Australian Chess Problem History Part 2 – Post-1962 Bob Meadley

2015

Contents Chronological History of Australian Problems from 1962 3 The Sun-Herald Tourney 3 F. Hawes’ letter from Buckingham Palace 5; F. Hawes – Bio 6 T. Gallery 13; J.L. Beale and J. Kellner 14 Kellner’s Sunday Mirror Column 15 F. Ravenscroft – Obits 20 Chess in Australia Column 23 W. Whyatt – Obits 26 L. Mangalis – Obit 30 G. Stuart-Green – Bio 33 C. Fethers – Letter 36 B. Tomson – Obits 39 A. Goldstein – Obit 42 R. Bergmann – Obit 44 Australian Chess Problem Magazine 47 Australian Chess Forum Column 53 Australian Chess Column 54 Australasian Chess Column 58 D. Saunders – Obit; Update 59 Bernie Johnson 1918-1985 61 Some Memories of John Kellner 64 Photos and Scans W.A. Whyatt 66 A. Goldstein and wife Sophie 67 J.F. Schofield; A. Chicco 68 L. McCarthy; L. Mangalis 69 Problemists get-togethers 1979-83 70 Bernie Johnson with Chloe 1971 74 J. Wisker’s Grave Kew Melbourne; Arthur and Isobel Willmott 75 Denis Saunders and Barry Barnes 76; Denis Saunders Pastoral Scene 77 Ken Fraser and Bob Meadley; J. Wisker’s Grave 78 Problemists at Australian Open 2003 79 Tony Lewis and Denis Saunders 80; Brian Tomson 81 Reunion 1989 82; Reunion 1981 and 1982 83 Rurik Bergmann 84 The Problem Corner Column in CIA 1969-1992 85 Australian Chess Forum 134; Australasian Chess 137 Problemists get-together 2009 138 Mrs Amy Ellerington (Fred Hawes’ daughter) and Bob Meadley 138 Where are Problems Today – 2015? 139 Bob Meadley 1940- 140 A List of Problem Tournaments in Australia & New Zealand 144

Chronological History of Australian Problems from 1962 The 1961 Sun-Herald International Problem Tourney judging was published in the SunHerald 25 March 1962. The forsyth on the RHS in the Commended section can be zoomed out but that won’t help with No. 650 J. Haring’s problem as there is a typo in the third line which is QPlB. The remainder is on the line below:- klPl. Appropriate that the grand old man of chess problems Fred Hawes was a judge along with Frank Ravenscroft. Fred was 75 and Frank 80. This tournament was the best post war Australian problem tournament held including today. This judging award was given to me by Frank on one of my visits in the 1960s as he had been given extra copies by the Sun-Herald.

1963 – Death of Fred Hawes. Only recently in early 2009 Fred’s daughter Mrs Amy Ellerington sent me her father’s problem manuscript book which contains 166 of the 1000+ problems he composed over 1904-1963. There is a letter from Buckingham Palace thanking Fred for the ‘Durbar” or Royal problem composed with Frank Ravenscroft to honour Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Australia.

Fred dedicated his collection to his family and friends and invited us to open the book occasionally and at random for the purpose of solving a problem or two… Fred was sure that the time he had spent with the Chess Problem Art had taught him caution, circumspection, patience and purpose, foresight and decision and if one gave it a trial one shall have the pleasure of sharing joys with others. The book is a spring-back folder with the problems all stamped out with board and piece stamps in red and green colours. The solutions are very full and typed meticulously. As for the date of the manuscript, the latest problem in the book is dated 1945 so we could conclude it was a war project. As for the solutions, there was always a quotation from another problemist, or Shakespeare and other great writers. The problems have been scanned onto a CD and copies distributed to others. In the BCM of October 1939 a month after war was declared, the problem editor, T.R. Dawson, published an article which has been reproduced. On the Australian chess problem scene he was editor of various columns from 1919 to 1961. He started in the Australasian Chess Magazine then when that folded he was problem editor in The Austral from 1922 to 1928 and on its demise he edited the problem section in The Australasian Chess Review (ACR), Check! and Chess World (CW) from July 1929 until 1961. And he was composing problems during all these years and well before. His output by 1939 was 450 yet it ended at well over 1000 indicating his most prolific period was yet to come. His closest friendship was with Dr. John James O’Keefe who was a Sydney doctor and fellow problemist and he was with him not long before O’Keefe’s death in 1952. His health was not good at times and he had long spells away from editorship, one being in ACR 1932/3 when J.K. Heydon did the job. Earlier when he conducted The Austral problem column he had to be deputized several times. But he put those to one side and carried on the job of promoting chess problems.1951-56 was another gap due to health. Post-war as well as his friendship with O’Keefe there was a collaboration with Frank Ravenscroft and, as both were former schoolteachers, they got on well. He had a friendship with Cecil Purdy, Australia’s greatest chess identity who was editor of ACR and CW and we will finish with Cecil’s obituary of Hawes. I’m sorry I never knew him. I sent him some solutions in the early 1960s using a pseudonym R.D. Jones. Ridiculous when I look at it today but when we are young… My mother paid me out by sending his reply back to the post office! He was the greatest Australian chess problem identity in my opinion and like Purdy, who promoted chess, he promoted problems. His problem collection with Frank Ravenscroft has also been copied.

TRD was a giant of the problem world. Perhaps he ranks No.2 all-time, behind Alain White. His wonderful words above at the outbreak of War hopefully helped many and he kept it up in BCM and The Problemist and elsewhere until the war was over.

…behind and I will call him the greatest Australian teacher of problems. Vassily Lapin. Of the three problems here: “A” was the first exposition of the Chicco theme to be published in Australia. Fred was proud of this fact. “B” is my own favourite by Fred. I have always considered it one of the more difficult two-ers on record. “C” gives evidence that until very recently Fred was capturing top honours from stiff opposition in important international tournaments.V.L. (Keys “A” 1.Nh5; “B” 1.Kh6; “C” 1.Ba6.)

The 1964 period was a sad one with the demise of The Australian Problemist. The printer Jim Smith who ran Jas. E. Smith duplicating Service, was leaving for England on royal duties and as he produced The AP at cost that enabled it to exist. Lapin, the editor and Smith’s friend wrote that membership would have to increase tenfold to 10/- ($1) per copy. The last issue was the December 1963 issue in which Frank Ravenscroft had written the Australian problem history (retyped in the front of this article with diagrams). A.P struggled on in 1964 with 2 issues in April and June and then silence. Smith had printed it for two years since February 1962. I tried many times to copy the magazine as I have a full run. (Some copies from Ravenscroft and some from Whyatt built up a full set.) But when one photocopied the reverse page diagrams came through and made a bad copy. Of course since scanning was on the scene I have sent copies around to others and The AP is no longer ‘lost’. All this started because Fred Hawes was ill and wanted to relinquish his chess column in Chess World. The last issues were October 1961 with No.798 a 3-er by the late Terry Gallery as the final problem, and November, when Fred invited somebody capable of carrying on the editorship. In December, Cecil Purdy wrote an article Hawes Lays Down His Pen. A lovely personal tribute to Hawes by Purdy who met him in 1923 at an interstate match. Hawes had been a reserve, Purdy was late and Hawes was about to play when Purdy, the schoolboy, arrived. Hawes gave up his place to the young man and doubtless made himself a friend for life. There was a mutual understanding that problems needed to be reduced or go from CW. It was clear that The Australian Problemist was a good option. On Terry Gallery who had died October 26, 1961, of a heart attack aged but 49; he was a great editor of the Sunday Telegraph chess column where he gave problems a good run. His editorship only lasted from January 8 to September 17 1961 but it was chock full of great problems including many originals. His funny comments to solutions got all the solvers in and as President of the NSWCA as well as being a schoolteacher and musician, he surely had a full life. The 1000th solver was 14 year old Miss Irena Zevnik of Petersham and bearing in mind the column was 30 weeks old at the time that was an average of 33 new solvers each week!! Terry gave her a special presentation. He left a wife and three grown up children. Perhaps because he was so good it spooked anyone thinking of taking on the Chess World problem column. Here is part of a letter he wrote in responding to Garry Koshnitsky about whether ‘comments’ were useful, that appeared with problem No.26:…They are all different; boisterous, hesitant, modest, logical, friendly, expert, puckish, laconic, inquiring, nostalgic, interesting, interested and so forth. One thing they have in common – they all know we read every word they write. Anyone who makes a comment may ‘appear’ in our column; some we encourage, others we squash, correct or pass in silence. No comment, no squash! Of course, some sensitive souls or pompous personalities may take offence if they wish, obviously we are never deliberately offensive, though occasionally misunderstood. Our view is that a Sunday column should mainly be entertaining rather than instructive. It should provide a challenge, especially for those in remote districts who

find it hard to get a game and so miss the challenge of cross-board play. It should be alive and friendly, not impersonal and remote. It should offer some kind of acknowledgement of correspondence (prizes, comment selection and the like) It should encourage the doubtful even if it never squashes the over confident. It should be largely the product of its readers rather than of its editor. It should offer an outlet to local composers and unearth new ones. It should give news items likely to interest its readers. It should leave instructive material (such as annotated games) to the text books and the magazines which have proved their capacity to instruct and which are readily available to all. It should co-operate with official chess administrators such as the CCLA, the NSWCA, the VCA and the CAQ and so forth. These are our guiding principles in the conduct of this column. We shall be happy to receive comments from any reader. A marvellous letter. Terry has said it all but he had the gifts to bring out the best in the readers. What he was imparting in his column was a chance for all to become involved. That is really something. In Purdy’s obituary in August 1961 CW he wrote that Terry learned chess at 30!! And in a few years became one of the best chess players in Ireland. In 1947 he won the silver medal in the Irish CC Championship. He liked all forms of chess but problems were his great love and he had 75 compositions when he came to Australia in 1956. He learned to play 30 musical instruments, the violin well. He sang in Gilbert & Sullivan and Purdy had a review of his performance in The Gondoliers in Belfast by the Central Operatic Society, praising Gallery as the Duke of Plaza-Toro. As well he liked mathematics. I have some of his books bought at Purdy’s shop 40+ years ago. One is S.S. Blackburne’s Terms & Themes of Chess Problems 1908 and as well “somewhere” the first 30 chess problems Terry ever composed, all 2-ers. Mislaid but not lost! He started solving in 1941 in The Northern Whig, an Irish chess column conducted by William Marks. It seems that Terry modelled his ST column on Mark’s column. According to the late Rollie Bradley who was a good friend of Terry’s and who sent me that little book of Gallery’s problems, Terry was a master of anything he put his hand to – a genius. I think today an internet website run by someone following Terry’s guidelines could be a raging success. BUT chess is money starved and making a living from it is difficult unless one is a GM or in a niche position. It would strictly be for love of problems. Other columns publishing original chess problems were the Weekly Times of Melbourne edited by John Lindsay Beale (1891-1972) and the Sunday Mirror edited by John Kellner (1930-1987). Beale was a fine composer and an O’Keefe admirer. His columns were wonderful games/problems/news affairs and following is one page from July 20 1960. He edited it until 17 May 1967 and the column closed 26/2/69. Kellner was a very strong player and problem enthusiast. His column was at one time a full page! The solvers battled for the trophies over many years and John listed our progressive scores. Great times indeed for chess problemists and players. He was editor from 10/9/1961 until the column’s demise 23/06/1974. Here is one from the 2/5/1965.

