David Pritchard (chess writer)
Encyclopedia
David Brine Pritchard was a British
chess
writer and indoor games consultant
. He "gained pre-eminence as an indoor games and mind sports consultant, a role that he in effect created. A natural games player, it was to him that inventors or publishers would turn to organise a championship of a new game, write about it or generally promote it."
Though nearly a million copies of his chess books have been sold, Pritchard is best known for authoring The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, where he describes more than 1400 different variants
. In his second book on variants, Popular Chess Variants, he focuses on 20 (such as Extinction Chess
, Kriegspiel
and Progressive Chess
), describing them in more detail. He was close to finishing the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants when he died in 2005. (The book was subsequently completed by John Beasley.)
Besides being author of books, Pritchard was editor of Games and Puzzles magazine from 1972 to 1981. He was also a games director for Mind Sports Organisation
, and president of the British Chess Variants Society.
"Pritchard became a leading chess player when he beat the British Grandmasters Jonathan Penrose
and Tony Miles
, but his interests covered all indoor games." "He was a life fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
and his love of travel took him many times around the world."
Pritchard "flew with the RAF during and after the Second World War, serving mainly in the Far East, and reached the rank of squadron leader." "During his service he won the chess championship of Singapore
in 1954 and Malaysia in 1955." "He was for some time the president of the Battle of Britain Chess Competition, and held its championship on more than one occasion." "He also won the Southern Counties Championship."
Pritchard died in 2005 at age 86 and was "survived by his wife, Elaine, whom he married in 1952, and their daughter. Elaine was a chess prodigy who won the British Women's Championship at the age of 13, having already won the World Girls' Championship in 1937 and coming close to drawing an exhibition game with the world champion, Alexander Alekhine
, when she was 11." He has five grandchildren.
"He served as games director of the Mind Sports Olympiad, an annual event bringing together international competitors in dozens of new and classic board games and other mental skills." "He was president of the British Chess Variants Society and wrote The Encyclopaedia of Chess Variants (1994) - his magnum opus - which became the definitive work in the field."
"His essays on Japanese chess (shogi
) and Chinese chess (xiangqi
) are regarded as masterpieces and an easy portal to understanding two of the world's oldest and most subtle board games, regarded by many as equal if not superior to the form of chess played in the West."
"In his tribute on the English Chess Federation
website, Stewart Reuben
, a former president of the federation, described Pritchard as 'an affable man with a dry sense of humour who was in no sense old-fashioned in his views'."
Library of the Musée Suisse du Jeu.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
writer and indoor games consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
. He "gained pre-eminence as an indoor games and mind sports consultant, a role that he in effect created. A natural games player, it was to him that inventors or publishers would turn to organise a championship of a new game, write about it or generally promote it."
Though nearly a million copies of his chess books have been sold, Pritchard is best known for authoring The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, where he describes more than 1400 different variants
Chess variant
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from or inspired by chess. The difference from chess might include one or more of the following:...
. In his second book on variants, Popular Chess Variants, he focuses on 20 (such as Extinction Chess
Extinction chess
Extinction chess is a variant of western Chess where the objective of the game has changed. Instead of the winning condition of the game being the checkmate of the opponent's king, the object of the game is to capture all of a particular kind of piece the opponent has...
, Kriegspiel
Kriegspiel (chess)
Kriegspiel is a chess variant invented by Henry Michael Temple in 1899 and based upon the original Kriegsspiel developed by Georg von Rassewitz in 1812. In this game each player can see their own pieces, but not those of their opponent...
and Progressive Chess
Progressive chess
Progressive chess is a chess variant in which players, rather than just making one move per turn, play progressively longer series of moves. The game starts with white making one move, then black makes two consecutive moves, white replies with three, black makes four and so on...
), describing them in more detail. He was close to finishing the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants when he died in 2005. (The book was subsequently completed by John Beasley.)
Besides being author of books, Pritchard was editor of Games and Puzzles magazine from 1972 to 1981. He was also a games director for Mind Sports Organisation
Mind Sports Organisation
The Mind Sports Organisation is an association for promoting mental-skill games including Contract Bridge, Chess, Go, Mastermind, and Scrabble. Since 1997 it has annually organised in England a multi-sport competition, the Mind Sports Olympiad main event.The MSO was founded in conjunction with...
, and president of the British Chess Variants Society.
