 It is with much sadness we have to report the death of Harry Schofield, who recently passed at the age of 91 from pneumonia.
Harry left School at 14 and began working at Staveley Iron Works as a turner. He was fortunate to gain an engineering apprenticeship with the National Coal Board, subsequently qualifying as an engineer based at Duckmanton. He became active in the National Union of Mineworkers and rose to be appointed to Branch Secretary, a post previously held by Eric Varley, later Lord Varley}. He attended Sheffield University where he studied Economics, and was offered a place at Worcester College Oxford, which he was obliged to turn down because of family commitments. He was a member of St John`s Ambulance Brigade for most of his life and when he was ill, he could quote the first aid manual to the nurses in the hospital which looked after him. Harry was a fundraiser for the Thalidomide Society for many years. He loved his music and was an accomplished drummer and singer. He was passionate about poetry and even wrote some himself. Harry loved his chess. He was both a member of Clay Cross Chess Club and Chesterfield Chess Club. Even when he could not attend he paid his annual subscription to the club. He spent most of his time coaching our new members and this made him very popular in the club. His favourite chess opening was the semi-slav defence in the Queen`s gambit opening. He knew every variation up to twelve moves ! On one occasion, Harry arrived late at the club. There was an `A` Team match in progress with a player short on board two, Harry agreed to play rather than see the board lost by default. When the game reached move eleven, Harry`s opponent, who was graded 2120, unexpectedly offered Harry a draw, Harry who was graded 1360 at the time could not believe his luck and accepted the offer without hesitation, The drawn game helped Chesterfield `A` win the match. After the match we asked his opponent "why did you offer a draw on the eleventh move?" He explained that the standard of the opening play and the position that was reached on the eleventh move favoured Harry. He did not recognise Harry as a `B` team player. He had assumed Harry was one of our top players because of the quality of his opening play. At heart Harry was a family man. At his funeral it was apparent how grateful his two sons were for the support that their father had given them throughout their lives. Harry was particularly proud of his grandchildren, all of whom had graduated from university.
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 Club Champion Mike Johnson (L) receives the Robinson Trophy from President Ian Potter (R), 1998 With sadness we have to record the death of our President Mike Johnson. He passed away at Nottingham City Hospital, 12th of October 2021 aged 59.
Mike was a lifelong Chesterfield resident. From an early age he attended the chess club. He was a club member from 1974 until his death in 2021, almost half a century. He became President of the Club in 2003 and played a huge part in making it successful. He was a talented chess player. He won the Club Championship on no less than eight occasions. He also played chess for Derbyshire and for Sheffield in the Woodhouse Cup. We shall miss him very much. A note from David Latham: I was at work when I read this awful news, I thought I`d kept it together but was instantly surrounded by worried people asking what on earth had happened. A gentle and beautiful soul has left us; how cruel untimely. it will not be easy to tell my wife and children, who knew him well. I trust he thought of us all kindly as we thought of him..... given the sort of man he was, he probably thought well of us whether we deserved it or not. it was a great honour to have been in the same room as Mike Johnson. Grief is a price we pay for love. Tribute from Andy Mort: When I first joined Chesterfield Chess Club, Mike was a member of the strong Chesterfield Juniors team which dominated the (long defunct) Chesterfield League. He subsequently progressed to become a member of the Sheffield League A Team, whom he represented till his death. A late developer, mainly because of his time-trouble addiction, he became a formidable opponent in his thirties, and a regularly occupied one of the higher boards in the team as well as representing Derbyshire. Although he never overcome his love affair with time-trouble, he mastered it in time, thriving on the adrenaline it produced, and often winning by luring his opponents into a false sense of security. Expanding his horizons, he started to play in the Yorkshire League, and was a member of the 1978-79 Rotherham team which won the Woodhouse Cup. Subsequently, Mike played in the same competition for Sheffield, and was a keen member of several League-winning teams. However, it was in the 4NCL that Mike found his ultimate metier when I persuaded him to strengthen the Spirit of Atticus squad. Not only did he love the attendant social life, but the slow time-limit was absolutely suited to his attritional style of play (he always valued knights above bishops, and often made appropriate exchanges in the opening). Mike was prepared to `grind out` endlessly positions in which he had minimal edge, to gain a crucial extra half point for the team (though it often left his team mates hungry). More than once, his game was the very last in the room to finish, and interestingly, he seemed to reserve his `Spanish Torture` for Bradford players, his three most notable marathon victims being Mike Bramsom, Dave Patrick and Harry Baxter. Outside chess, it is well known that Mike was a fanatical - and possibly deluded - Derby County supporter, but less well known is that, before a leg injury, he was a runner - a marathon runner, unsurprisingly, who once failed only narrowly to achieve a prestigious sub-three hours` time. As President of Chesterfield Chess Club and a team captain, he was a tireless worker. An absolute gentleman, he will be missed by team members and adversaries alike.  Terry Hand (R) as Club President It is with great sadness that we have to record the death of Mr Terry Hand. In October he collapsed at home and was admitted to Hospital but, sadly, did not recover. He died aged 67.
