BRIGHTON CHESS
A HISTORY OF CHESS IN BRIGHTON
1841-1993
Chapter 11
1973-1979
NATIONAL PRIDE BUT PROBLEMS AT HOME
The Fourth Brighton Chess Club, 1973 to 1979
During the period from 1973 to 1979 the Brighton Chess Club had its strongest ever team. Several of the local experts were county champions and the team was strengthened still further when grandmaster Ray Keene elected to play for the club. There were many exciting matches as the club reached the final of the National Club Championship on three occasions. It was disappointing that Brighton could not quite clinch the title, but there were other chess events to boost the attractions of the game in the town. Grandmasters Tony Miles and Ray Keene gave simultaneous displays and Viktor Korchnoi paid a visit to the area while preparing for his World Championship natch against Anatoly Karpov. Then, as a fitting conclusion to this lively decade, Brighton staged its first ever international tournament.
Dark clouds, however, lay just over the horizon. In 1976 the club found itself in a battle to hold on to the premises in Pavilion Buildings — a battle which lasted nearly ten years and was ultimately to be lost. This struggle drained the club’s resources, wore out a number of committee members, produced disenchantment and eventually had the effect of reducing the club’s membership.
In 1973 the club started a long run of McArthur Cup victories which lasted until 1982. From 1976 to 1982 the Brighton team as holders of the trophy automatically entered the competition at the semi-final stage. In 1979 the club won both the semi-final and final by the maximum score.
There are no doubt those who believe that the granting of unrestricted entry to the McArthur Cup has led to the domination of the competition by the larger clubs and thus ruined the event. It could, however, be argued that the overall standard of chess in Sussex rises when the stronger players participate in the main domestic tournaments.
In the National Club Championship the club proved that it could hold its own against all but the strongest teams. In 1973 the team knocked out a strong Manchester side to reach the semi-final before Islington blocked any further progress with a 4-2 victory. In 1974 the club advanced one stage further by defeating a strong Bolton team in the semi-final in a telephone match played at Anne Gammans’ house in Downsway, Shoreham. The final was a daunting experience. A powerful Cambridge University team which included Ray Keene and Michael Stean (both of whom were to become grandmasters) descended on the club. The Brighton team acquitted themselves well but were defeated by five games to one. In the Cambridge team on that day was Nigel Holloway. Later that year he was enrolled at the University of Sussex and the Brighton Club was eventually able to benefit from his skills in the National Club team.
For the three seasons beginning September 1974 and ending August 1977 the club was less successful in the National Club Championship. The turning point came in the 1977-78 season. Ray Keene, who was now a grandmaster, showed an interest in playing for Brighton and in February 1978 he first represented the club in the match against Canterbury. This was the first time that an official grandmaster had played for the club (it will be remembered that the World Championship contender Johannes Zukertort had played for the St Nicholas Club in 1883 before regular grandmaster titles were invented), and with his help the team once again reached the final. The match against Islington represented probably Brighton’s best ever chance of winning the competition. Sadly things went wrong on the day despite the fact that Julian Simpole registered a quick win. The score was 3-3 but Islington won the match on the board count rule. (The wins on both sides are identified and points are allocated to the successful players. A win on board one earns one point, a win on board two two points, etc. The total number of points on both sides is calculated and the victory is achieved by the team with the lowest number of points. It will be seen therefore that the rule favours teams that win on the higher boards.)
In the following year Brighton again reached the final but faced formidable opposition. Unfortunately Ray Keene was unavailable for the match against Oxford University, who fielded grandmaster John Nunn on board one and future grandmaster Jonathan Speelman on board two. Not surprisingly the Brighton team lost the match, but the 4-2 defeat was no disgrace.
Another source of interest for local chess players was the arrival of a number of visiting experts. On 22 May 1976 grandmaster Tony Miles came to Brighton and gave a simultaneous display at the Old Ship Hotel (it will be remembered that the first Brighton Chess Club had started its existence at the New Ship Hotel, which had been situated only a few yards away). Altogether he played thirty-five games, winning twenty-nine, drawing five and losing only one. This was David Langridge’s win:
(151) A.J. Miles — D.J. Langridge
Symmetrical English Opening
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nb5 Qa5+ 7.N1c3 Nxc3 8.Nxc3 e6 9.e4 a6 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Bc4 Qc5 12.Bd3 Qd6 13.Qe2 Nb4 14.Bb1 Bd7 15.0–0 Rc8 16.Rd1 Qc7 17.a3 Nc6 18.Bg5 Bc5 19.Nd5? exd5 20.exd5+ Ne5 21.d6 Bxd6 22.f4 Bg4 23.Qe1 Qb6+ 24.Kh1 Bxd1 25.fxe5 Be7 26.Bxe7 Qxb2 27.Bb4 Qxa1 28.e6 f6 29.h3 Bc2 0–1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
A few months later another grandmaster simultaneous was arranged in Brighton. On 16 December 1976 Ray Keene took on 36 opponents in the Banqueting Room of the Royal Pavilion. The display started just after 7pm and ended at about 11.20pm. Ray had a severe cold and so may have taken longer than usual, but no-one defeated him, and he recorded 28 wins and 8 draws. Board fees were charged at £2 per head, the proceeds being donated to a fund for the restoration of the Music Room of the Royal Pavilion.
We have mentioned already that Ray became the first grandmaster to represent the Brighton Chess Club when he played for the National Club Championship team in February 1978. At that time, along with Michael Stean, he was preparing the Russian grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi in his World Championship bid. It was a tremendous coup for local chess when Ray brought the great Russian player to Brighton in May 1978. A special exhibition match between the grandmasters was arranged for 27 May by Julian Simpole, who had also organised the simultaneous at the Pavilion. It took place in the Brighton Polytechnic’s Sallis Benney Hall in Grand Parade, and was played with living chess pieces (it will be remembered that previous displays of this kind had been held in Brighton in 1883 and 1904). Pupils from Cardinal Newman School dressed up as the chess pieces and local chess players directed them as they acted out the moves. The game went as follows:
(152) R.D. Keene — V. Korchnoi
Sicilian Defence, Four Knights Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 e6 7.f4 Bd7 8.Qf3 Nxd4 9.Bxd4 Bc6 10.0–0–0 Qa5 11.Bd3 Be7 12.Kb1 0–0–0 13.Rhe1 Kb8 14.Qg3 Rhg8 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Nh5 17.Qf2 f5 18.exf6 gxf6 19.Rxe6 Rxg2 20.Qf5 Qxf5 21.Bxf5 Rg7
22.Rxe7 Rxe7 23.Bxa7+ Kxa7 24.Rxd8 Ng7 25.Bh3 f5 26.Kc1 f4 27.Kd2 f3 28.Rf8 Ne6 29.Bxe6 Rxe6 30.Rf4 Rg6 31.h4 h5 32.Ne4 Rg2+ 33.Kd3 Rh2 34.Nd2 ½–½ (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Viktor Korchnoi was presented with an illuminated scroll by the Sussex Chess Association bearing the inscription ‘To Viktor Korchnoi in appreciation of his services to world chess’. BBC Television cameras were in action during the exhibition match as a special film was made of Korchnoi’s preparations for the match against Karpov. During the afternoon Ray Keene gave a large simultaneous display. Out of 54 games he won 29, drew 22 and lost only 3. It appears that the only other exhibition of similar size that has ever been held in Sussex took place at Dorothy Stringer School on 12 March 1976, when Nigel Holloway took on 54 schoolboys.
Ray Keene was involved in another important event in Brighton’s chess history in December 1979, when the first Brighton International Tournament took place after several months of planning. Ray sought to give some of the country’s most promising juniors vital experience against international opposition, while locally co-organiser Julian Simpole worked tirelessly seeking sponsorship. The tournament was financed without municipal support and cash was raised through the generosity of the ‘Friends of Chess’ organisation, the Slater Foundation, Lloyds Bank and local antiques dealer Michael Dawes, who provided the bulk of the sponsorship.
Most of the tournament games took place in the Sallis Benney Hall where the Keene v Korchnoi exhibition match had been staged the previous year. A few matches were played at the Brighton Chess Club, particularly adjourned games. Local players David Cummings and Brian Denman were invited to compete in the tournament.
