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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

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.

John Foley, president of Kingston Chess Club, was named Chess Educator of the Year for 2026 by the World Chess Federation.

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

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

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

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...

Left to right: Connor Clarke (Oxford captain), Henry McWatters (RAC), Remy Rushbrooke (Cambridge captain)

Teams and guests at the 144th Varsity Chess Match, hosted by the RAC, Pall Mall, 7 March 2026

Oxford University team at the 144th Varsity Chess Match, hosted by the RAC, Pall Mall, 7 March 2026

Cambridge University team at the 144th Varsity Chess Match, hosted by the RAC, Pall Mall, 7 March 2026

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

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...

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

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...

Sir George Thomas (1881-1972), playing at the Margate tournament, 1936. Colourised by John Saunders.

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

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.

Reserve board between Baptiste Alloui-Cros (Oxford University) and Lukasz Domanski (Cambridge University), Varsity chess match, 8 March 2025, RAC Clubhouse, Pall Mall, London

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Now that's what I call Freestyle Chess.

A young player at the 1963 British Chess Championship was drenched with rain on his way to the tournament. Rather than play in wet trousers, he took them off and left them to dry, wrapped himself in a towel and went into the tournament and played his game. Three hours later he put them back on again.

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

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...

1992 Oakham Young Masters chess tournament crosstable, including Shirov, Kramnik, Adams, Svidler, etc

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

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...

Crosstable of the 1991/92 Hastings Challengers

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

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 Mayor of Cambridge, Stewart Todd Bull (1900-1970), makes the first move for Bertram Goulding Brown (1881-1965), watched by club president Horace Bernard Coulson (1907-1979) (photo Cambridge Daily News, 7 April 1954) The occasion was a telephone match between the Cambridge City and Oxford City clubs, won by Cambridge 5-3.

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

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.

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John Saunders @johnchess.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

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?