Chess Pages of Mike Donnelly

12. NEW AND SECOND- HAND CHESS BOOKS Tony Peterson. Specialist in rare and second-hand chess books and magazines. Very large stock. Contact details.

IM Sergey Bystrov. Specialist in a wide range of Russian books plus some non-Russian books. Now offering a greater range. Contact details.

Hello!

I little bit about myself: I live in the historic town of Kenilworth (close to the medieval castle) in Warwickshire, England. I have just retired (this time certainly!), after several years as a Scientific/Technical and Regulatory Advisor, from full time work as a Technical Manager at a biotechnology company that manufactures hydrogels for wound-care, monitoring electrodes, and cosmetic applications. Previously I was a research scientist working in a diverse number of scientific areas (science publications, committees, science journal refereeing etc). In my spare time I enjoy chess, the history and culture of the Ancient Greeks and their Modern counterparts, various types of music, and until recently Wing Tsun Martial Art (achieving grade 11).

Over a decade ago I shifted from playing over-the-board (o.t.b) chess as well as correspondence chess to playing only correspondence chess (peak average rating 2492, final average rating of 2454 (ICCF rating history 1993-2018). In 2016 I returned to some relatively regular o.t.b chess in local leagues currently playing at about 1900-2000 elo (a somewhat reduced level from that of a decade or more ago (approximately 2100 elo) and also from my highest many years ago of about 2275 (grading history). After some 25 years of playing National and International level Correspondence Chess I completed my last few games at the end of 2018, annotated these games in detail for presentation in correspondence magazines in early to mid-2019, and now just play o.t.b chess.

I will attempt to offer a wide range of chess material on this site including game and opening based articles, games for downloading from famous players I have known or competed against, chess problems and some current and past results. This will include both o.t.b and correspondence play. A major part of the web site is the presentation of annotated games in the "Monthly Articles" section of the site. Often these include annotations by players other than myself.

In addition to more advanced articles, I will also occasionally provide articles for beginners to mid-club strength of player also on a very wide range of chess topics.

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MONTHLY ARTICLES SUMMARIES (section 1 of web site) *

This month a new series is commenced entitled “Chess at the Seaside”. These articles feature some noteworthy, selected games from chess tournaments held in English seaside towns. Well known, of course, is the famous, and long running, Hastings events in the south of England. However, back in the late 1940s and 1950s-1970s much of the chess available for players, ranging from the few strong players in the UK to the much more common club and county standard players, was only to be had by attending one of the events held at various seaside towns. This enabled players not only to play chess but they and their family members to enjoy a holiday.

Of note is the regular Chess Festivals organised by B.H.Wood, the founder of the magazine CHESS, which were often held in the Northern resort of Whitby. At the time, these and other similar events, were really the only events available where players could face UK players, as well as players from abroad, whose strength could range from near beginner to strong player, or even up to IM or GM titled players.

Whilst much valuable experience was gained by entering these events it was essentially a typical British Amateur approach. It took the likes of B.H.Wood, Bob Wade and Harry Golombek, amongst others, to begin to professionalise chess in the UK and eventually lead to the English Chess Explosion and produce Grandmasters such as Miles, Nunn, Speelman and Short.

The first in this series features Southend 1949 in which internationally famous players such as Rossolimo, Pachman and Tartakower faced less well known players. Whilst naturally these three legends finished in the top 3 places a number of English amateurs followed not to far behind in the score table. In fact, in the two encounters selected neither Pachman nor Rossolimo had straightforward wins.

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All material for downloading from this site is zipped. Use WinZip, or similar, to extract. Monthly articles are in .pgn format (from May 2000, previously in .txt format) whilst games for downloading are in .pgn format (or .cbv occasionally).

Contributions (preferably one or two annotated games), suggestions for articles and comments to improve this site are welcome: mail me!

	SCCA Magazine
	The SCCA magazine is published quarterly and consists of 24xA4 pages packed with correspondence chess news, articles, reviews and games.
	SCCA members receive the magazine as part of their annual subscription (£8). This entitles them to download pdf files (the e-mags) from a secure area of the SCCA website.
	If you prefer to receive a printed copy of the magazine, an extra £5 per annum covers print costs and UK postage and you get the four issues mailed directly to you.
	The SCCA magazine is unbeatable value! You can try a complimentary copy by contacting the membership secretary.

NEWS AND NOTICES *

Kenilworth Chess Club (KCC) Individuals and Teams (June 24).

1. Kenilworth A team, winner of the strong Leamington and District League Division 1 as well as the Open Teams KO Cup, are gearing up to hold the Kenilworth Club Championship over the summer months. As the Kenilworth B team finished third in Division 1, and only by points difference to the very strong Warwick University A team in second place, the Championship looks set to be highly competitive.

Fuller details on the above events and updates of KCC matters can be found at kenilworthchess.blogspot.com

2. Ben Graff has resumed his articles in the famous magazine CHESS. He describes the thrill of playing in the Menorca Open in close proximity to Gukesh, and meeting and interviewing Anna Cramling and Daniel Fernandez. Incidentally Ben recaptures the “trophy” for the club player with the most photographic appearances in this magazine.

