Index

Number	Title	Description

1	Samuel Walter Earnshaw (1)	The first of a trilogy on Steinitz’s London opponents: Earnshaw was a clergyman with a connection to my family.
2	Alexander Sich	Alexander Sich, from a West London brewing family, played several games against Steinitz.
3	Septimus Swyer	Did Jack the Ripper play chess? Septimus Swyer was in the right place at the right time, and had the right knowledge.
4	The Marriott Family	The tragically short-lived Arthur Towle Marriott was a talented member of a chess playing family from Nottingham.
5	Francis Ptacek	Starting a trilogy of AT Marriott’s Leicester opponents, Francis Ptacek was a musician from Central Europe.
6	William John Withers	William Withers was amongst many other things, a bookseller and antique dealer involved with
7	Martin Luther Lewis	Martin Luther Lewis was a schoolmaster who, himself a strong player, taught the great HE Atkins chess.
8	Clifford Bridle	Who was Cliff Bridle, the unknown English amateur who beat Bogoljubov in a brilliant game in a German tournament?
9	William Harris	William Harris was the founder and organiser of the first chess club in Richmond, back in the 1850s.
10	Henry George Bohn	Henry George Bohn, Staunton’s chess publisher, was a member of the first Richmond Chess Club.
11	William Dobell Hutchings	I wanted to find out about the man who used to own my 1st edition of Staunton’s Chess Players’ Handbook.
12	George Edward Norwood Ryan	Starting a series of members of the first Twickenham Chess Club, GEN Ryan was one of its strongest members.
13	Henry Francis Limpus and Edward Griffith Brewer	Limpus and Brewer were early club officials in the first Twickenham Chess Clulb.
14	Dr Abraham Emanuel Learner	Leaving Twickenham for a short time, Dr Learner was a strong amateur active first in Birmingham, then in Australia, and finally in Sussex.
15	Oliver Harcourt Labone	Labone, who gave his name to a tactical idea, had an extraordinary life and family background. Don’t miss this one!
16	Nicholas Demetrio	A follow-up to the previous article, continuing the exploration of Labone’s family. Again, you don’t want to miss this!
17	Bashley and Wallace Britten	Two unrelated Twickenham Chess Club members with the same surname. Bashley was the more interesting, but only around for a very short time.
18	Arthur Sabin and Randulph Lewis Coward	Noël Coward’s father and uncle were both members of the first Twickenham Chess Club. You’ll want to learn more.
19	Sydney Meymott	Meymott played for Twickenham briefly as a young man, but was later an Ealing Chess Club stalwart for many years.
20	George Courtenay Vialls and Thomas George Gardiner	The first Twickenham Chess Club boasted two members with distinguished military careers.
21	Robert Davy Ganthony	A dentist and artist, Ganthony came from an interesting and artistic family.
22	Cecil Alfred Lucas Bull (1)	CAL Bull has the unique distinction of being chess champion of both Twickenham and Durban, but was also one of the leading chess problemists of his time. This article covers his time in England.
23	Cecil Alfred Lucas Bull (2)	The second feature on Bull covers his life in South Africa following his emigration.
24	Arthur Makinson Fox	Fox was another dentist, also an organist and composer, with a lifelong interest in chess.
25	Edmund Elias Humphreys	EE Humphreys and his chess-playing sons made a dramatic but brief impact on chess in Twickenham.
26	George Edward Wainwright (1)	Wainwright, one of the strongest amateurs of his day, was, for a short time, a member of Twickenham Chess Club.
27	George Edward Wainwright (2)	The second article on Wainwright, a powerful attacking player, continues his story through the 1900s.
28	George Edward Wainwright (3)	The third article on Wainwright takes him through the 1910s, playing some more fine games along the way.
29	George Edward Wainwright (4)	Finally, we look at the last years of Wainwright’s chess career, as well as what happened to his family.
30	Thomas Etheridge Harper	Moving on to the second Richmond Chess Club, TE Harper was one of its leading players.
31	Edward Bagehot Schwann	The short-lived Schwann was a problemist as well as a pretty strong player.
32	James D’Arcy	Richmond Chess Club made the papers in 1900 when D’Arcy suffered a fatal heart attack while watching a game.
33	Charles Redw a y	Redway was another of Richmond Chess Club’s leading players, coming from a family with other interesting chess connections.
34	William Ward (1)	Wiard was another leading amateur player of his day, playing occasionally for Richmond Chess Club.
35	William Ward (2)	Continuing Ward’s story, we now find him playing for Thames Valley (formerly Twickenham, later Kingston) Chess Club against Richmond.
