Jim MacRae

[Ianbrownlee]

Another of our old friends and clubmates Jim MacRae has passed away on May 25 at the age of 84.
 
   Jim was a long time member of Crowwood and Stepps and most of you will remember him with affection as I do. He was an enthusiastic and formidable chess player and travelled all over the UK to play in congresses and seniors events. He played to quite a high level and only stopped playing for Stepps a few years ago. I nearly persuaded him to resume last season but he continued playing congresses until recently.
    Jim was well liked and respected throughout Scottish chess circles and will be sadly missed. (Message by Drew Pollock, Secretary Stepps CC)
 
Glasgow Herald: https://www.heraldscotland.com/announcem...h_Mac_Rae/

[hamish olson]

That is really sad to hear, I will miss talking to him at congresses.
He was a real fighter on the board, playing 1...Nc6 and stuff like that, and won our only encounter in Glenrothes 2011 (I think with that first move) in a messy rook endgame.
Off the board he was a real gent.

[Alex McFarlane]

For completeness, Jim was born on 22 May 1936.

With his passing Scottish chess has lost one of its characters.

A tenacious player, Jim was known for playing games to their bitter end. He kept me waiting on many occasions for his game to finish and allow the next round pairings to be done.

A true gent and another sad loss.

[Andy Howie]

As Alex has already said, we have lost one of our real characters

I had a lot of dealing with Jim as an Arbiter, I don't recall playing him. He was a true gent

[Alex McFarlane]

A nice comment from IM Richard Bates and a great photo from Brendan O'Gorman on the ECForum.

https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php...56#p247256

The picture is from Hastings.

[Arthur Mulholland]

Sorry to hear that Ian. Jim was a great chap and well respected. Another huge loss to Chess in Scotland.

[Jack Parkes]

Gutted to hear of Jim's passing. He was a real character, always, in a chess sense up for the fight .For years he always wore a bunnet when he played. You would never guess that he had an academic background. He was a real enthusiast, playing in tournaments all over the UK. He played each move with a steely determination and like me he occasionally liked to pit his wits against any bookmaker located near the tournament hall. I enjoyed hearing of his successes and near misses at the chessboard and at the bookies. I will miss him.