Had the game continued, one possible continuation would have been 21. ... Kh6, 22.Rd3  Be3, 23.Bf4  Bxf4, 24.Rh3 mate, when White's queen and single rook have overcome a virtually complete Black army. And if 22. ...Bg5 (instead of ...Be3), then 23.Rg3 Kg7, 24.Qxd7+ Kh6, 25.Qh3+ Kg6, 26.Qf5+ Kg7, 27.Be5+ Nf6, 28.Qxf6+ Kg8, 29.Qg7 mate.

   From the early 1980s David and I, together with Roger Jacks, formerly of Worthing but then living in Peacehaven, met on Saturday afternoons at what was then Macari's Coffee Lounge near the Dome Cinema, for games (usually played between David and Roger) and for general conversation. Those meetings ran until early 2020, the last four years being without David, who died in 2016. We used a corner table at Macari's, and were known to regular patrons as The Chess Club. I occasionally sent postcards to the other two addressed that way when I was abroad.

   David and Roger were both of a rather stubborn nature and they tended to concentrate on one opening at a time, both being determined to be its master. For example, at one stage David played the Milner Barry Gambit in the French Defence for six months or more, and later spent a similar time on the White side of From's Gambit in Bird's Opening. From time to time an amusing situation would occur, and David would laugh and laugh and laugh. He himself sometimes said that his epitaph would be "He died laughing." Sadly, that was not to be, as he contracted Leukaemia.

   I remember David as a gentle, intelligent, and widely-read person, who although sociable was probably more at home in the countryside where he lived and worked. He often spoke with fondness of his time in the army during National Service. That was one of his common points with Roger, whose call-up time included involvement in the Suez Crisis in 1956. At Macari's, conversation would sometimes turn to the Club days at the Rivoli Cinema (which was at the north end of the High Street on a site now redeveloped), and to the members from that era. These included Major Balding, Leslie Head (who later ran a chess column in the Worthing Gazette), Dr Bokenham (whom I once played in the early 1950s in a match between the Club and Steyning Grammar School), Mr Chettle, Miss Bell and others. At the Rivoli, the Club playing area on a mezzanine floor had a Palm Court atmosphere, with boards at small tables with wicker chairs. In those days there was a quaint practice during afternoon matches with visiting clubs. At a convenient point in a game the home player would invite his opponent to take some refreshment, which involved leaving the Rivoli and walking a few yards down the High Street past an antique shop to a little café, for tea and a slice of cake.  

© Copyright John Knott, 2024