Hugh Francis Blandford (England, * Wednesday 24.01.1917 - † Hatfield, Sunday 20.09.1981)

Chessplayer and study composer (about 200 works)

Biography                                                                                                                                                                                    He spent several years of his childhood in Jamaica with his father, the Reverend Albert Francis (Frank) Blandford, a Minister in the Congregational church, his mother and two younger brothers, Evan Arthur and Philip Thomas Blandford. All three brothers then returned to England and attended Eltham College (the School for the Sons of Missionaries) in South-east London, while their parents remained in Jamaica. He married Marjorie Cox, whom he had worked with during the Second World War.

Chess

He played chess from his schooldays and as well as playing, also started to compose original chess studies. He became known in the field of endgame studies for a small but clear chess compositions, expertly edited and published after Hugh's death by his long-standing chess endings colleague, John Roycroft.

His style in composing studies

Blandford learnt to play chess at school and began composing at the same time in 1930, which he continued to do for the rest of his life. - He mainly composed endgame studies and favoured clear, elegant and airy initial positions. Around 200 of his studies have been published.

Guy–Blandford–Roycroft code

Hugh Blandford was co-inventor with Richard Guy – and, later, with John Roycroft – of the Guy–Blandford–Roycroft code for classifying chess studies. In July 1951 he began as the endgame study editor for the British Chess Magazine. He was made an International Judge for Chess Composition in 1961.

The end of his life

As a metallurgist, he continued to compose chess endgame studies until the end of his life, dying of a heart attack at the age of 64 in early retirement in Hatfield, England, on 20 September 1981.

Others: On arves.org are slected 32 endgame studies with solution.