Archive for March, 2025

Bedfordshire Chess Trivia Quiz -the big, big 50

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, History of Bedfordshire Chess, Trivia on March 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

‘Knowledge is power.‘ Francis Bacon, Meditationes Sacrae 1597

  1. Who is the only player to have developed and emerged from the Bedfordshire league to become British Chess Champion? 1
  2. Which player from Bedfordshire is the only one to have represented England in his heyday (excluding anyone at junior or senior level). 2
  3. Who, then rated 146th in the world; 23 ELO points and 31 places above future world champion Capablanca, according to the EDO Historical Chess Ratings, is the only person documented playing for Luton in the 19th century more than once. 3
  4. In which year did Northampton WMC (as it was then called) enter the Bedfordshire league? 4
  5. Which company entered a team in the Bedfordshire chess league, ran by FM Peter Gayson’s father and also employed retired Luton town footballing regend Joe Payne, noted for scoring more goals in a game (10) than any other player in the history of English football? 5
  6. How many former county champions have beaten former world champion Emmanuel Lasker? 6
  7. On record, how many had already become national champions before competing in the Bedfordshire league? 7
  8. What was unusual about Division 1 of the Beds. league in the 74/75 season? 8
  9. In which year did Bedford become national club champions? 9
  10. How many players who have played for teams & clubs in Bedfordshire have gone on to become president of the S.C.C.U? 10
  11. GM Michael Adams has the highest rating of any English player ELO 2761 and is generally considered to be the greatest English chess player ever, he was also British champion more 8 times. Two Bedfordshire based players have beaten him. Who are they? 11
  12. Who won Division 1 in 2012?12
  13. Who is the only British boys chess champion to have played in the Beds. league?13
  14. Who did IM Andy Ledger think was the best player/the most difficult to beat in the Beds. league during the 80s?14
  15. Who was the first titled player to participate in the Beds league? 15
  16. Who is the only player to compete in the Beds. league for a number of seasons, who also went onto become champion of South Africa? 16
  17. The fastest game recorded in chesss history occured at Luton High Town Recreactional Centre between GM Tony Miles and Stewart Reuben, 1. Draw. How much did that prearranged draw earn GM Tony Miles for achieving 1st place, classifying him as that outright winner? 17
  18. Which team captain had by far the longest hair in the Beds league, having not cut it for over six years in the 90s? 18
  19. When reigning world champion Anatoly Karpov played the top 20 juniors England had, one of them came from Bedfordshire, Dunstable more specifically. Who was he?19
  20. Who is the only former county champion who played for Northampton? 20
  21. Who, whilst playing for Vauxhall in Luton, entered the club, was abruptly taken outside, then seconds later got beaten up in the snowy car park? 21
  22. How many teams that lay outside Bedfordhire have participated in the Bedfordshire League? 22
  23. Who is the only Bedfordshire born and chess player who went onto receive a C.B.E in 1988? 23
  24. In which year did Bedford Modern School reach the final of the National Schools Championships, and who did they lose to? 24
  25. Which European world class player (no ELO back then) associated with hypermodernism, once performed a simul in Luton blindfold, winning all fourteen games on January 25th 1923, the date cited in the reportage. An account one day out can be found on pg. 15 of Chess in Bedfordshire (1933) Dickens&White. 25
