In 1968, the American magazine Chess Review introduced Michael Basman as ‘another bright B’ in the tradition of famous British chess players represented by Bird, Blackburne and Burn. That’s some billing for a 21-year-old. Basman would never be the brightest chess star in this firmament…
Read MoreMore Articles
In Memoriam Brian Eley (1946–2022) British Chess Champion, Suspected paedophile So. Farewell Then, Brian Eley, Fugitive chess master, Touch and move suspect, Reported to the BCF for alleged misconduct in 1979. Fifty years ago You were the British Chess Champion In Brighton. Thirty years…
Read MoreEley died in Amsterdam on 6 April 2022. 10 Seconds with Brian Eley Wikipedia: Brian Eley When a Man Disappears from an Interpol List: the Strange Case of Brian Eley
Read MoreThe first chess column to appear in a newspaper was published in the Liverpool Mercury on this day in 1813.
Read More“There is a new era in chess. For the past three years new clubs have been springing up in mushroom growths, chess books of all sorts are avidly bought, library shelves are depleted of these volumes. Newspapers are giving more space to the game, recognizing…
Read MoreTwo remarkable players, Sultan Khan (1905–1966) and Victor Soultanbéieff (1895–1972), met at the International Team Tournament at Folkestone in 1933. Sultan Khan, one of the game’s most naturally gifted stars, represented the British Empire, and Soultanbéieff his adoptive country, Belgium. In a dazzlingly short career…
Read MoreFred Reinfeld The Man Who Taught America Chess, with 282 Games Alex Dunne 194 pages | Softback | Bibliography, Indexes | $45.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2018 Tim-Jake Gluckman This biography of Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964) covers the chess life of an outstanding producer (writing, editing, ghosting and…
Read MoreThe chess boom triggered by the 1972 Fischer–Spassky match enthused many talented youngsters, especially in Britain. Boris Spassky became an early casualty of the fallout from the ‘English chess explosion’ when he took on a schoolboy squad over 30 boards in 1979. The event was…
Read MoreCORRESPONDENCE B.H. WOOD, Esq., CHESS. Dear Wood, There is one aspect of Dr. Alekhine’s character which may come as a surprise to chess players generally, for in that respect he has not been very widely advertised, that of kindness and readiness to help. In 1938…
Read MoreLouis Paulsen A Chess Biography with 719 Games Hans Renette 448 pages | hardback | 108 illustrations | $75.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2019 Jonathan Hinton Author Hans Renette has established himself as a leading chess historian with the publication of his immense 2016 biography of…
Read More
Moyra Ashford
→ Commenting on: The Chess Player and the Train Robber
Danny Nakamura
→ Commenting on: Buy all the back issues
Big Fan
→ Commenting on: Buy all the back issues
Paul Dargan
→ Commenting on: Poetry Corner