Parr tied with Gabriel Wood the British correspondence championship in 1948 and in 1949 he again tied for first with Harold Israel. He won the championship outright in 1950 and 1956.
Altogether Parr played in 25 British Chess Championships from 1936 to 1991. In his first appearance in 1936, he finished fifth place with 6-5 score which included a win over Sir George Thomas. His best result was in 1956 when, after draws in the first two rounds, he won eight consecutive games before drawing with Leonard Barden in the last round to finish with a 8-3 score. Although it was an excellent score that would have won most championships, C.H.O’D. Alexander tool first despite having lost their individual game!
Before retirement he worked as a messenger at the London Stock Exchange. He had three sons and one daughter. Aside from chess, his main hobby was gardening, but he was also a supporter of Fulham Football Club and a patron of Surrey County Cricket Club.
After a long illness Parr died in Epsom, a small town about 14 miles south of central London, on December 28. 2003. In 2005, the British Federation for Correspondence Chess introduced a Frank Parr Memorial Tournament.
Parr was known for his aggressive style and alertness to tactical possibilities. In the following game played in the 1949 British Championship held at Felixstowe, a port town in eastern England, Parr scores a snappy win against the Kondon player Douglas Riley who finished 26th to 30th (out of 32) with a 4-7 score. Parr tied for places 15-17 with an even score. The Championship was won by Harry Golombek.
[Event "British Championship, Felixstowe"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1949.08.15"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Douglas Riley"]
[Black "Frank Parr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 16"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "1949.08.08"]
{E62: King's Indian Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 {White plays
a method of development that is on completely different than other variations
(4.e4 and 4.Nf3). After 4.g3 black's normal plan of attack can hardly succeed,
because white's K-side is more solidly defended than in other variations.} O-O
5. Bg2 d6 6. e4 Nc6 {the Main Line is 6...e5} 7. Nge2 (7. d5 {is never played
because after} Na5 8. b3 c5 9. Nge2 a6 10. a4 b5 {Black has fully equalized. If
} 11. axb5 axb5 12. Nxb5 {White has won a P, but after} Bd7 13. Nbc3 Rb8 14.
Rb1 Rb7 {and ...Qb8 black gets the P back.}) 7... e5 8. O-O exd4 9. Nxd4 Nxe4
$1 10. Nxc6 (10. Nxe4 {looks sharper, but black still has full equality after}
Nxd4 11. Bg5 f6 12. Be3 Nc6) 10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 {This leaves white with weak
Ps, but apparently Riley wanted to avoid simplification.} (11. Nxd8 {was
preferable.} Nxd1 12. Nxb7 Bxb7 13. Bxb7 Rab8 14. Rxd1 Rxb7 {Here a draw would
be a reasonable outcome.}) 11... bxc6 12. Bxc6 Bh3 13. Re1 (13. Bxa8 Qxa8 14.
Qd5 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 Bxc3 {Black is better, but it's doubtful that his advantage
would be enough to win.}) 13... Bxc3 14. Bh6 {An interesting situation! Both
of black's Rs are being attacked by white's Bs while both of white's Rs are
under attack by only one black B. It's black who has a significant advantage!}
(14. Bd2 {was safer.} Bxd2 15. Qxd2 Rb8 16. Qc3 {and black's extra P will be
hard to exploit.}) 14... Qf6 {A great move!} (14... Bxe1 {This leads to a
curious mirror-like position that ends up favoring white.} 15. Qd4 Bc3 16. Qxc3
f6 17. Qf3 (17. Bxa8 Qxa8 18. f3 Rf7 19. g4 f5)) (14... Bxa1 {This also loses/}
15. Qxa1 f6 {Which R should white take?} 16. Bd5+ {Neither! At least not yet.}
(16. Bxa8 Qxa8 17. f3 Qxf3 18. Qb2 {Black wins.} Rd8) (16. Bxf8 Qxf8 17. g4 (
17. Bxa8 Qxa8 18. f3 Qxf3 19. Qb2 {A critical situation that with correct play
offers about equal chances.}) 17... Rb8 18. g5 Kg7 19. Qc3 Bf5 20. gxf6+ Qxf6 (
20... Kh6 21. h4 g5 22. Re7 {and white is winnign.}) 21. Re7+) 16... Kh8 17.
Bxf8 Qxf8 18. Bxa8 Qxa8 19. Qxf6+ Kg8 20. f3 Qf8 21. Qxf8+ Kxf8 22. g4) 15.
Bxa8 {It's hard to believe, but 58 years later this same position was reached!}
(15. Rc1 Bxe1 16. Qxe1 Rab8 17. Bxf8 Kxf8 18. Qe3 {In Vink,W (2084)-Battiston,
C Arco di Trento 2007, even though black has a considerable advantage the
players agreed to a draw.}) (15. Bxf8 {This is the best move, but black is
better after} Rxf8 16. Rb1 Bxe1 17. Qxe1 h5 {However, it's seems unlikely that
he would be able to squeeze out a win.}) 15... Bxe1 16. Bf3 Re8 17. Rb1 (17.
Qxe1 {White's position is very difficult, but technically this hopeless movr
is the best that he has.} Rxe1+ 18. Rxe1 Be6 19. Rb1 Qd8 20. Rb7 Bxc4 21. Rxa7
d5) 17... Ba5 {[%mdl 128] This is a natural looking move (it threatens ...Re1+),
but it really throws away most of black's advantage.} (17... g5 {keeps a huge
advantage.} 18. Qe2 {Greta! The Q can't be taken because of Rb8+, but...} Bd7
19. Be4 Ba5 {Now is the time for this and white loses his B on h6.}) 18. Bc6
Rd8 {The R cannot leave the last rank because white would have Rb8 with mate
to follow.} 19. Rb5 {While this attacks the B the R has moved a couple of
squares too far.} (19. Rb3 {pretty much equalizes.} g5 {Trapping the B.} 20. g4
{Also trapping the B.} Qxh6 21. Qf3 Kg7 22. Bd5 Bxg4 23. Qxg4 {Black is a
couple of Ps up, but the heavy pieces combined with Bs of opposite colr will
make pulling out a win very difficult.}) 19... Bb6 20. Qe1 {A mistake that
loses instantly.} (20. Bf4 {and white can continue making a fight of it.} h6
21. Qc1 g5 22. Be3 {White can put up a manly defense, but in the long run
black should prevail.}) 20... Bxf2+ {[%mdl 512] 0-1 This alert shot mates in 9
so white resigned.} (20... Bxf2+ 21. Kh1 (21. Qxf2 Qa1+ 22. Rb1 Qxb1+ 23. Bc1
Qxc1+ {mate next move.}) 21... d5 {Taking the Q also mates...in 19 moves.} 22.
Qd1 Qxc6 23. Rxd5 Re8 24. Be3 Bxe3 25. Qb1 Bf2 26. a4 Qxc4 27. Rd8 Qc6+ 28. Rd5
Qxd5+ 29. Qe4 Qxe4#) 0-1
No comments:
Post a Comment