The competition was a conspicuous success and the presence of International Masters John Fedorowicz from the USA and Murray Chandler from New Zealand meant that it could be classified as an international tournament. In her opening address Ineke Bakker, the General Secretary of the World Chess Federation, stated:
The International Tournament at Brighton is a very special one, for several reasons. It is the first serious tournament grandmaster Ray Keene [has] organised, together with the Brighton Chess Club. It is the first “Brighton International”, which is curious, when you think about it, because most of the seaside resorts along this coast have, or have had, “their” chess tournament. Hastings is the most famous one, but there are many others. I am happy that Brighton now joins in, and hope that this tournament will be the first of a long, long series…
On the playing side the highest graded player Jon Speelman had a runaway victory with 8½ points out of 9. David Goodman, who earlier in the decade had been a member of the Brighton Chess Club, performed particularly well to score 6½ points and come second in the tournament.
The period from 1973 to 1979 also produced three other notable tournaments.
In 1973, following the cessation of the Hove Congresses, the Sussex Chess Association decided to hold a Sussex Chess Congress, a kind of ‘Sussex Open’ tournament. The competition took place at Whitsun at Falmer School and was won by John Henshaw with 4½ points out of 5. This notable achievement followed his victory in the previous year’s Hove Congress.
Another interesting competition took place in the Royal Pavilion in February 1976 and featured a chess ‘variant’. Chess ‘variants’ are games which are based generally on the rules of chess but have variations on the original theme. Sometimes players indulge in these variants if they want more variety and a fresh stimulus to their creative instincts. On this occasion it was the game of baseline chess that was tested. At the start of a game the two players were allowed to shuffle their pieces on the first rank to take up whatever squares they might want them to occupy. This first baseline tournament attracted attention outside Sussex and the entry included some strong players. Nevertheless it was a local player who won the competition. Dave Springgay emerged from semi-retirement to learn the rules just before the tournament and complete an excellent victory. There is little doubt that the quest for new ideas suited his natural creative talent.
In 1977 the British Chess Federation Congress came to Brighton for the third time and was held in the Corn Exchange. The resulting publicity was undoubtedly of great benefit to chess in Brighton and Sussex. Twelve year old Nigel Short from Lancashire grabbed the headlines with some amazing performances for a player of his age, but local junior David Cummings also played well and scored 5½ points out of 11.
Thus we see that on the playing side the period from 1973 to 1979 was a very exciting one for chess in Brighton. Julian Simpole continued to write his article in the Brighton and Hove Gazette until 24 November 1978 and there is little doubt that this helped to increase the membership of the club. Indeed it appears that for much of the 1970s the club enjoyed a renaissance. At the end of the period, however, there was the first hint of a decline, which was to become more serious in the 1980s.
For many years the club had felt moderately secure in the premises at 4 Pavilion Buildings. The basic rent continued to be fixed at £80 per annum and although rates had to be paid it was possible to keep subscriptions down to a reasonable level.
The first official indication that the situation might change came at the end of 1976 when the Brighton Estates Office informed the club that its tenancy was being reviewed. This was followed in January 1977 by a suggestion from the Estates Office that the club should make an offer of a higher rent or consider moving to alternative premises. The club was also notified of the commercial value for the renting of its premises, which was set at £1750 per annum.
In April 1977 the club offered to increase the rent from £80 to £160 per annum but nothing significant happened until September 1978. The bombshell came with the arrival of a letter from the Estates Office declaring that the Council had taken a policy decision according to which the re-letting of premises to clubs would now only be allowed at commercial rates. The club was faced with a stark decision — either to find an increase of more than £1500 per year in rent or to move to alternative premises in a block of flats at Essex Place for less than half the proposed new rent.
In October 1978 the club decided to inspect the alternative premises at Essex Place. It found that there were no windows and the floors were of rough concrete, while the walls were of bare brick. After the inspection, which took place by torchlight, it was decided that the premises were unsuitable.
In February 1979 the Brighton Chess Club received notice to quit 4 Pavilion Buildings. An energetic response was prepared to this ultimatum, and it was decided not only to approach local councillors but also to undertake an active publicity campaign led by Julian Simpole. In the early years of the battle to save the premises much of the work fell upon the shoulders of the industrious secretary David Sanders and in the immediate crisis he helped to buy time for the club. Although hopes for a grant did not materialise, a three month extension of the quittal notice was granted to the end of October 1979. In August 1979 the Estates Office stated that they would accept £750 per annum but no less. Again alternative premises were offered for £250 per annum at 3 St George’s Place, Brighton, but these were damp with unsatisfactory floor timbers and holes in the ceiling.
Out of the gloom there arose a ray of hope. For a number of years Julian Simpole had been teaching chess to adults at The Friends’ Centre, and now interested the organisers of the Centre in sharing the accommodation at 4 Pavilion Buildings with the chess club. As the premises were now used to a lesser extent during the week there was the possibility of an agreement whereby the Friends’ Centre could educate its students at certain times during the week while the chess club would be the main occupier at the weekends. Discussions were held between the two bodies during which the Friends’ Centre offered to contribute £650 per annum towards the rent. The figure finally agreed was £600, which meant that the chess club had only to find £150 per annum.
Thus 1979 finished with a temporary peace. The chess club was for the moment secure in its premises, but the Council had still not agreed to sign a new lease — and until it did so the chess club could not be sure about its long-term future.
Other Clubs in the Brighton Area, 1973 to 1979
The University of Sussex team was less successful in the years from 1973 to 1979 than it had been in the previous period. A number of the stronger players had left or were unavailable and even when Nigel Holloway came to the university in 1974 the other players could not provide the team with enough support in depth for it to be particularly successful in local competitions. The best performance was probably the team’s achievement in reaching the semi-finals of the McArthur Cup in 1973 before bowing out to Crawley in a close match.
Nigel Holloway eventually turned his attention to representing the Brighton Chess Club. The university team even dropped out of the McArthur Cup for a couple of seasons, but they were back by 1978. In 1979 it was also decided to enter the Mid-Sussex League for the first time and the team was placed in the southern section of the third division.
As the fortunes of the university team went into decline Varndean became the main rival of the Brighton Chess Club. Paul Watson was very successful in developing young talent and during this period there emerged two particularly strong players, Roger Newman and David Cummings. Both became county champions and David Cummings won the International Master title.
In 1974 Varndean entered the Mid-Sussex League for the first time and walked away with the third division championship. In the following season they came first in the second division and earned the right to play in the top section. In 1978 a second team was entered in the Mid-Sussex League for the first time and held its own in the southern section of the third division.
In 1975 Varndean reached the final of the McArthur Cup and gave the Brighton Chess Club a tough match before losing by four games to two. The team also reached the semi-finals in 1976 and 1977.
A Brighton Polytechnic team entered the McArthur Cup in 1973 and 1974 and benefited from the experience of Adrian Lewis on board 1. The club does not appear to have been active for very long and I cannot find it mentioned after 1975.
In 1975 Dr Douglas Opie held the first of several annual junior congresses at Falmer School. These tournaments proved to be popular and encouraged junior chess in the county. In 1976 Falmer School itself entered the Mid-Sussex League and in its first season won promotion to the second division. The team held its own in that division for the remainder of the 1970s and in 1978 came close to winning promotion to the top section, only being pipped at the post by Crowborough after a play-off. Dr Opie, who was a teacher at the school as well as Sussex third team captain, proved to be an enthusiastic leader.
In 1978 a Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College team entered the Mid-Sussex League for the first time. Led by the energetic Oliver Andrew, it won promotion to the second division in its first season.
The Saltdean Chess Club appears to have led a fairly quiet existence during the 1970s and did not enter any of the Sussex competitions. The only match against another club of which I can find a record took place in the 1974-5 season when Saltdean lost against Seaford. Other friendlies, however, may well have been played. In September 1977 the club received a boost when Julian Simpole gave a simultaneous display at the Lido.
Finally I should mention that in October 1976 a group of chess players was reported to be meeting regularly at Noble’s Wine Bar in New Road, Brighton. Unfortunately I have no details as to how long this chess gathering lasted, but its existence may have been brief.
The Players, 1973 to 1979
R.D. Keene O.B.E.
Ray Keene’s active involvement in Sussex chess lasted from 1976 to 1985. We have seen already how he gave two simultaneous displays in Brighton in 1976 and 1978 and brought Viktor Korchnoi, a World Championship contender, to the town in 1978. He also ran the Brighton International Tournaments from 1979 to 1985. These activities brought valuable publicity to the town and to the chess club, which recognised his contribution in 1978 by making him an Honorary Life Member. In 1985 Ray was awarded the O.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to chess, a tremendous distinction when one considers the rather sparing publicity given to the game nowadays.
On the playing side the appearance of a grandmaster in local chess circles raised great interest.
I append a couple of games played by Ray in a local context and also two others illustrating his skills at the international level.
