Minor Pieces

Last time we left Alfred Lenton in 1939, at the outbreak of World War 2. Although Alfred didn’t serve in the war, there were fewer opportunities for him to play chess.

The county championship continued to take place, with Lenton retaining his title in 1940, and there was also a wartime county chess league, along with county matches against their Nottinghamshire neighbours.

In 1941 he was unexpectedly defeated by Philip Collier, who went to to claim his second county title, just as his father had done before him. In 1942 Elsie and Alfred welcomed their only son, Philip, into the world. (There were a lot of chess playing Phil(l)ips in Leicester at the time: Collier, Wallis, Rimmington and others.) He didn’t take part in the county championship that year, only resuming his chess career in 1945. In 1946 he was appointed President of the Leicestershire Chess Club, serving the required two year term.

He had intended to play in the 1946 British Championships in Nottingham, but had to pull out at fairly short notice: whether due to work or family commitments is unclear. But he was still playing successfully in the county championship, claiming his fifth and sixth titles in 1947 and 1948.

In June 1947 a Czechoslovakian team visited England to play two matches, against an England team in London, followed by an encounter with a Midlands team in Birmingham. Alfred resumed his international career here where he was matched against Jaromir Florian (not the Hungarian Tibor as incorrectly given in MegaBase and other sources). Thanks to Christopher Kreuzer and others on the English Chess Forum for researching and confirming this.

Two interesting games ensued, with our hero scoring a win and a draw. Click here and paste the pgn if you’d like to play through any of the games in this article.

[Event “Midland Counties – CSR Birmingham R1”]
[Date “1947.06.17”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Florian, Jaromir”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O h6 6. c3 O-O 7. d4 Bb6 8. dxe5 Nxe4 9. Qd5 Nc5 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. cxd4 Ne6 12. Be3 c6 13. Qe4 d5 14. exd6 Qxd6 15. d5 Bxe3 16. dxe6 Bd4 17. exf7+ Kh8 18. Nc3 b5 19. Bb3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 Qf6 21. Rad1 Bf5 22. Qf4 Bg6 23. Qxf6 gxf6 24. Rd6 c5 25. Rxf6 Kg7 26. Rc6 c4 27. Bd1 Rxf7 28. Bf3 Bd3 29. Rd1 Re8 30. Bh5 Re4 31. Bxf7 Kxf7 32. f3 Re2 33. Rc7+ Ke6 34. Rxa7 Rc2 35. Ra5 Rxc3 36. Rxb5 Ra3 37. Rd2 Kd6 38. Rb1 Kc5 39. Rbd1 Kd4 40. Kf2 Ra8 41. g3 Kc3 42. Ke3 Bc2 43. Rd8 Rxa2 44. R1d6 Ra1 45. Rxh6 Re1+ 46. Kf4 Bd3 47. Rc6 Rf1 48. Ke3 Re1+ 49. Kf4 Rf1 50. Rdc8 Be2 51. Ke3 Bd3 52. h4 Re1+ 53. Kf4 Re7 54. g4 Be2 55. g5 Rf7+ 56. Rf6 Re7 57. g6 Kd2 58. Rf7 Re3 59. Rd8+ Bd3 60. g7 1-0

[Event “Midland Counties – CSR Birmingham R2”]
[Date “1947.06.18”]
[White “Florian, Jaromir”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. c4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. d3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. h3 Re8 10. O-O Qc8 11. Nh2 g6 12. Qd2 Nh5 13. g4 Ng7 14. Nd5 f5 15. Bg5 Bxg5 16. Qxg5 Ne6 17. Qh6 Kh8 18. gxf5 Nf4 19. Nxf4 exf4 20. f6 Rg8 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Nf3 Bxh3 23. Kh2 Bxf1 24. Ng5 Qd7 25. Rxf1 Raf8 26. f7 Rxf7 27. Nxf7+ Qxf7 28. d4 Qxc4 29. Qxf4 Qxd4 30. Rc1 c5 31. b4 c4 32. Qe3 Qxe3 33. fxe3 Re8 34. Rxc4 Re7 35. Kg3 Kg7 36. Kf3 Kf6 37. Rc6 Ke5 38. Rxa6 Rf7+ 39. Ke2 Kxe4 40. Rc6 h5 41. a4 g5 42. a5 h4 43. a6 h3 44. a7 Rf8 45. Rxc7 g4 46. Rc4+ Kd5 47. Rxg4 Ra8 48. Rd4+ Kc6 49. Rh4 Rxa7 50. Rxh3 Ra3 51. Rh4 Rb3 52. Rd4 d5 53. Kd2 Kd6 54. Ke2 Ke5 55. Rh4 Kd6 56. Kd2 Ke5 57. Ke2 Kd6 58. Kf3 Ke5 59. Ke2 1/2-1/2