  26. Which was the last chess club in Bedfordshire to be left with no playing premises of their own, and were left to share the venue of another club in the league 26
  27. Yours truly, attempting to be facetious, once claimed Milton Keynes often won Division 1 because navigating around that city was more difficult than chess itself, leaving opponents mentally exhausted upon arrival before play began. True or false? 27
  28. Canadian GM Suttles performed a simul at which club in Luton in the early 70s? 28
  29. Who is the only Bedfordshire born and based player who participated at the chess olympiad in both 1986 and 1988? And who did he represent? 29
  30. In which year did the Bedfordshire League become named so by incorporating teams from around the league so that all teams competed in the same league and were no longer subject to the north/south divide preceeding? 30
  31. In which three consecutive years did Bedfordshire achieve national success courtesy of both county chess teams, and unsurprisingly, the success of our most successful protégé? 31
  32. Paul Habershon was a teacher at Bedford Modern School and also played for the chess team. Who was the other teacher also an established team member for many years? 32
  33. Leighton Buzzard’s doorsteps were once sadly darkened by which former British champion, who won a quickplay held in Bossard Hall before he infamously fled the country? And in which year? 33
  34. When was the Bedfordshire Chess Association formed? 34
  35. Who, known primarily for Newsflash, was the first to frequently write about chess in Luton & Bedfordshire in circulations published nationally, and which bank was he the manager of in Luton? 35
  36. Courtesy of the tail end of the industrial revolution, as it’s commonly referred to, the ensuing development of a rail network made it easier for clubs within Bedfordshire to play those in neighbouring counties, in particular Hertfordshire. What was the name of the neutral venue where a club from both Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire met to play, but used different rail lines to arrive at the venue betwixt them both? 36
  37. Who is the only GM to have performed a simul in Luton twice and at the time had a 100% record against the current world champion Gary Kasparov. 37
  38. Which former junior county champion also participated in the Beds. league with his mother, who was active for many years? 38
  39. In the 1901 Anglo-American cable match, William Ward, who is documented playing for Luton before becoming champion of London countless time over, beat which prominent American player, who took on world champions along with the very best in the world throughout much of his career? 39
  40. Which was the last team to participate in the Bedfordshire Chess League with an ordinal number in its name? 40
  41. What was the name of Bedfordshire’s only noted problemist? 41
  42. Which two appeared on the same popular teatime Channel 4 tv gameshow? 42
  43. Which most unfortunate Bedfordshire based player is remembered for an all too harrowing end to a visit to his club, making him the only one who’s night involved, more than some friendlies, plenty of pints (hence his nickname), as well as being thrown through a windshield of a taxi into a bush on his way home. What was his nickname also? 43
  44. Which two appeared in quiz shows on tv; one shown on BBC2, the other on ITV? 44
  45. Who was head of the Stopsley school league team (Luton) and went onto to become a prominent member of the Bedfordshire Chess Association? 45
  46. Which trophy did Bedfordshire once retain for 10 years last milennium? 46
  47. Who won the second division in 2022? 47
  48. Who has become county champion more times then anyone else? 48
  49. Who wrote the longest running column for chess in Bedfordshire? 49
  50. Who won Div 1 in 2024? 50