(153) R.D. Keene — M.J. Staples
Sussex v Berkshire, 1977
Modern Defence
1.c4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qb6? 6.Nb3 Qe6? 7.Bd3 f5 8.0–0 fxe4 9.Nc5 Qf7 10.Nxe4 Nf6 11.Ng5 Qg8 12.Nc3 Nc6 13.Nb5 Kf8 14.f4 d6 15.Nc7 Rb8 16.Re1 Bg4 17.Be2 Bd7 18.Bd3 Rc8 19.Nge6+ Bxe6 20.Nxe6+ Ke8 21.Bd2 Nd7 22.Nxg7+ Qxg7 23.Bc3 Nf6 24.Qb3 Rc7 25.Rad1 Rf8 26.Bf1 Qh6 27.g3 Kd8 28.c5 Ne8 29.Qe6 Rd7 30.Bh3 Nb8 31.Ba5+ b6 32.cxb6 axb6 33.Bxb6+ Nc7 34.Rc1 Rf6 35.Bxc7+ 1–0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(154) J.J. Carleton — R.D. Keene
Atticus (Liverpool) v Brighton (National Club Championship Last 8), 1978
Caro Kann Defence
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Qe7+ 7.Qe2 Be6 8.Bb3 Nd7 9.Bf4 Nb6 10.0–0–0 Nd5 11.Bg3? g6 12.Nf3 Bh6+ 13.Kb1 0–0 14.Rhe1 Rfe8 15.Qe4 Qd7 16.Qh4 Bg7 17.h3 a5 18.a3 b5 19.Nd2 a4 20.Ba2 b4 21.axb4 a3 22.Bb3 g5 23.Qh5 axb2 24.Kxb2 Nxb4 25.Kc3? Na2+ 26.Bxa2 Rxa2 27.Ra1 Rxa1 28.Rxa1 c5! 29.Nb3 Bxb3 0–1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(155) R.D. Keene — A.J. Miles
Hastings Premier, 1975-6
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tarrasch Defence
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bd3 cxd4 8.exd4 Be7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Re1 Nf6 11.Bg5 Nb4 12.Bb1 b6 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.Re3 g6 15.Rg3 Rc8? [15...Re8!] 16.Bh6 Re8 17.a3 Nc6 18.Nxg6! hxg6 19.Bxg6 fxg6 20.Qb1 Ne5 21.dxe5 Ne4 22.Nxe4 Kh7 23.Nf6+ Bxf6 24.Qxg6+ Kh8 25.Bg7+ Bxg7 26.Qxg7 mate 1–0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(156) A Karpov — R.D. Keene
Bad Lauterberg, 1978
Philidor’s Defence
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be2 Nc6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.0–0 0–0 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bf3 Nd7 12.Qd2 Ba6 13.Rad1 Qb8 14.b3 Qb4 15.Nb1 Qxd2 16.Bxd2 Re7 17.Ba5 Ne5 18.Be2 Bxe2 19.Rxe2 Rae8 20.Kf1 c5 21.Bc3 Nc6 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.Nc3 Nd4 24.Red2 f5 25.exf5 Nxf5 26.Re2 Rxe2 27.Nxe2 Kf7 28.Rd3 Rb8 29.g4 Ng7 30.Rf3+ Kg8 31.Nf4 c6 32.h4 Rb4 33.c4 Rb7 34.Rd3 Rd7 35.Kg2 Kf7 36.Rf3 Kg8 37.Kg3 Re7 38.Rd3 Rd7 39.Ne2 Ne6 40.f4 Kf7 41.Nc3 Ke7 42.Re3 Kf7 43.f5 gxf5 44.gxf5 Ng7 45.Kf4 Nh5+ 46.Kg5 Nf6 47.Re6 47...h6+! 48.Kf4 [48.Kxh6 Rd8!] 48...d5 49.cxd5 cxd5 50.Nb5 d4 51.Nd6+ Kg7 52.Ke5 d3 53.Rxf6 d2 54.Rg6+ Kf8 55.Rg1 Re7+ 56.Kf6 Re1 57.Rg7 ½–½ (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
G.H. James
During this period Geoffrey James enjoyed notable successes both in local and external competitions. In the latter category his best performances included coming equal first in the Central London Open in 1973 and in the Evening Standard Congress in 1974, winning outright the 1976 Folkestone Congress and sharing first place in the same tournament in 1978.
In local competitions he won the county championship three times in 1974, 1976 and 1978. In the 1973-4 season he and Roger Newman each scored 6½ points out of 8 in the all-play-all competition, but in a three game play-off Geoffrey clinched the title by winning two games and losing one. In 1976 Geoffrey defeated Nigel Holloway in the final and in 1978 won the decisive match against Stephen Hawes of Horsham. In the Brighton Chess Club Championship he shared the title with David Goodman in 1973 and with Doug Shallcross in 1975. He was also a regular member of Brighton’s National Club Championship team. I append six of his best games from this period.
(157) G.H. James — R.C. Newman
County Championship Play-off, 1974
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bb4 4.Bg2 0–0 5.Nf3 Re8 6.0–0 Bxc3 7.bxc3 e4 8.Nd4 Nc6 9.f3 Nxd4 10.cxd4 d5 11.fxe4 dxc4 12.Bb2 Nxe4 13.Qc2 Qe7 14.Rf4 Nd6 15.e4 g5 16.Rff1 Nxe4 17.Rae1 f5 18.Qxc4+ Qe6 19.d5 Qb6+ 20.Bd4 Qd6 21.Bxe4 fxe4 22.Rf6 1–0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(158) T. Kiefer — G.H. James
Hastings Challengers, 1974-5
Grunfeld Defence
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.0–0 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.f4 Na5 12.Bd3 f5 13.Qb1 e6 14.g4 Qe8! 15.Ng3 Rd8 16.Qc2 Qc6 17.a4 Nc4 18.Bc1 Nd6 19.e5 Nc4 20.Qe2 Na5 21.gxf5 gxf5 22.Bb2 Qd7 23.Kf2 Qe7 24.Rg1 Qh4 25.Ke3 Qxf4+! 0–1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(159) M.V. Lambshire — G.H. James
Kent v Sussex, 1975
King’s Gambit, Modern Defence
1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 exf4 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Qxd5 7.d4 Bg4 8.Be2 Nc6 9.Bxf4 0-0-0 10.c3 Qe4 11.Qd2 Rxd4!! 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.cxd4 Bb4 14.0-0 Bxd2 15.Bxg4+ Kb8 16.Bxd2 Qxd4+ 17.Rf2 Qxg4 18.Rxf7 Qd4+ 19.Rf2 Rf8 20.Raf1 Rxf2 21.Rxf2 b6 22.Bc3 Qd7 23.a3 Qe7 24.h3 Kb7 25.Rf1 c5 26.Re1 Qd7 27.Rf1 Kc6 28.Rf8 b5 29.Rh8 b4 30.axb4 cxb4 31.Be5 Kd5 32.Bg3 Kc4 33.Rxh7 Qd4+ 34.Bf2 Qxb2 35.Rh4+ Kb3 36.Bd4 Adjudicated as a win for black. 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Recently it was discovered that the above game followed Hansen v Lundin, Oslo, 1928 up to move 14 where White played 14.Kf2 instead of 14.0-0. Great minds think alike!
