Chess
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Your support makes all the difference.I WAS very sorry to hear of the death a week ago today of Mrs
Rowena Bruce, at the age of 80.
Mrs Bruce was born in Plymouth on 15 May 1919; when I spoke to Bob Wade he recalled playing a live chess game with her on Plymouth Hoe on Coronation Day in 1953. At the age of 10 she was taught chess while convalescing from an operation - her mother was Mary Dew, herself a former Devon Ladies' Champion - and progressed quickly to become the World Girls' Champion in 1935 and the British Women's Champion for the first time two years later.
She went on to win the British title under her married name a further 10 times (sometimes shared) between 1950 and 1969, represented Great Britain in matches against the Soviet Union and the Netherlands and progressed as far as the Women's World Championship Candidates' Tournament in 1952 in Moscow, where she came 12th out of 16.
Together with her husband Ron Bruce, whom she married in 1940, she was very active in chess organisation for more than a quarter of a century and they were jointly honoured with a British Chess Federation president's award for services to chess in 1984.
In a Modern Defence White closed the centre with 9 d5 at a bad time - the pieces are badly placed, especially the d2 knight which wants to be on c3 behind a c4 pawn.
Black quickly got in 11 ...f5 and had a big advantage after the exchange on e4, which became a whole pawn and lines against the white king just a few moves later.
26 dxe4! was more an execution than a sacrifice, and Mrs Bruce finished off snappily.
White: L.M. Hogarth
Black: Rowena Bruce
Modern Defence
And a powerful display on the white side of a King's Indian eight years earlier. Black was already in terrible trouble after 16 c5! and Mrs Bruce slaughtered her on the black squares.
White: Rowena Bruce
Black: J.F. Doulton
19 c4 cxd5
20 cxd5 Qf7
21 Nbd2 Qxd5
22 Ne4 Bc6
23 Nfd2 Qf7
24 f3 Rd8
25 Rg3 d5
26 Qd3 dxe4!
27 Qxd8 exf3
28 Nf1 Qc4
29 Be3 f2+
30 Kh2 e4
31 Rg2 Be5+
32 Kh1 Rf3
33 Qd2 Rxh3+
34 Rh2 Qxf1+
35 Rxf1 Rxh2
Checkmate!
1 e4 g6
2 Nf3 Bg7
3 c3 d6
4 d4 Nf6
5 Nbd2 0-0
6 Be2 Nbd7
7 0-0 e5
8 Qc2 Qe7
9 d5?! Ne8
10 Nb3 h6
11 h3 f5
12 Kh1 Ndf6
13 Bd3 fxe4
14 Bxe4 Nxe4
15 Qxe4 Bf5
16 Qe2 g5
17 g4 Bd7
18 Rg1 c6
1 Nf3 Nf6
2 g3 g6
3 Bg2 Bg7
4 0-0 d6
5 d4 0-0
6 c4 Nbd7
7 Nc3 e5
8 e4 exd4
9 Nxd4 Nc5
10 Nb3 Nfd7
11 Be3 Nxb3
12 axb3 a5
13 Qc2 c6
14 Rfd1 Ne5
15 h3 f5
16 c5 fxe4
17 Rxd6 Qe8
18 Nxe4 Nf3+
19 Kh1 Be5
20 Qc4+ Kg7
21 Rad1 Bxd6
22 Rxd6 Rf7
23 Bxf3 Rxf3
24 Qd4+ Kg8
25 Rd8 Be6
26 Rxe8+ Rxe8
27 Bh6 Re7
28 Qd8+ 1-0
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