The Amazing Edith Price

    Edith Price (1872-1956, 84 years old) won the British Women's Championship five times: 1922, 1923, 1924, 1928,\ and 1948). When she won the championship in 1948, at the age of 76 she became the oldest player ever to win a national championship. 

    She played in her first Ladies Championship in 1912, finishing second and almost took the title in 1920 and 1921, when she narrowly missed out in the playoffs, after tying for first. 

    In 1898 she founded the Gambit Chess Room for men only except for waitresses. The club was open every day except for two days in 1940 when it was bombed during a Nazi air raid. 

    In addition to here chess she was a prolific author and illustrator of children's books. In the field of children’s books she was best known for the imaginative stories and illustrations she created for 37 different books and stories. 

 

 

    Her grandfather was landscape painter William Trost Richards, who first inspired her to draw. Price received her training in the United States at the Boston's School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the New York Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. Her early works were often published in in general interest magazines and those aimed at children. 

    Around 1914, she was the chief founders of the Brownies, a version of the Girl Scouts for younger girls of around the age of 7 or 8. Price also recorded a large number of folk songs in 1945. 

[Event "British Ladies' Chp, Southport"] [Site "Southport"] [Date "1924.08.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Edith Price"] [Black "Rosa Banting"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A04"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "1924.??.??"] {C41: Philidor Defence} 1. e4 d6 2. Nf3 Bg4 3. d4 e5 4. c3 Nf6 {This is questionable because it loses a P and white gets a superior ending.} (4... Nd7 5. h3 Bh5 6. Bc4 Ngf6 7. Nbd2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 c6 {equals. Pichot,A (2638) -Goroshkov,M (2278) chess.com INT 2023}) 5. dxe5 dxe5 6. Qxd8+ Kxd8 7. Nxe5 Be6 8. Bd3 {White is clearly better.} Bd6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. O-O Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 { It looks like a long, boring ending is coming, but that turns out npot to be the case.} 12. Be3 {But this logical developing move is a tactical mistake that should have allowed black to equalize. 12.Bd2 would gave kept a good advantage.} c6 (12... Ng4 {and Black has nothing to worry.} 13. h3 (13. Bd4 Bxh2+) 13... Bh2+ 14. Kh1 Nxe3 15. fxe3 Bg3) 13. h3 h6 14. Nd2 {f4 is the strong threat.} b6 {Black ignores the threat to her detriment.} (14... g5 15. Bc4 Nd7 (15... Bxc4 16. Nxc4 Bc7 17. f4 gxf4 18. Bxf4 Nxe4 19. Rad1+ Kc8 20. Bxc7 Kxc7 21. Rxf7+ Kc8 22. Rdd7 {...and wins}) 16. Bxe6 fxe6 17. Rfd1 Bc7 18. Nb3 Ke7 {and black has some chance of surviving.}) 15. f4 {[%mdl 32]} Bc7 16. f5 Bd7 17. Rad1 b5 {Black has no really satisfactory defensive plan. All she can do is wait.} 18. Nb3 Re8 19. Nc5 Bb6 20. Rfe1 Bxc5 21. Bxc5 Kc7 22. Bc2 Ng8 23. e5 {[%mdl 32] Moving in for the kill!} Rad8 24. g4 a5 25. Bb3 f6 26. e6 Bc8 27. Rxd8 Kxd8 28. Bb6+ Ke7 29. Bxa5 Kf8 30. Rd1 Ke7 (30... Ne7 {avoids mate, but black would still be hopelessly lost after} 31. Bb4 g6 32. Kf2 gxf5 33. gxf5 h5 34. Ke3 h4 35. Bc5 {Black is pretty much out of moves.} Bb7 36. Rd7 Bc8 37. Rc7 Ba6 38. Rxc6 {etc.}) 31. Bb4+ {It's mate after 31...c5 32. Bxc5# and so black resigned.} 1-0