BritBase.info - British Chess Game Archive
'KORRECTION KORNER' : An Errata for British Chess Game Scores
Last edited: Wednesday September 20, 2023 13:36
This page is devoted to the correction of chess game scores for British-based tournaments. There is a huge amount of chess material now available via the internet, which then finds its way into databases, books and magazines. Though this is generally to be welcomed and is seen by most of us as a 'good thing', much of the material is assembled and published without significant validation. Much of it has already been found its way into the wider world of chess publishing. What is being attempted here is to set up a reference point for games which readers and contributors have identified as being published with defective game scores, whether publication took place here in Britbase, elsewhere on the internet or in books and magazines.
As well as the corrected game score, I will be publishing references to where the game scores have been published incorrectly - our policy is therefore to 'name and shame'!
Readers are therefore invited to send in details of incorrect scores of game scores that they come across (British games only, please). Send to John Saunders, Britbase, via email.
Index
Thomas-Colle 1927
Bellin,R-Baburin,A - Kilkenny Open (3) 1997
Combe,RF-Alexander,CHO'D - BCF-ch 1946
O'Kelly in BCF-ch 1970 and 1975?
Tartakower-Colle - Nice 1930
Edinburgh 1989 - Errors
M.Anderton-De Coverly, 4NCL 1996/7 (posted 2/10/99)
Goodger-Dearing, Caledonian Masters 1997 (posted 29/02/00)
Miles-Plaskett, Redbus Knockout 1999 (posted 10/05/00)
BCF-ch 1998 (posted 07/04/04)
Yates-Alekhine, Dresden 1926
Medina-Cafferty, Wijk 1972
Gheorghiu-Cafferty, Teeside 1972
Winter-Znosko-Borovsky, Ramsgate 1929
Korchnoi-Bellin, Gibtelecom Masters 2007
Richardson, British Championship 1985
Orr-Andruet, Haringay Masters 1988 (posted 28 May 2008)
SD Brown for SC Brown, Lloyds Bank 1994
Clarke-Basman, British Championship 1967
O'Kelly-Penrose, London League 1973
Bogoljubow-Botvinnik, Nottingham 1936
Winter-Capablanca, Nottingham 1936
Alekhine-Flohr, Nottingham 1936
Hartston-Dragosevic Georgieva, Belgrade 1977
Barden-Safvat, Varna 1962
Wrong Lee at The Hague Zonal 1966
Abrahams-Canal, Bad Gastein 1948 (posted 1/3/2020)
Van Riemsdijk-Doda, Nice Olympiad 1974 (10/10/2020)
Shirov-Lanka, Riga Rapid 1988 (posted 11/10/20)
Shirov-Ozolins, Latvian Ch, Riga 1985 (posted 11/10/20)
S.D.Brown-J.Nunn, National Bank of Dubai op 1980 (posted 01/03/2021)
H.Holmes-J.Aitken, Scottish Championship 1973 (posted 05/08/2021)
A.Alekhine-RONALD M Bruce, Plymouth Jubilee 1938 (posted 14/07/2022)
Short-Speelman, British Championship 1987 (posted 20/09/2023)
Speelman-Sax, Thessaloniki Olympiad 1988 (posted 20/09/2023)
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!
There are hundreds more inaccuracies to be found on Mega Database alone. I shall try to list as many as I can find and post them here. Technical tip: if you want to download a game from this page to add to your database, simply click on the c8 square in a diagram and a window with the PGN score will pop up on your screen, which you can copy and paste.
The game Colle-Thomas (as originally included in the Hastings 1920-30 file - see Hastings page) was not played during the Hastings Congress 1927-28 but at the "British Empire Club Tournament", London 1927. The same mistake occurs in Mega Database 2002 (Chessbase) where this game is presented twice (once as Colle-Thomas - the correct colours - and once as Thomas-Colle), and in the AJ Gillam book (Tournaments of Hastings 27-28, Cheltenham 1928 and Scarborough 1928), page 6. The game score of the Thomas-Colle game from Hastings 1927/8 is therefore not currently available, and the file has been amended to show this. My thanks to Luc Winants for pointing this out. [19/03/2002]
Bellin,R - Baburin,A Kilkenny open (3), 1997
A truncated version of this score was published incorrectly in "Chess", March 1998, page 40, as well as in downloads elsewhere on the internet. Score as published above was submitted directly to Britbase by Robert Bellin, 07 November 1998, for which many thanks.