36	William Ward (3)	Finally we look at the last years of William Ward’s relatively short life.
37	Richard Exton Gardner	Gardner, who played for both West London and Richmond, was involved in the Yardley cosmetics company. His sons both went into aviation.
38	Cecil Frank Cornwall	Cornwall played for Richmond in the early 20th century, later becoming champion of Surrey and Brighton.
39	James Money Kyrle Lupton	Lupton was a Richmond problem composer and solver whose one tournament appearance proved unsuccessful.
40	Peter Shenele	The unlikely story of a police officer who played correspondence chess against what may have been the first Kingston Chess Club.
41	Thomas Francis Lawrence (1)	Another very strong amateur, Lawrence was for many years the President of Richmond Chess Club.
42	Thomas Francis Lawrence (2)	Lawrence is best remembered for his participation in Cambridge Springs 1904, covered in our second feature on his chess career.
43	Percival Guy Laugharne Fothergill	During a long life devoted to chess, Fothergill played for several local clubs as well as being a prolific problem composer.
44	Henry Jones Lanchester	Lanchester, who played for Thames Valley and Surbiton, shared a friend with Frankenstein, while his granddaughter was the Bride of Frankenstein.
45	Jessie Helena (Hume) Cousins	Jessie Cousins was a chess pioneer, playing on top board for Staines Chess Club in a male dominated world.
46	George Archer Hooke (1)	Access to his family records told me much about GA Hooke, another strong amateur in the late 19th century.
47	George Archer Hooke (2)	In the latter years of his life, Hooke played on top board for the newly founded and ambitious Barnes Village Chess Club.
48	Alice Elizabeth Hooke (1)	George’s sister Alice was very much involved in the Ladies Chess Club before the First World War.
49	Alice Elizabeth Hooke (2)	Later in her life she finished high up in several British Ladies Championships as well as playing for Barnes Village alongside her brother.
50	Walter Charles Bodycoat	Don’t miss this one: the remarkable family story of the man who gave his name to a Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club trophy takes you round the world and back again.
51	Enid Mary Lanspeary	Miss Lanspeary, from a chess playing family, was briefly a member of Richmond Chess Club in 1950. There’s also an unexpected family connection to me.
52	Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk	British Championship contender Kirk was Richmond Chess Club’s strongest player between 1925 and 1937, but there was another side to his life.
53	James Richmond Cartledge	Cartledge was a player and administrator at Richmond Chess Club for almost 40 years before and after the First World War.
54	Arthur Compton Ellis	The short, mercurial and tragic life of Arthur Compton Ellis, the founder of Kew Chess Club.
55	George Tregaskis	Tregaskis, a close friend of Ellis, played chess at a high level, eventually settling in Surrey.
56	Ferdinand Uniacke and Edmund Arthur Beamish	The chess and tennis playing Beamish family, including an attempt to clarify the confusion over EA and AE Beamish.
57	The Star and Garter Home	In the inter-war period chess was a very popular recreation in the Royal Star and Garter home for disabled ex-servicemen on Richmond Hill.
58	The Leicester Cripples’ Guild	In Leicester, the Cripples’ Guild members were also enjoying chess, entering teams in the Leicestershire League.
59	Desford Approved School (1)	Still in Leicester, the boys from Desford Approved School were taking part in the Leicester Boys’ Championship with great success. Meet the men behind this remarkable story.
60	Desford Approved School (2)	We now look at some of the boys who played chess at Desford, and follow the rest of their lives. You don’t want to miss these two articles.
61	Victor Hextall Lovell	VH Lovell was Leicester’s strongest player during the 1920s, winning the county championship on many occasions.
62	Leicester Chess Ladies	A look at some of the ladies playing chess in Leicester, notably Elsie Reid, who would marry Alfred Lenton.
63	Alfred Lenton (1)	Lenton, who finished 2nd in the 1936 British Championship, had a long life and chess career. Here’s the first part of his story.
64	Alfred Lenton (2)	Later in life he ran a bookshop in Leicester while continuing to play chess into his 90s. A remarkable life which is well worth your attention.
65	Reginald Charles Noel-Johnson (1)	One of Lenton’s opponents, Noel-Johnson, who came from a musical family, was Kent champion on many occasions.
66	Reginald Charles Noel-Johnson (2)	He was also a composer, writing the music for Enid Blyton’s Noddy. Like Lenton, he remained active into his 90s, and also has a family connection with me via the marriage of one of his brothers.
67	George Law Francis Beetholme	Beetholme, a short-lived problemist from an artistic family, may also have had a family connection with me through marriage and a possible illegitimate birth or two.