(160) G.H. James — N.J. Holloway
County Championship Final, 1976
Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0 0-0 10.Bd3 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.e5 dxe5 13.Qh3 h6 14.Bxh6 gxh6 15.Qxh6 Rd8 16.Ne4 Ng4 17.Qh5 f5 18.Qg6+ Kf8 19.Be2 exf4 20.Bxg4 fxg4? 21.Nf6 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(161) G.H. James — A.J. Whiteley
Sussex v Middlesex (Board 1), 1976
French Defence, Winawer Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 cxd4 7.Nb5 Bc7 8.f4 Ne7 9.Bd3 Bd7 10.Nxc7+ Qxc7 11.Nf3 Ba4 12.Bb2 Nbc6 13.0-0 Nf5? 14.Bxf5 exf5 15.Bxd4 b6 16.Qd3 Ne7 17.Rac1 0-0 18.e6! fxe6 19.Ng5 Bd7 20.Qe2 Qd6 21.Be5 Qc6 22.c4 dxc4 23.Rxc4 Qb5 24.Bd6 Rae8 25.Rfc1 h6 26.Nf3 Rf6 27.Bxe7 Rxe7 28.Ne5 Kh7 29.Qd1 Be8 30.Qd8 Rb7 31.Rc8 Rf8 32.Qd6 Rf6 33.Qd8 Rf8 34.h3 Qe2 35.Qd6 Qe3+ 36.Kh1 Rf6 37.R1c4 b5 38.Rd4 Rb6 39.Qc5 Bc6 40.Nxc6 Rg6 41.Rdd8 Qe1+ 42.Qg1 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(162) S.O.N. Hawes — G.H. James
County Championship Final, 1978
Bishop’s Opening
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Qe2 Nc6 4.c3 d6 5.Nf3 Be7 6.d4 Bg4 7.d5 Nb8 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Nbd2 Bh5 11.h3 c6 12.c4 c5 13.Nf1 Bg6 14.Ng3 a6 15.0-0 b5 16.b3 bxc4 17.bxc4 Nh5 18.Nxh5 Bxh5 19.g4 Bg6 20.Ne1 Bg5 21.Ng2 Bxe3 22.Qxe3 Rb8 23.Kh2 h6 24.Rg1 Rb2 25.Rgb1 Qb6 26.Kg3 Rb8 27.f4? exf4+ 28.Qxf4 Qa5 29.Qc1 Qa3 30.Kh4 Ne5 31.Nf4 Bh7 32.Rxb2 g5+ 33.Kh5 33...Kg7! 34.Rb7 Rxb7 35.Qxa3 Bg6+ 36.Nxg6 fxg6 mate 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
J.I.P. Simpole
Julian Simpole won the Sussex Championship in 1973. As we have seen, he played an important part in publicising the Brighton Chess Club by writing his weekly articles in the Brighton and Hove Gazette until 24 November 1978. His friendship with Ray Keene was also of great benefit to the club as it led to the grandmaster taking an active interest in chess within the county. Julian played an important part in setting up the first Brighton International Tournament by arranging local sponsorship for the event. In addition he continued to be a regular member of Brighton’s National Club Championship team and in 1975 won the Sussex Lightning Championship for the third time. I append two of his best games from this period.
(163) J.I.P. Simpole — K. Savegren
Stockholm Open, 1972-3
Dutch Defence
1.d4 g6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Nf3 f5 5.e4 Nf6 6.Bd3 fxe4 7.Nxe4 0-0 8.Neg5 e6 9.h4 Nc6 10.h5 Ne7 11.hxg6 hxg6 12.Qe2 Re8 13.Bd2 Nf5 14.0-0-0 e5 15.dxe5 Ng4 16.e6 Bxe6 17.Rh7 Bd5 18.Qf1 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Ngh6 20.f4 Re7 21.Qh1 Qf8 22.Qd5+ Nf7 23.Rxg7+ Nxg7 24.Bxg6 c6 25.Bxf7+ [25.Bh7+!] 25...Rxf7 26.Qh1 Nf5 27.Bc3 Qh6 28.Nxf7 Kxf7 29.Qxh6 Nxh6 30.Rxd6 Ng4 31.f5 Nxf2 32.Rd7+ Ke8 33.Rxb7 a5 34.Bg7 Nd3+ 35.Kb1 Nc5 36.Rc7 Rd8 37.f6 Rd7 38.Rxc6 Nd3 39.c5 Nb4 40.Re6+ Kd8 41.Rd6 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(164) J.I.P. Simpole — S. Berry
Sussex v Middlesex (Board 3), 1976
Scotch Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 d6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 0-0 11.f4 Qd7 12.h3 Rb8 13.Qd3 Nh7 14.Rad1 g5 15.fxg5 Nxg5 16.Bb3 Qe7 17.Bf2 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Qxe4? 19.h4 Qxd3 20.cxd3 Ne6 21.Bxa7 Ra8 22.Be3 Kg7 23.Rf3 Ra5 24.Rdf1 f5 25.d4 Rf6 26.Bd2 Nd8 27.Rg3+ Rg6 28.Re3 Be6 29.c4 Ra7 30.d5 cxd5 31.cxd5 Bf7 32.Rxf5 Rg4 33.h5 c5 34.Bc3+ Kg8 35.Bf6 Ra8 36.Kh2 Kf8 37.Kh3 Rg8 38.Be7+ Ke8 39.Bxd8+ 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
R.C. Newman
The promising young Varndean player Roger Newman gave a clear demonstration of his ability when he won the Brighton Chess Club Championship in 1974. He also came close to winning the county championship in that year, only losing out in a play-off against Geoffrey James. In 1975 he won the county championship in the last year of the all-play-all system. After his success in Sussex chess he went to Cambridge University and later to America. A few years ago he returned to Manchester but I do not have any evidence that he still plays regular competitive chess. I append two of his games played in the 1974 Brighton Chess Club Championship.
(165) R.C. Newman — G.H. James
French Defence, Albin-Chatard Attack
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4 c5 7.Bxe7 Kxe7 8.Qg4 Kf8 9.dxc5 Nc6 10.0-0-0 Ndxe5 11.Qg3 Qf6 12.Nh3 Qg6 13.Qf4 Qg4 14.a3 Qxf4+ 15.Nxf4 Bd7 16.g3 Rc8 17.Bh3 Nd8? 18.Rhe1 f6 19.Nd3! Nxd3+ 20.Rxd3 Rc7? 21.Nxd5! Rxc5 22.Nxf6 gxf6 23.Rxd7 Ke8 24.Red1 Rc8 25.Bg4 h5 26.Bf3 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(166) R.C. Newman — B.J. Denman
King’s Indian Defence, Classical Variation
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0–0 6.Nf3 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2 c5 10.Rb1 Nd7 11.b4 b6 12.Nb5 Nf6 13.a4 Bh6 14.Nc3 Ne8 15.a5 cxb4 16.Rxb4 bxa5 17.Rb1 Bd7 18.Ba3 Qc7 19.c5 dxc5 20.Nc4 Nd6 21.Nxe5 Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Qxe5 23.Nxc5 Bf5 24.Rb7 Nxd5 25.Bf3 Rad8 26.Qb3 Nb4 27.Rb5 Bd3 28.Bb2 Bxf1 29.Bxe5 Bxb5 30.Ne4 Bg7 31.Bxg7 Kxg7 32.Qc3+ f6 33.Qc7+ Bd7 34.Nc5 Kh8 35.Nxd7 Rc8 36.Qf4 Nd3 37.Qd2 Rc1+ 38.Bd1 Rf7? 39.Qxd3 a4 40.Qd2 and Black lost on time 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
J.P. Scanlan
John Scanlan was a member of both the Brighton and Worthing Chess Clubs when he won the 1977 county championship. In the final he defeated Paul Fallon of East Grinstead after the first two games had been drawn. Not long after this he left the area and for a while represented Crowborough in the Mid-Sussex League.
I append two of his games.
(167) J.P. Scanlan — P. Watson
County Championship Semi-Final, 1977
Queen’s Gambit Declined
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.Nf3 c6 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Qc2 a6 10.Ne5 h6 11.Bh4 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.Bg3 Bh4 14.f4 b5 15.Ne2 Bb7 16.Bxh4 Qxh4+ 17.g3 Qd8 18.Nd4 Rc8 19.Qd2 Nc5 20.0-0 Nxd3 21.Qxd3 g6 22.Nxe6 fxe6 23.Qxg6+ Kh8 24.Qxh6+ Kg8 25.Qxe6+ Kh8 26.Qh6+ Kg8 27.f5 d4 28.Rf4 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(168) J.P. Scanlan — Professor D.B. Scott
Published 1977
Dutch Defence
1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.e4 fxe4 7.Nxe4 Nxe4 8.Bxe4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Qf6 10.Qe2 Bxd2+ 11.Qxd2 Nc6 12.Nf3 d6 13.0-0 e5 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Ng5 Bf5 16.f4 Rad8 17.Bd5+ Kh8 18.g4 exf4 19.Qxf4 Bg6 20.Qxf6 Rxf6 21.Rxf6 gxf6 22.Ne6 Re8 23.Rf1 Ne5 24.Nxc7 Re7 25.Nb5 Nxg4 26.Nxa7 Kg7 27.Nc8 Re2 28.Bf3 Rxh2 29.Bxg4 Rxb2 30.Rf2 Rb1+ 31.Kg2 Rc1 32.Nd6 b6 33.Rb2 Bd3 34.Be6 f5 35.Bxf5 Bxc4 36.Nxc4 Rxc4 37.Rxb6 Ra4 38.Be6 Ra3 39.Bb3 Ra5 40.a4 Rc5 41.Rb5 Rc1 42.a5 Ra1 43.Bc4 Kf6 44.Rh5 Ra3 45.a6 Kg6 46.Rd5 h5 47.Rd2 Kg5 48.Ra2 and White soon won. 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
B.J. Denman
Brian Denman returned from Scotland in 1973 and played in the British Championship at Eastbourne where he struggled somewhat, scoring four points out of eleven. After competing in the 1973-74 Brighton Chess Club Championship he did not enter any local competition for about four years, though he represented Brighton and Sussex in external matches. In 1979 he won the county championship, defeating David Cummings in the final. He also won the Brighton Chess Club championshipfor the first time. I append five of his best games from this period.
