I was sorry to hear that Keith had died. He was an amiable and cheerful character.

He was also the most gifted chess player the school has seen – his capacity for instant analysis of a position on the board was extraordinary. Because of his success in correspondence chess, he was later to become the first British-born chess-playing international grandmaster. Wikipedia records his successes in both Finnish and German (though not in English).

Keith was, however, far from everyone’s expectation of a chess grandmaster in several ways. For instance, he was just about as good at cricket as at chess – the morning after every match the headmaster would find himself announcing to the school Keith’s latest athletic success with the bat. Strangest of all for a chess player, Keith was rubbish at maths: he didn’t manage to pass O-level maths (a requirement for university entrance) until after his regular “A”-levels. A brilliant subversion of stereotypes!

Obituary on Hamilton Russell

Obituary on EC Forum

Obituary on Barclays