1. Ne7+ Kh8 2.Nxd6 cxd6 3.Qxh7+ Kxh7 4.Rh4 Mate.

"The finish is no less stunning for being familiar, though part of me wonders about the moves leading to the diagram position. That example came from the manuscript Coffee House Tactics, written by Healy but as yet unpublished."

So, he shares offramp's doubt, which I also share bdw. Still, I find the man's story interesting and I look forward to reading his published book.

Another quote:

"Part of the code is to shake hands, win or lose, with friend or foe alike. The ritual is repeated before and after each game, regardless of results. Over come the hands: small, large, medium, enormous, clean, not so clean, dainty, delicate, strong, weak, hard, soft, limp, damp, dry. After this sporting gesture, one is free to cheat, lie, hustle, harangue, pace up and down, fart loudly, sneeze, bang the poeces down, intimidate, glare and stare until the game ends, once more with a gentlemanly handshake."

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_... says: < In jail a fellow inmate teaches him chess and he demonstrates an extraordinary ability at the game. He is soon beating grandmasters and having his games published in newspapers.>

I think a better title for Healy's book would have been <32 Little Pieces>.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill...

Thanks, my wording was not good.

This is despite the blurb on the book informing us that:

"<In this prize-winning autobiography, John Healy describes his transformation from homeless alcoholic to champion grand master tournament chess player.>"

Wow! A champion grand master tournament chess player! That's impressive!

The <Grass Arena> John Healy fills in some missing information at http://thequietus.com/articles/0888...

"<I was supposed to play chess with Stanley Kubrick at a garden party once but it never came off. I don't want to denigrate him but I didn't think he was that good. ... I've played a few top grandmasters. One of them was called Bent Larsen. He was Danish.

He was very well known at the time, ranked above Bobby Fischer. I drew with him...

Bobby Fischer always said he wanted to write but he couldn't. Bobby Fischer could only be a chess player. <There's nobody like me in that respect. From an uneducated background: a writer, chess player... <I seem to have mastered most things I've got into: writing, chess, boxing.>>>"

At http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic... there is a slightly more jaundiced opinion, from the well-respected Andrew D Martin:

"<In the 130-150 range I would estimate. I played many blitz games with him at London Central YMCA.>"

130-150 range?

Elo 1640 to 1800.

10,000 Chessbucks reward!!