Last time, I introduced you to Edward Wallis, a Quaker chess player, problemist, writer and organiser from the Yorkshire seaside resort of Scarborough. I gave you the chance to read his book 777 Chess Miniatures in Three, for which A Neave Brayshaw BA LLB provided hints for solvers. Who, I wondered, was A Neave Brayshaw? It transpires his story is rather interesting. Like Edward Wallis he was a Scarborough Quaker, but, much more than that, he was also one of the best known Quakers of his time. Alfred Neave Brayshaw was born on 26 December 1861, the first child of Alfred Brayshaw, a Manchester ..read more

From the publisher: “Genna Sosonko is widely acclaimed as the most prominent chronicler of a unique era in chess history. In the Soviet Union chess was developed into an ideological weapon that was actively promoted by the country’s leadership during the Cold War. Starting with Mikhail Botvinnik, their best chess players grew into symbols of socialist excellence. Sosonko writes from a privileged dual perspective, combining an insider’s nostalgia with the detachment of a critical observer. He grew up with legendary champions such as Mikhail Tal and Viktor Korchnoi and spent countless hours wit ..read more

Last time we visited the Yorkshire seaside resort of Scarborough in the company of Francis Joseph Lee, just a few weeks before his untimely death. Congresses like the British Championships only take place if there’s someone there to organise them, and, as it happened the prime mover of this one was someone who was mentioned in a different context just a few Minor Pieces ago. Northern Whig 14 January 1909The Sheffield Daily Telegraph 08 July 1909Falkirk Herald 11 August 1909 Lowestoft Journal 04 September 1909 Didn’t Edward Wallis do well? He had a long involvement with the game of chess, and ..read more

From the Publisher, Thinkers Publishing: DragonMasters volume 1 charts the history of the most exciting and dangerous opening known to chess – the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense. Unlike almost all other books on the Dragon, the focus is not purely on theoretical development. Instead, the author has combined the most historically important games, the famous players who chose to fight either side (sometimes both sides!) of the opening, and the most unexpected and interesting stories featuring the Dragon. World Champions, contenders of the crown, code-breakers, revolutionaries in every ..read more

Last time we left London chess professional Francis Joseph Lee as the calendar turned from 1899 into 1900. He was finally selected for the Anglo-American Cable Match that year, being assigned to Board 2 where he took the white pieces against one of his London 1899 opponents, Jackson Whipps Showalter. Standing worse much of the way he managed to escape into a somewhat fortunate draw. This was the critical position, with Black to play his 45th move. You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization. Stockfish tells me Black is winning easily if he goes after the h-pawn, but, i ..read more

If you read anything about chess from the late 1880s through to 1909 you’ll often come across the name of FJ (Francis Joseph) Lee, a regular competitor in both national and international events during that period. He played pretty consistently at about 2350 strength, finishing below the genuine masters, but above the amateurs. Yet he had wins against the likes of Steinitz, Pillsbury, Chigorin, Blackburne, Mason and Atkins to his credit. Here he is, pictured, I think, in 1893. A decent player, to be sure, but I’ve seen very little written about him. As he might have used my friend Alastair Ar ..read more

From the Batsford web site: Lessons, motivation and coaching to make you a better chess player. In an ideal world, any aspiring chess player, at almost any level, would get better with a coach. If that’s not possible, having chess champion coach Thomas Engqvist’s book at your side is the next best thing. In his series of lessons, Engqvist guides you through not only the most important elements of chess to master but also the psychology, how to marry knowledge with imagination, and how to stay motivated. Suitable for older children through to adults, the lessons are drawn from chess games thro ..read more

Let me take you back 125 years, to the great London International Chess Tournament of 1899. Most of the world’s strongest players were there: the first two World Champions, Steinitz and Lasker, Pillsbury and Chigorin, Maroczy and Schlechter, Janowski and Blackburne. Here’s the cross-table. There was also a second section, won by Marshall, ahead of the likes of Marco and Mieses, along with some local amateurs. Two brilliancy prizes were awarded: to Lasker for his win against Steinitz and to Blackburne for his win against Lasker. Here they are: click on any move for a pop-up window. You must a ..read more

From the publishers’ blurb: “This is what’s new in this edition: More accurate and more extensive annotations, computer-assisted. Every game has been examined under Stockfish 14, probably the best analytical engine available for home computers at this time. For the first edition we had only Fritz 4 and 5, which compare to Stockfish like a Model T Ford to a Ferrari, and many games were given no computer examination at all. Thus owners of the first edition will find most annotations here substantially different (and substantially better). However, many general assessments and heuristic notes pr ..read more

Are you rated below 1500? Do you have friends who are rated below 1500? Are any members of your chess club rated below 1500? Do you have any students rated  below 1500? If so, you’ll really want to take a look at my Chess Heroes books: a unique series of volumes taking players from learning the basics through to club standard and beyond. There’s nothing else like these books on the market. They’re based on 50 years experience teaching chess, using my private RJCC database of almost 17000 games played at this level. Every word and every position is there for a reason. No gimmicks. No shor ..read more