68	Leonard Francis Grasty	LF Grasty was a member of Bognor Regis chess club, and the owner of a chess set used in the London 1899 tournament and passed down through the generations.
69	Francis Joseph Lee (1)	Francis Lee, who played at London 1899, may have used this chess set. He’s another of those strong but now almost forgotten players who deserves commemoration.
70	Francis Joseph Lee (2)	Continuing the story of Francis Lee, peripatetic professional chess master, into the latter stages of his career.
71	Edward Wallis	Quaker chess enthusiast Wallis was the prime mover of the 1909 British Championships in Scarborough, as well as compiling a book of problems.
72	Alfred Neave Brayshaw	Wallis’s friend Neave Brayshaw was one of the most prominent Quakers of his day as well as being a chess problem expert.
73	Alexander Spink Beaumont	The man who gave his name to the Surrey Division 2 Trophy, after a military career, was a genial and generous patron of both chess and music, but there was also a dark side to him.
74	Charles Dealtry Locock (1)	Chess polymath Locock had a long and interesting life in chess. This article looks at his time as an active competitive player in the 1880s and 1890s.
75	Charles Dealtry Locock (2)	Locock was also a talented and innovative problemist: this article looks at this facet of his chess career.
76	Charles Dealtry Locock (3}	In his old age, Locock unexpectedly became a pioneer in promoting chess for girls, in particular teaching prodigy Elaine Saunders.
77	James Kistruck	In 1891, problems composed by 7-year-old James Kistruck from Clacton were published around the world, but was he all he seemed? This article attempts to solve the mystery.
78	John Edward (Jack) Redon	Jack Redon may be considered the founder of the modern Richmond (& Twickenham) Chess Club. He had a fascinating life story which you can read here.
79	Antony Alfred Geoffrey Guest	Guest was a player and problemist, but, more significantly, a journalist who might be considered the Leonard Barden of his day.
80	Samuel Walter Earnshaw (2)	Returning to Rev Earnshaw, the subject of the first Minor Piece, with some more of his games, often against the leading players of his day.
81	Harry Jackson	Teenage star Harry Jackson was billed as the Yorkshire Morphy: you’ll really want to discover the full story.
82	Imperial Chess Club (1): Chess on a Liner	In 1930 the Imperial Chess Club played a much publicised match on a liner. Sultan Khan was on top board, but who were the players in their team?
83	London Boys Chess Championships (1)	Meet the boys who took part in the first London Boys Championship in 1924. One grew up to become a famous philosopher, while another became a leading British Fascist.
84	George Clifford Brown	GC Brown was the headmaster who pioneered chess for boys with visual handicaps at Worcester College for the Blind. Don’t miss his inspiring story.
85	Harold Henry Hewitt	I wanted to discover the identity of Major HH Hewitt, who presented an equipment cupboard to Twickenham Chess Club in the early 1950s. I still have the plaque here.
86	London Boys Chess Championships (2)	Introducing you to some more of the chess playing London boys from the 1920s. Where did they come from, and what did they do for the rest of their lives?
87	Ralph and Harry Gunning	The Gunning brothers were London bus drivers, problemists and members of Twickenham Chess Club.
88	Henry William Birkmyre Gifford	Gifford was the first unofficial Dutch chess champion and also competed in the great Paris 1878 tournament, but little is known of his family. I was determined to see what I could discover.
89	Henry William Peachey	HW Peachey, a jeweller by profession, was a chess author and Surrey Champion.
90	William Edward Henry Lester and Rosetta Marsden	A search for a forgotten lady problemist led to a story of love in a sweet factory, and a leading light of the British Chess Problem Society in the inter-war years.
91	John Rudd Leeson	Dr JR Leeson, previously a member of the first Twickenham Chess Club, was the President of the second Twickenham club from its foundation in 1921.
92	Charles and Charles Frederick Chapman	Charles Frederick Chapman, who promoted chess in Parkhurst Prison, shouldn’t be confused with Sevenoaks and Kent stalwart Charles Chapman.
93	Thomas Whittard and Walter Henry Rhodes Wisbey	A photograph from 1913 depicts two players whose lives spanned a total of 171 years. Find out more about their stories here.
94	Annie Mabel Gooding	Annie Mabel Gooding played an important role in chess in Cheltenham, and was good enough to hold Lasker and Capablanca to draws in simuls.
95	Agnes Augusta Talboys	Augusta Talboys was an artist specialising in animal paintings. She was also a club and county chess player, which is why she sometimes depicted kittens on chessboards.
96	Helen Eliza Sidney	The lady whose dog allegedly played for Brighton’s third team: her story is not what you might expect.