Robert Wade (chess player)
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Robert Graham Wade (10 April 1921 – 29 November 2008) was a New Zealand and 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 dist ...
player, writer, arbiter, coach, and promoter. He was New Zealand champion three times, British champion twice, and played in seven
Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 an ...
s and one
Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the C ...
tournament. Wade held the titles of International Master and
International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022 In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...
.


Early career in New Zealand

Wade grew up on a farm in Dunedin, New Zealand, far from the world's chess centres, and lacked strong competition early in his career. He developed his chess skills from materials in his local library, such as the ''
British Chess Magazine ''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''. The founder an ...
'' and works by Australian champion Cecil Purdy. After winning the
New Zealand Chess Championship The New Zealand Chess Championship was first conducted in 1879. Note: Up until 1934 foreign players were eligible for the title. The eligibility rules were changed in 1935 to preclude this; John Angus Erskine (twice champion in 1929 and 1935) was ...
in 1944, 1945 and 1948, he travelled to Europe to further his chess career. International chess was starting up again after a six-year hiatus caused by World War II. For most Masters, it was a matter of dusting off their skills, but Wade had little if any high-class experience to draw upon, so he struggled at first with the new standard. Wade was attempting to become the first international-class player from New Zealand. He played 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 ...
at
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
1946, the first post-war championship, placing tied 10–12th with just 3½/11. His first continental European event was
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
1946, won by
Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was ...
; Wade was a tailender with just 3/13 for a tied 12–13th place. Wade played in the
Australian Chess Championship The Australian Chess Championship is a tournament organised by the Australian Chess Federation and held every two years. The tournament is largely restricted to Australian chess players, although it is common to allow a small number of strong overse ...
at
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1946–47, placing tied 2nd–4th with 10½/15, with Lajos Steiner winning. Wade travelled as far as Canada to compete in the 1947
Canadian Chess Championship This is the list of all the winners of the Canadian Chess Championship, often referred to as the Canadian Closed Championship to distinguish it from the annual Canadian Open tournament. The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the World Cup s ...
at
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, scoring 7/13 to tie 7–8th places, with
Daniel Yanofsky Daniel Abraham Yanofsky, (March 25, 1925 – March 5, 2000), commonly known as Daniel Yanofsky or Abe Yanofsky, was a Canadian chess player, chess writer, chess arbiter, and lawyer. He was Canada's first Grandmaster and an eight-time Canadian ...
winning.


British career

Better things lay ahead on Wade's next European foray. He scored 5½/9 at
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1948 for a tied 2nd–3rd place, with
Harry Golombek Harry Golombek OBE (1 March 1911 – 7 January 1995) was a British chess player, chess author, and wartime codebreaker. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He was born in Lambeth to ...
winning. Wade made 3½/9 at
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
1948–49 for 8th place, with
Nicolas Rossolimo Nicolas Rossolimo (russian: Николай Спиридонович Россоли́мо, translit=Nikolai Spiridonovich Rossolimo; February 28, 1910 – July 24, 1975) was a Russian Empire-born chess player. After acquiring Greek citizenship in 1 ...
winning. He represented New Zealand and Australia at the FIDE Congress at Paris 1949, which marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of FIDE in Paris in 1924. Wade played many strong events in 1949, raising his standard significantly with competition against top-class Grandmasters. At
Beverwijk Beverwijk () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast. A ...
1949, he scored 4½/9 for a tied 6–7th place, with
Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandm ...
winning. Wade placed 2nd at
Arbon Arbon is a historic town and a municipality and district capital of the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Arbon is located on the southern shore of Lake Constance, on a railway line between Konstanz/Romanshorn and Rorsch ...
1949 with 6/7, trailing only Ludek Pachman. He struggled at Trencianske Teplice 1949, placing last with 4½/19, as
Gideon Ståhlberg Anders Gideon Tom Ståhlberg (26 January 1908 – 26 May 1967) was a Swedish chess player. He was among the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. He won the Swedish Chess Championship of 1927, became N ...
won. At
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
1949, Wade scored 4/9 for a tied 6–8th place, as
Wolfgang Unzicker Wolfgang Unzicker (26 June 1925 – 20 April 2006) was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970. He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead. Unzicker was at times the world's strongest amat ...
won. Then at Oldenburg 1949, Wade made 8½/18 for 10th place, with Efim Bogolyubov and Elmārs Zemgalis on top. At
Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...
1950, Wade scored 6/10 for a shared 7–13th place, as
Arthur Bisguier Arthur Bernard Bisguier (October 8, 1929April 5, 2017), paternal surname Bisgeier, was an American chess player, chess promoter, and writer who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). Bisguier won two U.S. Junior Championships (1948, 1949), ...
won. The constant practice led to his best result to date, an excellent shared 5–7th place in a powerful field at
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
1950 with 8½/15, with
Alexander Kotov Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov (Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ко́тов; – 8 January 1981) was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet chess champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific write ...
the champion. This earned Wade the International Master title later that year. Wade drew a 1950 match at Bamberg by 5–5 with Lothar Schmid, and settled in England. Wade was British Champion in 1952 (at Chester, with 8/11), and 1970 (at
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, with 8/11). His other high finishes in the British Championship were 3rd at
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
1953 on 7½/11 (with
Daniel Yanofsky Daniel Abraham Yanofsky, (March 25, 1925 – March 5, 2000), commonly known as Daniel Yanofsky or Abe Yanofsky, was a Canadian chess player, chess writer, chess arbiter, and lawyer. He was Canada's first Grandmaster and an eight-time Canadian ...
winning), 2nd at
Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...
1969 on 7½/11 (with Jonathan Penrose winning), and tied 3rd–6th at Blackpool 1971 on 7/11 (with Raymond Keene winning). Wade qualified for the Saltsjöbaden Interzonal 1952, scored 6/20, and did not advance to the
Candidates A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...
level. Wade defeated many-time Scottish champion
William Fairhurst William Albert Fairhurst CBE (21 August 1903 – 13 March 1982) was a British bridge designer and international chess master. He was highly accomplished in both disciplines and for many years successfully divided his time between two careers. H ...
in a match at
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1953 by 5½–2½. Wade went on to represent his adopted country in six
Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 an ...
s, and his country of birth on one occasion. In 92 games, his totals at this level are: (+30−26=36), for 52.2 per cent. His detailed results in Olympiads, from olimpbase.org, follow. * Amsterdam 1954, England board 4, 6/12 (+4−4=4); * Moscow 1956, England board 3, 6½/14 (+2−3=9); * Munich 1958, England 1st reserve, 7/14 (+5−5=4); * Leipzig 1960, England 2nd reserve, 6/11 (+4−3=4); * Varna 1962, England 2nd reserve, 6/12 (+4−4=4); * Siegen 1970, New Zealand board 2, 9/15 (+7−4=4); * Skopje 1972, England board 3, 7½/14 (+4−3=7). Wade won several middle-strength Master events in the British Isles: Ilford 1957 and 1968,
Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...
1959,
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1962, and
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
1965. Wade was generally no more than a middle-ranking player in strong international tournaments. His other highlights against high-standard international-level competition include: * tied 4–5th at
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
/
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
1958 on 7½/13 (winner
Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-196 ...
); * 3rd at
Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...
1959 on 7/10 (winner Erno Gereben); * 5th at
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
1964 on 7½/13 (winner
Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal; rus, Михаил Нехемьевич Таль, ''Mikhail Nekhem'yevich Tal' '', ; sometimes transliterated ''Mihails Tals'' or ''Mihail Tal'' (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player ...
); * tied 4–5th at Málaga 1966 on 7/11; (winners Alberic O'Kelly de Galway and Eleazar Jiménez); * 6th at Briseck 1971 on 7/13 (winner
Gideon Barcza Gedeon (Gideon) Barcza (August 21, 1911, in Kisújszállás – February 27, 1986, in Budapest) was a Hungarian chess grandmaster. He was eight-time chess champion of Hungary. Chess career In 1940, Barcza took third place, behind Max Euwe and ...
); * 5th at Cienfuegos 'B' 1975 on 10/17; (winners Julio Boudy and Amador Rodríguez Céspedes); * tied 7–12th in the World Senior Championship, Bad Woerishofen 1992, on 7½/11 (winner
Efim Geller Efim Petrovich Geller (russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, uk, Юхим Петрович Геллер; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Champi ...
). Wade was the only British player to have faced
Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 1 ...
in tournament play (outside of Olympiads). They met three times, with Wade drawing one game and losing the other two.