Born in Brinsley, he lived locally for forty years. Mr Hand joined East Midlands Electricity in 1961, where he qualified as an electrical Engineer, staying for thirty five years, then moving to ABB until his retirement. He returned to work part time for GEW Ltd for the love of the job. Terry enjoyed attending stock car racing meetings across the country. He had a keen eye for photography and was never far away from a personal electrical project. He was one of the longest serving members of our chess club and was our club auditor at the time of his death. Terry served as Club President for three years, the longest serving Club Treasurer for more than thirty years and an active club member for half a century. He won the Swiss Tournament in 1977, and the Qualifying Tournament in 1982. A note by the President M.Johnson: I have known Terry since I was a boy, never seen him other than in a good mood, ready to chat about games with equal good humour whether he'd won or lost. We can only hope that our club brought something to his life as valuable to him as his company was to us. We extend our deepest sympathy to the family. He leaves a widow, Hazel, son, Adrian and daughter, Jennifer. Otto passed away peacefully on 04-04-2010 aged 82.
He came to this country in 1943 and in the 1950s joined the Sheffield University. In 1958-1960 he became our Chesterfield Chess Club Club champion and a board one player for the 'A' Team. He settled down in Loughborough, then progressed to become a keen county player and over the years he participated in the British Chess Championship Tournaments. He was highly praised by D.Saunderson and for us one of the last figures from the heroic age of the club history. Otto leaves a daughter, her husband and two grandsons.  It is with great sadness that we have to record the death of Mr Douglas Saunderson who died in the spring of 2008 in the Royal Hospital at the age of 88.
Born in Chesterfield, he lived in the area all his life. During his working life, "Doug" was employed as a cost accountant at Stavely Works. He was a founder member and first President of Chesterfield Astronomical Society. He was a bachelor. Doug joined our chess club after the second world war as a junior. He won the prestigious Club Championship a record 13 times. He was also Derbyshire Chess Champion on a number of occasions. In addition he regularly played for the County. He became Vice-President in 1976. The following year he retired from the Club and was elected a Life-Member. His last recorded games were in 1996 for the 'A' Team when he came out of retirement at the age of 76. He presented the 'Saunderson Trophy' to the chess club and he will always be remembered for his outstanding performance in winning the Robinson Trophy thirteen times, a record which may never be beaten. We are very sad to record the passing away of John William Enion in September. He died at home, aged 87.
Born in Church Gresley, near Swadlingcote, he lived in this part of Derbyshire for 60 years. He had been a school teacher. He was a member of Chesterfield Chess Club and also of Chesterfield Cricket Club. He enjoyed making wine from home grown grapes. To most of our club members John was known as 'Jack Enion'. He was a very generous person and played a big part in supporting the Chess Club. He was our Auditor at the time of his death, having been a member for more than forty years. .He became a 'Life Member' in 1998. He enjoyed playing in the internal competitions and never failed to give generously to the club and to his fellow men. He will be sorely missed. He was a widower and leaves a son, daughter and grandson. It is with great sadness that we have to record the death of Mike Callis, who passed away on the 9th of June 2003. He left his wife, Mrs M.Callis and son and daughter.
