Ken Grist

I have been playing chess since 1986 originally with the former Swanley Club. During this time we won the final of the Harvey Cup in 1979. We also ran a Junior Grand Prix tournament for 10 years in St Peters Church, Hextable.

I used to go and play in tournaments around the country, Hastings, Portsmouth and Nottingham being the main ones. I found this better than the Kent League as over a weekend you usually won a few games whereas if you lose in the league it’s a long time often to trying to win in the next match. I have had some fluke wins, sneaky draws and sickening losses.

At Portsmouth I enjoyed the ambience of this seaside city in between games, my grandfather lived here and was a member of the Portsmouth Chess Club at one time.

My sister lives near the venue in Nottingham so I used to call to see her and also make a visit to Carsington Water where we spent a family holiday one summer. At Hastings I played games in the mornings, enjoyed the resort in the afternoons then prepared the annual accounts for our church in the evenings.

Ken Grist