Allan Pleasants

I learnt to play chess when I was 11 years old and fairly quickly became the strongest player in the school. At 13 I was playing in the South Birmingham adult league trying hard to see the chess board in the smoke filled lounges of the working men's clubs.  By the the time I was 17 I had won the West Midlands U18 championship and narrowly lost in the Midlands U18 match.  Before leaving school I was already playing in the open sections in the Weekend tournaments and fondly remember going to congresses in Hereford, Nottingham and Birmingham. I have received no formal coaching and believe that has definitely hindered my chess progress.  I believe it is possible for players with some natural ability to progress on their own up to about Candidate Master level (2200 ELO), but to get beyond that requires professional coaching.

After University I took the first of two long breaks from chess to concentrate on my career and maybe to rekindle my interest following a series of poor results (I was playing in very strong tournaments!) and  suffered a loss of confidence after a long run of loses. I have since concluded that each time you step up to a level in chess it hurts!

 In 2012 I beat my first Grandmaster, Keith Arkell, at the 1st Bournemouth Grand Chess Congress, and won a chess board for beating well known UK Grandmaster, Raymond Keene OBE, in a simultaneous display (pictured below). 

My best result ever was winning the Welsh Championship in 2017. It was not the strongest championship, but I played extremely well and with a lot of confidence.  Winning the Welsh and finding out that I could actually play for Wales has led me to travel abroad and play for them in the staggeringly strong European Team Championships, and two Olympiads.   

I have helped run and played top board for the Weymouth Chess Club for many years and been proud to have led them to winning the Division 1 league titles numerous times.