Combe,RF - Alexander,CHO'D [D30] BCF-ch Nottingham (1), 1946
Gamescore as per Chessbase (which cannot necessarily be guaranteed, but the result was most definitely a win for White. Scots readers of Chessbase's Mega Database 98 will be particularly incensed to find that Chessbase lists this as a win for Alexander! - LATER NOTE : This has been fixed in Mega Database 99 - so someone is reading this.
O'Kelly in BCF-ch 1970 and 1975 - not a gamescore issue, but Mega Database 98 users may be confused to find famous Belgian GM Alberic O'Kelly de Galway participating in the British (BCF) Championships for 1970 and 1975. The answer is that he didn't - the player who did play in both of those events is called RORY O'KELLY ... LATER NOTE : This has been fixed in Mega Database 99 as well. Excellent! But see further down for O'Kelly-Penrose, 1973.
Tartakower-Colle, Nice 1930 - an error in Mega Database 99. I have checked the score of the game against the bulletin, which was bound into the BCM Bound Volume for 1930. For some unknown reason, Mega Database 99 gave the following as the score of this game. The bulletin says otherwise: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.f3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.e4 Be6 11.Nxe5 Qxe5 12.Be3 Rd8 13.Qc2 Bc5 14.f4 Qh5 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Be2 0-0 17.Rc1 Qe3 18.Rf1 Bb3 19.Qb1 Ng4 20.Nd5 Rxd5 21.exd5 Re8 22.Rc2 Qe4 and 0-1!) LATER: Correct in Mega Database 2002.
Save & Prosper Edinburgh 1989 - 24 March - 1 April - time to repair your Mega Database 99/2000/2001/2002 for the following errors ... 1) nobody called Roberto Martin del Campo played there, it was Andrew D Martin, then rated 2415 and he scored 6½/9. 2) Rounds unnumbered - fixed; 3) Ballon-Martin was missing - now added; 4) Beaumont-Conquest: the bulletin gave the result as 1-0 and so did Mega Database - and no sign in the errata - but the score-table says 0-1! Very odd - the position looks about equal - perhaps Chris Beaumont lost on time; 5) Tozer-Dunnington (Rd 5) missing - now added; 6) Hughes, Philip G was actually Hughes, Mervyn J; 7) Jackson-Ruxton (rd 9) missing - now added; 8) Walker, David should be Walker, Duncan. LATER: correct on Mega DataBase 2004
M.Anderton-R.de Coverly, 4NCL 1996/7: the moves of this game as given originally on Britbase (and consequently Mega Database 99, BCF Grading List 1999 CD ROM and any other commercial database that has copied it) are correct but the score is wrongly given as ½-½ - it should be 1-0 (this must have been my fault as I was the guy who keyed the moves in!). My thanks for this information to the player of the black pieces, Roger de Coverly, who, but for his honesty, would eternally be credited for a half point he did not achieve! This game (duly corrected) can be found on this Britbase download file: 4NCL League, 1996/7. LATER: Correct on Mega DataBase 2004.
M.Goodger - E.Dearing, Caledonian Masters 1997: the score as originally posted here was 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 Nf6 4 Nc3 cxd4 5 Nxd4 g6 6 Be3 Bg7 7 f3 0-0 8 Qd2 Nc6 9 0-0-0 d5 10 Kb1 Nxd4 11 e5 Nf5 12 exf6 Bxf6 13 Nxd5 Qxd5 14 Qxd5 Nxe3 15 Qd3 Nxf1 16 Qxf1 Be6 ½-½, but player of the white pieces Martyn Goodger points out that the game actually continued for another 26 moves and was a win for him. LATER: Correct on Mega DataBase 2004.
My thanks to Howard Grist for sending this one in. Note, most databases, including Megabase 2002, erroneously give the ending of this game as 42 Rc7 Qf6 43 Qxe4 h5 44 g4 hxg4 45 hxg4 ½-½. LATER: Correct on Mega DataBase 2004.