In the Quiz ladder were most of the problem fans of the 60s. Rurik’s daughter Ellenora, Cecil Guest of Rathmines, Bob Guidice, Egon Kaubi, Ben Meads, Rurik Bergmann, Rowland Bain, Tom Watkins, Dennis Hale, Al Gould, Bob Theakstone, Fred Flatow, to name some that I knew. Kellner was great at whipping up enthusiasm and he ran school competitions where the winners played a blindfolded John in a single game match that he later published in the column. He wore a lavish colourful blindfold and usually the games were played in the school hall with the students around watching the school team play the master. Talk about exciting and what promotion this was for chess! On one occasion he came to Coonabarabran 500 km NW of Sydney where the High School Team played him. I presumed the Mirror paid him some funds for this journey. John appealed to players and problemists alike and had two ladders, the above Quiz ladder and a Problem ladder with names and scores given at regular times. In other columns he invited readers to come and play him in simuls at various Sydney clubs and Paul Smith and myself went once and got handsomely defeated. But he was so nice about it, showed us our mistakes and won us both over to be long term fans. Another time he was playing for NSW against Victoria in a telegraphic match and I was talking to him hundred to the dozen. I think it side-tracked him because he lost that game and I was to blame but he wouldn’t have that. He said that he could talk and listen to someone and still play chess. I think I was his greatest fan until I left for work in country NSW in 1965. Here are two Merit Certificates issued by John Kellner in 1963.

John kept all us keen with these early certificates. Later the prizes were trophies and even an inlaid chess board! I was just getting to the top of the heap again when the competition collapsed as it often did in the money starved chess world. I have a lot of kings, queens, knights and rooks (no bishops) from the 1964 period and they are beautifully inscribed with one’s name, score and whether it was a quiz or problem prize. But we took that in our stride. Kellner’s column was light years ahead of the others and he must have had some money to use then as a lot of trophies went out. In 1961? Victor Chiciak won a prize for cooking the famous Shinkman 8-er with the WPs on the a-file (a2-a7) and the BK on a8 and the WK and WQR ready to castle. And not long after, he passed away, and John set up a Victor Chiciak Problem Tourney which was won by Rurik Bergmann. (The cook was 1.Kd2 I think BM.)

Garry Koshnitsky had a very successful column in the Sun-Herald from 1949 until 11/09/1994. He usually offered six prizes and had a prize-winners’ book with thousands of names in it. He didn’t accept original problems as they were risky and might be cooked thus causing him difficulties with prizes. He usually only published prize-winners but on one occasion he put in a very early Ian Shanahan original. Ian liked Kosh for that. 1965-68. For composers in NSW the Sunday Mirror column offered publication of originals as did the Weekly Times in Melbourne. There was no column in Chess World or the early years of Chess in Australia. NSW Chess Bulletin had a small column called ‘Problem Corner’. It lasted 12 months and will be discussed in the 1969 period with CIA. Bill Whyatt, as Australia’s top composer for one, sent many problems to various European chess magazines such as Problem (Zagreb),The Chess Circle (England), BCF Tourneys (England), The Problemist (England), Europe Echecs (France), Probleemblad (Holland), Szachy (Poland), L’Italia Scacchistica (Italy), Magyar Sakkelet (Hungary), South African Chess Player, and won many awards. Alex Goldstein and Frank Ravenscroft did well but were not as prolific or successful.

And then on 25 February 1968 Frank Ravenscroft died. He was eulogized in the Sydney press and on the next page are the editorials of Cecil Purdy (Sunday Telegraph) and Garry Koshnitsky (Sun-Herald) columns of 3rd March. But it was in the Sunday Mirror that John Kellner held a commemorative problem tournament to honour the grand old man. This event brought out some remarkable composers, e.g. Dennis Hale and John van der Klauw, and some of their compositions were world-class. Twenty-four were published in 1968 and five more in 1971 with John van der Klauw a worthy winner of the Silver Bishop trophy donated by Rurik Bergmann. This trophy was exhibited at John’s funeral on 12/8/2004. The tournament was not satisfactorily concluded but again it showed John Kellner’s tribute to a truly lovely man in Frank Ravenscroft. The following two articles display the affection John had for the man and his chess problems:-

1969. With the Weekly Times column finished, John Kellner’s column in the Sunday Mirror was the standard bearer for original problems. By this time the 3rd Rowland Bain Cup for Junior problem composers (1968) had been won by Werner Bunduschuh. This 16 year old boy from Newcastle Technical High School became a very strong player in later years (ST 29/12/68) and so did Roy Travers who won the 2nd Cup in 1966. He was 14 and attending Meadowbank High School in Sydney (ST 16/4/67). The first Cup winner was Brian Wakefield who won it for 1965. He went to East Hills Boys High (ST 22/5/66).The judges for these cups were Frank Ravenscroft, Rowland Bain and Rurik Bergmann. After Frank’s death I replaced him for the 3 rd and final cup. The number of problems composed by school students and adults published in the Sunday Mirror was 478 by the 14/3/1971 issue. The last problem was by veteran Cyril D. Fethers

of East Malvern Vic. After this time the column concentrated on chess play problems until its end with the final issue of 23/6/1974. From its commencement 10/9/1961 – a period of 12 years 9 months or 660 columns ca – it supported the problem art with nearly 40 original problems p.a.

There was an incipient ‘Problem Corner’ in the NSW Chess Bulletin conducted by the late Ray Proudfoot. It started in the March 1964 monthly issue and finished in March 1965. Three originals were published and as Bernie Johnson was the editor of the Bulletin and Chess in Australia by late 1969 it was his decision to reinstate ‘Problem Corner’ under Champion Fred Flatow’s editorship. Selected columns from CIA and its descendants are included at the rear. Above is the 7th column from the October 1964 NSW Chess Bulletin. During all the previous years in the Sunday Mirror interspersed between all the tourneys and competitions Kellner held were the original problems to which a $2 prize was offered for the neatest correct solution. Rurik Bergmann and Ian Rout had many of their problems published at this time and here is a roll call of some of the composers:- Rod Sutherland (No.366); Ian Rout (No.374); Ellenora Bergmann (No.382); Ellenora Sanderson (No.404); Laurie Hill (Vic) (No.407); William Roberts (No.406); Clive Mackillop (No.414). 1970-71. The Sunday Mirror continued its policy of prizes and here are more composers’ names: Geoffrey Hilliard (Vic) (No.417); Wayne Johnson (No.423); Will Coomer (Vic) (No.426); Paul Keres (an original sent by Rurik Bergmann who was a friend of the great master) (No.436); John Hughes (No.439); J. Brian Tomson (No.452). Rurik Bergman and

Ian Rout again had large numbers of compositions published until the final problem by Fethers (No.478). It was a huge loss to problems when original publication finished. It could be said that problems never recovered when newspapers stopped publishing them. Of course prizes offered result in bookwork, posting, queries and all the usual worries if problems are unsound. So change had to be expected. I recall when I edited the column in CIA, distributing prizes was Bernie Johnson’s job and it drove him mad. So I took it over. The Australian chess column had commenced on 1/2/1965 under Bernie Johnson’s (Fianchetto) editorship until August 1983 and was a player’s column that featured problems rarely. Phil Viner continued that policy. The Sunday Mail of Adelaide featured problems for many years under Laimons Mangalis’ editorship. There were usually a game ending and a problem for which book prizes were offered. Mangalis occasionally used originals including his own but he mostly used published problems. When Alan Goldsmith became editor on 19/9/1982 he continued that prize policy. Original problem publication was in a dire position in the early 70s with few outlets in all the capital city newspapers. Bill Whyatt too was winding down and sent problems to The Problemist, BCF Tourneys and Busmens’ Chess Review. 1972-75. Peter Donovan had become editor of the CIA problem column in 1971 and continued until 1973 when Mike Winslade became editor. Mike became sick in 1974 and I became editor in October of that year. It was important to begin a composing competition for originals and one commenced in January 1975 with Bill Whyatt overseeing my awards. The 2-er competition was won by Tony Vickers, a teacher at the King’s School Parramatta. The 3-er by Laurie Hill of Victoria and the solving prize was won by Keith Midgley who was a great correspondent and fine solver. Twenty-one problems were entered. The world championship chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972 boosted chess reporting in newspapers but didn’t help original problems. 1976. The sad event of Bill Whyatt’s death by suicide on May 18th 1976 was unfortunately not found out by me until 9th January 1977 when we were in Sydney on holidays. My brother, in the police force at the time, found out all the details from what I got from Bill’s landlord and others. I had gone over to Mortdale because he hadn’t answered any of my letters and though he had stated that he did not want to meet I was determined that we would. People were quite upset about what had happened to Bill and then began the task of obtaining his chess effects from the Public Trustee which I am pleased to say, thanks to my brother who eventually picked them up for me at Hurstville, was successful. The Brian Harley Awards and other material are still under my main desk on our verandah. What to do with them after they came so close to being destroyed is a thing I often think about. The Anderson Collection in Victoria doesn’t want them. Their monetary value is small but their

mental value is massive as all composers know how hard it is to win this award and Bill managed it 5 times. The great composer was gone. Alex Goldstein was certain he was the greatest Australia ever produced. So also was Geoff Foster who in recent times examined O’Keefe’s problems as comparison and concluded that the good doctor tinkered whilst Bill toiled. In his opinion to which I defer, Whyatt was the greatest. On the next pages are the two obituaries of Bill. The first in Feb. 1977 CIA, the second in The Problemist where he had his greatest successes by Alex Goldstein. Bill’s middle name was Alfred not Albert. Sad to write that the BCPS Memorial Tournament in his honour was cancelled. As for the columns of ACR and CW problems in five books. These are now with Geoff Foster. In September 1976 I received two letters from Bernie closing down Problem Corner. Reasons of finance and pressure from many people whose judgement I respect have told me that a chess magazine with a circulation of only 12-1300 does not warrant a problem section. I was saddened to get the letters but accepted it as editing a chess magazine for profit was a tough assignment. 1300 subs @ $5/sub = $6,500 p.a. Plus a little extra for advertising. Postage alone at 9c/copy = $1300 p.a. It was a labour of love. I had rung Bernie and that was that. No hard feelings but I was disappointed as Problem Corner was, by 1976, the only outlet in Australia for Australian composers. True, they could send them overseas. Followers of the column contacted and wrote to Bernie such that he was really staggered at the support so he reinstated it! He was a good man able to change his mind on evidence. If anything I was a firmer friend now. The column would return in 1977 and the outlet was safe.

