04/01/67 – 23/03/13

Richard Almond was a respected  chess player and administrator, remembered for his competitive achievements and deep contributions to the chess community. He passed away unexpectedly on March 23  2013 at the age of 46

Richard was educated at the Grove school in Hastings at the same time as GM Stuart Conquest

Richard progressed in to a serious adult player, becoming a strong County and club  player He was very tough to beat and resilient. Richard was always a fan of the Queens Gambit Declined (as black) and initially the Caro-Kann against 1.e4 Later on, he played the Scandinavian Defence against 1.e4 As White he always played 1.d4

• Richard occasionally defeated titled international masters and grandmasters.

Richard twice played in the British Championship

• Contributions Beyond the Board
  • as well as competitive success he also put his skills into chess administration, Richard was captain of Hastings title-winning Mid-Sussex League team,,and was  secretary of the Sussex first team,  he was also Hastings Chess Club Treasurer and  a Trustee of the charitable Junior Fund.

Richard was a quiet unassuming person who loved playing chess, he was gentlemanly and made a favourable impression on all his opponents. An impression echoed in the hastings Chess Club, where he always had time to help other members

. Richard  enjoyed sport and was a fan of Liverpool FC. In his younger years he was a , runner and also cycled a lot. He lived with his mother . He was an only child so lived alone after her death..

Richard was also a member of the e2e4 team that played in the National League (4NCL) Richard was on his way to this event, when he was sadly taken ill and passed away,.

 

here is a game from the Hastings Masters (3), 30.12.2008

Almond,RJ – Eames,RS

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.f3 f5 11.g4 Kh8 12.h4 Ng8 13.g5 h6 14.Kg2 f4 15.Rh1 Rf7 16.Nd3 Bf8 17.Qg1 Rh7 18.Kf1 hxg5 19.hxg5 Rxh1 20.Qxh1+ Kg7 21.Qh4 Be7 22.Nxf4 exf4 23.Bxf4 Ne5 24.Bd2 Nf7 25.f4 Kf8 26.Kg2 c5 27.Rh1 Bd7 28.Qh7 Be8 29.Bg4 a6 30.Be6 b5 31.Qxg6 Ra7 32.Rh8 1-0

and a losing game against Bernard Cafferty in the Hastings Club Championship, 01.06.1996

Almond,Richard – Cafferty,Bernard

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 c5 9.e3 Bb7 10.f3 A double-edged move, slowing down his K-side development.

10…Nc6 11.Bd3 cxd4 12.exd4 d5 13.Ne2 dxc4 14.Bxc4 Rc8 15.Qd3 e5! 16.d5? He had to simplify by 16 dxe5 Nxe5 17 Qxd8 Rfxd8 18 Bxf6 gxf6 19 Bb5 with near equality, though Black has such continuations as 19…Nd3+ or 19…Rc2.

16…e4! 17.Qe3 Ne5 18.b3 Nfg4! The loose bishop at h4 and the uncastled king now come into the equation.

19.Qxe4 Qxh4+ 20.g3 Qf6 21.0-0 Nxc4 22.fxg4 Nd2 23.Rxf6 Nxe4 0-1