By August that year he felt ready to commit himself to the British Championships, held that year in Harrogate.

He was selected to play in what was called the Premier Tournament, the section immediately below the championship itself, also a strong competition with some international interest. Lenton, not for the first time, started slowly, but recovered to finish on 5/11.

Tournament report  and further details here.

Here are two of his wins.

[Event “GBR-ch 34th Premier: Harrogate R4”]
[Date “1947.08.14”]
[White “Charlesworth, Kenneth Preston”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe5 Bd6 5. d4 exd3 6. Nxd3 Nf6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Nc3 Re8 10. f5 c6 11. Bf4 Nc5 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Kh1 Bd7 14. Nxc5 Qxc5 15. Bd3 Rad8 16. Rf4 Qe5 17. Qf1 c5 18. h3 Nh5 19. Rg4 Bc6 20. Ne2 Rxd3 21. cxd3 Qxe2 22. Qg1 Qxd3 0-1

[Event “GBR-ch 34th Premier: Harrogate R10”]
[Date “1947.08.21”]
[White “Stone, Joseph”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. d4 f6 7. Be3 g6 8. Qd2 Bg7 9. Nc3 Qe7 10. O-O-O Qf8 11. h3 Nh6 12. Qd3 Nf7 13. Qc4 Bd7 14. dxe5 fxe5 15. Kb1 Nd8 16. Ng5 h6 17. Nf3 Be6 18. Qa4 Qf7 19. Nh2 O-O 20. Ng4 Kh7 21. Rdf1 Bc4 22. Re1 Rb8 23. b3 Bb5 24. Qa3 d5 25. Nxb5 axb5 26. Qc1 h5 27. Nh2 d4 28. Nf3 Ne6 29. Bd2 Rb7 30. Re2 Ra8 31. Ng5+ Nxg5 32. Bxg5 c5 33. Rf1 c4 34. f4 c3 35. fxe5 Qe6 36. Bf6 Rxa2 37. Kxa2 Ra7+ 38. Qa3 Rxa3+ 39. Kxa3 Qa6+ 0-1

You’ll see that, by this time, although still throwing in the occasional hypermodern opening from pre-war days, he was usually playing in much more classical fashion.

Every year around this time he’d give a simultaneous display against fellow members of the NALGO (Local Government Officers) Chess Club. Here he is pictured in 1949, alongside the big news of a pigeon being arrested in Coalville. Strange things often happen in Leicestershire.

In 1951 Leicestershire Chess Club reached the final of the National Club Championship, going down 4-2 against the London club Lud-Eagle. Alfred drew his game on board 4, pictured here.

In 1954 Lenton won the county championship again, playing enough chess to make the BCF Grading List in Category 3a (209-216) which you can see here, although he dropped out the following year.

Round about this time he decided on a change of career, giving up his job in local government to establish an antiquarian bookshop in the city centre, which, at various times sold all sorts of other things: model railways, stamps, gramophone records for example. This enterprise afforded him less time for chess, especially county matches as Saturday was his busiest day.

In 1960, as you may recall, the Leicestershire Chess Club celebrated its centenary. As part of the celebrations a tournament was organised in January the following year.

They invited one of the world’s strongest players, Svetozar Gligoric, and one of the country’s strongest players, Leonard Barden, both of whom had just competed at Hastings, to take on the four most recent county champions.

