Gerald Abrahams
Encyclopedia
Gerald Abrahams was an English chess
player, author and barrister.
He is best known for the "Abrahams Defence" of the Semi-Slav, also known as the Abrahams-Noteboom variation:
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 Bb4 7.Bd2 a5 8.axb5 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 cxb5 10.b3 Bb7 (ECO D31)
In 1933 he was third at Hastings
in the British Championship
, after Mir Sultan Khan
and Theodore Tylor
.
He was known as a strong blindfold
player. In 1934 he took on four strong Irish players, playing blindfold
, at the Belgravia Hotel in Belfast
, winning two games and drawing
two.
In the Anglo-Soviet radio match of 1946 he scored +1 –1 against Viacheslav Ragozin
on board 10.
He is the author of several chess books, including Teach Yourself Chess (1948),The Chess Mind (1951), Handbook of Chess (1960), Technique in Chess (1961), Test Your Chess (1963), The Pan Book of Chess (1966), Not Only Chess (1974), and Brilliancies in Chess (1977).
Other books by Abrahams include Law Affecting Police and Public (1938), Law Relating to Hire Purchase (1939), Ugly Angel (1940), Retribution (1941), Day of Reckoning (1943), World Turns Left (1943), Conscience Makes Heroes (1945), Lunatics and Lawyers (1951), Law for Writers and Journalists (1958), According to the Evidence (1958), The Legal Mind (1954), The Jewish Mind (1961), Brains in Bridge (1962), Police Questioning: The Judges' Rules (1964), Let's Look at Israel (1966), Trade Unions and the Law (1968), and Morality and the Law (1971),
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...
player, author and barrister.
He is best known for the "Abrahams Defence" of the Semi-Slav, also known as the Abrahams-Noteboom variation:
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 Bb4 7.Bd2 a5 8.axb5 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 cxb5 10.b3 Bb7 (ECO D31)
In 1933 he was third at Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
in the British Championship
British Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
, after Mir Sultan Khan
Mir Sultan Khan
Malik Mir Sultan Khan was the strongest chess master of his time from Asia. This manservant from British India traveled with Colonel Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan , his master, to Britain, where he took the chess world by storm...
and Theodore Tylor
Theodore Tylor
Sir Theodore Henry Tylor was a lawyer and international level chess player, despite being nearly blind. In 1965, he was knighted for his service to organisations for the blind...
.
He was known as a strong blindfold
Blindfold chess
Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces...
player. In 1934 he took on four strong Irish players, playing blindfold
Blindfold chess
Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces...
, at the Belgravia Hotel in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, winning two games and drawing
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
two.
In the Anglo-Soviet radio match of 1946 he scored +1 –1 against Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Ragozin
Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. He was also a chess writer and editor.- Biography :...
on board 10.
He is the author of several chess books, including Teach Yourself Chess (1948),The Chess Mind (1951), Handbook of Chess (1960), Technique in Chess (1961), Test Your Chess (1963), The Pan Book of Chess (1966), Not Only Chess (1974), and Brilliancies in Chess (1977).
Other books by Abrahams include Law Affecting Police and Public (1938), Law Relating to Hire Purchase (1939), Ugly Angel (1940), Retribution (1941), Day of Reckoning (1943), World Turns Left (1943), Conscience Makes Heroes (1945), Lunatics and Lawyers (1951), Law for Writers and Journalists (1958), According to the Evidence (1958), The Legal Mind (1954), The Jewish Mind (1961), Brains in Bridge (1962), Police Questioning: The Judges' Rules (1964), Let's Look at Israel (1966), Trade Unions and the Law (1968), and Morality and the Law (1971),