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British Chess Federation

President's Awards for Services to Chess 2005

Paul R Bielby

From the North East. Has held several positions within NCCU, including President, Junior Organiser and Secretary (twice). In addition Paul occupied several positions in County Durham. As “Bishop”he was the weekly columnist for the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and has produced bulletins and coaching material.

He has organised innumerable events for Juniors and continues in coaching and organising for junior chess players. Paul was one of the main architects in the creation of the Northumbria Junior Chess Association which looks after virtually all junior chess activity in Northumberland and Durham. He continues to edit and publish a junior newsletter for NJCA, Coaches at Royal Grammar school in Newcastle and runs a junior team in the Northumbrian league.

Robert Howard Jones

From Devon. Involved in Junior chess in South Devon and Exmouth since the late sixties. Ran the Exmouth and District Primary Schools Chess League for 25 years, and set up the Exmouth Junior Congress that he ran single handedly for 20 years.
In addition Bob was President of Devon County Chess Association representing Adult players and took over as General Secretary continuing in that post today. Add to that the post of General Secretary of WECU which he has held for nearly 20 years.

A keen chess player, he has played for his County for 41 consecutive years. His club under his captaincy has won the top Division of the Devon League for the last five years. Bob has an entry to the Guiness Book of Records as the inaugural World Marathon Chess Champion in 1961. For the last 5 years he has run the unique Royal Beacon Seniors Congress.

John M Robinson

Known to many on the board as a regular controller of BCF events during the last 20 years. John quietly manages his roles as controller and arbiter. He is always willing and ready to come to tournaments and to give advice to those who are setting up new events. He has always been willing to host county matches in his village of Stanion.

For many years the Events director of the MCCU and is now the Grading Director. In recent years he has taken the job of taking entries for the British Championships, relieving the Congress Director of an onerous task. In addition John has undertaken work for 4NCL and the controlling of various correspondence chess events.

Posthumous citation for an ECF President’s Award for Services to Chess.

Stephen Robert Boniface (1951 - 2005)

While a pupil at Northampton Grammar School, Steve joined the White Melville Club and soon played for his county. Steve moved to the west-country in 1970 to start Teacher Training at Rolle College, Exmouth. Conveniently, the local chess club met in the College, so Steve quickly became fully immersed in Devon chess.

He remained in the Exmouth area throughout the 1970s and played at a time when the weekend congress became an established feature of the British chess scene. Very soon Steve became interested in their organisation and administration; his first event being, devised jointly with a fellow club member, was the 1976 Exmouth Primary Schools’ Chess Congress. It was clear immediately that organisation was Steve’s forte and he soon moved on to larger events, but never lost touch with this original one. In 1980 he moved to Sussex, but regularly returned to the west when he became Controller of long-established and prestigious events at Paignton, Torquay, Exeter and the peripatetic West of England Championship. In 1998 he devised the formula for a new type of event, the Royal Beacon Seniors Congress in Exmouth, which he ran for its first five years.

He moved to Bristol in the late 1980s, and with its large and active chess league Steve was in his element. Although Steve controlled at many tournaments, he found time for club chess, mostly with the Grendel club. Steve was a very good writer and one of the most frequent contributors to ‘The Bristol Chess Times’ magazine. Furthermore, he became involved in the Bristol-Hannover Twinning Association and organised regular visits of chess teams from one city to another, and together with his German counterpart revitalised the exchange programme.

He took the opportunity to retire early in 1998 and devoted himself to chess. Without losing touch with his west-country events, he became involved in many other congresses and organisations, eventually to succeed Richard Furness as Chief Arbiter to the 4NCL. Simply for the pleasure of attending an Olympiad, Steve volunteered at the Istanbul event in 2000; an experience he enjoyed immensely. In 1993, he became a founding member of the Chess Arbiters’ Association, was its first Secretary, a regular contributor to its journal, and took over as Treasurer in 1999. He was greatly concerned with the training and development of Arbiters and ran courses in many parts of the country; most of Steve’s trainees passed the BCF exam. He arranged practical experience or himself observed trainees in action which led to the appointment of many new highly competent Arbiters. His ability and willingness to clearly and carefully explain why and how he had made a particular decision was exemplary, and testament to his expertise.

The demand for his services as an Arbiter grew and his talents became recognised nationwide; Steve was appointed as a BCF Senior Arbiter and subsequently awarded the title of FIDE International Arbiter in 2000. He would have become an obvious candidate for Chief Arbiter at the British Championships, and with time and his energy perhaps further international experience.

After Steve’s sudden death in October 2005, many tributes were paid to his ceaseless work for the chess community. His warm and convivial personality defused difficult situations with a light touch, yet he was able to make tough decisions. Steve was always calm and level-headed in tense situations. Off-duty, he amused his friends and colleagues with his sharp wit and fund of stories of the follies and foibles of chess players. Steve was a well-respected and greatly popular servant to the game, whose loss will be deeply felt at both personal and practical levels by players and fellow organisers for years to come.

During his lifetime Steve’s monumental services to chess were recognised by popular acclaim, though never marked with a formal award. Whilst we are sad to make this proposal posthumously, we submit that Steve Boniface was a most distinguished candidate for a President’s Award.

Previous Recipients