As well as Alfred Lenton, champion in 1954, they were Polish born Wladyslaw Tabakiernik (1915-1997, known as Tabby, champion in 1952 and 1953), Philip Norman Wallis (1906-1973, champion in 1955, 1956, 1958 and 1959), and Peter Darrell Sanderson (1934-2013, champion in 1957 and 1960).

Here’s the final table.

Tournament report here.

It soon became clear that Alfred was very rusty. Young star Sanderson beat him with a fine combination in the first round.

[Event “Leicestershire Centenary R1”]
[Date “1961.01.09”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Sanderson, Peter Darrell”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 d6 7. Be2 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. Qd2 a6 10. f4 Nd7 11. Nd5 e6 12. Nc3 Nb6 13. Rad1 d5 14. e5 Bd7 15. Nb3 Ne7 16. Qd4 Nbc8 17. g4 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Qd2 Nc6 20. Nxd5 exd5 21. Qxd5+ Rf7 22. Bc4 Be8 23. Qf3 Qc7 24. Nc5 Nd6 25. Ne6 Nxc4 26. Nxc7 Rxc7 27. Bc5 Rac8 28. b3 b6 29. Bf2 Na3 30. Bxb6 Rb7 31. Qf2 Nxc2 32. Rd2 Bf7 33. Rxc2 Rxb6 34. Qxb6 Bd4+ 35. Qxd4 1-0

In Round 2, Wallis, playing black, had a winning attack by move 14. In Round 3, against Barden, he was again lost by move 14, losing two pawns to an obvious tactic.

Against the great Gligoric he started well enough, but a tactical oversight led, after a series of exchanges, to a position where his opponent could play a temporary knight sacrifice to end up two pawns ahead. Disheartened, he resigned rather than waiting to be shown.

[Event “Leicestershire Centenary R4”]
[Date “1961.01.12”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Gligoric, Svetozar”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. d4 Nbd7 4. Nc3 e5 5. e4 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. O-O O-O 9. Qc2 c6 10. b3 Qe7 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Rad1 Nh5 13. g3 Nf8 14. Ne1 Nf6 15. Bf3 h5 16. Nd3 N6h7 17. c5 h4 18. Ne2 Bh3 19. Bg2 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Ng5 21. f3 Rad8 22. Nf2 Nfe6 23. f4 exf4 24. gxf4 Bxb2 25. Qxb2 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Nxe4 0-1

In his final game he gained a clear advantage against Tabakiernik, but decided to play safe by offering a draw.

He was in better form in this county match game played a couple of months later against one of England’s most promising young players.

[Event “Leicestershire v Warwickshire B4”]
[Date “1961.03.04”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Moore, Brian J”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O 5. g3 c5 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O d6 8. d3 h6 9. Nc3 e5 10. Nd2 Be6 11. Nde4 Nh5 12. Nd5 f5 13. Nec3 Rf7 14. e3 f4 15. Be4 fxg3 16. Bxg6 gxh2+ 17. Kh1 Nf6 18. Bxf7+ Bxf7 19. f3 Nh5 20. Qe1 e4 21. dxe4 Qg5 22. Kxh2 Ne5 23. f4 Qg4 24. fxe5 Bxe5+ 25. Nf4 Be6 26. Rg1 1-0

Leicester 1961 was to be his last major tournament, but Alfred continued playing locally with success. He was interviewed by the local paper following his triumph in the 1969 county championship.

Sadly we have very few games available from the last 40(!) years of his chess career. Here’s a game he lost against an opponent he’d beaten on top board of a county match two years earlier.