1977-78. I announced the 2nd CIA Informal tourney for 2-ers, 3-ers, fairies and solvers in the January issue. Egon Kaubi won the 2-er prize, Laurie Hill for 3-ers, Dennis Hale the fairy prize and he won the solving tourney from Brian Tomson. Judging for the 2-ers was by a points system, Alex Goldstein judged the 3-ers, and the fairies were judged by points. Thirty-two problems had been entered. In the Dec. 78 column we had a chess examination by the great Phillip Williams who died in 1921 and some very funny answers were received to questions such as Mind your P’s & Q’s. 1979. The 3rd Tourney started in January. 2-ers, 3-ers and ‘Anything goes’ sections plus a solvers prize. The Judges were very high powered being John Rice for the 2-ers and 3-ers, and Cedric Sells for the fairies. Thirty-nine problems were published and Herbert Ahues won the 2-er prize. Andrei Lobusov the 3-er and J. Kricheli, the great Russian the ‘Anything goes’ prize. Dr. Sells said he had never judged such variety before but that it was possible to pick the best. Dennis Hale was champion solver. That made two solving firsts for him! These results were published over the May to September 1980 CIAs. 1981. In January the column gave details on Gordon Stuart-Green’s wonderful victory in the overseas solving award in the Lloyd’s Bank Tourney of 1000 entrants. And in April the SA champion Srbo Zaric sr. dedicated a problem to Mrs Evelyn Koshnitsky for her wonderful work for chess and her BEM award. Here it is:

Key 1.Nb5 (try 1.Nbl?..P=N!) On March 23 Australia’s chess poet Bill Morris passed on. He was 77 and the family gave all his chess books for a solving and composing competition. That was announced in June and the main condition for solvers was that the winner would be the one who got all the solutions in the fastest time including cook or no solutions. It was a great event and Ian Rogers won the title with Stephen Solomon 2nd and Ted Fletcher 3rd. The players had comprehensively defeated the problem solvers. J.Kricheli won the composing prize; P.Moutecedis was 2nd and M.Marysko 3rd. Book prizes. 1982. The death of Gordon Stuart-Green was announced by Bruce Holliday, chess editor of the Brisbane Sunday Mail. This column published originals and started 31/5/1964 with Frank Pugh as editor, later Holliday, Whittam and Wilkes. Other composers were coming forward, e.g. Jens Keiffer-Olsen. He later returned to Denmark and was a huge loss. Peter

Brodie’s first 2-er, also Hugh Ferris, and Geoff Malpas 4-er. He was a 15 year old Townsville Grammar student. Laimons Mangalis passed away 8th September 1982. Here are the final columns from the Sunday Mail Adelaide:-

It was in December 1982 that Arthur Willmott commenced sending originals to CIA as the next column shows. He was mentored by Laimons Mangalis and was following on from his teacher.

Arthur had been composing for several years and had many published in the SA Sunday Mail edited by Laimons Mangalis. He was a good friend and knew him from 1948 when Laimons came from Europe. It was not unusual for us to be on the phone together for 3 or 4 hours at the time. It was great that Arthur was replacing Laimons as the South Australian problem expert.

1983. January’s column was full of ‘new blood’ and is worth repeating:-

And Ian Shanahan entered the fray. It was great to see young problemists.

I had to include Gordon Stuart-Green’s 3-er. Gordon (1906-1981) came to Australia in 1966 but was born in Calcutta and learned chess from his father. In 1922 whilst at school in England he was nursed into composing by Barry Andrade and Brian Harley and thus sent most of his problems to Harley’s Observer column. He conducted the Statesman column for a few years and then returned to India as a chief accountant whilst tutoring chess. He was a first class at rugby, tennis and squash. He won a ‘Composer of the Year’ award in 1979. Not sure where but he sent problems to the Brisbane Sunday Mail and was a good correspondent. The solution is 1.h7 and if 1..Bc2/Be7/Bc1/Rd1/Ra8;2.Qg8/Nd2/Nd4/Rc3/aRb4. Nigel Nettheim thought the tries wonderful: 1.Qh3?..Bc2! or 1.Qg8?..Rb5! or 1.Bc6?..Bc2! or 1.Qf2?..Bc1. In June 1983 Bernie Johnson sold CIA to Peter Parr which changed things for me. Peter was OK to deal with but Bernie was special. The magic started to wear off. Peter had the magazine commercially printed. The originals kept coming and here is a series selfmate by Nigel Nettheim in 9 moves:

The solution to Nigel’s problem is in the next scan.

JKO’s above was a 2-er. My mistake in the typing. Solutions:- Shanahan & Proudfoot 1.Rc1; Estiot 1.Kf4+..Kh2; 2.Kf5+..Kh3; 3.Nf2+..Kh4; 4.Rb4+..Kh5; 5.Ng3+..Kh6; 6.Ng4+..Kh7; 7.Kf6+..Kh8; 8.Ke6+..Kg8; 9.Kd7+..Kf8; 10.Rb8+..Qxb8; 11.Qc5+..Nxc5. Lovely indeed but some duals. JKO 1.Bf1 if 1..PxB=Q or N B;2.Qf2 or Qd2 or Qe2. Beautiful work.

1984. It was good to welcome back Cyril Fethers who had started composing in 1929. We became friendly and I asked him for his reminiscences bearing in mind that he was, he said, in the sere and yellow period of life. (He was in his 97th year.) He sent me some 3 pages which dealt with players and problemists which I extract:I have unfortunately destroyed records of my early life, including the reams of correspondence with friends Fred Hawes and Frank Ravenscroft… My father was William, second son, who also had five sons of which I am the second, and he also taught us the rudiments of the game. The turn of the century saw the three eldest at Caulfield Grammar School. I was a weed of a boy, very small for my age, and, in my eyes, the big boys at the school were very very big. Among them was one Gunnar Gundersen who was to become a distinguished mathematician at Melbourne University, and incidentally prominent in Chess circles both as champion of Victoria and editor of the “Leader” chess column… I joined the Melbourne Chess Club(in 1926) situated in an elongated & bent room on the first floor of “The Athenaeum” building in Collins Street Melbourne. The honorary secretary was Andrew Dall who buzzed around in his friendly way, cigarette drooping from the mouth held in a long holder, making sure the newcomer was introduced to an opponent of similar calibre. In a far corner would be F. Crowl in deep concentration. Dashing in for a quick game would be L.V. Gibbs, a staunch patron of the game who was editor of the Melbourne “Age”, and saw to it that the game received due coverage in that paper and also in their weekly “The Leader”. There was an habitué named Sinclair who was a bit of a mysteryman who could take anybody on in a quick game. I remember going to see him in hospital at Heidelberg. He had terminal cancer –was in a large ward full of cancer sufferers, all with a deathly pallor. He showed me his abdomen which was not a pretty sight, and, with a stiff upper lip which was most admirable in the circumstances, offered to play me. He produced his board and men from a cupboard, set them up, and in no time had me in difficulties. What a man! Then there was C.G. Watson. A bit of a loner, but brilliant. He was also a first class tennis player, but these qualities let him down when he came to business. His brilliancy did not always pay off. One who joined the M.C.C. about the same time as I was J.L. Beale. I met him at the Club and played against him. When he found I was interested in problems, & saw my first published in”The Australasian”, he began to take a similar interest. Rapidly improving at composition, he soon far outstripped me in the art. Then there were the two Greens, Martin, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, a real gentleman, friendly and approachable. A very fine chess player. He came to my house a couple of times to put in an evening playing two games at a time against me and my brother Bernard. Another visitor was Maurice Goldstein, Englishman. I have in my possess a copy of the little book on “Modern Chess Openings” by R.C. Griffith and J.H. White which he M.E.G. had helped to revise. The inscription in his own handwriting reads “To Mr C.D. Fethers in some small recognition of many “kindnesses displayed by him to the author in 1934”. (The ‘kindness’ was a loan of the sum of £2/10/- which somehow or other never was repaid!) Max Green was one I knew rather well. We met several times in the Victorian Minor Championship I remember in which he shaded me. He went on and greatly improved. A closer friend was J.W.M. Eddy. A rather strange manner but a keen brain. He was also in the State Savings Bank, and was the first Bank employee to pass out of the Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Later he became a lecturer in Commerce,