(169) A. Cullinane — B.J. Denman
British Championship, Eastbourne, 1973
Modern Benoni
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Nb5 dxe5 10.Nd6+ Ke7 11.Nb5 Re8 12.d6+ Kf8 13.Nc7 exf4+ 14.Be2 Qh4+ 15.Kd2 f3 16.Nxf3 Qb4+ 17.Kc2 Ne5 18.Nxe5 Rxe5 19.d7 Bxd7 20.Qd6+ Kg8 21.Bd3 Rf5 22.Rf1 Be5 23.Qe7 Ba4+ 24.Kb1 Nc6 25.Rxf5 Nxe7 26.Rxe5 Rd8 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(170) B.J. Denman — P.R. Markland
Brighton v Bolton, National Club Championship Semi-Final, 1974
Symmetrical English Opening
1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.c4 Nge7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Bd2 b6 9.a3 Bb7 10.Rb1 d5 11.b4 cxb4 12.axb4 dxc4 13.dxc4 Rc8 14.c5 bxc5 15.bxc5 Na5 16.Na4 Bc6 17.Qc2 Nb7 18.Rfc1 Qd7 19.Ne1 Nd5 20.Nb2 Rfd8 21.Nbd3 a5 22.Nf3 Qc7 23.e4 Nf6 24.Bf4 Qe7 25.Nd2 Nh5 26.Be3 Qd7 27.Nb2 Bb5 28.Nbc4 Qe8 29.Bf1 Bd4 30.Bxd4 Rxd4 31.Qb2 Rxd2 32.Nxd2 Bxf1 33.Nxf1 Nxc5 34.Qe5 Nd7 35.Rxc8 Qxc8 36.Qxa5 Nhf6 37.Re1 Qc6 38.Nd2 Adjudicated as a win for White. 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(171) J. Ripley — B.J. Denman
Atticus (Liverpool) v Brighton (Board 3), National Club Championship Last 8, 1978
Modern Benoni
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.e4 Bg7 8.Bg5 a6 9.Nd2 h6 10.Bh4 b5 11.a4 b4 12.Ncb1 Qe7 13.Bd3 Nbd7 14.0-0 Ne5 15.Be2 g5 16.Bg3 Ng6 17.Nc4 Nxe4 18.Bd3 Nxg3 19.Re1 Ne5 20.hxg3 0-0 21.f4 gxf4 22.gxf4 Nf3+ 23.gxf3 Bd4+ 24.Kg2 Qh4 25.f5 Kh8 26.Re4 Qf2+ 27.Kh1 Bxf5 28.Qf1 Qxf1+ 29.Bxf1 Bxe4 30.fxe4 f5 31.Nbd2 fxe4 32.Nxe4 Rf4 33.Re1 Rg8 34.Bh3 Rh4 35.Kh2 Re8 36.Ncd2 Be5+ 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(172) B.J. Denman — D.H. Cummings
County Championship Final, 1979
French Defence, Milner-Barry Gambit
1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.e5 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Nc3 a6 11.Qe2 Ne7 12.Kh1 Nc6 13.f4 Nb4 14.Rd1 Nxd3 15.Rxd3 Qb6 16.f5 Bc5 17.Rg3 0-0-0 18.Rxg7 d4 19.Ne4 d3 20.Qe1 Bc6 21.Bd2 Rd4 22.Nf6 exf5 23.e6 Qd8 24.Qe5 Be7 25.Qxf5 Kb8 26.Nd7+ Bxd7 27.exd7 Qxd7 28.Qxf7 Re4 29.Qf3 Qe6 30.Qxd3 Bf6 31.Rd7 Rg8 32.Rg1 Rh4 33.Rxh7 Rxh7 34.Qxh7 Bxb2 35.Bf4+ Ka8 36.a4 Qc4 37.Bg3 Rc8 38.Qd7 Bd4 39.Rd1 Be3 40.a5 Qc2 41.Rf1 Qc4 42.Qf5 Bd2 43.Rd1 Qc1 44.Be1 Bxe1 45.Rxc1 Rxc1 46.g4 Bxa5+ 47.Kg2 Bb6 48.h4 a5 49.g5 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(173) A. Martin — B.J. Denman
Essex v Sussex, 1979
Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Be3 Be7 7.f4 0-0 8.Qf3 e5 9.Nf5 Bxf5 10.exf5 e4 11.Qh3 Qa5 12.0-0-0 Rc8 13.Bd4 Nc6 14.Bc4 Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Rxc4 16.Rxc4 d5 17.Rd4 Bc5 18.Rhd1 Bxd4 19.Rxd4 Qc5 20.Ne2 Rc8 21.Qb3 Ng4 22.Rxd5 Qf2 23.Qxb7 Rf8 24.Qb5 Ne3 25.Kd2 Nxd5 26.Qxd5 Qxg2 27.c4 e3+ 28.Kd3 Qf1 29.Qe4 Qb1+ 30.Kxe3 Qxb2 31.Qe5 Qxa2 32.f6 Qxc4 33.fxg7 Rd8 34.f5 f6 35.Qxf6 Re8+ 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
F.J. Kwiatkowski
Feliks Kwiatkowski joined the Haywards Heath Chess Club in 1970 and became a strong player while still a junior. In 1973 he went to the University of Bristol to study law. When he returned to Sussex he entered the Brighton Club Championship and was successful in winning the tournament in 1977 and 1978. He had also become a very strong correspondence player, winning the British Correspondence Chess Association Championship in 1977.
I append two of his games from this period.
(174) D.H. Cummings — F.J. Kwiatkowski
Brighton Chess Club Championship, 1978
Symmetrical English Opening
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 Nc6 5.d4 d6 6.d5 Ne5 7.Nxe5 Bxe5 8.Bd3 Nh6 9.e4 Bg7 10.Bf4 0-0 11.Qd2 Ng4 12.h3 Ne5 13.Be2 Qa5 14.Bg5 Re8 15.f4 Nd7 16.Nb5 Qb6 17.a4 a6 18.Nc3 Qb4 19.a5 b6 20.Qc2 bxa5 21.Ra4 Qb6 22.0-0 Rb8 23.Rb1 Qb3 24.Qxb3 Rxb3 25.Nd1 e6 26.Bf3 Nb6 27.Ra3 Rb4 28.Rd3 Nxc4 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(175) D.W. Lodge — F.J. Kwiatkowski
British Correspondence Championship, 1978-79 (Best Game of Season Award)
Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.0-0 Be6 9.f4 Qc7 10.a4 Nbd7 11.Kh1 0-0 12.f5 Bc4 13.Bg5 Rfc8 14.Nd2 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Qc6 16.Bxf6 Nxf6 17.Qd3 Rab8 18.a5 b5 19.axb6 Rxb6 20.Ra2 Bd8 21.Rf3 a5 22.b3 Rb4 23.Nc4 a4 24.Nd5 Nxd5 25.exd5 Qc5 26.g3 h6 27.h4 Rcb8 28.c3 Rxb3 29.Rxa4 e4 30.Qxe4 Rb1+ 31.Kh2 Qg1+ 32.Kh3 h5 33.Rd3 Qf1+ 34.Kh2 Bb6! 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
D.S.C. Goodman
David Goodman made his name as a child prodigy and in 1971, at the age of 13, scored four points out of seven at the Hammersmith Congress. Although he was educated and lived in London he made regular visits to a relative’s home in Brighton. He joined the Brighton Chess Club, where his performances were very impressive for one so young. By 1973 he had come equal first with Geoffrey James in the club championship. In 1975 he won both the British Lightning Championship and the World Cadet (under-18) Championship. He went to Oxford University, but returned for a short while to Brighton in 1979 when he played in the first Brighton International, his 6½ points out of 9 earning him a creditable second place. He also competed in the 1980 Brighton International, scoring 4½ points out of 9 in a tougher tournament. In 1983 he won the International Master title. It is believed that nowadays he plays relatively little chess. I append three of his games.
