I’m currently decluttering my house and came across this plaque at the bottom of a filing cabinet. This was originally attached to an equipment cupboard at Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club (the two clubs merged in 1958). After becoming surplus to requirements it was used by Richmond Junior Chess Club for some time. After we Continue reading

For several years in the 1930s, two blind players, Theodore Tylor and Rupert Cross, were amongst the competitors in the British Championship, restricted at that time to twelve players selected from the best in the country. Tylor was a player of genuine master standard, competing with distinction against the best in the world, while Cross was a very Continue reading

The 1920s saw the beginnings of chess competitions for juniors. In 1921 a boys’ tournament took place in Hastings: this was repeated in 1922 and by 1923 had become the official British Boys’ Championship, for those under the age of 18. The first winner was Philip Stuart (later Sir Stuart) Milner-Barry. That year the London Continue reading

I’ve long been intrigued by this match played on board a liner in 1930. There’s much to be written about the Imperial Club, which played an important part in many aspects of London chess between its foundation in 1911 and the outbreak of the Second World War. It provided a venue for social chess for Continue reading

If you share my interest in the subject of child prodigies, I’d probably start by referring you to this article by Edward Winter. One name missing from this article, though, is that of Harry Jackson, who, in the late 1870s, was billed as the Yorkshire Morphy. You might have met him briefly and seen one of his Continue reading

My first Minor Piece featured the Reverend Samuel Walter Earnshaw, the missing link between Paul Morphy and my great grandmother Jane Houghton. I promised another article at some point demonstrating some more of his games. It’s more than time I wrote it, so here it is. Let me take you back first of all to 9 Continue reading

Ralph Jackson won the Sydney Junior Championship back in 1976 and was at the time of my first writing this article, ranked 7th among players in Australia born before 1960. He is also intrigued by family history, and his interest was piqued in 2015 when a cousin showed him transcripts of letters his great grandfather’s Continue reading

Jack Redon was one of the elder statesmen at Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club for the first 20 years or so of my membership. On completing my studies in 1972 I joined the committee and got to know him well. Jack was a pretty strong player who was known for his artistic interests. He was Continue reading

Last time I told you about Charles Dealtry Locock’s pioneering work in promoting chess for girls in the 1930s, and, in particular about his private pupil Elaine Saunders, the first genuine girl chess playing prodigy. She wasn’t the first girl chess prodigy, though. Back in 1891 9-year-old Lilian Baird was making headlines round the world with her Continue reading

You’ve already read about Charles Dealtry Locock’s career as a chess player and problemist. In the final part of this trilogy you’ll learn more about his life, and about what might be seen as his most lasting and significant contribution to chess. You’ll recall that he married his first cousin, Ida Gertrude Locock, and that they had two Continue reading