|
Home > Archive > Chess politics > February 2005 > Kent
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
|
|
|
|
Nick wrote:
quote:
> Phil Innes ('Chess One') wrote (to 'Barbara Villiers'):
>
> According to published sources, Vera Menchik Stevenson and
> her mother and her sister were killed when a German V-1
> hit *their house in Kent*, which is *not* 'just a few miles
> away' (as Phil Innes claims) from anywhere in North London.
>
> Here's a ChessBase article about Vera Menchik:
> http://www.chessbase.com/columns/column.asp?pid=104
>
> "...her untimely death in 1944 when a German V-1 rocket
> hit her Kent house..."
> --ChessBase column
>
> Might Phil Innes's mother have met Virginia Woolf's
> supposed grand-child too? :-)
>
> --Nick
How far is it?
| |
| Jeremy Spinrad 2005-02-20, 5:47 pm |
|
I had not realized Vera Menchik's name became Stevenson. This is odd, because
when I was tracking down another player named Mrs. Stevenson, who played with
spectacular lack of success in what was billed as the first international woman's
tournament in 1897, I came across yet another chess playing Mrs. Stevenson who
also died in a remarkable fashion. This third Mrs. Stevenson was killed by an
airplane propellor in Poznan while on her way to the women's world championship
in Warsaw in 1935.
Just one of those oddities that come up, probably of interest only to one with a
mind as warped as my own.
Jerry Spinrad
In article <1108908364.673565.303990@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, "Les" <Lesault@teacher.com> writes:
|>
|> Nick wrote:
|> > Phil Innes ('Chess One') wrote (to 'Barbara Villiers'):
|> > > (snipped for space)
|> > > Since you live in North London, do you know about the first
|> > > woman there to 'break the bubble' and gain entry to the
|> > > 'master chess' of the time - Menchik in the thirties?
|> > >
|> > > My mother was stationed in North London, just a few miles
|> > > away from her house, and where Vera, her mother and sister,
|> > > died as result of a V-bomb. ...
|> >
|> > According to published sources, Vera Menchik Stevenson and
|> > her mother and her sister were killed when a German V-1
|> > hit *their house in Kent*, which is *not* 'just a few miles
|> > away' (as Phil Innes claims) from anywhere in North London.
|> >
|> > Here's a ChessBase article about Vera Menchik:
|> > http://www.chessbase.com/columns/column.asp?pid=104
|> >
|> > "...her untimely death in 1944 when a German V-1 rocket
|> > hit her Kent house..."
|> > --ChessBase column
|> >
|> > Might Phil Innes's mother have met Virginia Woolf's
|> > supposed grand-child too? :-)
|> >
|> > --Nick
|>
|>
|> How far is it?
|>
| |
| Chess One 2005-02-20, 5:47 pm |
|
"Jeremy Spinrad" <spin@vuse.vanderbilt.edu> wrote in message
news:cvaeob$9b9$1@news.vanderbilt.edu...
quote:
>
> I had not realized Vera Menchik's name became Stevenson. This is odd,
> because
> when I was tracking down another player named Mrs. Stevenson, who played
> with
> spectacular lack of success in what was billed as the first international
> woman's
> tournament in 1897, I came across yet another chess playing Mrs. Stevenson
> who
> also died in a remarkable fashion. This third Mrs. Stevenson was killed by
> an
> airplane propellor in Poznan while on her way to the women's world
> championship
> in Warsaw in 1935.
How utterly bizarre! I notice the twerps-among-us have decided to debate
where Vera was killed, and point out that Kent is not north of the river -
nor even usually considered London itself, and I suppose it would be useless
to point to a chess history book like from Richard Eales, for example, or
page 180 to be specific.
I notice from other sources that Vera Francevna held court at the National
Chess Center which opened in 1939 at John Lewis's in Oxford Street [not
whatever I said before, St James St?] but was destroyed by a bomb in 1940.
I have also discovered that her husband R. H. Stevenson was killed in 1943.
I don't know if this was on active service.
Vera was also games editor of Chess.
