Gerald Abrahams was a Chess player and an author. Even though there isn’t much information on his life, he has had a significant impact on the game of Chess the Abrahams Defense variation of the Semi-Slav, also known as the Abrahams–Noteboom Variation, or the Noteboom Variation was named after him.
Last Updated: July 22, 2022
Full Name: Gerald Abrahams
Born: April 15, 1907
Place of birth: England
Profiles
Biography
Gerald Abrahams was born on April 15, 1907, in England. He was a British chess player, a barrister, and an author. Abrahams was also a politician and participated in politics in the period between 1920 to 1960. As a politician, he contested the seat in the Sheffield Hallam constituency, where he gathered about 7.7% of the total votes. Abrahams was a member of the Liberal party and stood for the political post in 1945. He participated in politics during the period when the Liberal party was of low success in England. During that period, he participated in four national elections, with him being the only candidate from the Liberal party that stood for the seat.
Abrahams was also a professional author who wrote several books in the chess industry. Among his chess book was the famous book titled “Teach yourself chess,” which he published in 1948. He also wrote the “chess mind “book published in 1951, the “Handbook of Chess” book published in 1960, “Technique in chess” book published in 1961, and “Test Your Chess” book published in 1983. In addition, he was also the author of the “Pan book of chess,” published in 1966, the “Not only chess” book published in 1974, and also “Brilliancies in Chess,” a chess book published in 1977. His books inspired many people, making him gain more popularity as an author to become one of Britain’s top-rated professional authors.
Apart from chess books, Abrahams also wrote bridge books, including the “Brains in Bridge” book published in 1962. He also wrote political, legal, and philosophical books, including the “Law Affecting Police and Public” book published in 1938. Other books include “Ugly Angel,” published in 1940, and the “Retribution” book published in 1941. “The Day of Reckoning” was published in 1943 and many others. In religion, he wrote “The Jewish Mind,” a book he published in 1961. He also wrote a historical/geographical book, “Let’s Look at Israel,” published in 1966. Abrahams passed on March 15, 1980, at the age of 73.
The Beginning
Abraham began playing chess games in his youth as part of his career. He was the founder of the Abrahams Defense, also called the Noteboom variation. Abraham competed in the British championships held in Hastings in 1933. This was his first appearance in a mega tournament, and he finished in third place. This was after he was defeated by strong chess players Theodore Tylor and Mir Sultan Khan. Theodore Tylor later became the tournament winner and was awarded the title of the British chess champion in 1933.
In 1934, Abraham secured a chance to play with four veteran Irish players in the Belgravia Hotel in the Belfast tournament. In the tournament, Abrahams became a winner of two games and drew in the other two games. In 1946, Abrahams secured a chance to compete in the Anglo-Soviet radio game. In this match, he recorded one draw and one win against his rival Viacheslav Ragozin on the board ten. Abraham recorded the best move in his chess career: 1. da d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 dx c4 5. A4 Bb4 6. E3 b5 7. Bd2 a5 8. Axb5 Bxc3 9. cxb5 Bxc3 and 10. B3 Bb7.
Achievements
Gerald was a dedicated chess player in his chess career. As a professional chess book author, he made many achievements in the chess industry. He wrote several chess books, making him a top-ranked chess book writer in Britain. He featured more in his chess career as a chess book author than as a player. However, as a chess player, Abrahams competed in many chess tournaments, including the British championships. He becomes third in the British national chess championships behind veteran players Theodore Tylor and Mir Sultan Khan. This was an outstanding achievement in his chess career as he defeated other strong players in the tournament.
He was also featured in the Belfast tournament held in Belgravia Hotel, where he won two matches and drew two games against four strong Irish chess players. Abraham also recorded a win and a draw in the Anglo-Soviet radio games against his opponent Viacheslav.
Did you enjoy reading about Gerald Abrahams? If you did, you might also be interested in reading about players like Rey Enigma, Paul Morphy, and Alexandra Botez.
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