Later years

Wade earned the title of
International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022 In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...
in 1958, and made much of his living from directing events. He defeated tournament winner
Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. H ...
at
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
1960 in a tough game that went through a Queen and Rook middle game to a queen endgame to a final king and pawn endgame. In addition to staying active on the international circuit, Wade served as chess editor with the respected Batsford publishers in the 1960s and 1970s. He eventually retired to make way for Raymond Keene. He managed the Batsford Chess Library after this. Well respected as a chess coach and author, Wade helped
Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 1 ...
prepare for his 1972 World Championship match with Boris Spassky by collating a special file of Spassky's games. He was awarded an OBE for services to chess in 1979. He was made an 'Honorary Member' of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. He declined to "trade in" his International Master title for that of honorary Grandmaster, considering his title, awarded in the days before title inflation, far more valuable. Continuing to be an active player into his 80s, Wade was still able to play at a high level. This is shown by his performance at the 2006 Queenstown Chess International, where he scored 6/10 with only one loss, and
drew Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...
his game against Grandmaster
Murray Chandler Murray Graham Chandler (born 4 April 1960, Wellington, New Zealand) is a chess grandmaster who has played internationally for New Zealand and for England, after he gained British citizenship in the early 1980s. Chandler is also known as a ches ...
. Wade played in the European Senior Teams chess championship six times between 2002 and 2006. His last major event was the Staunton Memorial in London in July 2008, where he was badly outrated (a single draw would have increased his Elo rating), and he fought gamely but scored 0/11. A few weeks before his death, he played his final serious game, for the Athenaeum Chess Club. Wade built up an enormous chess library at his house in South London, which included books, magazines and many original bulletins from tournaments: these latter were the primary sources for many types of chess literature. The growth of this library was supported by B.T. Batsford. Eventually the library was given to the nation, though its eventual destination is not certain at present. In the days before computer databases the Wade library was often used by British and foreign players in preparation for matches. Wade was hospitalized on 26 November 2008, with severe
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
and died on 29 November 2008.Chess legend Bob Wade dies at 87
Chessbase, 29 November 2008


Opening theory

Wade was one of the first to play the chess opening 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4, and played it for over 30 years. As of 2008, it is a slightly unusual but well-respected opening that has been played by a number of high-level grandmasters. It is known as the Wade Defence for Wade's advocacy of and contributions to the opening.


Selected bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Robert British chess players New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Chess arbiters British chess writers Chess theoreticians Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors New Zealand chess players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Dunedin Deaths from pneumonia in England Chess coaches 1921 births 2008 deaths 20th-century chess players