British Postal Chess Federation

3rd Open Championship Final

It was a long process to get here. The tournament structure started with a preliminary section as soon as 7 entries were available; top 2 qualified for a semi‑final. A semi‑final section started when 9 qualifiers were available; again top 2 qualified for a final. A final section began once 15 qualifiers were ready. This was the 3rd time a final had been formed.

I was playing in Southport. Games started 15th April 1991.

Time Control: 20 days for 10 moves plus 24 days cessation. Sundays and Bank Holidays not to count.

1st KV, 2nd KMcL, 3rd WL, 4th DJ, I finished 1st July 1992 5th= 8/14.

The last game finished 5th April 1993 when I received a cheque in the sum of £20.

Game	White	Black	Result
1	Peter Wilson	John Ryan, Manchester	1-0	View
2	Cliff Chandler, Gravesend	Peter Wilson	0-1	View
3	Peter Wilson	Pat Coleman, Cross-in-Hand	1-0	View
4	Philip Trussler, Claygate	Peter Wilson	1/2	View
5	Peter Wilson	Keven Verney, Preston	1/2	View
6	Alan Stewart, Sunderland	Peter Wilson	1/2	View
7	Peter Wilson	K W McLaughlin, Markfield	0-1	View
8	David Fennelly, Greenshill	Peter Wilson	1/2	View
9	Peter Wilson	M Ali, Deptford	1-0	View
10	Bill Powell, Barlaston	Peter Wilson	1/2	View
11	Peter Wilson	Bill Lumley, Comersal	1/2	View
12	Ajoy Mukherjee, Gainspark	Peter Wilson	1-0	View
13	Peter Wilson	Neville Twitchell, Harlow	1-0	View
14	Dave Jarvis, Cambridge	Peter Wilson	1-0	View

Before computers, correspondence chess players relied heavily on massive personal libraries and network collaboration. A single move could take days to transmit by mail, giving players ample time to pore over opening encyclopedias, theoretical books, and endgame tables. They also consulted other strong players, creating informal syndicates to analyse positions.

The advent of chess engines transformed the game completely. Books and human networks became obsolete as engines offered near-flawless tactical analysis in seconds. Today, correspondence chess has evolved into "Centaur chess", a battle between human-computer partnerships where victory depends on a player's ability to guide and deeply understand engine recommendations.

Although I had written a Sinclar Spectrum program to record the positions of the games to help set up the board for each move, it was not an engine. Over the next few years I encountered an increasing number of games which had engines behind them and without one myself I had drifted away from Correspondence Chess by 1996.

1977–1982 First consumer chess computers
Fidelity Chess Challenger, Novag, SciSys units appear in shops. Strength: club level at best.

1983–1990 PC engines arrive
Sargon, Chessmaster, GNU Chess run on home PCs. Strength: strong club to expert.

1991–1997 Serious strength on desktops
Fritz, Rebel, Hiarcs emerge. By mid‑90s, top engines reach IM/GM level on consumer hardware.

1997–2006 Home engines surpass humans
Fritz 8, Shredder, Junior on ordinary PCs exceed 2700 Elo. By 2006, engines are clearly stronger than any human.

2007–> Unbeatable era
Rybka dominates, then Stockfish and Leela surpass everything. Modern home PCs run engines above 3500 Elo, far beyond human capability. Correspondence chess has evolved into "Advanced Chess", a battle between human & computer partnerships where victory depends on a player's ability to guide and deeply understand engine recommendations.