From the archives: Nigel Short visits Lichfield Chess Club (2013)
In 2013, on his way to the London Chess Classic, Nigel Short, former World Championship Challenger, longtime British Number 1, and son of club stalwart David Short, dropped by at the Guildhall to play blitz games against club members. The Express and Star published an article on his visit, which was posted onto the club website with their permission.
In the London Chess Classic, Nigel finished joint 5th, with the tournament being won by Hikaru Nakamura.
Grandmaster Nigel Short visits Lichfield Chess Club.
A chess grandmaster with links to Lichfield came in to see old friends while on a visit to the city.
Britain's best known chess player for a quarter of a century, Grandmaster Nigel Short, paid a visit to Lichfield Chess Club where his father is the general secretary.
Mr. Short was a child prodigy and became a grandmaster at 19. He mounted a challenge for the World Chess Championship against Garry Kasparov in 1993.
Now based in Greece, he is a rare visitor to the UK, but went to Lichfield on route for the London Chess Classic.
He played five minute games against some of the club's best players including Carl Bicknell (picture two) and John Keaveney (picture one). His father, David, a former president of the Birmingham Chess League, said: "Nigel is a rare visitor to this country these days as he lives in Athens and spends most of the year at tournaments around the world".
"Preparing for the London Chess Classic against some of the world's best players, he played over a dozen games of "blitz chess" against some of our club's leading players."
He has played chess in 94 countries. He has won the Commonwealth title three times and was at his peak in the 1990s when he became the first Englishman in 100 years to challenge for the world title. He is also a chess columnist, coach and commentator.