<In recent decades, historical chess biographies have seen a major advance in scholarship, with far greater recognition of the need for precise sources. The world’s leading publisher in the field is McFarland & Company, Inc., and any list of its best biographical works is likely to include the following:

• Stephen Davies: Lipschütz;
• Richard Forster: Burn;
• Stephen W. Gordon: Reshevsky;
• Tim Harding: Blackburne and Eminent Victorian Chess Players; • John S. Hilbert: Hodges (with Peter P. Lahde), Kemeny, Leonard, Pollock (with O.G. Urcan), Shipley; • Martin Frère Hillyer: Frère;
• Hans Renette: Bird;
• Miguel A. Sánchez: Capablanca;
• Leonard M. Skinner and Robert G.P. Verhoeven: Alekhine; • Per Skjoldager and Jørn Erik Nielsen: Nimzowitsch; • Olimpiu G. Urcan: Albin, Finn, Kaufmann (with P.M. Braunwarth), Pollock (with J.S. Hilbert); • Joost van Winsen: Mason;
• Aidan Woodger: Fine;
• Fabrizio Zavatarelli: Kolisch.
>

C.N. 10661

<In recent decades, historical chess biographies have seen a major advance in scholarship, with far greater recognition of the need for precise sources. The world’s leading publisher in the field is McFarland & Company, Inc., and any list of its best biographical works is likely to include the following:

• Stephen Davies: Lipschütz;
• Richard Forster: Burn;
• Stephen W. Gordon: Reshevsky;
• Tim Harding: Blackburne and Eminent Victorian Chess Players;
• John S. Hilbert: Hodges (with Peter P. Lahde), Kemeny, Leonard, Pollock (with O.G. Urcan), Shipley;
• Martin Frère Hillyer: Frère;
• Hans Renette: Bird;
• Miguel A. Sánchez: Capablanca;
• Leonard M. Skinner and Robert G.P. Verhoeven: Alekhine;
• Per Skjoldager and Jørn Erik Nielsen: Nimzowitsch;
• Olimpiu G. Urcan: Albin, Finn, Kaufmann (with P.M. Braunwarth), Pollock (with J.S. Hilbert);
• Joost van Winsen: Mason;
• Aidan Woodger: Fine;
• Fabrizio Zavatarelli: Kolisch.
>

C.N. 10661

For example, on page 35, the score from game 4 from the first match with Edith Price (April 20-23,1925) is badly mangled. Black's 38th is impossible, and it's not clear exactly how to reconstruct it. By the way, the book gives the ECO code of A16 with the description of French, Classical Variation! Clearly, the opening was C13.

Next, on page 36, from the 2nd match, played in June, the book gives the date as October 6th! (June 10th seems much more likely.) Moreover, the score is also mangled as it evidently leaves out the actual 42nd move-pair (42.Qf5 Rc8). As given, the score makes little sense, and then goes completely haywire on move 45. Tanner cites the Times Literary Supplement, but gives no day, month or year. In fairness to Tanner, he does give complete source references e.g. day, mth, yr, and page in other instances.

In scanning through the game source references, I was surprised (and disappointed) to see numerous references to chessgames.com and 365Chess.com. No offense intended for this site (CG), but using such a reference does not suggest a very exhaustive source search.

In other cases, Tanner cites some of Tony Gillam's works, but does not include the actual source used in Tony's books. Using a 2nd or 3rd hand source reference does not create a favorable impression.

Is that also an opinion appearing in the historical literature too?

[Meaning that other historian have expressed the same opinion.]

<Is that also an opinion appearing in the historical literature too?>

Yes, it is. In Tanner's book, pg. 21, he presents E. S. Tinsley's letter to GM Eliskases addressing this. (I'm not typing out the letter. This is not the only reference I have to this downplaying, but I am not going to present my sources here, because I plan to make use of them elsewhere.)

I do wonder if there was some element unique to Menchik in particular, or if it was just the general downplaying of any/all female accomplishments.

I do wonder if there was some element unique to Menchik in particular, or if it was just the general downplaying of any/all female accomplishments.>

"Albert Becker quipped that these and the other men she defeated were members of the "Menchik Club."

<https://c8.alamy.com/comp/DGRKG4/po...>

Her mother was English and was able to get the family some assistance at the British Consul (for a move to Hastings) when things went badly wrong for them in Moscow. The 1917 revolution had resulted in them losing part of their house and the father's business.

She was born in Moscow (her Czech father was an estate-manager of several Russian properties, her British mother was a governess). But despite her parents backgrounds it seems she only learned one language as a child, and it wasn't Czech or English:

<As Vera spoke only Russian she hesitated to go to the local chess club, but at last on 18 March 1923 she joined the Hastings Chess Club and began to take lessons from John Drewitt. Then she became a pupil of the grandmaster Géza Maróczy. During 1923 she played in several team matches.>

'Albert Becker quipped that these and the other men she defeated were members of the "Menchik Club."'