Dave Welch Obituary

Liverpool Chess Legend Dave Welch sadly passed away peacefully on Saturday 9th November 2019 after a long illness since suffering a stroke back in 2017.

Dave Welch joined Liverpool Chess Club in 1968 and eventually became its president, and long time organiser of the Liverpool Congress.
Dave was a club member for 50 years and he has been the club librarian looking after all club records for most of that time.

In 1973 Dave was the very proud winner of the prestigious Liverpool table tournament and is name is still shown on the table today.

He became involved in organising and arbiting at British Championships in 1981, later taking on roles as chief arbiter of the British (later English) Chess Federation and director/manager of congress chess.

He was also chief arbiter of the 4NCL for some years. He was awarded the FIDE International Arbiter title in 1977 and the FIDE International Organiser title in 2010. He received the ECF President’s Award in 2007.

Dave was born in Brampton (Chesterfield), Derbyshire, on 30 October 1945. After attending Chesterfield Grammar School, where he captained the chess team, he took a degree at Cambridge University before taking up a teaching job at Liverpool College in 1968.

Also starting teaching the same day at the same school was Peter Purland, who like Dave was to become an equally distinguished servant of British chess over the past half century. The two spent their entire teaching careers at the same school, and often worked in tandem as arbiters and organisers over the same period of time and long into their retirement from teaching.

Dave loved Liverpool Chess club and has still been in attendance at the Liverpool club AGM Meetings including right up to his stroke in 2017 and will be very sadly missed by all at Liverpool Chess club. He was a true club legend and an absolute gentleman.