English Federation for Correspondence Chess

Following a two year struggle with cancer, EFCC life patron David Anderton has died. Our sincere condolences go to his wife Doreen and his family. Doreen Anderton also has an ICCF rating as does Matthew Anderton. I can find no better way to begin a tribute than with Malcolm Pein: “A giant of English chess, always a source of good advice, fine administrator and accomplished player.”

As far as our own brand of chess goes, he had been an ICCF IM since 2002. His first recorded rating in the ICCF database was in 1991. Within two years he had played 40 games and achieved the roughly-2400 rating with which he ended his participation in the correspondence game in 2019. He had completed 159 games and his highest rating was 2435 in 2005.

He was taught chess by his father at the age of 5 years and his FIDE rating was a little higher than his ICCF one. He played many more competitive games in the OTB form than by correspondence, about 50 a year. He had travelled as far afield to compete as Argentina, Moscow, Israel and Dubai.

As far as administration goes he was not active in the correspondence federations, but was president of the British Chess Federation from 1979 to 1982, and international director from 1982 to 1990. He was non-playing captain of England OTB teams that won three silver medals and three bronze medals in separate Olympiads beginning in 1982. He lived and worked in the Midlands, having been born in Walsall. His career was in the Law, beginning, as was the custom in his day, as an articled clerk and ending as a district judge. On many occasions during his life he gave freely to chess of his legal expertise.

He was an assiduous collector of chess books and had a huge library of them. His personal contacts helped him secure several business sponsors for chess, being in this respect one of the most successful of English chess enthusiasts. Hoping a good place awaits you, David.

Here is a representative CC game of his:

[White "Anderton, D.W."] [Black "Carleton, J.J."] [Result "1-0"]

[WhiteElo "2400"] [BlackElo "2485"] [EventDate "1992"] [ECO "D38"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Nc6 8.e3 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.Nd2 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3 12.Rc1 Ba5 13.h4 Rg8 14.hxg5 hxg5 15.Bb5 Bd7 16.Qf3 Nb4 17.Rh7 Rf8 18.Rc5 Bb6 19.Ne4 Bc6 20.Nf6+ Ke7 21.Qf5 Qc8 22.Nxd5+ 1-0

Steve Williams, life patron, OTB County Master

Acknowledgments for textual material to: Malcolm Pein, Stewart Reuben, John Rhodes and John Upham.