AApril 12 1961
The Birmingham Post, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, Wednesday, April 12, 1961
Chess Notes: An Age Range of 84 Years!
By B. H. Wood
BOGNOR REGIS Congress has attracted the record number of 387 entrants in this, its ninth year.
The oldest entrant of all is a Midlander, 92-year-old G. A. Peck of Rugby. The youngest is eight-year-old Linda Bott, of Streatham, daughter of a school teacher, a strong but not first-class chess player himself who has written two best-selling books on chess for children.
For the international tournament, held in memory of the late R. H. S. Stevenson, last year's co-winners Alberic O'Kelly de Galway (Belgium) and Klaus Darga, from Berlin, have re-entered. Two other Bognor Regis competitors of many years ago are back; another Berliner, H. Lehmann and E. Martinowski, from Yugoslavia.
I. Branicki, a Polish emigre living in Amsterdam, and K. Grivainis complete the list of foreign entrants. Grivainis, a pleasant-spoken Latvian, established himself, soon after arriving in South Africa a few years ago, as one of the strongest players in the country; but in view of the political situation there, he has decided to start a new life, for the third time, here in England. He is an engineer so may yet join chess circles in Birmingham.
Midland Competitors
Whereas the foreign contingent is thus a shade weaker than in previous years, the home contingent is unusually strong.
P. S. Milner-Barry has emerged from his chrysalis of semi-retirement and won a beautiful game in 13 moves in round one.
Sutton Coldfield Chess Club has three representatives, O. M. Hindle, my son Christopher, and myself. Christopher has by the luck of the draw, had to take on K. M. Oliff, a former British boy champion; K. Darga (!) and Leonard Barden in the first four rounds. To score 1½ points from these three games and beat O. W. Wheeler in round four, was an auspicious first start in this event.
The old Birmingham Chess Club captain, H. G. T. Matchett, has wrecked promising games by terrible oversights. I glanced at the position he reached at one stage against R. E. James (Banstead) and registered it mentally as a certain win. Twenty minutes later I came back and it had become a certain loss!
The Birmingham Post, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, Wednesday, April 12, 1961
Belgian Ahead by Half-point
The first result from the top boards at Bognor Regis yesterday was a brilliant win by R. G. Wade, an international Master, formerly of New Zealand, who now lives at Ilford over 19-year-old Derek Thomson (Glasgow University).
Wade found a brilliant combination to win on the 29th move. This gives him five and a half points from seven games. Thomson has four and a half.
Earlier, P. S. Milner-Barry had resigned his sixth-round game against Count O'Kelly de Galway, the Belgian Grand Master. This took O'Kelly's score up to five and a half.
In the seventh round, however, Milner-Barry beat Christopher Wood after a keen struggle. The end game enabled him to win, after four and a half hours, on the 40th move.
Attack Sustained
Dr. H. Lehmann (West Germany) launched a vicious attack against James Howson (Romford) and won on the 36th move.
Milner-Barry and Lehmann now have five points each from seven games.
There is every prospect of a thrilling finish to the game between B. H. Wood and O'Kelly. At the adjournment Wood had a slight advantage. The game is to be resumed to-day.
Leading positions are: Five and a half points, O Kelly, with one adjourned game; Wade, Darga (one adjourned), P. S. Milner-Barry, D. E. Lloyd (London), 5; B. H. Wood (one adjourned). L. Barden (one adjourned), Thomson, R. A. Fuller (Ilford), R. W. Northage (Bath) and A. Mazitis (London), 4½.