BCF-ch 1998 - the 2nd round game recorded on most databases as Adrian Jackson (2225) vs Marcus Osborne was actually Oliver Jackson (2255) vs Marcus Osborne. My thanks to Ken Clow for pointing this out. Download corrected. 07 April 2004
Yates-Alekhine, Dresden 1926
Mega Database gave the finish as 30 Red7 Qb1 31 Kh2 a4 32 Rxb7 Qf5 33 Ra7 Qf6 34 Kg1 a3 35 Qxa3 Qe7 36 Rxa8 Rxa8 37 Qxa8 Qxc5 ½-½ - but it is clear that there is a big error here as major pieces are left en prise from move 30 onward. It seems clear that 30 Rdd7 was played and not 30 Red7. Thanks to Bernard Cafferty for spotting this error. [Entry dated 14/02/06] - now correct on Mega/Big Database
Medina-Cafferty, Wijk 1972
Mega Database gave 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3 g6 5 Be2 Bg7 6 0-0 0-0 7 c4 Nb6 8 Nc3 Bg4 9 exd6 cxd6 10 Be3 Nc6 11 b3 d5 12 c5 Nc8 13 b4 a6 14 Rb1 e6 15 a4 N8e7 16 b5 axb5 17 axb5 Bxf3 18 Bxf3 Ne5 19 g4 Nc4 20 Ra1 Rxa1 21 Qxa1 f5 22 Ne2 e5 23 Bg5 e4 24 Bg2 h6 25 Bxe7 Qxe7 26 gxf5 Rxf5 27 Ng3 Rf8 28 Rd1 Kh7 ½-½ - but 18...Ne5 is clearly nonsense. Brian Denman showed this to Bernard Cafferty who confirms that 18...Na5 was played. [Entry dated 14/02/06] Now corrected on Mega/Big.
Gheorghiu-Cafferty, Teeside 1972
Mega Database gives 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Bb4+ 4 Nbd2 b6 5 e3 0-0 6 Bd3 d5 7 0-0 c5 8 Nb3 b5 9 a3 bxc4 10 axb4 cxb4 11 Be2 Qb6 12 Qe1 ½-½ - but this doesn't make much sense. Brian Denman showed this to Bernard Cafferty who confirms that 11 Bd2 was in fact played. [Entry dated 14/02/06] Now corrected on Mega/Big.
Winter-Znosko-Borovsky, Ramsgate 1929
Mega Database (2006) gives the result of this game as ½-½, but it was 1-0 (BCM, May 1929, p170). [Entry dated 15/11/06]
Korchnoi-Bellin, Gibtelecom Masters 2007
42...Qc7 was played (not 42...Qd7) - source Robert Bellin. [Entry dated 12/02/07]
Richardson in the British Championship 1985
The 'K Richardson' who played in the 1985 British Championship was Kevin D and not Keith B. Info from Ken Norman.
Orr-Andruet, Haringay Masters 1988
The game Orr-Andruet, Haringay Masters 1988, is given wrongly on the ChessBase Mega/Big Database (there it has the same moves as Murey-Hebden, for some unknown reason). What we have to assume is the correct score as found on the Starbase 4.56 disk.
SD Brown for SC Brown, Lloyds Bank 1994
Mega Database 2009 incorrectly gives 'Stuart C Brown' for games actually played by Simon D Brown in the 1994 Lloyds Bank Masters. The rating of 2295 is however given correctly. I'm grateful to Simon Brown for pointing his out to me.
Clarke - Basman, British Championship 1967
The games from the 1967 British Championship (download) as found on ChessBase were originally input by me. ChessBase acquired them from BritBase but (as often seems to happen) have misidentified some of the players. Probably best to download them from BritBase as I now have all the players' first names and I have added dates for rounds, etc. I have also managed to decipher one of the games which I had originally given up as indecipherable. Here is the score in PGN format so you can drop it straight into your database...
O'Kelly-Penrose, London League 1973
Mega Database 2014 made quite a hash of this one, giving Alberic O'Kelly-J.Penrose, Lloyds Bank op 1973, 37 moves, when it should be Rory O'Kelly-J.Penrose, London League 1973, 31 moves. Here is the PGN, with comments as communicated by email to me by the winner... (good news - the Mega Database editors have fixed this one for Mega Database 2016)
Bogoljubow-Botvinnik, Nottingham 1936 (posted 30/03/16)
This error may emanate from the tournament book but it has found its way into every online database that I have seen and also Mega Database 2016. White's 23rd move was h4 (not a4) - this is borne out by all contemporary printed sources and also Botvinnik's game collection.