(176) D.S.C. Goodman — D. Dunne
World Cadet Championship at Creil, Paris, 1975
King’s Indian Defence, Classical Variation
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.d5 Nc5 9.Qc2 a5 10.Bg5 h6 11.Be3 Nfd7 12.Nd2 f5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne5 16.Rae1 Bd7 17.Nf3 Qf6 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.Be3 Qd6 20.Kh1 b6 21.Qd2 Kh7 22.Bd1 Rae8 23.Bc2 Kh8 24.b3 Re7 25.Ne2 Ref7 26.Ng3 Bc8 27.Qe2 Kg8 28.Qf2 Ne4 29.Bxe4 fxe4 30.Qe2 Rxf1+ 31.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 32.Qxf1 Qg6 33.Qe2 Bg4 34.Qc2 Bf5 35.c5 bxc5 36.Qxc5 Bf8 37.Qxa5 Bd6 38.Qb5 h5 39.a4 h4 40.Nxf5 Qxf5 41.h3 Qh5 42.Qf1 Bb4 43.d6! Bxd6 44.a5 Qe8 45.a6 Qb8 46.a7 Qa8 47.Qb5 c5 48.Qa6 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(177) D.S.C. Goodman — J. Nunn
Published in Informator 25, 1978
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 0-0 6.Nd5 Re8 7.Qf5 d6 8.Nxf6+ gxf6 9.Qh5 d5 10.a3 Bf8 11.d4! Be6 12.Bd3! e4 13.Bc2 Ne7 14.Nd2 f5? 15.cxd5 Qxd5 16.f3 Qc6? 17.Nxe4!! Qxc2 18.Nf6+ Kg7 19.e4 Qxc1+ 20.Rxc1 Kxf6 21.Qxh7 Ng6 22.e5+ Kg5? 23.h4+ Kf4 24.Kf2 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(178) D.S.C. Goodman — M. Chandler
Brighton International, 1979
King’s Indian Defence
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.d5 c6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Nd4 Nc5 8.f3 Qb6 9.Rb1 a5 10.Be3 0-0 11.Be2 Qc7 12.0-0 e6 13.Qd2 Re8 14.Kh1 Bd7 15.dxe6 fxe6 16.Rbd1 b6 17.Nb3 Nb7 18.f4 Red8 19.Qe1 a4 20.Nd2 Be8 21.Bf3 Bf7 22.Qh4 Re8 23.e5 dxe5 24.fxe5 Nd7 25.Nce4 Nxe5 26.Nf6+ Bxf6 27.Qxf6 Nxf3 28.Rxf3 e5 29.Ne4 Bxc4 30.Qh4 Bd5 31.Nf6+ Kh8 32.Nxe8 Rxe8 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.Rxd5! e4 35.Rf1 cxd5 36.Bd4 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
D.G.A. Shallcross
Doug Shallcross, a former Surrey Champion, came to Brighton in the late 1960s. He helped the Brighton Chess Club team to win the National Club Lightning Championship in 1969 and became a regular member of the Sussex team. In 1975 he shared first place in the Brighton Chess Club Championship with Geoffrey James. He achieved another good result by coming first equal in the Barnstaple Open Tournament in 1979. He also represented the Hassocks Club in the Mid-Sussex League for many years. He died in 1986. The following game was played in a Mid-Sussex League match between Hassocks and Dorothy Stringer School in 1985:
(179) J.P. Munday — D.G.A. Shallcross
Nimzo Indian Defence
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.d4 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bd3 d6 8.Ne2 0-0 9.e4 e5 10.d5 Na5 11.0-0 Ne8 12.Ng3 b6 13.f4 f6 14.Nf5 Bxf5 15.exf5 Rf7 16.Re1 Nc7 17.Rb1 Qd7 18.a4 Re8 19.g4 e4 20.Rxe4 Rxe4 21.Bxe4 Nxc4 22.Bd3 Na5 23.c4 Na6 24.Bd2 Re7 25.Kf2 Qc8 26.Qf3 Nb4 27.Bf1 Nc2 28.Bd3 Nd4 29.Qh3 Qe8 30.Re1 Rxe1 31.Bxe1 Qxa4 32.g5 Qe8 33.gxf6 gxf6 34.Qg3+ Kh8 35.Bc3 Nab3 36.Qg1 a5 37.Kg2 Qg8+ 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
It is not clear from this locally published game whether White played 37.Kg2 or 37.Kg3, but against either move Black can play 37 ... Qg8+, exchange queens and win the endgame.
D.H. Cummings
David Cummings started to make his name in local chess from about 1975. In that year he played on board 6 for Varndean Grammar School in the McArthur Cup final against the Brighton Chess Club, earning a creditable draw against Geoffrey Nicholas. In 1976 at Portsmouth he succeeded in winning the British Under-16 Championship, while locally he shared first place with Mark Roberts in the Brighton Chess Club Championship. In 1977 when the British Championship came to Brighton David performed creditably, scoring 5½ points out of 11. In 1979 he reached the county championship final but lost against Brian Denman. In the same year he did well to score 6 points out of 11 in the British Championship at Chester and in the first Brighton International he scored 3½ points out of 9. He also won the 1979 Sussex Lightning Championship. I append three of his games from this period.
(180) N. Short — D.H. Cummings
British Championship, Brighton, 1977
Sicilian Defence
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Qc7 6.Qe2 Nb6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Nf3 g6 9.0-0 dxc3 10.Nxc3 Bg7 11.Nb5 Qd8 12.Nd6+? exd6 13.Bg5 Nd4! 14.Nxd4 Qxg5 15.exd6+ Kf8 16.Nb5 Bf6 17.f4 Qc5+ 18.Kh1 Nd5 19.Qe4 a6 20.Rac1 Qe3 21.Qxd5 axb5 22.Qxb5 Kg7 23.Bc4 Rf8 24.Bd5 Qd4 25.b4 Ra6 26.Rfd1 Rb6 27.Qe2 Qxb4 28.f5 Rxd6 29.fxg6 hxg6 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(181) W. Watson — D.H. Cummings
British Championship, Chester, 1979
Sicilian Defence, Taimanov Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 Qc7 7.a3 Nf6 8.0-0 Bd6 9.Kh1 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Be5 11.Qd3 b5 12.f4 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Bb7 14.e5 Nd5 15.Bb2 Rc8 16.Qg3 g6 17.Bd3 Nxc3 18.Rae1 Qc5 19.Bc1 Kd8 20.Re3 Nd5 21.Re4 Nc3 22.Rb4 Nd5 23.Rb3 h6 24.Bd2 Kc7 25.Rfb1 g5 26.fxg5 hxg5 27.Be4 Bc6 28.a4 Rh4 29.axb5 axb5 30.Ba5+ Kb7 31.c4 Qxc4 32.Bd3 Qf4 33.Be1 Rg4 34.Bxb5 Rxg3 35.Bd3+ Ka7 36.Bxg3 Qa4 37.Bf2+ Ka8 38.R3b2 Nc3 39.Rc1 and White lost on time 0-1 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(182) D.H. Cummings — I. Wells
Brighton International, 1979
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Nd4 5.Bg2 Nxf3+ 6.Bxf3 Bc5 7.0-0 0-0 8.d3 h6 9.Rb1 Re8 10.b4 Bf8 11.Qb3 d6 12.b5 Bh3 13.Bxb7 Bxf1 14.Kxf1 Rb8 15.Bc6 Qc8 16.Kg2 Rd8 17.Be3 a6 18.f3 axb5 19.cxb5 Qe6 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.Bxd5 Qe8 22.Qc4 Rdc8 23.Rb3 Be7 24.Ba7 Rxb5 25.Bc6 Rc5 26.Qxc5 dxc5 27.Bxe8 Rxe8 28.a4 Bd6 29.Bb8 Re6 30.a5 Be7 31.Bxc7 Ra6 32.Rb6 Ra7 33.Rb8+ Kh7 34.Bb6 Ra6 35.Rb7 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
M.L. Roberts
Mark Roberts was a promising young Varndean player who in 1976 did well to come first equal in the Brighton Chess Club Championship, sharing the title with David Cummings. He represented Varndean in both the 1975 and 1980 McArthur Cup finals against the Brighton Chess Club. After leaving the sixth form college he went to Oxford University and continued to play for Sussex for a time. Later he went to live in London and it appears that he no longer plays regular competitive chess.
