Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki. He is a FIDE Candidate Master and a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. He is a former editor of Chess Mail magazine and for almost 20 years he contributed monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

“the book is a real work of art, the author found the right measure in description, in the selection of the most notable chess events and inclusion of the most attractive or most important correspondence games...splendid...warmly recommend”—Quarterly for Chess History; “deeply researched”—Chess Book Chats; “this mammoth work is exhaustively researched and traces the history of British and Irish chess from it beginning right up until the Internet age. Highly recommended”—IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com); “excellent tome...heartily recommended”—British Chess Magazine; “very well written...fascinating...highly recommended”—Manchester Chess Federation; “excellent...valuable”—Chess Life; “recommend...this is more than a book, it is a historical gem...Do yourself a big favor and buy it...clearly written with much effort”—carlsplanet.co.uk; “excellent...worth every penny...strongly recommend”—British Correspondence Chess Association; “a richly enjoyable book...a must-keep”—Iain Mackintosh, Scottish Correspondence Chess Association.

• Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments      Abbreviations      Annotation Symbols      1. Capital Letters: Edinburgh versus London, 1824–1828      2. Heyday of the Inter-Club Matches      3. Penny Post and Private Matches      4. Moves Over the Wires: Chess Adopts Technology      5. The Earliest Postal Tournaments, 1853 to 1870      6. Changing Times: The 1870s and 1880s      7. “A Battle at Long Range”: The United Kingdom versus the United States, 1877–1881      8. The Growth of Tournaments, 1870 to 1897      9. Scottish Correspondence Chess to 1918      10. Irish and Welsh Correspondence Chess to 1918      11. The English Scene, 1890 to 1918      12. From One War to the Next, 1918 to 1939      13. Correspondence Chess During World War II      14. International Revival, 1946 to 1951      15. Domestic Competitions, 1946 to 1970      16. Crisis and Resolution: Britain and the InternationalCorrespondence Chess Federation, 1951 to 1971      17. The Home Front: The 1970s and 1980s      18. Growth and Success, 1972 to 1982      19. Becoming World Champions      Appendix I. Matches Between Clubs      Appendix II. Lists of Champions      Appendix III. Excerpts from Rules and Other Documents      Appendix IV. British and Irish Holders of I.C.C.F. Titles      Chapter Notes      Select Bibliography      Index of Images      Index of Opponents      Index of Openings by Name      Index of Openings by ECO Code      General Index

Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki. He is a FIDE Candidate Master and a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. He is a former editor of Chess Mail magazine and for almost 20 years he contributed monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

“the book is a real work of art, the author found the right measure in description, in the selection of the most notable chess events and inclusion of the most attractive or most important correspondence games...splendid...warmly recommend”—Quarterly for Chess History; “deeply researched”—Chess Book Chats; “this mammoth work is exhaustively researched and traces the history of British and Irish chess from it beginning right up until the Internet age. Highly recommended”—IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com); “excellent tome...heartily recommended”—British Chess Magazine; “very well written...fascinating...highly recommended”—Manchester Chess Federation; “excellent...valuable”—Chess Life; “recommend...this is more than a book, it is a historical gem...Do yourself a big favor and buy it...clearly written with much effort”—carlsplanet.co.uk; “excellent...worth every penny...strongly recommend”—British Correspondence Chess Association; “a richly enjoyable book...a must-keep”—Iain Mackintosh, Scottish Correspondence Chess Association.

• Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments      Abbreviations      Annotation Symbols      1. Capital Letters: Edinburgh versus London, 1824–1828      2. Heyday of the Inter-Club Matches      3. Penny Post and Private Matches      4. Moves Over the Wires: Chess Adopts Technology      5. The Earliest Postal Tournaments, 1853 to 1870      6. Changing Times: The 1870s and 1880s      7. “A Battle at Long Range”: The United Kingdom versus the United States, 1877–1881      8. The Growth of Tournaments, 1870 to 1897      9. Scottish Correspondence Chess to 1918      10. Irish and Welsh Correspondence Chess to 1918      11. The English Scene, 1890 to 1918      12. From One War to the Next, 1918 to 1939      13. Correspondence Chess During World War II      14. International Revival, 1946 to 1951      15. Domestic Competitions, 1946 to 1970      16. Crisis and Resolution: Britain and the InternationalCorrespondence Chess Federation, 1951 to 1971      17. The Home Front: The 1970s and 1980s      18. Growth and Success, 1972 to 1982      19. Becoming World Champions      Appendix I. Matches Between Clubs      Appendix II. Lists of Champions      Appendix III. Excerpts from Rules and Other Documents      Appendix IV. British and Irish Holders of I.C.C.F. Titles      Chapter Notes      Select Bibliography      Index of Images      Index of Opponents      Index of Openings by Name      Index of Openings by ECO Code      General Index

Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki. He is a FIDE Candidate Master and a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. He is a former editor of Chess Mail magazine and for almost 20 years he contributed monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

“the book is a real work of art, the author found the right measure in description, in the selection of the most notable chess events and inclusion of the most attractive or most important correspondence games...splendid...warmly recommend”—Quarterly for Chess History; “deeply researched”—Chess Book Chats; “this mammoth work is exhaustively researched and traces the history of British and Irish chess from it beginning right up until the Internet age. Highly recommended”—IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com); “excellent tome...heartily recommended”—British Chess Magazine; “very well written...fascinating...highly recommended”—Manchester Chess Federation; “excellent...valuable”—Chess Life; “recommend...this is more than a book, it is a historical gem...Do yourself a big favor and buy it...clearly written with much effort”—carlsplanet.co.uk; “excellent...worth every penny...strongly recommend”—British Correspondence Chess Association; “a richly enjoyable book...a must-keep”—Iain Mackintosh, Scottish Correspondence Chess Association.

• Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments      Abbreviations      Annotation Symbols      1. Capital Letters: Edinburgh versus London, 1824–1828      2. Heyday of the Inter-Club Matches      3. Penny Post and Private Matches      4. Moves Over the Wires: Chess Adopts Technology      5. The Earliest Postal Tournaments, 1853 to 1870      6. Changing Times: The 1870s and 1880s      7. “A Battle at Long Range”: The United Kingdom versus the United States, 1877–1881      8. The Growth of Tournaments, 1870 to 1897      9. Scottish Correspondence Chess to 1918      10. Irish and Welsh Correspondence Chess to 1918      11. The English Scene, 1890 to 1918      12. From One War to the Next, 1918 to 1939      13. Correspondence Chess During World War II      14. International Revival, 1946 to 1951      15. Domestic Competitions, 1946 to 1970      16. Crisis and Resolution: Britain and the InternationalCorrespondence Chess Federation, 1951 to 1971      17. The Home Front: The 1970s and 1980s      18. Growth and Success, 1972 to 1982      19. Becoming World Champions      Appendix I. Matches Between Clubs      Appendix II. Lists of Champions      Appendix III. Excerpts from Rules and Other Documents      Appendix IV. British and Irish Holders of I.C.C.F. Titles      Chapter Notes      Select Bibliography      Index of Images      Index of Opponents      Index of Openings by Name      Index of Openings by ECO Code      General Index