Edinburgh ex-social worker’s chess book success
Added: (Fri May 05 2023)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Few know the game of kings better than retired Edinburgh social worker Roger Leslie Paige.
And even fewer will have published deeper insights into chess than the 79-year-old.
Roger’s latest probe into the game he loves focusses on his own early playing days in the Portsmouth and London leagues.
Like his previous books, Chess Games IV also pays tribute to a handful of the characters who were often sitting at the opposite side of the board.
Roger said: “Chess Games IV contains my recollections of my friend Mike Dymond - chess player, painter, and photographer - who died this past year.
“The games in this book are from the years 1963 to 1974 when I was active in the local leagues in Portsmouth and London, as well as various South of England open tournaments, in places such as Bognor Regis and Hastings.
“Most of the games I have not collected or annotated before, and many were played at a rapid rate – we’re talking 10 or 15 minutes each with no increment.”
As with his previous chess collections, Roger’s new book has already reached number one in Amazon’s Puzzles and Games chart.
The former teacher has previously written well-received appreciations of players such as Wilfred Henry Pratten and Sir George Alan Thomas.
He has also dissected openings such as the Albin Counter Gambit, the Scotch Game, and the Rice Gambit, as well as studied the approaches of historical greats such as John Cochrane, Grigory Levenfish and Mark Taimanov.
But it’s his own visits to the chequered board, both in person and online, that have filled most of his earlier volumes.
Roger added: “My chess career was mainly in the amateur leagues – for Cosham in the Portsmouth League, and for Athenaeum in the London League.
“I also played for Hampshire and the historic Edinburgh Chess Club.
“These days I mainly play on the internet.”
Although he was born in Kent, Roger was raised in Canada before his family returned to England in the mid-1950s.
It was during the late 50s and 60s, while living and working in London and Hampshire, that he became gripped by chess.
Although moving to Edinburgh some 30 years ago to train in social work, his passion for the game has never relented.
Away from rooks, pawns and bishops, Roger writes and publishes both poetry and short stories.
For more information visit Amazon and search for Roger Leslie Paige, where the Kindle and paperback versions of Chess Games IV are available.
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