Michael John Basman (16 March 1946 – 26 October 2022) was an English

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player, chess author and

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

. He was awarded the International Master title in 1980. Basman was a prolific writer, who made many contributions to the field of

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...

s, and was particularly known for frequently choosing bizarre or rarely played openings in his own games, including the St. George Defence (with which English Grandmaster

Tony Miles Anthony John Miles (23 April 1955 – 12 November 2001) was an English chess player and the first Englishman to earn the Grandmaster title. Early and personal life Miles was an only child, born 23 April 1955 in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birming ...

once famously defeated the then World Champion

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Ches ...

), the

Grob Grob may refer to: * Grob Aerospace, a German aircraft manufacturer * Grob fragmentation, an elimination reaction between an electrofuge and nucleofuge on an aliphatic chain * GrOb or Grazhdanskaya Oborona, a Russian punk band People with the sur ...

(for Black and White) and also The Creepy Crawly, which is a3, then h3 followed by a quick c4. Possibly his greatest tournament success was when he tied for first place in the

British Chess Championship The British Chess Championships are organised by the English Chess Federation. The main tournament incorporates the British Championship, the English Chess Championships and the British Women's Chess Championship so it is possible, although it has ...

tournament of 1973, although he lost the play-off match with

William Hartston William Roland Hartston (born 12 August 1947) is an English journalist who wrote the Beachcomber column in the '' Daily Express''. He is also a chess player who played competitively from 1962 to 1987 and earned a highest Elo rating of 2485. He ...

. In 1975 England contested a match over ten boards against France in Luton. Basman played Board One, ahead of future super Grandmasters

John Nunn John Denis Martin Nunn (born 25 April 1955) is an English chess grandmaster, a three-time world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician. He is one of England's strongest chess players and was former ...

and

Jon Speelman Jonathan Simon Speelman (born 2 October 1956) is an English Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster chess player, mathematician and chess writer. Early life and education He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he read Mathematics. Caree ...

. Basman created the prestigious UK Chess Challenge, a tournament for juniors of all standards and ages progressing over four stages, now advertised as the biggest chess tournament in the world. Grandmaster

Raymond Keene Raymond Dennis Keene (born 29 January 1948) is an English chess grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author. He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England t ...

once wrote, referring to Basman's promotion of youth chess, "Michael Basman is in many ways the most important person in British chess." Basman's father was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

immigrant who changed the family name from Basmadjian. His family knew the singer

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)Jon Speelman Jonathan Simon Speelman (born 2 October 1956) is an English Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster chess player, mathematician and chess writer. Early life and education He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he read Mathematics. Caree ...

with his 'Killer Grob' defence.

Politics

Basman ran as an

Independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

in the constituency of

Kingston and Surbiton Kingston and Surbiton () is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Kingston and Surbiton has been considered a marginal seat, as wel ...

at the 2017 general election. He finished last of seven candidates, with 100 votes (0.2%).

Books by Michael Basman

* * * * * * * *

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basman, Michael 1946 births 2022 deaths British chess players English chess players Chess International Masters People from St Pancras, London English male writers British chess writers British people of Armenian descent Chess theoreticians Independent British political candidates