Mike first started playing chess when he moved from Blackpool to Chesterfield 24 years ago. He became a social member in our Chess Club and he progressed to play in the Qualifying Tournament in 1989. In the year 2001, Mike also played in the 'All Play All' Tournament and several of our Lightning Tournaments. A keen chess player, he participated in weekend Chess Tournaments and he was a member of more than one Chess Club. Apart from chess, his interests were in horticulture and agriculture. Mike had his own business office in Chesterfield town centre. His presence and support to the Chess Club will be sorely missed.  Bill Ramsden OBE presenting the High Peak Vase to Ian Potter and George Peters in 1999 To most of our club members, Mr W.Ramsden was known as 'Bill'. He was our Club Secretary for the last few years, and he also served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Derbyshire Chess Association. He was highly organised and will prove very difficult if not impossible to replace.
Bill was competitive at both chess and bridge and also had a tremendous sense of fair play. Besides being a fine club player he also entered many individual tournaments with a good deal of success. He won the All-Play-All Tournament when he first joined our Chess Club and became Derbyshire League Captain for almost a decade. He was a Chesterfield person and was educated at Chesterfield Grammar School from where he went as a war time student to take an accelerated degree in engineering at Imperial College London. He became a senior executive in the engineering industry and was given an O.B.E. for his services to his profession. His final illness was slow and painful but he took great care to tidy up all his papers especially those to do with our club. They were all dispatched to the President neatly arranged the week before he died. His passing is a sad loss to his family and to our club. We remember him with affection and appreciation for all his hard work for both Club and County. ADDENDUM Following his death, Bill's family generously donated to the Club in his memory a chess board and chess set of very high quality. This set continues to be used by our top players in First Division matches. It was with great sorrow that we have to record the death on 11th December 2002 of one of our 'Life Members', Mr Graham Yarwood.
He was the Executive Vice President of this club from 1981 to 1994; First Team Captain from 1977 to 1981; and a Club Champion in 1986/87 season. Graham, one of the 'old boys', played chess at Club level from the 1960s to the 1990s, spanning 40 years. He continued to be an active member following his retirement from his role of Headmaster of Cresswell School. He was a staunch supporter of School Chess, County Chess and Chesterfield Chess Club. During the time when our late President, Joe Hooton suffered from severe illness, Graham virtually kept the club going. He was noted for his hard work and the effort he put into our Chess Club and we owe him a lot. In the 1994 Bulletin, it was reported that Graham was seriously ill with Parkinson's Disease. Shortly after this, due to visual impairment, Graham retired from the Club and was granted a Life membership. He will be remembered with affection and gratitude. We are very sad to record the passing of Arthur in December 2000 at the age of 93.
Mr Clarke had been a member of the club for over 25 years and was much respected for his mature demeanour. He peaked in his chess activities when he was joint winner with Mr F.Watson in the 1989 All-Play-All Tournament. He continued playing competitive chess and attending "Keep Fit" classes until weeks before his death. He is much missed. The club sent a letter of sympathy to his family and several members attended his funeral. 
 President Victor Robinson presenting the Robinson Trophy to Alwyn Hobson in September 1972 Sadly we have to report the death of Alwyn K.Hobson, during March this year.
Although not yet fifty years of age he had been retired from the Chess Club since the year 1981, for personal reasons. He had been in ill health latterly. Alwyn leaves a wife and family to whom we send our deepest sympathy on their sad loss. Alwyn joined the Chess Club in 1956 and was one of our keenest and most enthusiastic members. He played in the Club Championship Tournament for many years and became Club Champion in 1972, He was the joint winner of the Lightning-Tournament in 1976. Alwyn was also a regular player for the First-Team and could always be counted on to give his best. Our longer serving members will remember him with affection for his pleasant manner. Such members are a credit to the Chess Club and are sorely missed. It is with great sorrow and regret that we have to report the death of Leslie Calvert who died in February 1983, at the age of 80.
