Jimmy Adams, a Fide master and former editor of Chess magazine, has died aged 79. He was recognized for his witty personality and encyclopedic knowledge of the game.
Chess career and achievements
Adams was awarded the title of Fide master at age 67, the third-highest ranking behind international master and grandmaster. He served as editor of Chess magazine from 1991 to 2010, bringing games and players to life with his enthusiastic, tabloid-like style.
Born in Islington, north London, to James, a delivery driver, and Ivy (nee Soule), a shopkeeper, Adams attended Highbury county grammar school for boys. He discovered chess through the children's novel John and the Chess Men in his local library and quickly graduated to adult books, teaching himself the game.
Early recognition and career
His early chess successes caught the attention of leading English players, including Leonard Barden, Bob Wade, and Harry Golombek. As a teenager, he appeared on a chess radio program and was invited to meet Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres.
After leaving school, Adams worked as a sales assistant in the cushion department of John Lewis during the 1960s, at a Post Office sorting office in the 1970s, and as a welfare officer with the London borough of Haringey in the 1980s.
Journalism and writing
He taught himself Russian to read Soviet chess publications, then launched a freelance journalism career with the BBC in 1972, transmitting moves of the Fischer-Spassky world chess championship match. By the early 1990s, he worked full-time as editor of Chess magazine at Pergamon Press, also editing many chess books. He authored biographies of Keres, Gyula Breyer, Mikhail Chigorin, and Salo Flohr.
After leaving Chess magazine, he freelanced for British Chess Magazine, American Chess, and New in Chess.
Personal life and legacy
In 1982, Adams married Sharon Boyer, who survives him along with their daughter, Charlotte, and his sister, Brenda. Friends recall his long conversations over two coffees at a cafe near the Chess & Bridge shop in north London.
