Former Luton Grammar school pupil Dennis Victor Mardle, by far Tom Sweby’s favourite topic and former playing partner, who once contracted Polio at Luton Town football ground after he drank from a cracked cup whilst 15, only to receive a C. B. E in the 1988 New Year’s Honour’s list for his work on the very same illness decades later, won several national tournaments in the late 50’s and early 60’s, and made a name for himself on the British chess circuit. Once a stalwart at Luton Chess Club he played at Hastings in 64/65, where he met a certain Paul Keres, a certain Svetor Gligoric, and the then current women’s world champion Nona Gaprindashvili.
Details of this can be found in John Saunders truly excellent site Britbase, here is the link https://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/196412hast-viewer.html
I don’t want to add diagrams or any annotation to any games because Mardle’s performance in the tournament was described as blunder prone, and if you look at his games, that was the case. But it is worth drawing attention to the fact Mardle played Keres as it was the first instance of a former Bedfordshire based player coming up against truly world class opposition since J. M Craddock dispatched of Mir. Sultan Khan some 30 years or so previously…it’s just a shame he wasn’t at his best and was instead far from it.
McCreadyandChess 
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