All 50 questions, which should you seek the footnoted answers below will, I hope, broaden your understanding of Bedfordshire Chess Present & History greatly. All scores are welcome in the comments also. The primary purpose here is not so those attempting the quiz can answer all Qs. correctly but rather the questions will inspire those reading to seek the answer (footnoted) below.

An addendum: anything I have missed which should have been included do suggest (I will modify), the questions being too hard or not seemingly of no importance (please say so), any other suggestions and criciticisms are graciously accepted. This is a fun way to improve your understanding of the History of Bedfordshire Chess. The questions have been carefully chosen.

Mark. J. McCready

08.41, Monday, March 31st, Bogota, Colombia.

  1. GM James Plaskett ↩︎
  2. Dennis Victor Mardle https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2024/03/08/toms-old-friend-plays-for-england/ ↩︎
  3. William Ward http://www.edochess.ca/years/y1896.html ↩︎
  4. 1987 ↩︎
  5. Electrolux. FM Peter Gayson’s father set that club up and worked with record breaking footballer Joe Payne. https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2023/10/28/from-fridges-to-footballers-to-fun-over-the-board-and-the-odd-fight/ ↩︎
  6. 2 https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter85.html https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2015/01/23/when-lasker-came-to-luton/ ↩︎
  7. 2 IM (at the time) Sergio Mariotti (Italy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Mariotti Donald Curtis (Wales), https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2024/10/08/our-welsh-champion-from-yesteryear/ ↩︎
  8. It was the only time it was won by a school. B.M.S. ↩︎
  9. 2001 https://sccu-chess.com/archive/0001/nc.htm ↩︎
  10. 4 William Ward (1910-1911), R.H. Rushton (1928-1929), Tom Sweby (1954-1955), and Sandy Cordon (1974-1975) ↩︎
  11. GM James Plaskett (friendly Leeds and FM Gary Kenworthy (quickplay Spalding) ↩︎
  12. Bedford http://www.adrianelwin.co.uk/Bedfordshire/LeaguePreviousWinners.html ↩︎
  13. J. M. Craddock https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2023/12/17/a-stand-out-figure-from-the-50s/ ↩︎
  14. Andrew Perkins ↩︎
  15. IM Sergio Mariotti (played in the Beds. league in 70-71, however, he became a GM in 74 ↩︎
  16. Major. Harry Duhan https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2016/02/12/our-clash-of-future-champions/ ↩︎
  17. £200 ↩︎
  18. Luton’s most handsome chess player aka Marcus McCreadus (also known to be a bit rubbish 😦 ↩︎
  19. Colin Garwood https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2023/11/21/garwood-v-karpov/ ↩︎
  20. Paul Pribanich http://www.adrianelwin.co.uk/Bedfordshire/PreviousCountyChamps.html ↩︎
  21. Vauxhall was based in Luton of course. The league player in question was Marcus Dunne. ↩︎
  22. 6 Scion, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Open University, Northampton, Rushden ↩︎
  23. Dennis Victor Mardle for his work on Polio, which he suffered from ↩︎
  24. 1973/1974 Southern GS, Portsmouth
    ↩︎
  25. Reti ↩︎
  26. Luton ↩︎
  27. True ↩︎
  28. Electrolux ↩︎
  29. Ian Corden, Bermuda https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2024/10/06/olympiad-success/ ↩︎
  30. 1952 ↩︎
  31. 1990, 1991, 1992 ↩︎
  32. 2 ↩︎
  33. Brian Eley 1984 ↩︎
  34. 1922 ↩︎
  35. G. H. Diggle ↩︎
  36. St. Albans – Luton v Watford https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2024/05/02/w-ward-plays-for-luton/ ↩︎
  37. GM Murray Chandler ↩︎
  38. Simon Roe (his mother was Margret Roe) ↩︎
  39. F. D. Marshall ↩︎
  40. Luton VIth Form College ↩︎
  41. Bramwell Hirst ↩︎
  42. FM Dave Ledger and Paul Habershon in Countdown. ↩︎
  43. Pat Foley aka ‘Pisshead Pat’ ↩︎
  44. Colin Garwood and GM James Plaskett ↩︎
  45. Brian Cox ↩︎
  46. The Fleming Trophy ↩︎
  47. Leighton Buzzard B ↩︎
  48. Steven Ledger ↩︎
  49. ‘old’ Tom Sweby ↩︎
  50. Leighton Buzzard A https://lms.englishchess.org.uk/lms/event/4157/table ↩︎

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Essential learning: priority learning number 3

Posted in My own endeavours, On-line journal, Personal Interest & Experience on March 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Selected content considered more relevant to he who types these words can be found below. Furthermore, though unnecessary, content most recently re-read from the world’s most educated Grandmaster, or not far off it, posted below. There to be savoured and also learned from.

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Increased longevity and greater stature of the BCC Open -a take on the reasons why, can be digested below

Posted in Chess in Thailand on March 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Why are some tournaments more popular than others and what constitutes the main reasons why chess players chose one instead of another? The main three are, I think, money, location and reputation.

The BCC Open is a well run and well-respected tournament globally, and has been for 15-20 years. Despite the cost of entry being high, and the 5 star hotel it’s housed in not exactly cheap, some thirty or more titled players have signed up alredy; fourteen of them being GMs and one a WGM, more are expected to follow: in total one hundred and sixty have entered the open, with just under six weeks to go until it commences…perhaps another fifty or more will sign up in time. It is the apogee of the Thai chess scene, which is indeed booming in the capital more so than elsewhere. Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited it once when the women’s world champion at the time Hou Yifan rolled into town.

It’s appeal lies, primarily, in it’s destination, since Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet, so many like to come, play some chess and have a bit of a holiday too! It’s reputation is renowned, former BCC champion Jan Gustafsson, once a second to Magnus Carlsen, invited him to join him once during live streaming, to which Carlsen politely smiled and did not take too seriously. The torunament has a lot of respect at all levels of the game, and GM Nigel Short has written many articles on it in New in Chess, at least one of which was a brilliant advert for the tournament. It has not yet lost its popularity or prestige. I used to be the official photographer until I kinda dropped out of tournament chess.

