg7 27. Rf7+ Kh8 28. Rxh7+ Kxh7 29. Qh5+ Kg7 30. Qg5+ Kh7 31. Re4 Nf4 32. Qf5+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Kh7 34. Rxf4 Qd1+ 35. Kg2 1-0

In 1937 Leicestershire reached the final of the English Counties Championship.

We have two photos and a report.

Now into 1938, Alfred won the Forrest Cup for the third time, his final game producing another sacrificial finish.

[Event “Midland Individual Championship: Final”]
[Date “1938.04.??”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Butcher, Cecil George”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. d4 Bf5 4. Nc3 h6 5. g3 Qc8 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. Nh4 Bh7 8. f4 e5 9. e3 Be7 10. O-O g5 11. fxe5 dxe5 12. Nf3 exd4 13. exd4 O-O 14. b3 c6 15. Bb2 Qc7 16. Nd2 Rad8 17. Qf3 Nc5 18. Ne2 Nce4 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Qc3 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Ne4 22. Qd3 f5 23. Nc3 Qe5 24. Nd5 Qg7 25. Nxe7+ Qxe7 26. Rae1 Qb4 27. g4 Qa5 28. gxf5 Nf6 29. Re6 Qc7 30. Qh3 Rd7 31. d5 Rdf7 32. d6 Qa5 33. Rf2 Qc5 34. Qc3 Kh7 35. b4 Qb6 36. c5 Qd8 37. Rfe2 Nd5 38. Rxh6+ 1-0

He again scored 1½/2 in the 1938 Anglo-Dutch match, this time paired against Chris Vlagsma. His opponent was doing well here before ill-advisedly opening the f-file.

[Event “Match/Nation ENG-NED: London R1 B10”]
[Date “1938.06.05”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Vlagsma, Chris”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A09”]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Na3 a6 4. Nxc4 b5 5. Na3 Bb7 6. d4 e6 7. Nc2 c5 8. e3 Nf6 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Be2 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Bb2 Rc8 13. Nd2 Qb6 14. Rc1 Rfd8 15. Qe1 Ne4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. f3 Bg6 18. Kh1 Nf6 19. Qf2 cxd4 20. Bxd4 Qa5 21. e4 Qxa2 22. Na1 h6 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Qe3 Qa3 25. Bd3 Nd7 26. f4 f6 27. f5 Bf7 28. fxe6 Bxe6 29. e5 f5 30. g4 Bd5+ 31. Kg1 Bg5 32. Qf2 fxg4 33. Qf5 Nf8 34. Qxc8 Be7 35. Qxg4 Qa2 36. Rf2 Qa5 37. Rf1 Qd2 38. e6 Bg5 39. Rxf8+ Kxf8 40. Qf5+ Bf6 41. Bc5+ Ke8 42. Qh5+ 1-0

Then it was down to Brighton for the 1938 British Championship, which proved to be another disappointment.

The low point was a loss in only 9 moves against Tylor.

[Event “British CF-31 Championship: Brighton R9”]
[Date “1938.08.17”]
[White “Tylor, Theodore Henry”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 b6 5. e4 exd5 6. e5 Ng8 7. Qxd5 Nc6 8. Bc4 Qe7 9. O-O 1-0

In the very next round, though, switching from his usual Réti, he won in 13 moves when Frank Parr got his queen trapped. This time capturing his opponent’s b-pawn with his queen wasn’t a good idea.

[Event “British CF-31 Championship: Brighton R10”]
[Date “1938.08.18”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Parr, Frank”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. b4 cxb4 4. a3 Nf6 5. axb4 g6 6. Bb2 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. d3 Qb6 9. Bd4 Qxb4+ 10. c3 Qb2 11. Ra2 Qxa2 12. Bxa2 e5 13. Be3 1-0

It’s not clear what had happened to his chess here. I suspect that, with the twin demands of his job and married life, he was no longer putting in the three hours study every day.

Here, from Battersea Chess Club’s obituary of Parr, is a photograph, with Lenton on the right considering his move.

And here, as you see, he finished in a share of 10th-11th place, quite a comedown from his results of 2 and 3 years earlier.

Full tournament report here.

In spite of this result, he was selected for the 1939 Anglo-Dutch match, where he was up against Carel Fontein, drawing one game and losing the other.

How strong was he during this period? EdoChess gives his rating peaking at 2250 in 1936, so, although he finished high up in the British on two occasions, he was only, by today’s standards, a strong club player. A player with considerable ability, both tactical and positional, but also with some weaknesses.

Storm clouds were gathering over Europe, war was declared on 1 September 1939, Lenton’s chess column was wound down, perhaps anticipating a paper shortage. A register was taken on 29 September listing all residents, for the purpose of producing identity cards and ration books.

Alfred and Elsie were recorded two miles east of the city centre, at 65 Copdale Road, Leicester (on the left here), living next door to his parents and brothers at number 63 (with the blue van up the drive: looks like it might have been rebuilt). The family had moved up in the world since 1921.

While Elsie is knitting socks with her circular machine, Alfred is a Gas Department Securities Clerk, working for the local government office.

At this point it’s almost time to break off our story, just noting that our hero had won his third county championship, receiving the trophy in October. “A worthy champion, who will be British Champion one day”, said the county President Robert Pruden on presenting the trophy. You’ll find out how accurate that prediction was in our next Minor Piece, when we look at what happened next in Alfred’s life.

But first, let’s return to Kibworth Beauchamp, where our story began. We met Robert Lenton, born in 1744, who might have been the son of Richard born in 1710.  He had a brother named Mark (a very popular name in this family) who moved to the nearby village of Thorpe Langton. We travel down the generations, another Mark, Henry, and his daughter Ann, baptised on 27 July 1794. On 2 December 1816 Ann married Thomas James, from the small village of Slawston, a few miles further east. We travel down the generations again, another Thomas, who moved back to Thorpe Langton, John, Tom Harry, and to the youngest of his 18 children, Howard, who was my father.

Which makes Alfred possibly my 6th cousin twice removed, or if Robert’s father was the other Richard, my 7th cousin twice removed (I think).

Another golden chain. Even though I didn’t inherit his talent, I’m delighted to be a kinsman of someone who finished =2nd and =3rd in two British Championships.

Sources and Acknowledgements:

ancestry.co.uk
findmypast.co.uk/British Newspaper Library
BritBase (John Saunders)
John Saunders also for providing me with his Lenton file
ChessBase/Stockfish 16
chessgames.com
EdoChess (Rod Edwards)
Google Maps
Wikipedia
Chess in Leicester 1860-1960 (Don Gould)
Battersea Chess Club website
shropshirechess.org