Sharing the sad news that Stockport Chess Club’s veteran member Peter Taylor passed away on 24th December 2024 shortly after his 87th birthday. Peter always liked to keep busy and played a large role in shaping the chess scene in Stockport, and his impact on the club is hard to overstate.
Peter had been a member of Stockport CC for over 50 years taking on many (if not all) of the various roles and responsibilities at some point. He captained a team as late as 2021 at the age of 84 (although we finished bottom of the league on that occasion!). He played less frequently in his final year as various ailments began to take their toll but his first win OTB in the post-Covid era was celebrated as though he’d scored the winning goal in the ’66 World Cup Final (a match he was present at).
Despite being from a generation that grew up – and worked most of their lives – without computers, Peter was in no way computer-illiterate and when the pandemic stopped OTB chess he began to play online on both lichess and chess.com under the username yolksac playing nearly 3,000 games in a 2 year period.
Peter organised the annual Xmas Lightning tournament hosted by Stockport Chess Club on the final Tuesday before Christmas each year, an event where a loud buzzer sounds every 10 seconds at which point the player has to make their move. This was an ever popular festive event where Peter provided the mince pies to participants free of charge.
Peter leaves a lasting legacy in the form of the Stockport Rapidplay Congress which he established in 1987 and ran every year without fail until 2020. There was a two-year break due to the pandemic, but Peter returned to co-organise the 2023 event (his 35th) before taking a background role the following year. I have had so many people tell me how well run the event is and I can only pass the credit for that onto Peter who, either through natural organisational ability or many years of experience, had everything running like a well-oiled machine. It’s remarkable how many people return year after year to the SRP, and that’s testament to the hard work Peter put in behind the scenes.
I could mention more events Peter organised: the Stockport & District Chess League’s Summer Rapidplay League (4 seasons 2016-2019), and the Stockport Blitz (July), which no longer exist. Undoubtedly there is a long list of Peter’s achievements that predate my own time at the Club (having “only” been a member for 10 years; Peter was organising chess events before I was born!)
His funeral was well attended by many members of the Club, both past and present. He leaves behind his wife of 60 years, children and a granddaughter. Peter will be missed both for the person he was and his contribution to the club.
Gareth Griffiths