and transferred from the Bank to the Herald and Weekly Times as their Financial Editor. He was somewhat erratic and his home life came adrift & he passed out of my life. Lamparter was an immigrant from Germany who after settling in won the Victorian Championship. In 1933 I had the temerity to enter this event & in my game against him I made an awful ‘blue’ at the outset, from nerves. In reply to his 1.P-Q4, I replied 1..P-K4!. He accepted the pawn. Feeling rather foolish, I made use of the gained move and attacked, not allowing him to freely develop, and ultimately tied him up and won a piece. From there on he did the attacking but I held on & won. I recall many occasions when I took part in simultaneous games. I remember losing to Watson, but generally managed to win or draw. A draw against Lajos Steiner at the Malvern Chess Club was gratifying as he had only recently arrived in Australia holding the stupendous title of Grandmaster. Other opponents were Woinarski, Lamparter, Gundersen & I think Koshnitsky. In 1935 I was transferred in the Bank to Colac, and on to Hamilton in 1939. This was the end of my association with the Melbourne Chess Club & of my rather less than brilliant career as a chess player. From then on, I took greater interest in problems, and developed a strong friendship for the late Fred Hawes, Problem Editor of the A.C.R. Fred was a brilliant editor who really knew his art and had great ability to pass on that knowledge. A school teacher by profession, he had infinite patience with a mediocre student. He and his wife welcomed me and my wife at their home in Lithgow on many occasions. Theirs was a happy home with (I think) 2 beautiful daughters… Although I have maintained a great interest in Chess and Problems, I have by no means excluded other interests from my life. I have been always inordinately fond of any game played with a ball, e.g. tennis, golf, & bowls, billiards & snooker. Music has also been an interest. These activities have had to share my leisure time with Chess with the natural result that, whilst I might reach a certain standard in one line, I would never be an outstanding success in any. So be it. I have enjoyed my life, and friendships, and if I haven’t reached a pinnacle, I have not fallen into any trough, yet. My general health is still good, but my eyesight is failing & I have difficulty in reading. My womenfolk will not allow me to drive a car anymore which is a great deprivation… With best wishes sincerely Cyril Fethers.

Great Letter and his anecdote about Andrew Dall who befriended Whyatt as Hawes befriended him was nice. The above was his first from the Australasian. 2-er (key 1.Qc1).

In April Peter Wong’s first retro appeared. In May Brian Tomson’s Fifty Chess Problems was reviewed. In June Brian Smith’s first 2-er. In July Denis Saunders made contact and had a series of articles on problem composition publishing in issues of CIA. My last column was October 1984 just making 10 years. It was time to go and as Brian Tomson was keen and an experienced composer as well as a very strong player I handed the column to him. His first November column started with Rurik Bergmann’s $25 prize for no pawn 2-ers and 3-ers with at least four pieces per side. He was certain that columns need a constant supply of original problems to keep it healthy. 1985. Brian announced an annual solving competition along with the return of Rowland Bain and Cyril Whitehead. Rowland had been a keen supporter of Kellner’s column.

An early problem by Geoff Foster and accompanied by his brother Peter’s SSM in 19! In July Brian had sent the eight entries in the pawnless competition to Alex Goldstein along with a wonderful 2-er by Denis Saunders:-

Solution to Geoff’s was 1.Qb8, Dennis 1.Ne7. In August Brian proposed a new competition for 2-ers and oddities that have as motto the name of a card from the Tarot pack. A most interesting idea. There were some very fine originals in the October and November columns but no December column at all. Brian was quite ill.

1986. The Tarot tourney got under way in the January issue with Cyril Whitehead’s Wheel of Fortune 2-er with Geoff Foster and Peter Wong adding problems. In February Brian announced Andy Sag’s victory in the 1985 solving competition from E.S. Barnes with a perfect score 42/42!! Peter Wong added a Tarot 2-er The Star and Andy and Nigel included problems. This was the last column Brian prepared. I was guest editor for the June/July/August magazines and it was great to send words of support to Brian from Nigel, Andy, Dennis, Rurik, Jim Jones and Hugh Ferris. Rurik went to see him in Newcastle hospital but it was near the end. Rurik attended the funeral and here is his obituary from CIA August p.204:Brian was born on the 22nd June 1942 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After the Belfast Royal Academy he finished Oxford University. Brian came to Australia 18 years ago and joined the Newcastle University where he lectured in the Department of English till his health deteriorated and forced him to hospital, end of 1985. There Brian died of Aids on the 20th June, two days before his 44th birthday. Brian was one of the best chess players not only in Newcastle, but also in northern NSW, winning and sharing wins in numerous tournaments in Newcastle and in Armidale. Brian was not only an excellent chessplayer, but also a fine problem composer, having especial love to fairy chess, retrospect, helpmates and selfmates. Numerous problems from him have appeared not only in Chess in Australia pages, but also in various British, Dutch, Spanish and almost in all Australian chess magazines. Brian was CIA problem corner editor from November 1984, but he had to give it up a year later owing to his illness. Brian also edited a book “My First 50 Problems” in only 7 copies! On his cremation, on the 25th June, Rurik Bergmann said vale on behalf of the chess fraternity of Newcastle, mentioning Brian’s chess achievements in local and overseas publications, as well his fine personality as a human being. Rest in peace, dear friend. Rurik Bergmann 26/6/1986. The new editor Arthur Willmott had his first column in the Sept/Oct issue along with my winding up of the pawnless tourney which was won by Denis Saunders. Judge Alex Goldstein had given his award. Andy Sag and E.S. Barnes were sent their book prizes in the solving tourney. Arthur announced a series selfmate/series selfstalemate tourney and Geoff Foster got the first tourney entry into the December column. The University magazine also published an obituary by Brian’s Department of English confreres:-

As I had seen him earlier in the year and he was a close chess correspondent I included a eulogy to Brian:- The sad news of Brian’s death has been commented on by Rurik Bergmann. What can I add? Well, Brian and I had a marvellous exchange of letters from 1974 until his last dated 3rd June 1986. He was a brilliant man, a Professor of English at Newcastle University since 1968, wonderful letter writer with many chess interests as well as the game and problems, chess history, computer chess and humour. He was quite a collector with even the odd rare set of chessmen. When I saw him in January for the first time he was then quite sick and reluctantly I left after a brief talk. It was all so final and never again would I receive a letter in his neat typewritten form or by hand when he was away at a tourney or in a hurry. Some of them were outstanding – one a query on the date of William Caxton’s 1474 book on chess deserves comment. In it he proved that the accepted theory of the date in that book was incorrect. No fanfare yet he had cracked a 500 year old problem. We also had many discussions about the origin of chess. Copies of his letters have been given to Greg Wilson who is writing a history of chess in Newcastle. His solutions to problems were clear and I used them to write out the solving section in my column. His problems? Well some of us have a copy of his book (only 7 were bound) and those that have it will cherish the memory of this growing composer. He is a great loss to the international problem scene. There seems no doubt he would have been a master of composition had he been spared. To his friends – those that knew him better than I – I am sad with you. 1987. Chess in Australia became bi-monthly and, as it was quarto size this gave Arthur the opportunity to put six problems in each issue. He also began the annual solving competition. It was good to see a new composer in Andrew Dempster with a 5-move helpmate along with problems by Peter Wong, Nigel Nettheim, Rurik Bergmann, Mark Wilson and AW.

The March/April issue contained another five original problems by Mark, Rurik, JKO (making a welcome return) and Andy. Chris Gidding of England had a very tricky Position after Black’s ?th move. Another six Australian originals in the May/June issue and three more in the next but USSR, West Germany and Czech composers had very clever original problems in. CIA was being internationalized. The final two issues for the year saw a return to all-Australian affairs. Arthur was doing a great job fostering local talent and Andrew Dempster had his second in and Frank Meerbach his first. 1988. I won the 1987 solving competition from Peter and Andy, and the Australian compositions continued. All through the year a flood of Aussie works came to Arthur with new composers in R. Kolas and Mark Salanowski. It had been a fruitful year for the Australian problem world. There is a good selection of Arthur’s columns at the rear of this article. By the end of this year published originals numbered into the high 70s. Norman Macleod wrote a fine obituary of Alex Goldstein who died 28 September. It follows on the next page. 1989. It was clear Arthur was burning out the Australian composers as problems by Shinkman and Bettman from yesteryear were included in the first column. Andy Sag was closing on me for the solving prize but I just sneaked home. Nicholas Spratt had his first composition in the March/April issue along with an 11-move proof game by Peter Wong. Stephen Kerr had his wet weekend triple published and Arthur wryly commented that it was a pity there are not more Sydney wet weekends! Andy got the honour of No.100 for a nice block 2-er. A new composer in Gary Rutherford put in a class 2-er for the Sept/Oct issue along with some overseas originals. Andy and Cyril filled the breach for the final issue of the year. 1990. Andy had a nice masked castling 2-er in the first issue and continued with two more problems in the second issue. Andy got closer in the solving competition but I took the prize. He was almost as prolific as AW himself in composition. In the May/June column Arthur used five previously published problems. Whilst accepting that his request for originals had fallen on deaf ears another dangerous change was underway when Peter Parr added that there would be no problem column next issue and that winning combinative play positions would replace it. This would have meant that a period of four months went by when there was no contact between problemists and the column. A way around it was to publish three endings and three problems and this occurred. That solved the lack of problems being sent in and gave ending enthusiasts an outlet. At the same time Arthur announced a new solving competition where solvers submitted solutions to the endings and the problems. The endings were quite interesting and the column offered a good mix for solvers by the year’s end. Rurik Bergman’s death was a sad event for problems. I managed to get an obituary in the Tasmanian Chess Magazine where a small problem column under Dr. D.K. Wall started with the first issue in June 1976. I took over in October 1982.

Alex was a great host in my one and only visit to their unit in Caulfield Melbourne in 1978. Sophie hovered in the background and unfortunately we never met but Alex kept up a flow of talk about the late Bill Whyatt and the proposed book. Ian Shanahan met him and spoke well of him. My friend Ken Fraser interviewed Sophie after Alex’s death and was royally fed by her with a meal he still talks about! On the chess scene he judged many of the local tourneys, the last being Rurik’s pawnless tourney in Brian Tomson’s editorship of CIA. His letters were always typed and to the point. Correspondence was quite strong when I was thinking about a book on Dr. O’Keefe. Alex would not have it that O’Keefe was even close to Whyatt as the ‘greatest’. We fell out but patched it up. Geoff Foster wrote an article on O’Keefe many years later and he agreed with Alex. I found him to be a dual personality; charming and friendly face to face, blunt and critical in letters and articles. He was a lawyer and real estate agent and had a knowledge of the language. It was his passion for chess anticipations and disclosing them that raised my eyebrows. Time after time there were articles in The Problemist about X and his problem which was very like Y’s many years earlier. He was the great protector of reputations. When he willed his chess books to the BCPS I wrote him about selling me the Robert Braune and Retrograde Analysis which were the only copies of the White series I was missing. He readily agreed. Price set and paid to the BCPS. His comment:- Legally speaking it will be probably the first case when a dead man sold something while still being alive.

