Just a fortnight ago, I had the pleasure of introducing a friend to the ‘Immortal Waiting Game’, Michael Basman’s victory over the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson, played at Hastings in 1975. Basman landed in a passive position out of the opening, and began to shuffle back and forth, so that at move 23 his pieces were in the identical state they had been in at move 11. It was a psychological masterstroke. Andersson, a distinctly patient player, girded himself to attack, only to waver and botch the execution so badly that Basman turned the tables and won the game.
On 26 October, Basman died from cancer at the age of 76. He was an amiable maverick, who will be remembered for his colossal achievement in creating the UK Chess Challenge, a major event for schoolchildren of all ages which has run for 25 years. Since its inception, over 1 million children have taken part, including Harry Grieve, who won the event in 2017 and went on to win the (adult) British Championship this year. Sadly, this great project became a source of adversity for Basman, who in 2016 became locked in a dispute with HMRC over unpaid VAT estimated at £300,000. Basman declared bankruptcy, and the tournament lives on under its new owners Sarah and Alex Longson, with sponsorship from Delancey.
He was born in London in 1946, his Armenian immigrant father having changed the family name from Basmadjian. Basman went on to represent England at the Lugano Olympiad in 1968, and tied for first place at the 1973 British Championship, missing out on tiebreak. He also spent time in Armenia, becoming champion of Yerevan in 1970. Besides numerous wins against grandmasters, he had the better of draws with Botvinnik and Tal.
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