Personal
"Pritchard was the father of Wanda Dakin and was married to former British Ladies Chess Champion, Elaine Saunders.""Pritchard became a leading chess player when he beat the British Grandmasters Jonathan Penrose
Jonathan Penrose
Jonathan Penrose, OBE is an English chess player, emeritus Grandmaster, and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster who won the British Chess Championship ten times between 1958 and 1969. He is the son of Lionel Penrose, a world famous professor of genetics, and brother of Roger Penrose...
and Tony Miles
Tony Miles
Anthony John Miles was an English chess Grandmaster.- Early achievements in chess :Miles was born in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham...
, but his interests covered all indoor games." "He was a life fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
and his love of travel took him many times around the world."
Pritchard "flew with the RAF during and after the Second World War, serving mainly in the Far East, and reached the rank of squadron leader." "During his service he won the chess championship of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1954 and Malaysia in 1955." "He was for some time the president of the Battle of Britain Chess Competition, and held its championship on more than one occasion." "He also won the Southern Counties Championship."
Pritchard died in 2005 at age 86 and was "survived by his wife, Elaine, whom he married in 1952, and their daughter. Elaine was a chess prodigy who won the British Women's Championship at the age of 13, having already won the World Girls' Championship in 1937 and coming close to drawing an exhibition game with the world champion, Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, when she was 11." He has five grandchildren.
Career
"His books for beginners, Begin Chess and The Right Way to Play Chess, sold many hundreds of thousands of copies since their publication in the 1950s." "He also wrote on Go (the Japanese territory game) and other games and puzzles." "He edited the Games & Puzzles magazine for ten years and his most recent publication was Teach Yourself Mahjong.""He served as games director of the Mind Sports Olympiad, an annual event bringing together international competitors in dozens of new and classic board games and other mental skills." "He was president of the British Chess Variants Society and wrote The Encyclopaedia of Chess Variants (1994) - his magnum opus - which became the definitive work in the field."
"His essays on Japanese chess (shogi
Shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
) and Chinese chess (xiangqi
Xiangqi
Xiangqi is a two-player Chinese board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, shogi, Indian chess and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China...
) are regarded as masterpieces and an easy portal to understanding two of the world's oldest and most subtle board games, regarded by many as equal if not superior to the form of chess played in the West."
"In his tribute on the English Chess Federation
English Chess Federation
The English Chess Federation is the governing chess organisation in England and is affiliated to FIDE. The ECF was formed in 2004 and was effectively a re-constitution of the extant governing body, the British Chess Federation , an organisation founded in 1904...
website, Stewart Reuben
Stewart Reuben
Stewart Reuben is a British chess player, organiser and arbiter. He has officiated at and/or organised a number of high-level chess events held in Britain and elsewhere, including the world chess championship, and was chief organiser of British Chess Championship Congresses for a number of years...
, a former president of the federation, described Pritchard as 'an affable man with a dry sense of humour who was in no sense old-fashioned in his views'."
Archival material
According to the British Chess Variants Society, five boxes of archival material related to Pritchard's research for The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants will be held by the Ken WhyldKen Whyld
Kenneth Whyld was a British chess author and researcher, best known as the co-author of The Oxford Companion to Chess, the standard single-volume chess reference work in English....
Library of the Musée Suisse du Jeu.
Books
- Go: A guide to the game (1973), ISBN 0-8117-0740-7
- Brain Games: The World's Best Games for Two (1982), ISBN 0-14-005682-3
- Puzzles for Geniuses (1984), ISBN 0-13-744632-2
- First Moves: How to Start a Chess Game (1986), ISBN 0-06-463718-2
- Puzzles and Teasers for the Easy Chair (1988), ISBN 0-7160-0796-7
- Beginning Chess (1992), ISBN 0-451-17438-0
- The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (1994), ISBN 0-9524142-0-1
- Card Games (1995), ISBN 0-7136-3816-8
- Patience Games with David Parlett (1996), ISBN 0-7136-4208-4
- The Right Way to Play Chess (2000), ISBN 1-58574-046-2
- Popular Chess Variants (2000), ISBN 0-7134-8578-7
- Honeycomb Chess with Douglas Graham Reid (2002), ISBN 095241421X
- The New Mahjong: The International Game (2004), ISBN 0-7160-2164-1
- A Family Book of Games (2007), ISBN 1-902407-52-0
- The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (2007), ISBN 0-95551-680-3 (second edition of The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, edited and completed by John Beasley after Pritchard's death)
- Teach Yourself Mahjong (2007), ISBN 0-07-147882-5
External links
- David Pritchard 1919–2005 by John Beasley, Variant Chess, N 51, January 2006, pp 98, 99.
- David Brine Pritchard