1991. Unfortunately original problems by Australians were absent from the first issue and there was no column in the second, but Andy was now the solving champion by the third issue (May/June) with a perfect score for problems and a near perfect score for endings. I was runner-up but a long way behind. The Russian V. Kuznichev sent three originals for the next issue and it was pleasing to see Cyril and Andy in composing form with problems in Sept/Oct and a very nice helpmate by Peter Wong in the final issue for the year. Pleasingly the column had been mentioned in The Problemist and the new Canadian magazine Apprenti Sorcier. 1992-97. Commenced with a bang and ended with a whimper. The Jan/Feb issue was the final column though Arthur’s name was highlighted in the contributors list all year. It was an inevitable logical step as Peter Parr’s Chess in Australia was becoming far more player oriented. In that first issue Peter Parr had a very interesting editorial on the winds of change. It is compulsory reading when determining the support offered by the chess associations to the national magazine. One quote was:- I purchased CIA from Johnson in 1983. It took 10 strong men to move the 2 ton printing press and with Bernie’s help we produced my first issue. Bernie was seriously ill however and died before the second issue. I sold the press for $20 a ton and threw out all his old machines. Johnson had for 17 years produced the national magazine on 19th century equipment. Chess in Australia in 1992 is produced by the latest programs on an IBM ps/2 computer by associate editor Stephen Kerr. We have correspondents in all states. International chess news arrives daily through our modem connecting our computer to all corners of the world. We receive far more news than we can publish. The magazine has a minimum 32 pages (over double the size of The Austral, Chess World and early CIA’s). Increasing circulation is our major task. In early 1991 a small council meeting of the NSWCA voted against supporting CIA. The reaction would have pleased my predecessors – the members voted 93-20 in favour of supporting CIA. The Dec. AGM saw 95% in favour of CIA and a historic long term agreement between CIA and NSWCA signed. It is compulsory reading as it is a history lesson. Peter has the odd mistake. Bernie didn’t die in 1983. He died 2 years later but Peter’s history left problems out in the cold. And with problems out on a limb that didn’t stop Arthur Willmott. He started his own magazine called The Australian Chess Problem Magazine in July 1992. We had best start off with a couple of his letters showing Arthur’s determination to beat the system.

The Australian Chess Problem Magazine July 1992 - November 1997 (33 Issues) Arthur was nearing 70 when Peter Parr squeezed him out of the Australian Chess Magazine (ex CIA). The Jan/Feb issue of 1992 was titled CIA but the March/May issue was titled The Australian Chess Magazine. The diagrams were computer generated and further advances will follow in the next issue. Peter was working closely with the President of the ACF, Robert Jameison and so the above letters are now self explanatory. Problems had no place in the National Chess Magazine any more. What to do? Arthur was a self-made man and, as a former builder he knew how to circumvent obstacles that many could not. Back in The Australian Problemist days, photocopies and printers were non-existent leaving one at the mercy of commercial printers. So Arthur became a DIY publisher and the problem world was in his debt for the 5+ year run. It was a simple magazine, bimonthly and two or more A4 pages folded in the middle and stapled to form a mini booklet. Arthur packed plenty into it and we all supported him. He had a small supply of originals and published 6 originals per issue with full solutions in the next copy and a cover page featuring some classic problem. Arthur’s tastes were wide and covered all problem types. The price was $3 in 1992 and then $5.40 for the next 4 years. Very reasonable. It didn’t take long for Australian composers to use the ACPM and Stephen Bicknell, Peter Wong and Denis Saunders had originals in. The March 93 issue had an article on Series Selfmates with five of Nigel Nettheim’s problems. It had appeared in the Games & Puzzles Journal S/O1987 and an article by Howard Staunton solving a tricky ending. There were 15 originals in July which kept solvers busy and Steve Fryer won the book prize for a Double Series Mover solving competition. Arthur never stopped teasing me with very tough problems to solve. He was in a class of his own at solving and this was a way he could find out my real strength. I actually put Arthur on a different plane to most of us. Andy Sag is very strong, so also Dennis Hale. Jim Jones might be stronger but not sure. Eric Barnes was very good and then there was Nigel, myself and others who were up there but not right up there. And then there are the players! Andy Sag won the solving prize from Eric Barnes and yours truly third. Here is Arthur at his tantalizing best from the Sept. 93 issue. Nothing like a little note to raise my blood pressure! –

Writing not so good here it is: This setting by Maurice Jago was published in The Problemist recently. Can you prove that the position is legal? The diagram looks readable. Go for it readers! In the July 94 issue Arthur had an instructive article on how to compose those mindnumbing double series self stalemates which he inflicted on us at times. They were one of his fortes. He also mentioned his latest publishing project and these are all given at the end of the history. He liked what Frank Ravenscroft had written about Australia’s problem history and gave a shortened version in the Sept. 94 issue, of the original article that is the leading item in this update. November contained a review of Peter Wong’s One Hundred Chess Compositions. It was wonderful to see another chess problem book. Jim Jones won the 1994 solving prize with 370/373. Terrific solver is Jim. Andy was second and Milan Surcek of Slovakia third, Robert Shearer fourth and yours truly fifth. A tough event. It was great to see students composing and Stephen Bicknell sent 10 x 2-ers!

Solutions are (1) 1.e4; (2) 1.Re3; (3) 1.Kc2 (4) 1.Nh7 (5) 1.f7; (6) 1.Bd7; (7) 1.Be4; (8) 1.Qg5; (9) 1.Rd4; (10) 1.Rd3. The numbers start at top LHS and go down and then up for the next row etc. A composing tourney started in July 95, and a review of Chess Problems by Arthur Willmott Nov.1995 appeared in Jan. 1996. The man was indefatigable. Jim Jones won the 1995 solving prize but had to share it with Milan Surcek. Andy and I got third. Barry Barnes judged the Theme Tourney 1995 and that appeared in the March 1996. See next page. The next tourney was to be for orthodox mates with a pawn key move. Judge Denis Saunders.

Our good friend John van der Klauw had two mini retros in ACPM July 96. Lovely to see and here are the solutions with the problems following: On account of white’s last move – (a) Black to move and win. (b) Black to move and lose. (a) Any last move by white which does not prevent black to castle and 1..0-0 wins. (b) If white’s last move was Bd8xPc7 the B on d8 must be promoted so the BK has moved, black cannot castle and must lose. The second problem – As it is white to move black’s last move must have been 0-0-0 so the BR on d7 must have been promoted forcing the WK to move; White cannot castle. The late John van der Klauw was a master of the mini retro.

And here is a typical ACPM cover page:-

And a photo of Arthur from Jan 97. Deserving as he won the orthodox mate tourney with the pawn key move!

Srbo Zaric won the solving tourney from Andy second and me third. The new composing competition was for orthodox 2-ers with double sacrifice keys. March 97 featured an article on Emanuel Lasker as a problemist with five examples from 1895-1936. The July issue had Problems with an Imitator and five examples of this fairy piece. It was also delightful how Arthur just filled a space – compose something!

Key 1.Ge6..Gf7;2.Gg6..d4;3.Ke6..Kg5;4.Gd6..Gd5 1.Kf5..Kh5;2.Ge4..Gf4;3.e5..Gd6;4.Ge6..Bh7

It didn’t matter as there had been a change of heart and with Paul Dunn and Shaun Press producing the National Magazine Australian Chess Forum Arthur was to be its problem editor. Very few can say that they carried an art form single-handedly by publishing the magazine and providing many of the problems, organizing the various tourneys and putting out books on historical problem tourneys. Well done AW! 1998-2002 – Australian Chess Forum. After the demise of The Australian Chess Magazine in Dec. 97, the Forum became the only remaining national chess magazine. It

was to be informative and educational and contained a problem column by our regular problems columnist Arthur Willmott!! Now here was a conundrum and that was due to Arthur running a small column in Australian Chess Forum’s forerunner the International Chess Forum, a very good magazine which started in Dec. 1992 four times p.a. It was called Any Problems and it had started with two problem diagrams in Vol.5 No.4 1996. Paul Dunn very kindly sent me photocopies of all the issues some time later. The editors of the ICF (John Mackie and Paul Dunn) stated: Finally, we have received many requests for more instructive material in the magazine. From this issue we have succeeded in obtaining the services of Arthur Willmott as our Problem Editor and we hope you may find the column instructive… A view Paul carried over into the new magazine. It was also clear that Paul and John knew of Arthur’s sterling work in the Australian Chess Problem Magazine! The new column appeared every month and contained previously published international problems in a format of diagrams/solutions page. Some issues were unusual – the Koltanowski issue of March 2000 being one. He was the famous GM writer and blindfold player of the USA. But there were no competitions and so it was just a connoisseur’s column. In 2002 the column became bimonthly at times but it was good to see No.291 and 293 by Denis Saunders and Stephen Bicknell. The column finished at the end of 2002 with 294 problems mostly 2-ers and 3-ers. 2003. Australian Chess Forum became Australian Chess with Ian Shanahan conducting the Problem Billabong a nice Australian name. The new editor Brian Jones reverted to bimonthly with 6 issues p.a. and he thanked Paul and Shaun for their tremendous work. It was a wonderful magazine and sadly not supported by the chess fraternity. Ian has published his column on a website so this update will be brief. He commenced publishing originals but rightly started with No.1 a 1988 AW 2-er. Ian was paying tribute to his journalistic predecessor. Molham Hassan and Denis Saunders had some originals in. The column grew to two pages in the March/April issue with very full solutions, solvers’ comments and four original problems. It was beautifully set out. The next issue contained a 2-er by Alex Boudantsev whose compositions deserve to be better known wrote Ian. According to the late Terry Gallery in 1961 Alex had composed since 1928, was Russian and came to Sydney in 1957 after many years in China. There was a fine shortest proof game by Peter Wong for the Australian contribution. The July/August column contained excellent articles by Denis Saunders and Peter Wong, the co-winners of the first Whyatt Medal for Chess Composition awarded by the ACF.