Leslie originally played for the Mansfield Chess Club and for the Nottinghamshire County Team. Later he decided to join our Chess Club in the 1950/51 season and thereafter played for us in the Sheffield and Derbyshire Leagues and for Derbyshire County teams. It was in that same year that he entered the Derbyshire Individual Championship and won it to become the Derbyshire Chess Champion. In the year 1953 he became our Chess Club Champion and the following season he played for the very successful First-Team that won the 'triple' playing on board one to finish the season on a high percentage score. He continued to play for the First-Team before retiring in 1958, and stopped playing in the Club Championship in the year 1968. Note by the President R.J.Hooton. "I first met Leslie when I was picked to play against him in the County Match between Derbyshire -v- Nottinghamshire on the 03-12-1949. I remember I offered a draw which was not taken subsequently he made a slight oversight which enabled me to win. Remember him best though as a team player when I was the First Team Captain, he was a tower of strength to the team, always calm and collected, always unruffled, a veritable Rock of Gibraltar!. I saw him a few years ago on the occasion of a Club -v- Schools simultaneous display at Hasland School. He told me that he had come along with a friend of his to watch because as he said "I might see my friend Joe there"! which he did and I was glad to see him too!. I shall miss Leslie Calvert very personally". Leslie was a native from Pilsley and had been married for 57 years at his death, leaving a widow, two stepson, ten grandchildren and thirteen great-grand-children. He was a life-long Methodist and an active worker in the church. We send our condolences to Mrs Mould Calvert and to the members of the family along with the record of his Chess Life period with the Chesterfield Chess Club.  It is with great sorrow that we have to report the death of J.T.Salt.
John died on the 07-11-1982. Apart from our President he was the longest serving member of the Chess Club. He first joined in the 1934/35 season, as one of our younger players. He was a keen enthusiastic studier of the game and from the very first he took an active part in the affairs of the Chess Club. He was always a regular player in the club's events and was a keen match player. He played many times for the First -Team in his earlier days, and for the Second-Team in his later career. When the British Chess Federation held their congress in 1950/51 at Buxton both he and Douglas Saunderson took part in the organisation.. He and Douglas also attended many other of the B.C.F.Congresses. In 1958 John was made a Vice-President in recognition of his long devoted services to the Chess Club. Note by the President R.J.Hooton. I shall miss John Salt very personally, I had been associated with him for half a century ! In my various capacities as a Team-Captain, a Committee Chairman and latterly as President. I could rely on John for his help and encouragement". He will be greatly missed as a person and for his long association with our Chess Club activities. We send our condolences to his widow, Mrs Isobella Salt. He was one of the Chess Club's most active and faithful servants. With great regrets that we have to report the death of one of our life members, Mr R.J.Kearsley, during the April month.
Mr Kearsley was a retired official of the N.C.B. and had not played chess for many years, he did show strong interest in the doings of his old Chess Club. We received many donations from him in the years past. He first joined the Chess Club in the year 1946/47 season, when it was re-started after the second world war. He played for the First-Team in the Sheffield-Davy-League for several years and was a very useful player on the upper boards. Note by the President R.J.Hooton. "I shall always remember Ron Kearsley with affection, he was a good club member and a popular one too! For on number of occasions when I was playing in the chess club and was failing to bring off a 'masterpiece' I would hear a voice from behind me saying, "This ends our dream of greatness" and by turning round would see Ron Kearnsley smiling at me. It is with great sorrow we have to report the death of our Vice-President Mr N.C.Lewis at the end of the season.
