Can you remember your first game of your first full season? I can, although admittedly some details remain rather sketchy.
I played for Luton C, possibly Luton D, and it was away to Leighton Buzzard in late September 1988 when they played at Cedars School in Linslade. I went in the car with Peter Whone and Gary Aimes, perhaps one other too. On board 1, Peter played Kevin Williamson who was rated 142 at the time and beat him quite quickly, much to his surprise and delight. I played old Henry (Bill) Charlotte. I was white, he played the French, I went for the advance variation. It was the first time I faced the French and I hadn’t even been playing for one year and didn’t know what to do. He played an early Qb6 and piled on the pressure on my d-pawn. He also generated pressure down the c-file and I lost. My handwriting wasn’t very good and I had some difficulty writing down the moves. On the way home I told Gary I had lost and he said ‘anyone can lose to Bill’.
I have nothing but positive memories of old Bill. He always had a pipe and was always playing about with it. Sometimes it seemed like he was concentrating more on that than his game! I used to see him at county matches all the time. He always dressed 60’s style and was a jolly old fellow. He liked his chess and his mannerisms made me smile. I have two pictures here of Henry (Bill). He’s not forgotten.
McCreadyandChess 