I have, on numerous occasions, argued that the strongest player ever to appear in the Bedfordshire league at the time of his presence was the Italian Sergio Mariotti. That was the 70-71 season. (Please refer to the History of Bedfordshire chess) category. He was a strong IM at the time and appeared 3rd in England on the BCF rating list of that year (about 240). Within a few years he became Italy’s first Grandmaster and could hold his own against the current world champion Karpov, and also beat just about everyone else in the years to come.
GM Matthew Sadler has had a look at quite a few of his games, which show just how strong he was. At the beginning of the first video, GM Sadler tells us that Tal once said had Mariotti been born in the Soviet Union, he would have been world champion.
Has anyone from Bedfordshire ever participated at an Olympiad? Yes but perhaps only one, a certain Ian Cordon (son of Sandy Cordon). Details have been found from looking through previously posted content, which can also be found below.
I have written about the once famed amateur William Ward many times on this site because he was the first player to represent Luton who went on to make a name for himself. Having done further research it has become clear that Ward was established as a player in London before his documented appearances for Luton in 1896 & 1897. They were at best cameos, most likely he still had family in the area and retained his attachments. The reportage below show he had commitments in London during those years.
We have been been able to establish that by profession he was a solicitor. But information about his life outside chess and the circumstances concerning his death have remained unestablished until very recently. I am indebted to the individuals on the English Chess Forum who have taken up a thread I started almost ten years ago and have long since forgotten about! Please see below.
Old Tom Sweby, so he got beaten up by Oswald Mosley’s henchmen did he? One of the reds in Beds. went down against the black shirts then? Having spent what must be hundreds of hours documenting his column and correcting his frequent mistakes already-I can’t say I will be losing any sleep over that! 🙂
Side note I have spoken to one of his former pupils, a subject of his reportage countless times over, a noted author who knew him, and also reflected upon the comments & messages from a county player who was both his and my team mate many, many, many times over, as well as reflected upon how he presented himself to me in my youth: the consensus being without doubt Tom went after them, or if you like, threw the first punch!
What the reportage says the thing is with old Tom, you can never be sure if he’s correct or not as it is sometimes not the case. The reportage below does indeed show that there was trouble but it suggests he may have been a victim rather than a perpetrator. We may also concede that since Tom reported it himself, that suggests he probably didn’t cause the trouble in the first place because if he had, he’d be much less likely to tell anyone especially when he got beaten up for doing it!
McCready’s last words despite his honorable intentions and ever-lasting attempts to generate interest in chess locally, Tom was not exactly a well-rounded person and had a tendency to be forthright and shoot his mouth off when he saw fit -as I myself witnessed. There is clearly a hidden agenda in play here also as he was a known communist thus opposed to facism as a result of his own views. Many have seen him become vociferous when he didn’t like something (myself included), he even brought Luton chess club to a grinding halt one evening with some overblown tirade just because its members weren’t giving him enough stories to report on -I should know, I was a member of the club then! Given that history does have a tendency to repeat itself, in all probability, given the nature of his reported position when Mosley rolled into town, he went and shot his mouth off to the wrong people and got done over!
Poor old Tom, did he not know learning to control your emotions is advantageous?
I do recommend you scroll through the columns below as they will help you form a picture of what how chess was played in Bedfordshire then. There are noticeable differences to nowadays and it is a critical mistake to assume our county was unified back then -it most certainly wasn’t.
Tom Sweby, in the reportage below, argues that the date of formation regarding Luton chess club which appears in the 1933 publication Chess in Bedfordshire is contestable. You will find the aforementioned publication on this site.
…on what this site initially became…on what this site is now becoming…on what this site cannot become…
On what this site initially became…
…once upon a time, the chess-related musings of an adrift academic were bound playfully and electronically in this online journal of sorts. They grew and grew as the decade did too. I kept on because I love to write whether I had much to say or not; therefore, being read by others was usually of little or no importance, comparatively speaking. Content was based on personal thoughts and experience on various topics with no intended audience borne in mind. With topics broadening, my own take on things always shaped the narrative I constructed: I often thought I was insightful but never that I was right. Sometimes imagination gave rise to originality: and of that I have always remained proud. I often introduced humour, believing that I am funnier than I really am. Sometimes, I found my own style antithetical to the conservatism I believe chess is plagued by -oftentimes that has put a gracious smile on my face… .