Her best results seemed to be at Maribor, 1934, when she was 3rd, ahead of
Spielmann and Vidmar. In 1942 she won a match against Mieses +4 -1 = 5. And
also at Ramsgate 1929 when she was =2nd with Rubinstein, half a point behind
Capablanca, but ahead of Maroczy. [In that year Colle shared first at
Hastings with Frank Marshall and Takacs with George Koltanowski 1/2 point
behind]
In her time she defeated Euwe [twice], Reshevsky, Sultan Khan, Sir George
Thomas, CHO'D Alexander, Colle and Yates among other players. Her
master-chess debut was at Scarborough in 1928 when she scored 50%.
Sonja Graf-Stevenson eventually became the US Woman's Champion in 1957, and
again in 1964. She married the American Vernon Stevenson, and they had one
child, a son. Coyly, the entry reads "many highly coloured stories are told
about Sonja Graf, but the majority of these have been found to be without
foundation." [Sunnocks.] Sonja was a protege of George Koltanowski, and
spent the 2nd world war in South America.
I haven't found references to these other Stevensons at all - to add
anything to your note.
Phil Innes
quote:
> Just one of those oddities that come up, probably of interest only to one
> with a
> mind as warped as my own.
>
> Jerry Spinrad
>
> In article <1108908364.673565.303990@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, "Les"
> <Lesault@teacher.com> writes:
> |>
> |> Nick wrote:
> |> > Phil Innes ('Chess One') wrote (to 'Barbara Villiers'):
> |> > > (snipped for space)
> |> > > Since you live in North London, do you know about the first
> |> > > woman there to 'break the bubble' and gain entry to the
> |> > > 'master chess' of the time - Menchik in the thirties?
> |> > >
> |> > > My mother was stationed in North London, just a few miles
> |> > > away from her house, and where Vera, her mother and sister,
> |> > > died as result of a V-bomb. ...
> |> >
> |> > According to published sources, Vera Menchik Stevenson and
> |> > her mother and her sister were killed when a German V-1
> |> > hit *their house in Kent*, which is *not* 'just a few miles
> |> > away' (as Phil Innes claims) from anywhere in North London.
> |> >
> |> > Here's a ChessBase article about Vera Menchik:
> |> > http://www.chessbase.com/columns/column.asp?pid=104
> |> >
> |> > "...her untimely death in 1944 when a German V-1 rocket
> |> > hit her Kent house..."
> |> > --ChessBase column
> |> >
> |> > Might Phil Innes's mother have met Virginia Woolf's
> |> > supposed grand-child too? :-)
> |> >
> |> > --Nick
> |>
> |>
> |> How far is it?
> |>
| |
| Spam Scone 2005-02-20, 5:47 pm |
|
Chess One wrote:
quote:
>
> How utterly bizarre! I notice the twerps-among-us have decided to
debate
quote:
> where Vera was killed, and point out that Kent is not north of the
river -
quote:
> nor even usually considered London itself, and I suppose it would be
useless
quote:
> to point to a chess history book like from Richard Eales, for
example, or
quote:
> page 180 to be specific.
"Like from Richard Eales?" Do you mean *Chess: The History of a Game*
by Richard Eales? Since you've mentioned p180, why not give us the
exact quotation of what Eales wrote there?
| |
| Spam Scone 2005-02-20, 5:47 pm |
|
Jeremy Spinrad wrote:
quote:
> I had not realized Vera Menchik's name became Stevenson. This is odd,
because
quote:
> when I was tracking down another player named Mrs. Stevenson, who
played with
quote:
> spectacular lack of success in what was billed as the first
international woman's
quote:
> tournament in 1897, I came across yet another chess playing Mrs.
Stevenson who
quote:
> also died in a remarkable fashion. This third Mrs. Stevenson was
killed by an
quote:
> airplane propellor in Poznan while on her way to the women's world
championship
quote:
> in Warsaw in 1935.
>
> Just one of those oddities that come up, probably of interest only to
one with a
quote:
> mind as warped as my own.
>
> Jerry Spinrad
Jerry, look at this:
http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/britbase/arch30.htm
|
| |
|
|