It was nice to see a Juan Kloostra 5-er in the next issue and Molham finishing the year with a good 3-er. 2004. January was a great sight with four Aussie originals by Foster (x2), Saunders and Hassan. A competition offering $100 for the top solver started and $20 for the best Australian novice composer. The remaining issue had overseas originals.

2005. Andy Sag won the solving competition with myself second. The May/June issue had a nice Double Series Help mate by Arthur in 6 with the next column having Foster/Willmott in the Anglo/Australian double. Arthur had two more problems in the final issues. 2006. It was nice to see Stephen Dowd of the USA dedicating a mate in 6 to C.J.S. Purdy based on a game between Purdy and Crowl 1945. In that column Jan/Feb Peter Wong was made Australia’s first ever FIDE Master for Chess Composition. A worthy award for this fine composer. This was the only column for the year as Ian was unwell. 2007. The news that Geoff Foster had won the Brian Harley Award for 2-ers 2001/2 was a wonderful spur for the Australian problemists. Geoff is a great worker for chess problems. Arthur had a Series helpstalemate in 10 to finish off that column. March/April had a report on the Australian Junior Chess Problem Solving Championship held in Canberra with Nigel and Geoff organizing the very successful event. Arthur and Ian had problems in and Arthur’s was a deduce the men helpmate in 4. Quite Holmesian but it proved to have no solution. Sept/Oct had a welcome return by Dennis Hale with a How Many Solutions? Turned out to have 5398! Andy got a few more but he was the closest. Arthur’s lovely 8-move shortest proof game ended the year. Very tricky. 2008. Australian Chess became Australasian Chess, and it had a new problem editor in Geoff Foster after Ian’s five-year stint. Geoff called his column Problem Potpourri indicating a great mix not only of Australian and overseas composers but of problem types. The Sydney Australian Junior Problem Solving Championship had been organized by Ian and Dennis and again successful. March/April had some good biographical information on Molham Hassan the Canberra medico who lived earlier in Egypt, Ireland and Saudi Arabia. His book of problems has much interesting material as well as being a choice publication. May/June gave details on the Whyatt Medal applications with five years having passé very quickly. This column was a triple Australian show. The July/August issue commenced a new feature in an ending. They are much harder than most orthodox problems but to see Troitzky’s name from 1928 was great. Too hard for me. The Christmas issue with Arthur Willmott winning the Whyatt Medal was great news. If there was anyone worthier they would have been outstanding. Apart from his books and problems, his editorship of the ACPM was the clincher. Well in his 80s now he is as prolific as ever. 2009. The Australian Junior Problem event was in Adelaide in January. There were some great problems by Makaronez (Israel) and Christopher Jones (England) together with a joint Hassan/Foster 2-er in March/April.

July/August Geoff offered a $50 prize for a novice who solved the ending. The six problems per issue certainly test solvers as the composers are all world class. The sad news was Dennis’ passing.

Geoff wrote that Denis was indestructible. One time he came close to being destroyed when an elephant sat on his car. But that’s another story. The above is from July 2009 Problemist. The Future – we could so with some young composers. The art is a bit thin but healthy with the current composers Willmott/Shanahan/Foster and Wong world class. They mostly publish overseas which with all due respect, does not foster the art here. But I am from the old hardcopy school. There is ample reason for a local website to be set up for problems to encourage youngsters. Perhaps there is? Prizes must be offered and help. Any Update must include some thank-you’s: 1. To Arthur Willmott for ACPM when the days were darkest. 2. To Nigel Nettheim for sponsoring the Whyatt Medal and the Australian Junior Problem Solving Championship which has ACF backing. 3. To Ian Shanahan and Geoff Foster for editing the National Magazine in recent years.

4. To all the authors of the impressive list of books and articles that follow:Brian Tomson’s Fifty Chess Problems in 1983; A Selection of 19th Century Australian Chess Problemists by Bob Meadley in 1989, and The Town & Country Journal Problem Tourney 1878 in 1990, The South Australian Chronicle Chess Problem Tourney 1882 by Arthur Willmott in 1991. Arthur was prolific and also published:The Southern Argus Chess Problem Tourney 1883 in1991 The Melbourne Leader Chess Problem Tourney 1884 in 1991 A Selection of Chess Problems by South Australian Composers in the South Australian Chronicle between 1878 and 1886 in 1991 A Selection of Endgame Studies by A. Troitzky in 1992 (200) Chess Problems by Arthur Willmott in 1995 100 Pawnless Chess Problems by Arthur Willmott in 1996 240 Chess Problems by Arthur Willmott (from Nov. 1981 to Jan 2006) in 2006 270 Chess Problems by Arthur Willmott July 2008 One Hundred Chess Compositions by Peter Wong in 1994 The Chess Problems of Ottavio Stocchi by Geoff Foster and Luciano Citeroni 1997 The Wizard of Oz (Denis Saunders) by Geoff Foster 1999 (Saunders died May 2009) Selected Stocchi Vol.1 by Foster and Citeroni 2001 Selected Stocchi Vol.2 by Foster and Citeroni 2003 Unique Chess Problems by Molham Hassan in 2002 Parallel Strategy by Peter Wong in 2004 Problem Billabong Columns 2003-08 by Ian Shanahan in 2008. Various articles on Australian problemists were published in The Problemist:Karl Otto Becker (1866-1957) November 2001 p.226 John James O’Keefe (1873-1952) July 2005 p.155+ Arthur Mosely (1867-1930) November 2005 p.252+ Henry Tate (1873-1926) July 2006 p.437+ Laimons Mangalis (1911-1982) July 2009 p.152+ Eric Duncan McQueen (1908-1971) July 2010 p.408+ The articles were written by Geoff Foster and Bob Meadley. Some Memories Expanded (Life and chess career of Frederick Karl Esling) by Bob Meadley July 2009. (CD only) Contains some of Esling’s problems. A very productive problem period judging by publications. To come hopefully:Articles by Arthur Willmott/Ian Shanhan/Geoff Foster/ Peter Wong on their beginnings including some biography a photo and why they enjoy problems and how the art could be fostered here. The 2010 Australian Junior Problem Solving Tourney is in Hobart in January. Geoff Foster has set the problems and Nigel Nettheim will be supervisor on the day.

Bernie Johnson 1918-1985 A major article was written (see ACL 5 & 6) on this likeable man who was a player and supporter of chess. His interest in chess problems was minimal but he gave space in his magazine Chess in Australia (CIA) for many years and was, like C.J.S. Purdy, sympathetic to the problem art. He knew there were many chess fans living outside the cities with little opportunity to play OTB and so concentrated on other areas such as CC or problems. Of the earlier generation, Hawes (teacher), Ravenscroft (teacher), Whyatt (brick kiln burner), Goldstein (real estate agent) and O’Keefe (doctor) had little time outside work for chess play. Yet they competed on the world problem stage winning many awards. Purdy had great respect for these people, most of whom he knew especially Hawes, Ravenscroft and O’Keefe. Bernie likewise started his problem column in CIA in late 1969 using the Australian chess champion Fred Flatow as editor. Fred had an interest in problems and also helped Bernie produce CIA in his garage in Robert Street Belmore. This was, then, the only outlet for original problems in a chess magazine. The newspaper chess columns were wary about using originals because they may be faulty and cause upset for solvers and editors. During the war he served with Roden Cutler in the Middle East and the photos above show him with a nice smile and his fez on in front of the pyramid. One of Bernie’s jobs was as an AMP rep. and he convinced AMP to buy all the registration numbers for cars starting with AMP. It was very successful though no financial windfall for Bernie. There was an AMP chess club with Bernie involved. His most successful chess venture was as editor of the Australian chess column (fianchetto) and his famous CC game with Al Gould in 1965/6 was the most exciting game I ever played through. He was NSWCA President in the mid-1970s and handled the social side of chess with great passion though it was honorary. In fact chess caused Bernie and Del much financial hardship. When I offered to edit Problem Corner in 1973 he wrote me a lovely refusal letter that made a great impression on me and in 1974 I offered again, got the love job, and had many happy visits to Belmore with Del and Bernie. Even when he closed the column down in late 1976 he reversed that decision and made me an even stronger fan. He came to a couple of the problem ‘get-togethers’ in the late 1970s and met Ian Shanahan, Dennis Hale, Nigel Nettheim, Rurik Bergmann, George Meldrum, Jim Jones, John van der Klauw and Bill Morris. Nigel and I visited him in his final years. I went to his funeral at Rookwood crematorium with mum on one of the bleakest wettest winter days that Sydney can turn on. The chess world gave him a good send-off. Bob Meadley 22 August 2009

Bernie’s filing system was like mine, fairly catastrophic, but he got the job done and when I got him to print the Whyatt book he ‘lost’ the original photo of Bill Whyatt which my brother had obtained with Bill’s other effects from the Public Trustee. I was anxious for him to find it and the funny reply is on the next page. To be welcomed into Bernie’s home was always a pleasure and Del must have had countless chess fanatics in the home over Bernie’s active years as an official. It was sad to see the empty garage where all that productive work was done by Bernie and his cohorts over many years, once he had sold CIA to Peter Parr.

