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Tony Robson (1939 - 2011)

Tony Robson will be remembered, not for his chess-playing ability, but for the work he did to inspire, encourage and enable others to play the game.

Tony joined both Northampton Chess Club (which he later served as Secretary for 2 years) and Chess Mates in 2007. He understood the benefits of chess and recognised that membership of a chess club was not practical for many people in Northamptonshire. He therefore employed new ideas to increase local participation in the game and "bring chess to the community".

Tony was an outgoing person and established a wide network of contacts from many walks of life, including local communities, chess clubs, community funding bodies, local authorities and the media. He persuaded publicly accessible venues, such as libraries and coffee bars, to purchase chess sets and boards for customer use and to become "ChessPoints". He supported them by providing information packs (ChessPacks) about the game and some of its great players (H. E. Atkins (1872-1955) was a particular favourite of his). Further information about ChessPoints can be found in an article in the January/February 2011 edition of Chess Moves, which Tony wrote shortly before he died.

Tony identified the need within the community for chess coaching, but Northamptonshire had no Accredited Coaches at the time and whilst ChessPoints were suitable venues for playing, they were not practical for coaching. It is due to Tony that Northamptonshire now has 3 ECF Accredited Coaches and the ChessPoint Academy, which opened in Northampton in March 2010.

Tony will also be remembered for organising a chess exhibition, which ran for 3 weeks in 2009 at Northampton Museum and attracted visitors from far and wide.

At the time of his death from cancer, Tony was the founder and Secretary of ChessPoint Services and was "Mr. ChessPoint" to many. His untimely passing has left a huge gap in the community. May he rest in peace.

Alan Brown
Chairman, Northampton Chess Club and Treasurer, ChessPoint Services
January 2011

A fine finish in Internet win by Tony (who played under the handle "Sonny Robot")

Sonny Robot (Tony Robson) - Anonymous
Letplaychess Internet server 2010. Nimzo-Indian Rubinstein Variation by transposition

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.O-O Bd7 8.Bd2 a6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Qb3 Be6 11.Ng5 g6 12.Rad1 Bd6 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Ne2 b5 15.f3 e5 16.Rc1 Qd7 17.e4 Kh8 18.Bg5 dxe4 19.Bxf6+ Rxf6 20.Bxe4 Be7? 21.dxe5 Re6 22.Rfd1 Qc8 23.Bxc6 Rb8 24.Bd7 Qb7 25.Qxe6 Bg5 attacking white's rook.

Position after 25...Bg5. Can you see Tony's winning move?

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