[Event “Leicester v Nomads: Weekend League”]
[Date “1972.01.23”]
[White “Griffiths, Peter Charles”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Na6 10. Nd2 Nc7 11. a4 b6 12. Nc4 Ba6 13. Re1 Rb8 14. Bf4 Nfe8 15. Qd2 Qd7 16. Bh6 f5 17. e5 dxe5 18. Nxe5 Qd6 19. Nc6 Rb7 20. Bxa6 Nxa6 21. Re6 Qd7 22. Rae1 Bxh6 23. Qxh6 Qg7 24. Qxg7+ Nxg7 25. Re7 Rxe7 26. Rxe7 Re8 27. Rxe8+ Nxe8 28. Nxa7 Nd6 29. b3 Kf7 30. Kf1 Ke8 31. Ke2 Kd7 32. Nc6 Nf7 33. Kd3 Nc7 34. Na7 Nd6 35. f4 Na6 36. Nc6 Nc7 37. Ne5+ Ke7 38. Nc4 Na8 39. Nxd6 Kxd6 40. Kc4 h6 41. Nb5+ Kd7 42. h4 Ke7 43. d6+ Ke6 44. Nc7+ Nxc7 45. dxc7 Kd7 46. Kb5 Kxc7 47. a5 1-0

In the 1970s, buoyed by a strong local organisation, Leicester was at the forefront of the English Chess Explosion, with several teenage stars coming to the fore. Here, a young Mark Hebden, a pupil, as Lenton had been many years earlier, at Alderman Newton’s School, was being compared to Alfred.

There, you’ll see another future GM, Glenn Flear, a pupil at Beauchamp Oadby School, which had originally been Kibworth Grammar School in the village from which the Lentons came. Elsewhere, Flear’s ‘smooth positional style’ was compared to that of Lenton. Other contemporaries were future IM Geoff Lawton, Shaun Finlayson and Alan Richardson.

The 1980s seems to have been a quiet decade for Alfred Lenton as a chess player, but life in his shop was, on occasion, rather more eventful.

In 1988 he made the front page of the papers for foiling a train robbery.

Later in life he became active again, playing for his local club, Thurnby: we have a draw from a match between Thurnby 2 and Market Harborough.

[Event “Market Harborough v Thurnby 2”]
[Date “1994.06.08”]
[White “Calder, Jonathan P”]
[Black “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 h6 7. Be3 e5 8. d5 c6 9. Qd2 cxd5 10. cxd5 Kh7 11. Bd3 Ng8 12. Nge2 f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Ng3 Na6 15. Nge4 Nf6 16. O-O Nb4 17. Bb1 Na6 18. a3 Nc7 19. Bc2 Qe7 20. Rad1 Nh5 21. g3 Nf6 22. g4 Bxe4 23. Bxe4 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Nb5 25. Qb4 Nd4 26. Bxd4 exd4 27. Qxd6 Qxd6 28. Nxd6 Rad8 29. Nxb7 Rxd5 30. b4 Rb8 1/2-1/2

Jonathan Calder blogged about this game here: many thanks to him for looking out the scoresheet for me. There’s another story concerning an informal game played in his shop here.

Shabir Okhai has sent me a game he played against Lenton in 1999, when he was 14 years old. You’ll see Alfred, just as he had done, more than 60 years earlier, chose a hypermodern opening, and, after missing some winning chances, exceeded the time limit in a position which offered chances to both sides.

[Event “Thurnby 1 v Syston 2”]
[Date “1999.10.14”]
[White “Lenton, Alfred”]
[Black “Okhai, Shabir”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. Nf3 Nc6 2. b3 e5 3. Bb2 e4 4. Ng1 d5 5. e3 Nf6 6. d4 Bd6 7. c4 a6 8. Nc3 dxc4 9. bxc4 O-O 10. a3 Re8 11. c5 Bf8 12. Bc4 Na5 13. Ba2 Ng4 14. Qd2 Nc6 15. O-O-O Qf6 16. Nh3 Nh6 17. d5 Na7 18. Nxe4 Qe7 19. f3 Bf5 20. d6 cxd6 21. Nxd6 Red8 22. e4 Bg6 23. Qg5 Qc7 24. Kb1 Bxd6 25. cxd6 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 Qxd6 27. Nf4 Nb5 28. a4 Nc7 29. Nd5 Nxd5 30. Bxd5 Qb4 31. a5 Kf8 32. Rd1 Qxa5 33. h4 f6 34. Qf4 Qb6 0-1

Alfred Lenton (always Alf to his friends) died on 5 November 2004 at the age of 93. You’ll see from the ECF ratings site that he was active almost to the end. I guess not many players who had previously been about 2300 strength eventually plummeted to about 1600, but then not many of them continued playing into their tenth decade. The game above suggests that he had problems with time management at the end of his long career.