On what this site is now becoming…
…this site is now becoming a collaboration of chess in Bedfordshire: much more so of the past than the present -that has become the dominant trend. I document the history of chess in Bedfordshire as much as I can, and as time has passed I have become more thorough and resourceful. However, I am not a trained historian as my background lies principally in philosophy but yes it is true I did study some modules on history as both an undergraduate and a post-graduate too; furthermore, I have trained myself up, particularly in terms of postmodern history. Since 2015, I have only read history and historiography as well as those philosophers who have been so influential on postmodern history, such as Nietzsche (whom I once wrote a 19,000 word dissertation on, entitled: Can the Will to Power be Found in The Birth of Tragedy?), also Richard Rorty and Foucault and I suppose certain structualists such as Claude Levi-Strauss too. Regarding postmodernism, mostly I keep to Hayden White, Keith Jenkins and Alan Muslow.
Some friends and former playing partners back home describe me as the ‘go to guy’ for the history of chess in Bedfordshire. This compliment says more about the lack of interest in the subject than my own endeavour. As mentioned, I am too adrift from academia to feel chuffed by it. Rather, I tend to lament that my historical research, like my chess, just isn’t what it should be. Even though I may well have a broad understanding of Bedfordshire chess history courtesy of the volume of research put into it, all of which began in 2014, this is not something I am particularly proud of. Nonetheless, out of courtesy compliments are graciously received. If the truth be told, I just see it as my job and only that – after all someone’s got to do it and no one else is that interested!
Amongst the many others, I have created three categories: ‘Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘History of Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘Luton Chess Club’. This website is slowly moving towards a consolidation of those (all of which can be found in one of the toolbars to the right).
On what this site cannot become…
…I like to be both creative and amusing when I can be, factor in that playfulness has been an ever-present factor, the content of this site should be thought of as multifarious. It could be said I continue to enjoy undermining the conservatism I believe chess is underpinned by even after all these years, and often try to use humour to do it still, believing I have got better at it. Consequently, despite the general direction its going in, this site cannot only be about Chess in Bedfordshire and nor will it be. It may become noted for that yes -in fact that’s been the case for years already even by established historians, archivists, and whoever else. External factors aside, this site is titled McCreadyandChess. I cannot, nor will I not, remove my own personal thoughts and experiences of chess from the posts of this site -especially if I think they are funny or original for they constitute my writing at its very, very best. In addition, the number of categories alone tells you that breadth of content is important to me. I am proud of my site, it is identity conferring and that is how it shall stay -end of story. All you really have are: ‘Some thoughts on the beautiful game’, which, incidentally, just happen to be my very own; nothing more, nothing less, take of it whatever you please… .
A side note on how to read old Tom Sweby's columns
Not perhaps, but quintessentially, Old Tom Sweby is best thought of as a passionate devotee to the newspapers he wrote for. He was well read and knowledgeable of the Bedfordshire chess scene and well beyond, given that he was the president of the S.C.C.U. once upon a time. He was generally well-respected and rubbed shoulders with many, if not all, of those eminent within British chess circles. It would, however, be a critical mistake to see his column is primary source material entirely. That it is not. You will also find secondary source material quoted too, and the reliability of that is not quite as Tom hoped. Given that he wrote for decades, this is to some degree inevitable, and after all we are all prone to error whether we realize it or not. Thankfully, with regards to old Tom Sweby, they are infrequent and for the most part old Tom continued to document events and developments in the Bedfordshire league from the get go as best he could but, of course, everything lies open to interpretation. Despite this, and generally speaking. this does indeed make him informative and thus worth reading. Dare I say his columns constitute a narrative describing the latest developments, match reports and changing nature of the Beds league...he knew his audience and wrote according. This manifested itself over decades but brevity was always in play courtesy of the restictions imposed by writing a column. Should you wish to read a in instrumental figure of the Beds' league post WW2, you are quite welcome to peruse what has been posted here... . :-) I should, however, point out that as the decades wore on he gradually moved on away from narratives concerning the Bedfordshire league towards affairs both historical and international. The reasons for this are multifarous, old age was a predominante factor presumably, however, the bottom line is with regards to how the Bedfordshire chess scene developed post WW2: old Tom Sweby is your go to guy. He wrote more about chess in Bedforshire than anyone else did but given he was a Lutonian and writing for a Luton newspaper there is both bias and greater coverage of his hometown than the rest of the county.
Gallery
I’m either 10 or 11 here
1982, myself versus Brian from Sunderland.
At the Thai Junior chess championships. My daughter of course.
Pattaya 2011
2011
Thai Junior Championships
2008
2011
Around 2011
2011
Pattaya 2009
2011
Kuwait 2008
2012
2012
2011 BKK Chess club
2011
2011 Thai Open
2011 Thai Open
2013 approx
Around 2014
2010
2012
Around 2011
2011
2011
2013
Around 2011
Around 2011
2020
2011
2008
2011
2013 or thereabouts
2010
2017
2014?
2010
2024
2024
2024
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