Charles Michael Bent was an
English composer of chess
endgame studies
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...
. He was born in
Newbury,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
on 27 November 1919 and died on 28 December 2004. Bent was the most prolific English
endgame composer and one of the top ten in the world. He published as many as 848 studies, winning seven first prizes and 72 honours in international competitions.
Beginning in 1975, he edited 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 and ...
'' monthly study column for ten years and contributed several articles to the ''
EG'' quarterly study magazine. In 1993, together with Timothy Whitworth, he published a selection of 288 of his best
endgame studies
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...
, entitled ''The Best of Bent''.
Bent received several awards in his lifetime. He was awarded the
British Chess Federation President's Award, in recognition of his achievements in chess composition. The C. M. Bent Memorial Composing Tourney was held in 2006–07.
Blog post
by Dennis Monokroussos.
Articles by C. M. Bent
"Symmetry"
EG vol. 4, 1966.
"Some Aspects of Composing"
EG vol. 12, 1968.
"Towards Perfection"
EG vol. 18, 1969.
" 'All Right Then, So Black Makes a Queen...' "
EG vol. 21, 1970.
"Workshop"
EG vol. 25, 1971.
"Mike Bent"
BESN vol. 10 issue 1, 2005
References
External links
British Chess Magazine
1919 births
2004 deaths
British chess writers
Chess composers
20th-century British chess players
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