John Saunders

A new idea in the English Opening - the #Brexit variation #chess

Congratulations to John Foley, president of Kingston Chess Club , who has been named Chess Educator of the Year for 2026 by the World Chess Federation. A second memento from Samarkand was the stylish Uzbek hat.

The celebrated Italian Renaissance artist Sofonisba Anguissola (c1532-1625) painted her three sisters playing chess, circa 1555. Absolutely exquisite.

The 144th Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge universities, held at the RAC, Pall Mall, on 7 March, ended in a 4-4 draw. Results, games, report, photos at the BritBase website: www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn...

A PGN file with 975 of Tony Miles's games up to the end of 1979 has been posted on BritBase... www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn... The new material consists mostly of games he played in weekenders which have been digitised and contributed by IM Geoff Lawton, for which many thanks.

Danny Gormally won the UK Blitz Championship and Bodhana Sivanandan won the UK Women's Blitz Championship in Leamngton on 22 November. All the games and information on BritBase: www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn...

Mary Rudge won first prize at the first women's international chess tournament in London in 1897. Her prize was £60... which is the equivalent of £6,756 in 2025. More about the tournament here: www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn...

New at BritBase: a collection of 1,209 games played by Sir George Thomas - even allowing for the inclusion of 164 stubs, that makes it the largest collection of his games available to date. saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn...

The Varsity chess match dates back to 1873 and this shot from the 2025 match captures some of the Victorian elegance of a century and a half ago. The Polish player (right) would be my nomination for the best dressed player, closely followed by his French adversary.

Now that's what I call Freestyle Chess.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

Billed at the time as the strongest young player's (under-22) chess tournament of all time, the line-up for the 1992 Oakham Young Masters International still looks very impressive: not just lots of famous GMs but even a Nobel prize-winner. www.saund.org.uk/bri.../pgn/1...

The 1991/92 Hastings Challengers was a triumph for the late IM Colin Crouch who surpassed the GM norm by a clear point. Also recording a GM result was Matthew Sadler. Games and details at BritBase: www.saund.org.uk/britbase/pgn...

Enjoyed listening to Malcolm Pein being interviewed by Ben Johnson on Perpetual Chess podcast... open.spotify.com/episode/1xZ3...

The Mayor of Cambridge makes the first move for Bertram Goulding Brown (1881-1965), watched by club president Horace Bernard Coulson (1907-1979), in a telephone match on 6 April 1954 between the Cambridge City and Oxford City clubs, won by Cambridge 5-3. Photo Cambridge Daily News, 7 April 1954

The Guardian's 95-year-old chess columnist Leonard Barden today drew attention to Firouzja's opening error which he himself had refuted in a British Championship game in 1950.

XTX Markets London Chess Classic winner Gawain Jones played the spectacular 1 Bxg7 in this position. How did Table 17, including Supratit Banerjee and Bodhana Sivanandan, reply?

World number one Magnus Carlsen was guest of honour at the XTX Markets London Chess Classic prizegiving dinner last night.

Two of the more unusual photos I've taken at a chess tournament: Arsenal FC's Emirates Stadium after dark #arsenalfc #londonchessclassic #xtxmarkets

Do you want to see three chess brevities perpetrated by the Resigning Rector of Beckbury? Of course you do... johnchess.blogspot.com/2024/11/to-r...

www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/n...

richard915.substack.com/p/introduction If you're interested in chess, or childhood, or would just like to know more about my life and views on junior chess, you'll want to subscribe to my Substack. It is, and always will be, totally free.

To sort or not to sort (your ChessBase database) - that is the question. And, if you do, how to do it. Read my Chessbase tutorial here... johnchess.blogspot.com/2024/11/usin...

A cold but sunny morning in Richmond Park: snapped these three birds of prey: Tawny Owl, Kestrel and Little Owl.

Mike Healey puts both rooks en prise and wins. Don't try this at home, children. kingstonchess.com/mike-healey-...

An entertaining game from the 1938 Surrey Chess Championship between FW Allen and Dr. M Benger (Black)... lichess1.org/game/export/...

Loved this chat about the Hastings Chess Congress between GMs Daniel King and Stuart Conquest... www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0W-...

In my happy place: birdwatching in Richmond Park #Richmondpark