Leon Rosselson (born 22 June 1934, Harrow, Middlesex)

Wikipedia

Random Chess Thoughts (2019): Leon Rosselson writes about chess on his blog.

Varsity Chess Match Biography.

---

Summary of Leon Rosselson's Chess Career:

1949-1953: played for William Ellis School, Highgate, in the London Secondary Schools League, the Finchley Schools League and the National Club Championship. Member of Hampstead Chess Club, playing some league matches for them. Represented Middlesex in junior county chess and later senior county chess.

1949/50 London Boys Championship: (1-4) Alan Maurice Hiron (Latymer), Neill Honan (Cardinal Vaughan), T Lines (Whitgift), D V Lofts (Leyton CC) 8/10; (5) Peter Thomas Kirstein (Highgate) 7½; (6) L A Edelstein (Hackney Downs) 7... Leon Rosselson 6.

1950/51 London Boys Championship: (1) Peter H Clarke 9/10; (2) A Mushens; (3) J F Risby; (4) B Ward all on 7½; (5-8) M Hamilton, Peter M Kraushar, R Mansfield, Gilbert Jessup 7; (9th=) L Rosselson 6½ (and others?)

1951 Defeated Edward Lasker in a simul, March, at William Ellis School, London.

1951 (16 June) Took part in the 500-board North of Thames vs South of Thames match held at Central Hall, Westminster, winning his game and being awarded the third prize for the best game played (score included in PGN download).

Scoresheet of Leon Rosselson's game from the
North of Thames vs South of Thames 500-board match, 16 June 1951

1951/52 London Boys Championship: (1) M Philip Allfrey (Westminster City School) 8½/10; (2) Thomas A Landry (William Ellis) 7½; (3) Ken Inwood 7½; (4-6) Leon Rosselson, Geoffrey J Martin, B Ward 7.

1952 - Cambridge University Championship Final, February

1952 Cambridge University Championship		College	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	John Frederick Barrett	Pembroke	&;	1	1	1	1	1	5
2	Jeremy John Arthur Handley	Selwyn	0	&;	1	½	1	1	3½
3	David Edward Lloyd	Caius	0	0	&;	1	½	1	2½
4	Leon Rosselson	Fitzwilliam	0	½	0	&;	1	1	2½
5	Frank Alan Hart	Pembroke	0	0	½	0	&;	1	1½
6	Raymond Wallace Martin Baxter	St John's	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

1952 - British Boys (Under-18) Championship, Hastings, 21-26 April: (1-3) Bernard Cafferty (Blackburn, Birmingham Univ), Peter Campbell Gibbs (Bradford Grammar School), Peter Darrell Sanderson (Ashby-de-la-Zouch Grammar School) 7½/10; (4) Michael Davis (Bexhill Grammar School) 7; (5-6) Derek Francis Kenneth Griffiths (King's Norton Grammar School, Birmingham), James B Phipps (King Edward's School, Birmingham) 6½; 7-13 M Philip Allfrey (Westminster City School), Robert Edmond Borland (Plympton Grammar School, Devon), Julian T Farrand (Haberdasher's Aske's School, Hampstead), Michael Frederick Grimstead (Hastings CC), Thomas Anselm Landry (William Ellis School, Highgate), David E Lloyd (King Edward's School, Birmingham), Leon Rosselson (William Ellis School, Highgate) 6, etc.

1953 - member of the William Ellis School team which defeated Haberdasher's Aske's School in the final of the London Secondary Schools League, 27 March, at the Gambit, Budge Row.

1953-56 - Played chess for Cambridge University, his college, Fitzwilliam House [College] and also Cambridgeshire. Took part in the British Championship Qualifying Competition.

1954 - won his game vs Malcolm Norris (Oxford) in the Varsity chess match, 27 March, earning his half-blue.

1955 - member of the Cambridge University team which won the British Universities Chess Championship, defeating Leeds University in the final (in which he drew his individual game)

1955 - played in his second Varsity chess match, 26 March, losing his individual game to one-time William Ellis School teammate, Tom Landry.

1955 - British Universities Individual Championship, 5-15 September: (1) Peter C Gibbs (Bradford, Birmingham Univ) 9½/11; (2-3) Geoffrey J Martin (Leicester, UC), Thomas A Landry (Oxford) 8; (4) Julian T Farrand (London) 7; (5-6) J R Rook (Manchester), Leon Rosselson (Cambridge) 6½; (7) P Dean 6; 8 J Correia (London) 4½; (9) Brian J Benjamin (London) 4; (10-11) Laurie A Edelstein (Oxford), L J Jackson 2½; (12) Ian G Bronks (Sheffield) 1. Played at University of London Union, Gower Street.

1956 - played in his third Varsity chess match, 24 March, drawing with Kenneth Gardner on board 2.

1957 - Finished 11th= in the Bognor Regis International (Stevenson Memorial) with 5½/10.

1958-72 - inactive barring a few games played in 1960.

1972 - Evening Standard Amateur Championship (6 round weekender, 15-17 December) - scored 4½/6 for a 194 BCF grade performance.

1973 - Charlton Open (5 rounds, 29 June-1 July): scored 2/5

1973 - Enfield Open (6 rounds, 31 August - 2 September): scored 3/6.

1975-1977 - played for Willesden & Brent CC in the Middlesex League and for Middlesex in county matches.

---

Grades

1955 - 4b (185-192 » 2088-2140)
1956 - 4b (185-192 » 2088-2140)
1957 - 3b (201-208 » 2208-2260)
1958 (dropped off the list)
1973-1977 - possibly in the grading list but I don't have access to copies - can anyone help?

---

File updated

Date

Notes

15 August 2022

First upload, with 357 games. I am very grateful to Leon for sending me his games. The package he sent me consisted of two scorebooks plus many loose scoresheets. Many games were undated but I have done my best to track down accurate dates and, where this has not been possible, give an estimate as I like to present the games in at least a semblance of chronological order. Any help with refining these dates, player names and competition details will be much appreciated. The first half of the collection is of Leon's chess activity as a schoolboy and it provides an excellent record of the growth of secondary school chess in London in the post-war period. In his early 20s he reached a BCF grade of 3b, equivalent to an Elo of 2208-2260. After university, the real-life demands of work and family supplanted chess from his life but during the Fischer boom of the mid-1970s he returned to play a few weekenders and some league chess, performing at around the 2100 level. I hope BritBase readers enjoy playing through these games as much as I did inputting them.