Cecil Lewis joined the Chess Club in 1949. He was later elected Treasurer, a post which he held for twenty-three years. He played in the first team on many occasions with considerable success. More recently he played for the second team, again very successfully. He had been an outstanding member in the Chess Club both in his ability as a player and as a worker for the Chess Club administration. Note by the President R.J.Hooton. "I feel a great loss in the death of Mr N.C.Lewis. I admired him for his personal rectitude, the clarity of his mind and his deep feeling for his fellow men. He and I were kindred spirits in many ways and I miss him very much. For his love of chess was apparent in his fostering of it during his years of teaching at Netherthorpe Grammar School. He has encouraged many young players, the name Tallow comes to mind, in particular Philip, and Stephen and also Douglas Saunderson the secretary for many years, and many times Chess Club Champion. I think he would have liked this to be a memorial to him. Many of us at the Chess club will miss him deeply". The Chess Club has also benefited from his generosity in many ways behind the scenes and it can ill afford the loss of such a man! Our sincere condolences go to his family in their loss. Another loss to the Chess Club was the recent death of Doctor B.Skibinski, who was a member of the Chess Club for some years. It was Bron Skibinski who presented the School trophy for the First-Year players at the time when his son David was also a member of the Chess Club and a strong player too!. Bron Ski' was a kindly humane man, and was widely appreciated by all who knew him.
Our sympathy goes to his wife and son in their great loss. Since the issue of our last bulletin we are sorry to report the death of Mr W.P.Sheldon following a serious heart operation.
Mr Sheldon, who lived at Baslow, joined the Chess Club during the 1949/50 season and was elected to the committee the following year.He served the Chess Club in this capacity until last season. He has been mentioned in our last bulletin as the winner of the Go-As-You-Please Tournament. The older members will always remember Billy Sheldon for his cheerful and even tempered manner and his willingness to help behind the scenes. We offer our sincere condolences to his family in their loss. He was one of the stalwarts of the Chess Club. He was a Life-Member, Chairman of the Committee and a regular team player for some years.
Tragically last December he was knocked down by a passing car and later died in hospital. He will be missed for his cheerful presence and his sound advice on Club matters. Our condolences go to his family.  It is with much sadness that we have to report the death last October of our President Colonel V.Robinson, only a few weeks after he had attended our A.G.M. and presented the trophies to the various winners. Victor Robinson was the driving force behind the establishment of the Chess Club in 1924.
When the Chess Club re-started after the 1939-45 war, Colonel Robinson became President and held office by the until his death. He was always interested in the furtherance of Chess both in Chesterfield and in the Derbyshire County. He started the Chess Club off by presenting the 'Robinson Trophy' to the Club for the Championship-Tournament and later he presented the 'League-Senior's Trophy' to the Schools. He also presented the 'Trophy Board' to the Derbyshire-Chess-Association for the County Championship. All the older members of our Chess Club will always remember him with gratitude for his continuing concern for the Chess Club's welfare that he showed over so many years. A donation was made to the Army-Welfare-Fund in his memory and his name will have an honoured place in the records of our Chess Club. ADDENDUM Further information on Colonel Robinson is contained in the History section [Presidents} of this website. It is understood that two other Life-members. Mr Mearns and Mr Bayfield, died some years ago. They were both advanced in age, had retired from the Chess Club and left the district many years ago, so putting us out of touch. Some of the older members will remember them in their active way.
It was with sorrow that we learnt of the death of Mr.O.Heald, one of our Life-members. He retired some years ago for health reasons. Nevertheless he continued to take a keen interest in the progress of the Chess Club.
He was a Committee Chairman for a number of years and his wise and tactful counsel was very much appreciated. Our sympathy has been expressed to his family. It is with deep regret we have to record the death of our Mr O.Gelblub whose lively personality and passion for the game of chess will be much missed.
He joined the Chess Club when it re-started after the second world war and gave his active support in many ways behind the scenes. We send our deepest sympathy to his family. It is with sorrow that we have to record the passing of a founder member, Mr Henry Stockton, last November.
He was one of the stalwarts of the Chess Club. He played a large role in establishing it in 1925 and continued to play an active part in all its activities for many years. It was mainly due to his efforts that the Chess Club got going again after the second world war period, when he was the Chess Club Secretary. He organised the Schools' Chess League when it was formed in 1950. He was also a reliable match player who never gave up. He had a reputation for pulling many 'lost' games out of the fire. We all owe him a great debt for his tireless efforts for the Club. It is with great regret that we have to record the passing of Mr. G.Willis of Dore. He was one of our Life-members and a long standing member since the middle 1930's. Although he has not taken an active part for many years, it is his kindness, good humour and generosity to the Club that will always be remembered by those of us who knew him.
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