Friday, December 23, 2016

Tom Purser Remembered Mr BDG

Tom Purser has passed away. My wife said, "You and Tom were friends for a long time." I said, "Yes, for 33 years." Tom Purser was well known in the public chess community as an author and publisher, but Tom enjoyed his private life with family and close friends.

His obituary in the Rhea County Herald News reads in part: "Tom Varner Purser, 80, of Panama City, Fla., went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. He was formerly of Dayton and a graduate of Rhea Central High School and Auburn University with a degree in architectural engineering. His U.S. Air Force career included service in Berlin and Ramstein, Germany; Vietnam; and Washington, D.C. He retired from Air Force Command Headquarters at RAFB in Warner-Robins, Ga."

Purser convinced me to try the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Tom got me to join the Internet Chess Club. I contributed to his BDG World Magazine (1983-1997). Tom Purser provided his BDG Concepts article for my Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Keybook II.

When Purser found out I graduated from Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, he told me that Dayton was his hometown. Both of us worked for the Dayton Herald Newspaper about 15 years apart. It's a small world after all. To honor his military service I present an early Tom Purser game played in Vietnam against Paul Radke, Tom Purser played 1.e4 early in his chess career. He loved the Italian Game lines after 3.Bc4.

Purser - Radke, Nha Trang, Vietnam 1969 begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.0-0 a6 [4...Be7 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0=] 5.a4 [5.d4+/=] 5...Bd7 6.Nc3 Qe7 7.Nd5! Qd8 8.d4 [8.Ng5!?+/-] 8...exd4 9.Nxd4 g6 [9...Ne5 10.Ba2 c6 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.f4+/-] 10.Qf3 [10.Nxc6! bxc6 11.Bg5 f6 12.Qd4 Bg7 13.Rfe1+-] 10...Nxd4 [10...Ne5 11.Qb3+/-] 11.Nxc7+ Qxc7 12.Qxf7+ Kd8 13.Qxf8+ Be8 14.Bg5+ Ne7 15.Bxe7+ [Or 15.Qxh8 Qxc4 16.Qf6 Qe6 17.Qxd4+-] 15...Qxe7 16.Qxh8 Nxc2 17.Rac1 Qxe4 [17...Nb4 18.Rfd1 Nc6 19.Bd5+-] 18.Qf6+ Kc7 19.Rfd1 Bc6 [19...Qe5 20.Qxe5 dxe5 21.Bb3+-] 20.Qxd6+ Kb6
21.a5+ Ka7 22.Qc5+ 1-0



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4 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 4, 2017 at 7:07 AM

    Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic.
    trompowsky corporate

    ReplyDelete
  2. quickturtleMay 22, 2020 at 11:53 PM

    RIP Tom....The BDG community won't be the same without you

    ReplyDelete
  3. ChessNutSeptember 26, 2020 at 10:05 AM

    I'm sorry to learn of this, and so late. Tom's enthusiasm first got me interested in the BDG and I played in an email event he organised. I remember him with fondness.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nico VdbNovember 21, 2020 at 6:38 AM

    RIP Tom, I reminisce of the days of BDG world. A time when computers weren't allaround. I was always looking forward to read the new BDG world. It got me completely entangled in the BDG and still loving it.

    ReplyDelete