This, as well as many other interesting articles by Ben, can be obtained in either paper or pdf format from chess.co.uk.

After 18 years at their high-profile Baker Steet Shop in London, there is still no news of the new location for Chess and Bridge (the publisher of CHESS). The date of re-opening has moved from April/May to June and now to July 2026.

3. International Master Richard Palliser, who also edits CHESS and has produced numerous excellent opening books, gave a very instructive talk before taking on around 30 players in a simultaneous display at the venue of Kenilworth Chess Club. Each opponent was provided with a signed copy of his new book “Unlock your Chess Creativity” and there were many other prizes such as a St. Louis Chess Club tee-shirt, Chessbase software items, and a signed copy of a Judith Polgar book. The event was opened, with an inspiring talk from Kenilworth’s new Mayor Councillor Allison Insley.

Local Players (June 24).

(a) Carl Portman who helped instigate the Richard Palliser simultaneous display presents a very competitive game in his latest “Never Mind the Grandmaster” column in CHESS. This is a Kings Indian Defence game played in the recent UKAFCA championship at Shrivenham.

(b) Digital copies of the magazine “Rabbits Review” are now available to be downloaded on the Michael Basman Legacy web site (http://michael-basman-legacy.github.io). IM Basman was well known, if not somewhat notorious, for proving moves such as 1…h6 and 1…g5 were in fact playable even against strong opponents. The magazines contain a wealth of useful and interesting material for players of beginner to mid-club strength covering a very wide range of chess topics by numerous different writers, including myself.

The legacy web site has now been updated to also includes editions 2-5 and 8-14 of the magazine “Popular Chess”.

The event is close to completion with only one game left to finish. CCM K. E. Jones wins with 9.5 points and second is CCM S. Hooker on 9 points both players securing an SIM (Senior International Master) norm-in the latter case another norm and hence SIM title has been obtained and confirmed by the ICCF. Untitled M. Bowley, CCM M. Schirmer, CCM J. Smith, CCE R.C. Rosales, and CCM R. Rozanski, in equal third all scored 8.5 points and an IM norm.

The remaining game does not impact the top scorers and is CCM Graham versus LGM Williamson. Both have 7 points hence are fighting for seventh place.

Keith Escott was the Captain of the Warwickshire Correspondence chess team which won the prestigious Ward-Higgs event several times, editor of the famous magazine CHESS and did much for both otb and correspondence chess locally and nationally. It is pleasing that this Memorial, contrary to many other recent events, had a number of decisive games and that several players have achieved title norms.

(d) Peter Gibbs Memorial Correspondence Events (June 24update on May entry)

Some details of Peter’s enormous impact on both over-the-board and Correspondence Chess are detailed in the Recent Archive section of this web site (Section 2-article for August-September 2023 inclusive of two annotated games).

The English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC) has under the auspices of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) organised two 15 player events in memory of Peter. These started on May 1^st2024, and features players from a wide range of countries and included nine Correspondence Chess Experts.

All games have now been completed with Quirk winning the last game against Illingworth hence moving up to third place in section B.

Section A- CCM P. Campani wins with the excellent score of 10/14 including many wins and no losses. CCE T. Spanton finishes second on 9.5.

Section B- H. Lopez is confirmed as winner with a score of 9.5/14 and J. Hall as runner-up on 9 points. M. Quirk and J. M. Verneulen finish in third equal on 8.5 points.

International Correspondence Chess Federation (June 24 update on May entry).

(a) England’s 1^st Computer- less event has been won with a clean score by CCE B. J. Herriott.

(b) It is pleasing to report that long time correspondence chess enthusiasts Stan J. Grayland and Michael J. Blake, both great workers on behalf of this form of chess, have both been awarded the title of International Master by the ICCF.

British Chess Problem Society (BCPS) (June 24 update on May entry)

The BCPS has once again efficiently organised the Winton British Chess Problem Solving Championship. The final of the 2025-26 event held in Harrow School was narrowly won by GM John Nunn over previous winner David Hodge. The event was decided only by the final problem!

The starter problem for the 2026-27 event has just been published on the BCPS web site, and the solution must be returned before the end of July.

The Society has also organised a Memorial tournament for IM Barry Barnes who edited the Problemist magazine for an impressive 38 years. Entrants need to compose a Direct mate in 2 moves a field of composition which was a forte of Barry for many years and for which he won many prizes.

The web site of the Problemist continues to be updated and now back issues of the magazine, even up until quite recently, can be viewed online as well as increasing numbers of past awards problems.

It is interesting to note that very strong o.t.b player Les Blackstock is also involved in Chess Problems and has just produced a Problemist Supplement Index for issues 161-200 of the magazine.

English Federation for Correspondence Chess (June 24 update on May entry).

(a) The EFCC has called for an EGM to administer essential changes to the EFCC Constitution.

(b) The EFCC is preparing to set up a Memorial Event for Correspondence Chess International Master Andrew Dearnley likely to commence latter this year. Andrew did a huge amount for this form of chess but sadly passed away at a relatively young age. More details will follow on this web site when available.

Next main update due earlier than usual on or about July 25 2026.

(minor updates may occur during each month)