Winter-Capablanca, Nottingham 1936 (posted 30/03/16)
Many online databases have this right but Mega Database 2016 has it wrong. The game score should be as it appears below. Mega 2016 gives 33...Re2, etc, but that would have been a ghastly blunder leaving a rook vulnerable to a fork with 34.Qh5+ and contemporary sources show that Capablanca didn't do that. A well-corroborated version of the score appears below... LATER: fixed now on Mega/Big
Alekhine-Flohr, Rd 1, Nottingham 1936 (posted 11/04/16)
The Mega/Big Database 2016 has 50...Rg8 but this simply leaves a rook en prise. BCM, September 1936, gives the move as 50...R-Kt2, i.e. 50...Rg7, which is a whole lot more likely. LATER: now fixed on Mega/Big.
W.R.Hartston-Dragosevic Georgieva, Belgrade 1977 - Mega 2017
Wrongly attributed to William Hartston. White was, in fact, his then wife Jana Hartston, now Jana Bellin. [25.03.19]
Barden-Safvat, Varna Olympiad 1962
Black's move 29 given incorrectly by Mega Database 2017 - see correction below. LATER: now fixed on Mega/Big.
Wrongly Attributed... pardon my pun, but Mega/Big Database 2017 (I don't have later editions) has Lee, F down as playing in the West European Zonal tournament at The Hague in 1966. A glaring error - it was of course Peter Nicholas Lee, the 1965 British Champion. LATER: now fixed on Mega/Big.
Abrahams-Canal, Bad Gastein 1948 - the ChessBase version (given here as a variation) makes no sense. A correct version appears in BCM in 1988. [01/03/2020]
Van Riemsdijk-Doda, Nice Olympiad 1974 [10/10/2020]
Herman Van Riemsdijk has kindly corrected this score. 36...Qa1+ was played (not 36...Qd1+).
Shirov-Lanka, Riga Rapid 1988 (posted 11/10/2020)
Alexei Shirov tells me that this game recorded on Big/Mega Database 2020 as Lanka 1-0 Shirov was in fact Shirov 1-0 Lanka. Here's the corrected score, ready to put in your databases...
Shirov - Vidvuds Ozolins, Latvian Championship, Riga 1985 (posted 11/10/2020)
Another ChessBase error reported to me by Alexei Shirov - the game Shirov-Ozolins, Latvian Championship, Riga 1985. This one is a case of mistaken identity. Black in this game was Vidvuds (not Aris) Ozolins. Let's hope it gets fixed in the next edition of ChessBase...
Simon D Brown - John Nunn, National Bank of Dubai op 1980 (posted 01/03/2021)
This one has long been recorded on Mega/Big Databases as being played in the 1980 Lloyds Bank Masters but it wasn't. John Nunn did not take part in that event. It was played a month earlier in the National Bank of Dubai Open, which was the main event of the Evening Standard Congress, 25-27 July 1980. There is another pitfall here: the National Bank of Dubai Open was not played in Dubai! London, of course.
Hugh D Holmes - James M Aitken, Scottish Championship 1973 (posted 06/08/2021)
The end of the game is given on Big Database 2020 as 71...Qg3 72 c6 Qf2 73 c7 Qf8 mate but it is clear the inputter has fallen into the classic trap that awaits all who are unfamiliar with descriptive notation. (It's easy to guess that the printed score read 71...Q-N3 72 P-B6 Q-B2 73 P-B7 Q-B1 mate in correct English descriptive notation.) Of course, it should be 71...Qg6 72 c6 Qf7 which now forces 73 c7 followed by 73...Qf8 mate.
I've set the diagram below to show the position before 65 Rg4, which throws away the win. (64 Ra7! is decisive.) White misses his chance and then even manages to lose. (69 Kg8??)
Alexander Alekhine - RONALD M Bruce, Plymouth Jubilee 1938
An egregious error by ChessBase: Ken Norman alerted me to the fact that ChessBase still persist in recording this well-known brevity as Alekhine 1-0 Rowena Bruce. For shame! It was of course Rowena's future husband RONALD Mackay Bruce who lost the game, his second in one day against a reigning world champion. Come on, ChessBase, I've put it in red capitals, so get it fixed!
N.Short - J.Speelman, British Championship 1987
Mega Database 2022 has this one wrong, though it is given correctly in the tournament bulletin and Jon Speelman's Best Games by Jon Speelman (Batsford, 1997), p123.
Speelman - Sax, Thessaloniki Olympiad 1988
Mega Database 2022 has the final move of the game wrong. 62 Bxe6 was played.