ROY'S REFLECTIONS
TONY HARVEYS CHESS LIFE
Tony was born in Nottingham in 1952 and enjoyed his life there with his family until 1965 when they went to live in Bermondsey, South East London where he attended Kingsdale school in Gypsy Hill.
Tony at 13 years of age learned to play our wonderful game of chess with the help of International Master Bob Wade at Morley college in Westminster Bridge Road which was founded in the 1880s by Samuel Morley - MP for Nottingham and later Bristol.- coincidentally the same path in life that Tony had taken.
At 20 years old Tony worked for the Department of Health & Social Security and played chess in their internal league consisting of 10 board teams and 12 divisions which included government scientist and chemist teams - a good learning curb for sure.
In 1979 Tony joined the Post Office and played chess for their team Eastern Knights. Whilst employed by there he played in the London PO National Tournaments against other PO teams around the country, and also for Ilford in Division 1 of the London League and later East Ham.
Tony had played continuously in the capital for 45 years when he brought his experience to Bristol in 2010 moving into Whitchurch with his partner Kathlene. He immediately looked for a club to play for, and didn't have to look far. He joined the South Bristol club a mere 5 minutes’ walk away.
Tony Harvey is our A team captain and is currently playing for both the A and B teams He also organised a prestigious Xmas tournament freshening it up a bit making it difficult for the higher graded players. He is also leading in a points system for player of the year.
Tony had won 2 major Bristol congress tournaments back to back. Well done Tony!