Should you fancy a chess filled holiday in the sun in a city with so much to offer, and the opportunity to make new friends, what have you got to lose? It’s by far the best tournament in south east asia, with it’s cosmopolitan competitors making it one of the best in Asia also. It’s better understood as a global event than a local or asian event, as they often desribed as national tournaments, not welcoming to foreigners just accepting only, and are often overlooked or receive little reportage. Yes they also have an open section but its not open in the full sense of the word like it is at the BCC, it’s about right to describe most major open chess tournaments in Asia as a little closed off and unestablished globally. There are of course major closed tourments in China going on byt they are for professional players only. The BCC is an open tournament in every sense of the word with numerous, perhaps even copius, nations being represented. It’s a truly global event. Given how low the prize money is, this is something to be proud of.

It’s a wonderful celebration of chess and enjoyed by so many, some of which are regulars and have been for a decade or more. It so rarely, if ever, receives complaints of any kind and exemplifies more so than anything else how chess is booming in Bangkok as there will be lots of Thai kids there of all ages, believe me. And by lots, I estimate 50 or so, maybe more but I doubt it. And believe me, they are good. It’s going on in all the international schools here now, the generation coming through will be very strong, I said at the chess club last week, Thailand will probably get it’s first Grandmaster from one of them, they already have an IM.

Thai people are lovely, Bangkok is great with lots to do and see, the atmosphere in the tournament professional. It’s not just liked or popular, it’s well-liked and super-popular, despite numbers still being down post Covid.

To end on a personal note: the last game I played there my opponent was ELO 1999 or ELO 1996, not entirely sure. I beat him with the French defence but now he’s about 2500!

It ticks all the boxes, so why not give it a go… .

22nd BCC Open – Entry Fees

Mark. J. McCready

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The big 3. The 80s & the decades thereafter.

Posted in History of Bedfordshire Chess on March 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

  1. IM Andy Ledger highest FIDE rating 2452
  2. FM Peter Gayson highest FIDE rating 2311
  3. FM Peter Constantinou highest FIDE rating 2213
Bedford’s IM Andy Ledger
Dunstable’s FM Peter Gayson
Bedford’s FM Peter Constantinou

Mark. J. McCready

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GM Boris Spassky passes away

Posted in Chess on March 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Two days before this post was penned, our tenth world champion, none other than Boris Spassky, sadly passed away, aged 88.

A well-written obituary on him can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/28/boris-spassky-obituary

All my favourite players are Soviet players and I do so wish he had beaten Fischer in 72. Regarding the Soviets; Karpov being my favourite outright, Spassky being second favourite. He was a great character and full of life, there are many funny anecdotes about him. He once offered Kasparov some amusing advice, which I am happy to show here.

An anecdote of Spassky’s appearance at the 1984 Thessanoliki Olympiad:

In a bus, on the way to the games, Boris Spassky was introduced by a friend to one of the anonymous Olympians. When they were about to part, Spassky’s friend told the Olympian not to wash his right hand in order to keep some of Spassky’s power for his game. As a result, the chessplayer won his next game in good style. He immediately came to Boris’ friend to tell him that his advice was absolutely correct. Now he will not wash his right hand until the end of the Olympiad. This happened in the first rounds of the Olympiad. We believe from that moment Boris Spassky was busy shaking hands with other chessplayers!

https://olimpbase.org/1984/1984in.html#trivia

Whilst still at school I remember his account of the reasons for his divorce to his first wife Larissa also amusing. In referring to her he said ‘we were like bishops of the opposite colour.’ This can be located in Mike Fox and Richard James’s The Complete Chess Addict, a read highly recommended, and found online easily enough also. Sadly, I never had the chance to meet Spassky or go watch him play… .

Here are two games of his I admired in younger years:

A larger than life character who, by the way, always confessed he was not a communist but was nonetheless treated well by his government and granted the status of emigrée. When I was young I always thought he seemed the happiest of all the Soviet champions.

R.I.P Boris and thank you for all your wonderful games and evervescent love of chess.

Mark. J. McCready

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