Player photos & profiles

Photos © Cathy Rogers

More photos will be added soon

British Championship

GM Nick Pert		GM Stuart Conquest		GM Gawain Jones
GM Bodgan Lalic		GM Mark Hebden		GM Glenn Flear
GM Danny Gormally		GM Stewart Haslinger © SC		GM Simon Williams
GM Nigel Davies		IM Richard Pert		IM Keti Arakhamia-Grant
IM Jovanka Houska		IM Thomas Rendle		IM Susan Lalic
IM Stephen Gordon © SC		IM Jeff Horner © SC		IM Andrew Greet © SC
FM Jack Rudd © SC		FM David James		WFM Meri Grigoryan-Lyell © SC
Stephen Ledger © SC		Don Mason © SC		Gary Quillan © SC
Dale James		Martyn Goodger		Michael Yeo

British Seniors Championship

 

CM David Anderton co-British Senior Champion		FM John Littlewood © SC

Other Competitors

WFM Alexandra Wilson © SC Major Open		Sheila Dines © SC British U16's		Martin Brown © SC 5 Day Open Week 2
David Tebb © SC Major Open		Prof. David Robertson © SC Major Open

More photos will be added soon

LEADING ENTRANTS TO THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP by Stewart Reuben

(rankings refer to a player's position on the July 1st FIDE list for England)

Gawain Jones 2549gm, ranked 5 in the FIDE List for England, grade 238. Gawain first took a gap year to further his chess career. This has now extended into its third year. He currently lives in Northern Ireland and out of a suitcase. A gentle giant, who should reach 2600 in the next couple of years. In the autumn he reaches 21 and will thus then no longer be eligible for John Robinson Trust support.

Nicholas Pert 2547gm, ranked 6, grade 236. He won the World Under 18 Championship in 1998. He and his twin brother were both initially coached by Kevin O’Connell. They also had chess scholarships at Oakham School. England would do well in a World Teams Team Championship; the Eggleston and Eckersely-Waites twins are also strong players. Nick recently decided to stop being a professional player.

Stuart Conquest 2536gm, ranked 8, 238. He won the World Under 17 Championship in 1981; it was only later that FIDE standardised their age group championships to two year intervals. Stuart’s gap year has extended into a lifetime. He has lived in Spain for some years and also speaks French well. Stylistically he can be a bit of a mad machine-gunner (a term actually invented for William Watson by Boris Spassky).

Bogdan Lalic CRO 2533gm, would be ranked 9, 231. Bogdan settled in England and married Susan. They are now divorced, but their son Peter is playing in the Major Open. Bogdan lives substantially out of a suitcase, but has retained a residence in Sutton. He returned his registration to Croatia after the Yugoslav problems were more-or-less resolved. He is a great theoretician, but unfortunately too prone to draws for his rating to reflect his understanding of the game.

Mark Hebden 2520gm, ranked 11, 239. Mark has been a professional player for many years; he now also does coaching. I have not done the research, but he has probably played in more British Championships than any other player. At their best, his games show a pure, classical, seemingly effortless style. He and Keith Arkell should publish a book of their 100 best games.

Stewart Haslinger 2511gm, ranked 13, 232. Stewart’s poor health has meant that it is only recently that he has begun to travel outside the UK. He set the Championship alight in 2002 when he exceeded the IM norm by 3 points and secured his first GM norm. This sudden leap forward was occasioned by his studying chess for three months while bed-ridden. He is part of a big chess-playing family supported by both parents; his best-known sibling Cathy won all the British Girls championship available to her. He lives in Formby and is thus the strongest local lad.

Stephen Gordon 2508m, ranked 14, 239. Current English Champion. Our first non-GM; let us hope he secures the final norm in Liverpool. He has combined studying for his degree with his chess career. Later this year he expects to get a job. Together with David Howell (who will be representing us in the World Junior) he is one of a group of young English players of whom we have every reason to be proud.

Keith Arkell 2506gm, ranked 15, 228. Keith gave up playing serious chess for some years, but has now returned to the game. He loves to play long endgames, seemingly drawn and seemingly boring. But, hey whatever gets the job done! Perhaps he has always been too pragmatic a player to completely fulfil his potential.