Some Memories of John Kellner Many chess lovers were attracted to John Vincent Kellner (1931–1987) and his chess columns. The Sunday Mirror chess column was a bubbling lively affair that ran from 10/9/1961 to 23/6/1974 and John filled it with games by school students and top players, chess problems and quizzes, all of which offered good prizes. As well he often featured games the he himself was playing. One with the World Correspondence Chess Champion, the Russian Vladimir Zagorovsky got top billing and was a credit to John who got a 22move draw (6th World CC Championship 1968–71). I was certainly hooked and competed from the early 1960s until the mid-1960s when (as often happened in the money-starved chess world) the competitions were cancelled without any reason given. It would be churlish to pinpoint blame today. John had great enthusiasm and carried us all along in his wake. One spin-off from the column were his simuls held in various Sydney chess clubs to which he invited Sunday Mirror solvers. Paul Smith and I went along one night in the early 1960s and met John for the first time and played him. He won but was genuinely friendly and helpful and it was easy to like him. It was his Sunday Mirror school competitions that drew in the students and their chess teams from many Sydney schools and a few country schools battled for the prizes. Coonabarabran High won a competition in 1965/6 and John made the trek in his old Ford Customline to the mountain town near the Warrumbungle Range and Siding Springs Observatory in north-west NSW to play the High School team blindfold! What a sight it was, with John wearing his luxuriant coloured bandana over his eyes, sitting in the centre of the School Hall surrounded by all the teachers and students watching their team play the master. It was a good game but he was too strong and he congratulated the 4 players on their aggressive play and later featured the game in his Mirror column. As the coach of the team I thought he handled the event with wonderful style and made more young converts for chess. I had a drink and meal with him after the match in the local hotel and then he headed off back to the big smoke. In 1968 he commenced a retrograde analysis problem competition to honour the lately deceased Australian problemist Frank Ravenscroft (1881–1968) and it was a very successful event that saw new composers such as Dennis Hale and the late John van der Klauw debut. van der Klauw won the silver bishop trophy, but the tourney failed to present all the awards and though it continued in 1971 after a long lapse, ended in a most disappointing way that did no credit to the Mirror, John Kellner or sadly to Frank Ravenscroft who had been a great friend to me. But that was chess ‘life’ in Australia then. John took over the Sunday Telegraph chess column from C. J. S. Purdy and conducted it successfully from 15/9/1974 until its demise in December 1987. Another good run for a chess column in Australia.

I also met John’s wife Narelle (nee Jorgensen) at a Sydney Club one year and am sorry to this day that I declined her offer to play. She was a nice person and a strong player who became Australian ladies champion and an International Women’s Master. Evelyn Koshnitsky wrote in the Australian Women’s Chess League Bulletin of Feb 1988 that Narelle was the founder of the Australian Women’s Chess League as she had made the initial proposal back in 1976. Evelyn was very friendly with Narelle and she told of Narelle meeting John at a party for the Russian Grandmaster Yuri Averbach who toured Australia with Vladimir Bagirov in 1960. They married in 1961 and John taught her how to play chess and in some respects she outshone him playing for Australia in the Olympiads at Haifa in 1976, Buenos Aires 1978 (her report on this event makes lively reading) and Thessaloniki 1984. She was Australian Women’s Correspondence Chess Champion five times and a super lightning player with repartee to match! She was a Crafts Teacher and John was a taxi driver when the end came for both of them in December 1987. Those events are too well known to be repeated here. They lived at Hurstville, a southern suburb of Sydney. John was NSW Champion twice, in 1955 and 1956, and represented NSW in many telegraphic matches as well as playing in countless tourneys. I remember watching him play his whole game against a Victorian opponent and possibly I distracted him as he lost a very fine game but took it well and did not blame me when he could have. In 1968 when Frank Ravenscroft died, many of Frank’s problem books were left to me and John picked them up from the Ravenscroft’s family home and brought them to our home in Kogarah together with a 14-page letter on his chess doings which I still have. It is lovely to read it again every now and then. He was a great chess teacher and a good chess player, and a fine human being.\ John was born in Blayney to Vincent A. and Melba M. Kellner. Vincent was a policeman and married Melba in 1929. During the 1930s the family moved to Dubbo where Vincent continued his police career; his wife worked at the Bonds factory. Their son John attended Dubbo High School and was taught chess by one of the teachers. A good school friend was Gordon E. Gilroy. He completed his 4th year with Jill Fagg (nee Palmer) in 1947. Jill lives in Dubbo with husband Bruce, and he knew Vincent Kellner as he was a policeman also. Jill remembered John being a quiet student. Bob Meadley 13 January 2009

Trust Bernie to have his photo taken with the gorgeous Chloe. I was there one year and she had been moved and another year there were renovations and I missed her again. The Young & Jackson building is opposite Flinders Street Railway Station made so famous to chess players by F.K.Esling who supervised its construction. The centenary was held in 2010. Next photo is the site of John Wisker’s grave in Kew Cemetery Melbourne. Wisker died in 1884 and a plaque was erected on the grave 100+ years later. The bottom photo is of Isabel and Arthur Willmott in Adelaide 1994

Denis Saunders and Barry Barnes on the Thames London April 1997 (BCPS meeting)

A prize winning pastoral scene by Denis Saunders from 1953. He thought of becoming a professional photographer but was a Geography lecturer at Queensland University.

From Left:- Bob Meadley, Ian Shanahan, Dawn and Nigel Nettheim. Penrith Panthers Leagues Club 10 January 2003. Prizegiving Day, Australian Open Chess Championships. Nigel generously gave funds for the Whyatt Medal and spoke at the ceremony about the benefits of problems. He was a judge for the Whyatt Medal, with myself, Andrew Ballam (FM Radio Melbourne Sunday chess program) and John Barton (retired University professor) .

Brian Tomson (1942-86), Professor of English, Newcastle University NSW Problemist, strong player and friend. 1984

From Left: Ian Shanahan, Dr. Cedric Lytton (on a visit from England. He is President of The British Chess Problem Society in 2009), the late John van der Klauw, Dennis Hale and Nigel Nettheim. On the next page are two of the ‘Get-together’ photos when the problemists gathered in Sydney. In the first from the left George Meldrum was a very strong solver and problem fan. Behind him is a very young Ian Shanahan 19 years old! John van der Klauw is next. A very clever miniature retrograde analysis problem composer, then myself. In the front from the left holding the chess set is Rurik Bergmann, a good composer from Estonia and great supporter of John Kellner’s chess columns. Bill Morris was a very strong player and late convert to a problem interest. Terrific guy who donated his chess book collection for the good of the game and many of his books went as prizes in the Bill Morris Memorial Tourney in July 1981. William R. Morris (1904-1981) was Australia’s chess poet and a clerk in the old Water Board retiring in 1966 as Officer in Charge of Records. We called at Gosford and met Bill and Molly in their home where I got slaughtered at chess. Norma said to Molly I’m here to talk to you so that the men can play chess! Molly laughed but I didn’t! The other photo from the left shows Nigel, then Bernie Johnson, editor of Chess in Australia, Jim and Coral Jones from Canberra. Jim has a great chess library and is a very, very strong solver. A pity he is out of it but Coral sadly has Alzheimer’s today. Myself, Ian and George make up the rear. They are both 2m tall!

“For Bob, an eternal souvenir to look at, just a flower among other flowers. Rurik Bergmann 8 July, 1979” At his home in Toronto on Lake Macquarie NSW. Rurik passed away on 19 August 1990 aged 77. He was an enthusiastic collector of all things but mainly stamps, coins and chess books. Born in Siberia on 20th July 1913, his father was an officer in the Czar’s Imperial Army at Vladivostok. They settled in Estonia in 1921 and Rurik learned chess in 1926. He played a draw against Reti in a simul but his real love was the chess problem. He had contact there with the great Paul Keres who was a very fine problemist as well as a grandmaster. The war came along and Rurik brought his family to Australia in 1950 after being in a Displaced Persons camp in Bavaria. They bought land at Lake Macquarie and there they stayed. Rurik worked for Stewart & Lloyds from 19521978 when he retired. He composed 230 chess problems, mostly 2-ers, 161 were by Rurik, 26 with his daughter Helen, 13 with Tom Watkins, 3 with Cecil Guest of Rathmines and 12 with Frank Ravenscroft. 200 have been published. He was good friends with Rowland Bain another chess enthusiast of Kellner’s columns, also Ortvin Sarapu a countryman from Estonia and great NZ chessplayer. He had a special kinship with Narelle and John Kellner and there were many meetings. He played in simuls against John, Roger Cook, Fred Flatow, Florin Georghiu and Yuri Averbach most at Newcastle. He did not win but enjoyed the camaraderie. With his stamp collecting this was a continuation of his father’s collection which he called ‘an inherited hobby’. He wrote many ‘Letters to the Editor’ and had over 170 articles published. His passion was a fair and equitable rating system. Religious and an amusing letter-writer. “Keep Smiling” was how he finished many of them.

And now selected columns from Chess in Australia and its descendants:-

December 1969 CIA. The early column.

Laurie Hill was one of the most promising of the 1970s problemists but work and family took him away.

In early 1970 Brian Tomson entered the fray.

And an impressive list of solvers was forming in ‘Problem Corner’ (CIA Dec.1970).

Fred Flatow handed the reins of Problem Corner to Peter Donovan with this issue. Fred did a great job building up interest.

Peter had a more varied taste as this column shows. CIA Dec. 1971.

Solvers still holding up well with the new editor Mike Winslade.

My first column. Mike was not well and passed away some months later.

It was important to start a composing and solving competition.

I included this column because it gives a problem by the future grandmaster Ian Rogers who was 14 at this time.

I included this column as it contains details of the late John van Der Klauw.

Just for interest. Can anyone beat 74 years between a problemist’s first and last published problem?

This tourney was open to the world and the world’s best problemists sent their problems. CIA June 1981.

This was the last Problem Column in Chess in Australia. The problem column continued in Arthur Willmott’s magazine which he conducted from July 1992 until November l997. It was a desk-top publication, bi-monthly and 33 issues appeared. Chess in Australia finished Dec 1997/Jan 1998. Australian Chess Forum started in Feb 1998 and Arthur Willmott’s first column appeared March 1998:-

Arthur continued with the column in Australian Chess Forum until 2003 when it was taken over by Ian Shanahan who conducted it until 2008 when Geoff Foster became editor. A typical column during the 1998-2003 period follows on the next page. There were no solving tourneys nor were there many Australian problems in the column. Ian’s column (2003-08) has been published by him on the web. Geoff has continued the column with the generous allocation of two pages, bimonthly and one column completes the coverage of Australia’s most important chess problem column in a magazine.

March 2001 Australian Chess Forum.

July/August 2009 Australasian Chess.

Following photos September 2009 Problemists Get-Together Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club Sept. 2009. From Left: Ian Shanahan, Dennis Hale, Bob Meadley, and Peter Wong. Second Photo: Mrs Amy Ellerington (Fred Hawes’ daughter) outside her home in Lithgow and Bob Meadley. Amy kindly lent me her father’s two Problem MS – the first was of her father’s best problems and the second his joints with Frank Ravenscroft.