The game that follows was played in the Brighton Chess Club Championship in 1980:
(183) M.L. Roberts — B.J. Denman
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 c6 4.Nf3 e4 5.Nd4 Qb6 6.e3 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.d3 Bb4 9.Bg2 0-0 10.0-0 Nc6 11.dxe4 Bxc3 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.bxc3 dxe4 14.Qa4 Re8 15.Ba3 Qa6 16.Qxa6 Bxa6 17.Rfd1 Nd5 18.Rac1 Nb6 19.Bc5 f5 20.Rd4 Red8 21.Rcd1 Bd3 22.Bf1 Rxd4 23.cxd4 Bxf1 24.Kxf1 Nc4 25.Rc1 Nd2+ 26.Ke2 Nf3 27.Ba3 Nxh2 28.Rxc6 Rb8 29.Rc7 Nf3 30.Kd1 h5 31.d5 g5 32.d6 Rd8 33.Re7 h4 34.gxh4 gxh4 35.d7 Rxd7+ 36.Rxd7 h3 37.Bd6 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
J.C. Henshaw
John Henshaw played in a limited number of individual competitions during this period, but he often performed very creditably. His best results were probably his first place in the Sussex Chess Congress in 1973, his first equal in the Folkestone Congress Premier in 1975 and his second equal in the Major Open Tournament at the British Chess Federation Congress at Chester in 1979. He was also a regular member of the Brighton Chess Club team in the National Club Championship. He continued to be very strong at lightning chess, winning the Sussex Lightning Championship in 1974 and 1977. I append four of his games from this period.
(184) J.C. Henshaw — P.N. Kington
Brighton v Horsham, McArthur Cup Final, 1974
Nimzo-Indian Defence
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Bb4 5.e3 c5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 0-0 8.cxd5 Qxd5 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.Qe2 cxd4 11.exd4 h6 12.0-0 b6 13.Re1 Bb7 14.Rb1 Rac8 15.Rb5 Qd6 16.Bxh6! gxh6 17.Qd2 Ne7 18.Qxh6 Ned5 19.Re5 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(185) J.C.Henshaw — Sir Stuart Milner-Barry
Brighton v Charlton, National Club Championship, 1978
Catalan Opening
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c6 5.0-0 Nbd7 6.b3 Bd6 7.Bb2 0-0 8.d4 Qe7 9.Nc3 Ba3 10.Bxa3 Qxa3 11.Qd3 Rd8 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Nf6 15.Qe2 Bd7 16.Rad1 Rac8 17.Rd2 Be8 18.Rfd1 Qd6 19.Ne5 Nd7 20.Ng4 f5 21.d5! cxd5 22.cxd5 e5 23.Ne3 Qf6 24.d6 e4 25.Nd5 Qxd6 26.Ne3 Qf8 27.Nxf5! Qxf5 28.Bxe4 Qh5 29.Bf3 Qc5 30.Rd6 Bf7 31.Rxd7 Rxd7 32.Rxd7 Re8 33.Qd2 Qf5 34.Kg2 Be6 35.Rd8 Rxd8 36.Qxd8+ Kf7 37.Qc7+ Kf6 38.Qxb7 h5 39.Qe4 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(186) J.C. Henshaw — P.F. Habershon
Brighton v Bedford, National Club Championship, 1978
Alekhine’s Defence
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 Ne4 4.Nce2 d4 5.c3 Nc5 6.Nxd4 Qd5 7.Ngf3 Bg4 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.0-0 0-0-0 10.b4 Ne6 11.c4 Qe4 12.Nxe6 Bxe6 13.d3 Qf5 14.d4 f6 15.d5 Bg8 16.e6 Nb6 17.Be3 Qg6 18.Nd4 Qe8 19.a4 h5 20.a5 Na8 21.a6 b6 22.Qb3 g5 23.Nc6 1-0 (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(187) J.N. Sugden — J.C. Henshaw
British Chess Federation Congress, Chester, Major Open, 1979
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Semi-Slav Defence
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.a4 Bb4 8.e5 h6 9.Bd2 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Nd5 11.Qb1 a6 12.Be2 Nd7 13.Qe4 Bb7 14.0-0 Qc7 15.Qh4 Nf8 16.Rfb1 g5 17.Qg3 Ng6 18.h4 0-0-0 19.hxg5 Rdg8 20.Bf1 hxg5 21.Nxg5 Qe7 22.Ne4 Ngf4 23.Bxf4 Rxg3 24.Bxg3 Qf8 25.Bxc4 Qh6 26.Kf1 Ne3+ 27.fxe3 Qxe3 28.Nf2 Qxg3 29.Bd3 Rh2 30.Be4 c5 31.Bxb7+ Kxb7 32.Ke2 Rxg2 33.Rf1 Qxc3 34.axb5 axb5 35.dxc5 Qb2+ 0-1 (Play through game - open link in new window.)
J.A. Hardinge
Julian Hardinge came to Brighton in 1970 and established himself as a regular member of Brighton’s National Club Championship team. When Brighton reached the final in 1974 he obtained a creditable draw against Nigel Holloway, then of Cambridge University. In 1975 he left Brighton to take charge of the university bookshop at Cardiff, and in 1989 published, in partnership with Julian Simpole, Keene and Divinsky’s Warriors of the Mind. Nowadays he works in Glasgow. After leaving Sussex he continued to play correspondence chess for the county for many years. I append four of his games, which include wins against former Welsh and English Champions.
(188) J.A. Hardinge — A. Abakuks
Brighton v University of Sussex, 1971
Sicilian Defence, Morra Gambit
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Qe2 a6 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.Bf4 Ne5 11.Bb3 Nf6 12.Rac1 Qb8 13.Be3 b5 14.Nd4 Bb7? 15.Bxe6! fxe6 16.Nxe6 Kf7 17.Ng5+ Kg8 18.f4 Nc4 19.Bd4 h6 20.Ne6 Bc8 21.e5 dxe5 22.fxe5 Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Qb6+ 24.Nd4 Bg4 25.Nd5 Qxd4+ 26.Rxd4 Bxe2 27.Nxe7+ Kf7 28.Rc7 Ke6 29.Bg3 Rhd8 30.Nc6 Rd5 31.Re7+ Kf5 32.Rxe2 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(189) J.C. Henshaw — J.A. Hardinge
Brighton Chess Club Championship, 1972
Polish Opening
1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 d6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 Nbd7 5.Nc3 g6 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.Be2 0-0 8.d4 Qe7 9.Qc2 Re8 10.a3 Nf8 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Rd1 a5 13.c5 axb4 14.axb4 b6 15.0-0 bxc5 16.b5 Bb7 17.Na4 N8d7 18.Nd2 Nd5 19.Rc1 Bh6 20.Rfe1? Bxe3 21.fxe3 Nxe3 22.Qb3 Nxg2 23.Rf1 Nf4 24.Bf3 Qg5+ 25.Kf2 Bxf3 0-1 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(190) J.A. Hardinge — A.H. Williams
East Glamorgan League, 1977
Vienna Game
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.d3 h6 7.Na4 Be6 8.Nxc5 dxc5 9.b3 Qd6 10.Bb2 0-0-0 11.Qd2 Kb8 12.0-0-0 Nd4 13.c3 Nxf3 14.Bxf3 Qa6 15.c4! Qxa2? 16.Kc2 Qa6 17.Bxe5 Ne8 18.Ra1 Qb6 19.Ra5 f6 20.Bf4 Nd6 21.Rha1 a6 22.Be3 Nxc4 23.bxc4 Bxc4 24.Qc3 Bxd3+ 25.Kc1 Rhe8 26.Rxc5 Qe6 27.e5 fxe5 28.Bxb7 Kxb7 29.Rxc7+ Ka8 30.Ra7+ 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(191) J.A. Hardinge — J. Penrose
London League, 1984
Sicilian Defence
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Be2 d6 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 dxe5 8.dxe5 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bd3 Nd7 11.Nbd2 Nc5 12.Bb1 Bd7 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Bc6 15.Nd4 Qb6 16.Qg4 Rfe8 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Qxe6+ Kh8 19.Qh3 Nf6 20.Bf5 Be4 21.exf6 Bxf5 22.fxg7+ Kxg7 23.Qxf5 Bf6 24.Be3 Qb4 25.Bh6+ 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
N.J. Holloway
Nigel Holloway won the Cambridge University Championship in 1971 and was a member of the strong university team which defeated Brighton by five games to one in the final of the 1974 National Club Championship. In the same year he scored 6½ points out of 11 in the British Championship at Clacton and then went on to the University of Sussex.
In the 1975-76 season Nigel entered the county championship, losing in the final against Geoffrey James. In team competitions he at first represented the University of Sussex, but in the 1977 to 1978 season he started playing for the Brighton Chess Club. He often took the top board and his wins against the promising young player Nigel Short for two years in succession were instrumental in taking Brighton to two National Club finals. In 1979, after two successful seasons for Brighton, he decided to move to the north of England. More recently he has taken up residence in Abingdon and plays for Oxfordshire. I append four of his games.