Daniel Gormally 2504gm, ranked 16, 233. Danny has now been a professional player for some years. He is also a perceptive writer, see his work for the BCM. As with many of our players he finds earning a living as a player precarious. Yet few would be surprised were he to win this extremely open championship.

Simon Williams 2496gm, ranked 17, 232. Simon found it hard to complete the requirements for the GM title. On his day he can beat anybody, but his aggressive style sometimes rebounds on him.

Glenn Flear 2493gm, ranked 18, 229. Glenn has lived in France for many years with his chessplaying wife Christine and their two sons. He has a professional, pragmatic approach to the game. His best result remains winning the GLC Kings in 1986 ahead of 13 very highly rated GMs, gaining his first GM norm. He even found time to get married during that event.

Nigel Davies 2478gm, ranked 22, 228. Nigel also lives relatively nearby, in Southport. He is nowadays more of a writer and coach than player. “It's amazing how bad much published analysis is; you discover this when you check it, especially with Fritz running in the background. And once a mistake has been made it is usually copied uncritically by other authors...”

Lawrence Trent 2470m, ranked 24, 226. Lawrence has only just finished his degree and intends to concentrate on chess for a bit. If you consider an IM title as being roughly equivalent to a Ph.D, then the achievements of these players is staggering.

Richard Pert 2468m, ranked 25, 228. I did think of swapping his photo for Nick’s on the website, but they wouldn’t have forgiven me. The brothers have always fiercely protected their quite separate identities. Richard recently became a father. He has never played professionally and now works in the finance industry with IM Ali Mortazavi. He holds one GM norm.

Andrew Greet 2453, ranked 28, 226. Andrew made a sudden break-through as a player. He combines coaching with playing. Whether he can make the breakthrough to GM remains to be seen.

Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant 2448m SCO. Ketevan originally came from Georgia where women’s chess has flourished ever since Gaprindashvili became Women’s World Champion. She only recently changed her affiliation to Scotland. She is a UK citizen and has lived for many years in Edinburgh with her husband Jonathan Grant, who is often Scottish captain. She has now won the British Ladies Championship the last four times she has taken part. She holds two GM norms and has come close to winning the Championship.

Andrew Ledger 2423m, ranked 33, 217. Dave and Steve are his two brothers. He holds two GM norms, but has never found the time to concentrate on chess and complete the required schedule.

Jovanka Houska 2405m, ranked 40, 214. Jovanka is part of a chessplaying family, her brother is an IM, although no longer active. She plays professionally and her long-term partner Norwegian Arne Hagesaether is also a player.

Graeme Buckley 2401m, ranked 42, 216. Graeme is married to Susan Lalic and they have twins. He is a professional chess coach and holds one GM norm.

Jeff Horner 2372m, ranked 51, 220. Jeff gained his required FIDE Rating in the 1970s, two of his norms in the 1980s and the final one last year. What a saga; FIDE are entitled to feel proud that they managed to ratify such a complex claim. He was a schoolteacher and has never played professionally, but has been a much-respected player for over 30 years.

David Eggleston 2372fm, ranked 51, 204. David made considerable strides during his gap year as a player and his twin Thomas who went straight to university has fallen behind. Whether David will be able to make much progress as a fulltime student remains to be seen. Both were coached by Norman Stephenson.

Thomas Rendle 2363m, ranked 55, 217. I first met Thomas when he was six in Hastings, which is where he lived. He was quite a different character from his twin when they were very young. Thomas’s immersion in the chess world meant he was much more confident around adults. He is now a professional coach and player.

Jack Rudd 2345fm, ranked 62, 218. You are unlikely ever to use less time on the clock than Jack. He also does a great deal of work inputting games for the bulletin and often also runs a rapidplay.

Susan Lalic 2344m, ranked 63, 199. It is surprising that Susan is able to maintain her standard as a player with two baby twins. She is also a coach primarily in schools.

Gary Quillan 2339, ranked 67, 212. Gary is a local player. He has all the norms he needs for the IM title, but has never managed to get his rating up to 2400. He is too busy running his own companies.

Francis Rayner 2207 WLS. Francis lives in Hastings and is an accomplished professional concert pianist.

Adrian Elwin 2022, 158. Adrian deserves a special mention. He is a member of the same 4NCL team as me, but normally he is a member of the Control Team at this event, as an arbiter. Clearly chess administration does not necessarily addle your brain.