I met Alfred a couple of times myself, at Sandys Dickinson’s second hand bookshop in London, while looking for material for The Complete Chess Addict, but don’t have any particularly strong memories of him. I wasn’t certain then that the P Lenton I’d played in Leicester was his son, and had no idea of our family connection.

The shop finally closed in Spring 2024 when Philip decided to retire.

Here it is, dwarfed by a hairdressers and a branch of Subway on either side. You can see a photograph (is that Philip behind the counter?) here.

There you have the long and perhaps unconventional life of Alfred Lenton, a life devoted to chess, as an international player, as a journalist, and as a lover of chess books.

While I still have your attention, I’d like to introduce, very briefly, another long lived Leicester player.

Here’s one of Alfred’s earliest games, and there, on the board above him, is our man, Arthur Clement Bannister.

Arthur, born on 18 February 1891, was twenty years older than Alfred, but the two men would have known each other well for half a century.

If Alfred was a Minor Piece in chess, Arthur was a mere pawn, but pawns, according to Philidor, are the soul of chess. You’ll meet men like Arthur in almost any chess club. An average, or perhaps below average club player who turns out regularly, plays on a low board in county matches and takes in the occasional tournament (Bannister played in the Short 3rd Class section at Margate in 1938 and the 2nd Class Section A in the 1952 British Championships).

You’ll see from his death notice, that, even at the age of 90, he was ‘a prominent member of the Leicester Chess Club’. I’d put it to you that it’s the likes of Arthur Clement Bannister who are the real soul of chess.

Arthur, who never married, had a hearing impairment, which might, perhaps, be two reasons why chess meant so much to him. In a 1950 match against Coventry he was paired against a blind player, but the captains agreed that they should swap opponents with the adjacent board.

Arthur’s father, James, was born in the town of Earl Shilton, ten miles to the west of Leicester. I wrote more about his family – and their connection to my family – here.

So, back there on adjacent boards in 1929, and friends for half a century or more,  were my mother’s kinsman Arthur and my father’s kinsman Alfred, both of whom lived into their nineties. I can see something of myself in both of them. Not so much a golden chain: perhaps a golden helix.

One final thought, though. I’d put it to you that one reason why so many strong young players came from Leicester in the 1970s was the strength of their club and county chess scene. There was a thriving local league, featuring formidable players like Alfred Lenton as well as enthusiasts like Arthur Clement Bannister. There were organisers of many years’ experience, and journalists such as Don Gould and Dick Chapman who tirelessly promoted the game in local newspapers over several decades. You might meet more of them in future Minor Pieces, but for now it’s time to take the train back to St Pancras and return to London.

But first…

Derek Goodwin posted on my first Lenton article in November 2024:

I played Alf three times in his shop in the early 80’s, the three games, ugh, the first time I had lost (apart from to my father who was my teacher), I found it hard to lose. He scolded me for amateur moves and schoolboy chess, but he was nice: his son (Philip) was overlooking and smiling on. It spurred me on to play at the Leicester City Transport Offices club, but my cycle got stolen and that was that till i got older! I was still buying stuff from the shop until about six months ago when it finally closed. I still see Philip about.

He also contacted me via ancestry.co.uk with some further information:

It is said Alf was a KGB agent and the book shop was a front for KGB agents to swap their intelligence. Back then the iron curtain was up and Leicester was a place of interest, with Marconi Radar, Brush Electrical etc. They say people came in “to sell books or buy books” but in them were secret photos of places, or film hidden in model railway carriages. its a fanciful story, but I have heard it a few times and I got to admit, I’ve told it too.

Who knows? I’d be interested to find out more. If you have any information, do get in touch.

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
English Chess Forum/Christopher Kreuzer and others
chessgames.com
chess.com
EdoChess (Rod Edwards)
Google Maps
Chess in Leicester 1860-1960 (Don Gould)
Jonathan Calder
Shabir Okhai