It should be noted that Nigel Short, John Nunn and Jon Speelman were all juniors when these games were played, though it was already difficult to obtain results against them.
(192) N.J. Holloway — J. Speelman
British Championship, Eastbourne, 1973
King’s Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation
(3964) Holloway,N - Speelman,J [E62]
British Championship, Eastbourne Eastbourne (6), 12.08.1973
[Denman 0598]
1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 c6 7.Nc3 Qa5 8.h3 e5 9.e4 exd4 10.Nxd4 Qc5 11.Nc2 Qxc4 12.Qxd6 Nbd7 13.Be3 Nb6 14.Rfd1 Qe6 15.Qxe6 Bxe6 16.Nd4 Bc4 17.b3 Ba6 18.a4 Rfe8 19.a5 Nc8 20.Rac1 Bf8 21.f4 Bb4 22.e5 Bxc3 23.Rxc3 Nd5 24.Bxd5 cxd5 25.Rc7 b6 26.Nc6 Bb5 27.Nd4 Ba6 28.axb6 axb6 29.Ra1 Ne7 30.g4 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(193) J. Nunn — N.J. Holloway
British Championship, Clacton, 1974
Alekhine’s Defence
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Bf5 7.Nc3 e6 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Be3 Be7 10.d5 Nb4 11.Rc1 exd5 12.a3 c5 13.axb4 d4 14.Bxd4 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Bg6 16.c5 0-0 17.cxb6 Bxb4 18.Be2 Qxb6 19.0-0 Rad8 20.Rf4 Bc5 21.Ncb5 Rfe8 22.Nd6 Bxd6 23.exd6 Qxd6 24.Qf1 Qb6 25.Rd1 Qxb2 26.Bc4 Re7 27.Nf5 Qb6+ 28.Kh1 Bxf5 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Rxf5 Qc7 31.h4 a5 ½-½ (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(194) N.J. Holloway — P.V. Byway
1977
Symmetrical English Opening
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 e5 6.Nc3 Nge7 7.Rb1 d6 8.a3 Be6 9.d3 h6 10.b4 cxb4 11.axb4 d5? 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Bxd5 14.b5 Nd4 15.Nxd4 exd4 16.Ba3 Bf8 17.Bxd5 Qxd5 18.Qa4 Bxa3 19.Qxa3 h5 20.Rfc1 h4 21.Rc7 Qe6 22.Rbc1 hxg3 23.hxg3 Rh5 24.R1c5 Qxe2 25.Rxh5 gxh5 26.Qd6 Rd8 27.Qf6 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(195) N. Short — N.J. Holloway
Atherton v Brighton (Board 3), National Club Semi-Final, 1978
Alekhine’s Defence
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.exd6 cxd6 9.b3 0-0 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.Be3 d5 12.c5 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Nc8 14.a3 Bf6 15.b4 N8e7 16.Ne2 Nf5 17.Rc1 g6 18.Qd2 Nh4 19.Bg4 h5 20.Bh3 Kh8 21.f3 Kh7 22.Nf4 Ne7 23.Qd3 Bg5 24.Kh1 Nef5 25.Bd2 Qf6 26.g3 Ng7 27.Nxd5 exd5 28.Bxg5 Qxg5 29.f4 Qf6 30.gxh4 Qxh4 31.b5 f5 32.Bg2 Ne6 33.Qe3 Rfe8 34.Bxd5? Nc7 35.Qf3 Nxd5 36.c6 [36.Qxd5 Re2 wins] 36...bxc6 37.Rxc6 Rad8 38.Rc5 Re1 0-1 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
Professor Sir John Cornforth, A.C., C.B.E., F.R.S.
Professor Sir John Cornforth became a part of the Sussex chess scene in 1975. Born in Australia, he won a scholarship to Oxford University to study chemistry in 1939. During the war he performed research on the drug penicillin. After he moved to London in 1946 he became a regular Middlesex county player and later also represented the county at correspondence chess, in which he was particularly successful. In 1975 he was appointed to a Royal Society Research Professorship at the University of Sussex, and in that year shared the Nobel Prize for his research into the stereochemistry of enzyme action. He joined the Brighton Chess Club and became a member of the National Club team. He also represented the county at correspondence and over-the-board chess. Although he retired from over-the-board chess in 1982 he still plays postal chess for the county. In all the years that he has represented Middlesex and Sussex in correspondence chess, he has only ever lost one game in this type of chess. I append two of his games.
(196) J.W. Cornforth — P.R. Markland
Middlesex v Lancashire, Friendly Correspondence Match, 1974
Sicilian Defence
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 Ngf6 5.Nc3 a6? 6.Bxd7+ Nxd7 7.dxc5 Nxc5 8.Be3 e6 9.Qd4 f6? 10.a4 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Rfd1 Qc7? 13.Qc4 Bd7 14.Nd4 Qb8 15.Nf5 Rf7 16.Nxe7+ Rxe7 17.Bf4 b5 18.Qa2 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(197) Professor Sir John Cornforth (Sussex) — M.J. Simons (Dorset)
Counties Correspondence Championship, 1986-7
Nimzowitsch Defence
1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.d5 Ne5 5.Qd4 Ng6 6.Qa4+ Bd7 7.Qb3 Qc8 8.Be3 e5? [8...Nf6!] 9.Nxe4 b6 10.h4 Nf6 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.Nf3 Ne7 13.Nd2 c6 14.dxc6 Nxc6 15.Ne4 Be7 16.0-0-0 Na5 17.Qd5 Qc6 18.Nc3 Be6 19.Bb5! Bxd5 20.Rxd5 Rc8 21.Bxc6+ Rxc6? [21...Nxc6!] 22.Rhd1 Nc4 23.Rd7 Nxe3 24.fxe3 a5 25.Rb7 Bd8 26.Rdd7 0-0 27.Nd5 Re6 28.e4 Kg7 29.Ne3 Kg6 30.Nf5 h6 31.Rb8 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
K.I. Norman
Ken Norman came to Brighton in 1970 and joined the Brighton Chess Club. Though he only lived in the area for about two years he continued to play for the county and in 1976 won the Sussex Lightning Championship. Perhaps his best results in external tournaments have been his first place in the Amersham Masters in 1980 and his first equal at Guernsey in 1992. He has played in three British Championships. At Morecambe in 1981 he scored 4½ points out of 11 and at Plymouth and Dundee in 1992 and 1993 respectively 5½ points out of 11.
The following games illustrate his skills in two different decades:
(198) K.I. Norman — J. Hodgson
Sussex v Middlesex (Board 9), 1976
Reti’s Opening
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d4 e6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.c4 Be7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Nc3 0-0 9.dxc5 d4 10.Na4 Bf5 11.Bf4 Be4 12.Rc1 Qd5 13.a3 Rad8 14.b4 Rd7 15.Nb2 Qh5 16.Nc4 d3 17.Nd6 Bxd6 18.Bxd6 dxe2 19.Qxe2 Re8 20.Rfe1 Re6 21.b5 Na5 22.Ne5 Qxe2 23.Rxe2 Bxg2 24.Kxg2 Rd8 25.Re3 Rc8 26.Nc4 Rxe3 27.Nxe3 Ne4 28.Nd5 Rd8 29.Ne7+ Kh8 30.Bc7 Rd7 31.Bxa5 Rxe7 32.c6 bxc6 33.bxc6 Re8 34.c7 Nd6 35.Rd1 Nc8 36.Rd8 Rg8 37.Kf3 f6 38.Ke4 g6 39.Kd5 Kg7 40.Ke6 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
(199) K.I. Norman — D.M. Hubbard
Sussex v Surrey (Board 5), 1992
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Slav Defence
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4!? Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nxe4 12.Ba3 Qc7 13.Rfc1 0-0-0 14.a5 Rhe8 15.Nh4 Nd6 16.Nxg6 hxg6 17.Bd3 [17.Bb3!] 17...e5 18.Qb2 e4 19.Bf1 Rh8 20.h3 Nf5 21.Rcb1 Rde8 22.Bc4 Nh6? 23.Qe2 g5 24.Ba6! bxa6 25.Qxa6+ Kd8 26.Rb7 Qc8 27.Rab1 Re6 28.Qxa7 Rhe8 29.Rxd7+ Qxd7 30.Rb8+ Qc8 31.Qb7! Qxb8 32.Qxb8+ Kd7 33.Qb7+ Kd8 34.a6 1-0 (Play through game - opens link in new window.)
Go to Chapter 12
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