We were very fortunate in having Russell Granat join the Club in 2021 on his retirement as a chartered accountant to Worthing after many years as a leading member of the Wimbledon Chess Club, where his roles included those of match captain and treasurer. There, Russell's style of play earned him the title of The Strategic Magician. He joined Wimbledon in 1972 with his sister Helen, who two years later became the British Girls Under 14 Champion.

   During his chess career Russell has competed against many international players and has achieved wins not only against International Masters but also against several Grandmasters, including James Plaskett and William Watson; and he scored 2½:½ in games against GM Murray Chandler, a former New Zealand Champion and a member of the Rest of the World Team in the 1984 match against the Soviet Union. Among Russell’s other successes while based at Wimbledon, where his ELO rating peaked at 2355, was winning the Surrey County Championship a staggering seven times.
   
  To that achievement Russell has now, at the first attempt, added the Sussex County Individual Championship of 2023-24, and in doing so gained a rating of 2524 for the competition. Also, since joining our Club, Russell became joint Club Champion in 2021-22 (with Dave Graham) and sole Club Champion in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and has taken on the role of captain of the first team in the Sussex League since the 2022-23 season. But perhaps the achievement which gives him most satisfaction is his draw with the black pieces against eight-times British Champion, Grandmaster Michael Adams, in the first round of the World Senior Team Championship in 2023. Russell was on Board 1 of England's 3rd Team, while Michael Adams was on Board 1 of the 1st Team.