Lawrence James Stirling

22 July 1928, Alloa - 19 November 2011, Clackmannanshire

Photo circa 2000.

Associated with Alloa Chess Club.

Clackmannan County Chess Club, Spens Cup winners 1961, at the Crown Hotel, Alloa, 7 April 1961.

Left to right (standing):
Bill Jamieson: Robin Petrie: Pat Hansen: Geoffrey Inglis: Lawrence Crawford; Deo onar:
Bill Norman: Drew __??? : Frank Affa: Roddy Gibb: Ian Reid; Geoffrey Hayton.

Seated:
Willie Pearson: Andrew Dunbar: Jimmy Young (Pres): Lawrence James Stirling; Lawrence Stirling (Snr): Ian Cooper.

Three members only missed the presentation of the Spens Cup: Bill Baxter, Joe Mital nd R. Edwards.

Contributed a detailed article to the 10th issue the Scottish Chess Association Bulletin (January-April 1963):-

'A CHESS REVIVAL - THE SCOTTISH CENTRAL LEAGUE'

He also contributed several articles to the High School of Glasgow Bulletin in the 1960s.

Drew with Gligoric (1964), Botvinnik (1967) and Stein (1968) in simultaneous displays.

L.J. Stirling had 15 minutes of fame after the following letter appeared in the April 1962 British Chess Magazine (after first appearing in the Glasgow Herald chess column of 6 April 1962, p16):-

The first edition of Technique in Chess was published in 1961. In the 1973 edition (p. 48), Abrahams again acknowledged L.J. Stirling's discovery.

Geoff Chandler provided a detailed article about this "find" in Scottish Chess Nr. 243, December 2012.

Sources
Allyson Keen, a cousin of Mr Stirling.
Technique in Chess, by G. Abrahams, 1973.
Scottish Chess 243, December 2012, pp. 6-9: article by Geoff Chandler.

Alan McGowan

Updated - 24/08/2023