Richard James

The local membership secretary of the political party to which I belong is Mike Hunt.

Zula Bybee Boomer (mother of Dick Boomer Ward): US Birth Certificate.

@actualnames.bsky.social

Dick Boomer Ward (my 5th cousin). US Birth Record

@actualnames.bsky.social

‘Almost unheard of’: experts find more music by English composer Henry Purcell Printed score and keyboard manuscript by Purcell, who died in 1695, unearthed in Worcestershire and Norfolk

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

Jack Crapp: cricketer

A Game from Mike Healey Healey,Mike – Kiremitciyanar,Ari [B23] Hammersmith v Richmond A B1, 02.10.2025 First game of the season and the first in Gavin’s place as board one. 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6!? 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 Bb7…

rtchessclub.com/2025/10/07/a...

Mike Healey has annotated this wildly entertaining game he played on top board in last week's Thames Valley League match against Hammersmith.

Minor Pieces 92: Charles and Charles Frederick Chapman I’ve written in the past how, back in the 1930s, chess was used in a variety of ways to help those with a range of disadvantages. We visited the Royal Star and Garter Home for Disabled Ex-Ser…

minorpieces.uk/2025/10/06/m...

Charles Frederick Chapman, who promoted chess in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight and in many places along the South Coast, shouldn't be confused with Sevenoaks and Kent stalwart, estate agent and scoutmaster Charles Chapman.

Chess: World No 2 Nakamura tosses checkmated king into audience Puzzle: find White’s win in a boardful of pieces

www.ft.com/content/0472...

"...Nakamura seized his opponent’s checkmated king, stood up and hurled it into the cheering audience, who were encouraged to be noisy.."

Such behaviour isn't encouraged at Twickenham Library Children's Chess Club.

Today would have been my father's 106th birthday.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (360) I’ve always believed that achieving true mastery is about learning to do simple things well, rather than trying to do complicated things badly. Here’s a very simple position for you to …

rtchessclub.com/2025/10/06/c...

True mastery is about doing simple things well, so here's a simple puzzle for you to solve.

Simona Orel Music, chess player
@actualnames.bsky.social

4 years ago today I stumbled across the greatest tv listing ever written

‘Chess Messi’ Faustino Oro achieves grandmaster norm and 2500 rating at just 11 The Argentinian looks set to break the record for the youngest GM after winning the Legends and Prodigies tournament in Madrid

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...

2025-26 Results Bulletin (2) We had four Thames Valley League teams in action this week, with two wins and two defeats to report. Our B team opened their Division 2 campaign away to Hounslow A. An excellent start to the season…

rtchessclub.com/2025/10/03/2...

Our Thames Valley A and B teams played their first matches of the season this week, losing and winning respectively, while our D team scored a revenge victory against our C team.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (359): Solution Monday’s position was taken from Tarrasch – Gunsberg (Frankfurt 1887). It’s obvious to start with 28. Ra6, when Black can neither capture the rook nor defend a7 directly. So you h…

rtchessclub.com/2025/10/03/c...

Did you analyse Monday's position correctly?

Barden Tower

Barden Tower https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-atkinson-grimshaw/barden-tower

‘I’ve never driven a car. I can’t cook. I’m a lost cause’: meet Australia’s top quizzers They study for hours a day. The competitions have zero prize money. So what keeps quiz champions going for glory – and how do they win?

www.theguardian.com/games/2025/s...

“It takes one to know one, but quizzing is fairly [popular] in neurodivergent demographics as well – a lot of quizzers have conditions like autism or ADHD. And there’s lots of introverts.”

"I've never driven a car. I can't cook."

Sounds very much like chess.

www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra...

Just discovered my Napoleon Bonaparte number is 7. (If you're NB it's 0, if you played chess against him it's 1, if you played an NB1 it's 2, and so on. And my Tolstoy number is (at most) 5.

YouTube video by Rediscovering Lost Railways The Waverley Route: Rise, Fall & Return

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBTQ...

An advert from 1928:

Autism should not be seen as single condition with one cause, say scientists Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study finds

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

#ChessTuesday insight: Krogius reminds us it’s far more valuable to reflect on our own play than to just study the board and others 🧠♟️ 1976. #ChessPsychology from the @englishchess.bsky.social Library. @richardjameschess.bsky.social ecfchess Library. #chesshistory #chessliterature #garylanechess

A great win for our B team in our first Thames Valley League Division 2 match of the season.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (359) Here’s a position for you to analyse and assess. You’ll need to look 11 moves ahead to reach a conclusion – are you up to it?

rtchessclub.com/2025/09/29/c...

Here's a position for you to analyse and assess.

Have fun!

Lajos Portisch. Some Games and Pictures Good afternoon everyone. Last time round the comments centred on Lajos Portisch, rather than the original subject matter! I said that I would post something to show what a fine player he was. Doing th...

www.chess.com/blog/simagin...

Educating Yorkshire - Series 2 Episode 4 Can the school give Lewis the support he needs and keep Jacob from Year 8 on track?

www.channel4.com/programmes/e...

In this episode of Educating Yorkshire Series 2 autistic teen Lewis, who finds it hard to talk to other people, finds his voice through joining a chess club.

It worked for me as well, 60 years ago. This is why we must promote chess for older children.

Walter Augustus de Havilland (31 August 1872 – 20 May 1968) was one of the first Westerners to play the ancient Chinese game Go at a high level, and was also the chess champion of Yokohama. He was the father of film stars Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (358): Solution On Monday I left Ted and Alice trying to work out how Bob and Carol reached this position after 7 moves. Here is the solution. e4 Nf6 2. Qh5 Nxe4 3. Qxh7 Nc3 4. Qh5 Nxa2 5. Qd1 Nxc1 6. Qxc1 Rxh2 7.…

rtchessclub.com/2025/09/26/c...

Did you find the solution to Monday's Proof Game problem?

Click here to find out.