Where are Problems Today – 2015? On the world scene the British Problemist still flies the banner and our own Geoff Foster does a lot of digital work for the Problemist Supplement. There are many digital sites and Geoff and Ian Shanahan are the best contacts. On the Australian scene Geoff, Ian and Peter Wong carry the banner for the composers. Lindon Lyons is one of the younger brigade. Arthur Willmott, now in his 90s was a great stalwart and virtually carried problems for five years in the 90s. He is a terrific solver and won the Problemist solving prize many times. It was a bad result when The Australasian Chess Magazine closed in December 2013 but the lack of subscriptions forced the editor’s hand. He was very good for chess problems and the final problem editor Geoff Foster did a good job. The really good outlet is Peter Wong’s OzProblems website and this came about as a result of the 2009 meeting at the Ryde Eastwood Club. The late Ken Fraser of the State Library of Victoria often wrote about the great effect of chess columns in the newspaper age. He felt rural chess fans and those distant from chess centres could have contact this way. With the digital age one can have contact more easily. Nigel Nettheim’s solving tourneys held annually with the Australian Junior Chess Championships have been successful in bringing problems to young people. Whether they take it further is then up to them. I best add that this is a personal history of chess problems in Australia. I have been digging into it since 1974 and have at last gathered it into some sort of order. There are plenty of gaps which I hope to fill in the future. Two of the gaps are the composing and solving tourneys held in Australia pre Federation and post. There are a large number and New Zealand also held many. The emphasis is on NSW and Victoria and other States need work done. Bob Meadley 23/1/2015

Bob Meadley (28th January 1940 - ?) Dear Mr. Meadley or is it Bob?” was how my mentor Frank Ravenscroft commenced his first letter on the 12th August 1965. A wonderful opening and we became friends and met on my visits to Sydney – I suppose three or four times only – but Frank, Mrs. R. and their daughter Enid were kind when we visited; it was not hard to love them all, especially Frank. When he died on 25th February 1968 aged 87, I was shattered. And then some months later his problem books came via the late John Kellner – left in Frank’s will to me – with some going back almost 100 years. If he hadn’t hooked me before he had then. I had never seen such books. His wife Lillian was a woman with great humour. I recall Enid went to an antique auction when we were visiting and Mrs. R. said, You should have put me in dear! The grand lady died aged 102 in 1983. On another visit, though she was blind then, she felt all over my young son John’s face to get a picture of him. The amazing thing was that John let her. I was born in Hull, England during the war. There were no chess players in the family and when Dad was killed in 1943 when U66 sank his ship, Mum, an Australian, came home in 1946 with my younger brother Jack and myself. As a widow she was not good collateral, but a kindly Rural Bank manager gave her a loan and she built a home in Kogarah, Sydney and we moved there in 1948. Mum died there in 2001. Down the road at 1 O’Connell Street were the Bryant family. Their eldest sons Alex and Ian, our mates, played chess on their maternal Scots grandfather Alexander Fulton’s superb inlaid chess table with a lovely set of pieces that had ornately carved knights. He taught me to play and I was fascinated, what was this game that traversed the generations? And at age 14 I set out to become the first Australian world chess champion. Alekhine’s book My Best Games 1908-23 was my bible and I romanced about his life as a young man playing in all those fabled cities such as St. Petersburg, Carlsbad, and Vilna. I would do the same but it didn’t work out – the skill was not there. John Kellner, the great chess editor of the early 1960s in Sydney was always holding composing and solving competitions in the Sunday Mirror and I was involved. By then I was a railway electrician but chess was my passion. I thought I was a good player and did not like losing. I played in Hyde Park Sydney with the old men who habituated the tables and I won mostly. Sometimes a player from Kosh’s Chess Academy came over and we would lose. I saw Frank Crowl there one day, penniless and in his soiled suit. He was a master but poor. The light started to show and I realized one needed an income unless one was in the top rank at chess. Better if it was a hobby. I enjoyed playing through master games and solving problems and still do today. My first problem, No.1 below, appeared in the Sunday Mirror ca 1962 and was part of the ladder competitions in Kellner’s column. He offered good prizes and we all competed like mad. I had studied and revelled in Alain White’s book, Sam Loyd and his Chess Problems. Here indeed was a book to be proud of and Loyd was a wonderful character and a genius at problems. White was just as wonderful in compiling this book on his friend. Problems were a rewarding pastime. No.2 was published in the Sunday Mirror, 20th March 1966, though 2ers never really held me.

No.1 Sunday Mirror ca 1962

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-tR-+LvL( 7+-+-+-+Q' 6-+-+-+-+& 5+-snrwq-+-% 4-+-mkr+-tR$ 3sN-zp-sn-+-# 2KzPp+-zP-+" 1+-sN-+-+-! xabcdefghy White mates in two moves (10x8). Key 1.b4 waiting. No.2 Sunday Mirror 20th March 1966

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+-+( 7+-+-+-+-' 6-+-+L+-+& 5+-+-zp-mK-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-vLkzp-sNR# 2-zPn+R+-+" 1+-+l+-+-! xabcdefghy White mates in two moves (7x5). Key 1.Nh1 waiting. John Kellner started a Frank Ravenscroft Memorial tournament in 1968 and I entered No.3 and another which nearly ended my marriage. Life was indeed too short for chess, or so my dear wife Norma thought! As a retired health and building officer with 35 years country experience, chess has saved my life. I’ve never been interested in clubs and have been happy watching our two children

grow up, along with working in my den on letters and research. My dear late chess friend John van Manen’s passing in 2000 was a body blow but research continues. No.3 Sunday Mirror April 14th 1968, ‘F.R.’

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+-+( 7trpsNn+-+-' 6l+-+ptRQ+& 5zp-+-zP-+n% 4PzPk+L+-vl$ 3vL-+-zpNzp-# 2P+-+P+P+" 1+-+-mK-+R! xabcdefghy White mates in two moves (14x11). Key 1.Bb1 threat 2.Qc2. (Not 1.0-0, illegal due to prior play.) Editing a chess column was great and one received some amazing contact with others. The ten years I edited the problem column in Chess in Australia (1974-84) were happy ones and I then passed over to another friend and very strong composer, the late Brian Tomson, Professor of Mediaeval English at Newcastle University above Sydney. I kept up the small column in Tasmanian Chess Magazine (Oct.1982 - Jul.1991) and one feature I enjoyed in that column was a series on Australian chess champions and their interest in chess problems. In 1978 I acquired the late Bill Whyatt’s chess effects from the Public Trustee with my brother’s help, and the Whyatt family received copies of the book W.A. Whyatt’s Chess Problems in 1979. I also published A Chess Miscellany that year. From 1981-1994, Australian Chess Lore in six volumes was published with John van Manen as chief editor. And in 1989 a small booklet, A Selection of 19th Century Australian Chess Problemists. In 1999 A Letter to Bert (chess libraries) appeared and in 2009 Some Memories Expanded (a biography of Frederick Karl Esling (1860-1955), the first Australian chess champion). Other articles on problemists such as Karl Becker, Dr. J.J. O’Keefe, Arthur Mosely, Henry Tate, Laimons Mangalis and E.D.McQueen were written with Geoff Foster and have appeared in The Problemist. Articles on the great 19th century Australian chess players such as Louis Goldsmith, C.M. Fisher, Andrew Burns, A.G. McCombe and Edward Thonen of the Eureka Stockade have appeared in the Australasian Chess Magazine. Paul Dunn, the ACF Archivist and myself updated John van Manen’s Bibliography of Australian and New

Zealand Chess Literature in 2009 and it is being published in Holland by the Ken Whyld Association. I have about 1500 books on chess and have enjoyed collecting for many decades. I still collect about 30 per year, mostly modern items. I have always enjoyed solving and research more than composing problems but have put out about 30 problems over 40 years. The final problem, No.4, took a lot of time and it was probably wasted but it proved fascinating to get the white and black pieces to change places. There are two solutions. One is mine, the other was a cook found by that terror of all composers, Jim Jones. His solution involved queen-side castling, mine was king-side castling. No.4 Chess in Australia Nov/Dec 1987

XABCDEFGHY 8RsNLwQKvLNtR( 7zp-zppzpp+p' 6-+-+-+-+& 5+p+-+-zp-% 4-zP-+-+P+$ 3+-+-+-+-# 2P+PzPPzP-zP" 1trnvlqmklsnr! xabcdefghy Shortest game to position. Not a unique sequence and it’s more a puzzle of unblocking in 45 moves. A couple of hints are that the four Knights occupy the four central squares and the four Rooks occupy the b3/g3/b6/g6 squares at the same time. I am presently helping Robert Johnson research his proposed book on Adolf Anderssen the mighty German champion, and Greg Wilson who is compiling a history of Newcastle Chess. I enjoyed helping David Lovejoy with his book on Savielly Tartakower Moral Victories which has been well received by chess lovers. I think chess research is probably my great love now but problems run a close second. Bob Meadley 7 July 2010

A List of Problem Tournaments in Australia & New Zealand Very incomplete and to be used as a guide. Many columns held ‘mini’ tourneys which are not included. Apologies for question marks. More work to be done. The list is roughly chronological:1. Melbourne Leader 1869 (First in Australia) 2. Town & Country Journal NSW 1876 3. Melbourne Leader 1876 4. Town & Country Journal 1878 5. South Australian Chronicle 1882/3 6. Southern Argus 1883 7. Melbourne Leader 1884 8. The Tasmanian 1884/5 (Wisker Memorial Tourney) 9. Melbourne Leader Centennial Tourney 1888 10. Western Mail (WA) 1894 11. Sydney Morning Herald 1895 until early 1900s. 12. New Zealand Mail 189? 13. Canterbury Times 189? 14. A1 Wanganui 1894/5 15. Otago Witness 189? 16. Australian Columns Tourneys 1910-1928 17. Melbourne Leader International 1917 18. The Austral International 1924 19. The Austral International 1927 20. Brisbane Courier 193? 21. Australasian Chess Review 1932 22. Australasian Chess Review 1934 (1940 Tourney cancelled) 23. Chess World International 1946 (Merediths – 12 or less men) 24. Weekly Times 1952/3 25. Weekly Times Olympic Tourney 1956 26. Adelaide Sunday Mail 1960? 27. Sun-Herald International 1962 28. Chess in Australia 1975/77/79/81/84/87