Feb-12-16 | | zanzibar: He had a "distinguished legal career", despite being blind from the age of one. A picture of him playing at Hastings 1935 comes to us from <ILN, 5 January 1935-01-05 p21> (by way of Urcan by way of Edward Winter (CN #7489)): http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... (be sure to look at the enlarged version). He uses a small board sitting in his lap, and thus, despite being blind, he didn't play blind (at least here). |
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Feb-12-16 | | zanzibar: <Cross became a favourite of British newspaper columns reporting chess news from the London Chess League. On 4th January 1927, the columnist couldn’t help but offer his sympathy to the same young boy enlisted for the Boys’ Championship: “Among the boys, a considerable interest was shown to Rupert Cross, a lad of 16, who is being educated at the Worcester College for the Blind, and uses a special chess board of his own in order to follow the moves of the games. On this board, the black men have rounded tops and the white pieces pointed tops. By gently running his fingers over the board, Cross is evidently able to carry a picture of the position of the men in his head. He has taken part in every congress so far, and, though he has not secured the top positions, he is a clever and promising player.”> http://www.braillechess.org.uk/hall... |
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Feb-12-16 | | zanzibar: The link above is from Urcan, and contains many games. I must say, after looking at the montage of players at Hastings once more, that Cross most assuredly has the best posture of the bunch. |
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Jun-15-16 | | TheFocus: Happy birthday, Rupert Cross. |
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Jan-08-17 | | alfamikewhiskey: <zanzibar>
<http://www.braillechess.org.uk/hall...> What an interesting article about this blind player. Excerpt:
<In 1939 Cross was admitted a solicitor and during the Second World War he practiced in London, mainly in family law. After the war he turned his mind to law teaching. In 1945 he became a full-time lecturer at the Law Society School of law. He had a talent for lecturing, in which he combined great lucidity with a keen sense of the limitations of his audience. In 1946 he began to help with the law teaching at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became an excellent tutor, and was a fellow of the college from 1948 to 1964. Though forthright and outspoken, he had a sensitive feeling for the needs of his pupils, several of whom attained high office, and possessed an impressive mastery of many branches of law which was aided by an almost infallible memory. With the help of his wife, his secretaries, and books in Braille he read widely and soon began to publish. An elementary but popular Introduction to Criminal Law, written with P. Asterley Jones in 1948, made him known to a wide circle of lawyers; but it was Evidence, published in 1958, that established his reputation in Britain and the Commonwealth as one of the leading academic lawyers of the day. He enjoyed life immensely, though he would remark ironically that it was bearable only as long as he knew where the next bottle of champagne was coming from. With his zest for wine, food, gossip, chess, and long walks one could easily overlook his regular routine and steady output.> "People are awesome!" as they say on Youtube. |
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Jun-21-21 | | Nosnibor: Hereunder a very instructive game by Cross.[Event:] Leicestershire v Oxfordshire, Board 1 [Date:] 16th January 1932 [White] V H Lovell [Black] A R N Cross [Opening] Queen`s Gambit Declined 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 0-0 7.Rc1 Re8 8.Bd3 a6 9.a3 h6 10.Bh4 dxc4 11.Bxc4 b5 12.Ba2 Bb7 13.Qc2 c5 14.0-0 Rc8 15.Qe2 Qb6 16.Rfd1 cxd4 17.exd4 Nh5 18.Bg3 Nxg3 19.hxg3 Red8 20.d5 Nf8 21.dxe6 Nxe6 22.Bxe6 Qxe6 23.Qxe6 fxe6 24.Re1 Rd6 25.Rc2 Bxf3 26.gxf3 Rde6 27.Rce2 Kf7 28.Nd5 Bxa3 29.bxa3 exd5 30.Re7+ Kf6 31.Rd7 Rc1 32. Rd6+ Kf7 33.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 34.Kg2 d4 35.Rxd4 Rc3 35.a4 Rc4 37.Ra7+ Ke8 38.Rxg7 Rxa4 39.Kf1 Rd4 40.Rg6 a5 41.Rxh6 b4 42.Ke2 b3 0-1 ( Adjudication) [Source: V H Lovells Game records ] |
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Jan-05-22 | | Alan McGowan: Several international tournaments were held alongside the Prague 1931 Olympiad. Rupert Cross played in Hauptturnier 'A':- Hans Müller and Dr St. Kohn 10, Dr Fazekas and Foltys 8, Rohacek 7½, Wiesel (Budapest), Pelikan, Pitschak and Rupert Cross 6½, Hussong and Thelen 6, Chodera 4, Filipcic 3½, Mikulka 2½. |
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