Obituaries of former Players
| 19/01/26. Janos "George" Wagenbach 1936 - 2026 | |
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Tribute by- Peter Ackley copied from the ECF Chess Forum. Sadly I must report the passing of Janos Wagenbach last night. Janos was a stalwart of Mansfield chess club and of the Nottinghamshire chess scene. Although not a elite-strength player Janos was, in the past, a frequent participant on the congress scene, winning many a grading-limited section. Even into his later years he still played to a strong level in local leagues and was a regular attendee at Mansfield blitz evening, his tricky style being very difficult to beat, especially when you were low on time. |
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I didn't know Janos well, having only moved to the area 10 years ago, although I did chat with him at matches and give him a
lift home sometimes and he was always an interesting person to have a conversation with. Hopefully Jon Tait, or someone similar
from the Notts scene, will be able to fill in more of Janos's life.
What people might remember more, though, was that Janos was a character; something there is less of today in the modern chess world. I remember hearing stories of Janos getting bored during a chess game and fitting in press-ups next to the board whilst he waited for his opponent to move. Some years ago (alas I cannot find a link now) there was an article about Janos winning several thousand pounds on a football accumulator having persuaded the bookies to accept his 4p bet. Finally, even after all the years playing, you always knew how Janos had done in his league game without having to stand up - he was always excited by the result. Finally who can forget the Wagenbach defence - 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h5 - frequently played by many a Mansfield player (although I understand from Jon Tait that it might have been refuted) - a defence which stemmed from the immortal words "you can play anything against the Kings Gambit - even 3.... h5). Tribute by Phil Morgan- George was for many years a well -known figure in Nottinghamshire chess. People will have their own memories. I got to know him when I joined Sutton Chess Club forty years ago. We were club mates for a short period. I recall playing with George in a National Club Cup event at Margate. We arrived early, went down to the beach and George went for a paddle in the sea. George had a very competitive spirit and his own established health, fitness and dietary regime. He had been a champion body builder. In some ways he was ahead of his time. He was very anti-smoking, proposed the banning of smoking at our club, and left us when this was turned down. He had his share of disputes over the board, and nursed grievances. I got to know George better after he left our club. We share interests in betting on horses as well as chess. George had incredible self-belief. He fully expected to win every tournament he entered, and won a fair share. When he lost, he invariably declared 'I should have won the shocker'. The most baseless example I recall was a game he played against Jonathan Parker of Newark (who later became a GM) at the Forest Tavern where he had been totally outplayed, and his pieces were devoid of any life. George's move of clubs worked out well for him. He enjoyed Blitz play and became part of a very successful, close-knit group at Mansfield. This group were very supportive to George through the health difficulties of his latter years. Shared Memories of Janos Wagenbach on the English Chess Forum Nottinghamshire chess Association Obituary Ashfield Chess Club Honours won by Janos Wagenbach on our Old Website Games and Stats of Janos Wagenbach on chessbase 2002 Nottingham County Champion Archive of results for Janos Wagenbach on the ECF We extend our deepest sympathy to his family and friends. |
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| 12/07/25. Mike Alcock 1942 - 2025
Mike was originally from Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire I believe. He played in 1960 British Under 18 Championship at Leicester where he scored 7/11 (13th=) in a field of 63 players. In the 1963 Under 21 Championship at Bath, Mike was 7th overall with 6.5/11 losing just two games to the joint winner Mike Basman and also Harry Lamb. At this time Mike was shown as Durham, so I guess he was at University there. By profession, Mike was a teacher and firstly lived in Derbyshire before moving to Ravenshead in Nottinghamshire. He was Nottinghamshire champion in 1977-8, 1981-82 & 1984-5. He qualified for the British Championship in 1981 under the old BCQC rules where he scored 5.5/11 (+4; =3; -4) - for some reason I seem to think that there was some sort of recompense for winning games in this Championship which accounted for the smaller than average number of draws. The winner in 1981 was Paul Littlewood and certainly a couple of exhibition games were arranged between Mike and Paul in North Notts, one of which was in the window of a local Building Society. For over 25 years Mike was the top board for Sutton-in-Ashfield (now Ashfield) Chess Club and during that time the club won it's one and only Nottinghamshire Chess League Championship in 1988-89. As well as chess, Mike was active in local politics and stood for the County Council as a Labour candidate. However Ravenshead was (and is) a staunch stronghold for the Conservatives and along with his party colleagues was soundly beaten. In the 1990's there was tragedy with the loss of a member of his immediate family. Mike decided that Ravenshead held too many memories and moved to the Dronfield area where his chess was primarily played for the Chesterfield club with the successes outlined above despite his failing health. All the games for the 1981 British Championship are held on Britbase including Mike's wins plus other games of his in the Midlands Individual Championship which was held at Derby for many years. Mike's grading certainly reached 200+ in old figures and he was one of the strongest players in the East Midlands over the board, In addition he played in the British Postal Chess Championship in those times where there was no computer assistance and achieved a rating of 2300+. Games by Mike Alcock on chessgames.com Shared Memories of Mike Alcock on the English Chess Forum Derbyshire Individual Championship Roll of Honour Chesterfield Chess Club Robinson Trophy Winner Nottingham County Champion Details of Mike Alcock, sadly passed away on 19th June 2025. He was top board for Ashfield for over 30 years. Tribute by Neil Graham, We extend our deepest sympathy to his family and friends. |
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