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My friend Jimmy Adams, who has died aged 79, was a writer on chess known for his witty personality and encyclopedic knowledge. Editor of Chess magazine from 1991 to 2010, in which role he brought every game and player to life with his enthusiastic, almost tabloid-like style, he was also a chess master, the third highest ranking behind international master and grandmaster, a title he was awarded at the age of 67.

Jimmy was born in Islington, north London, to James, a delivery driver, and Ivy (nee Soule), a shopkeeper, and attended Highbury county grammar school for boys. As a youngster he discovered the children’s novel John and the Chess Men in his local library, and quickly graduated to borrowing adult books on the game, with which he taught himself.

His early chess successes were noticed by leading lights on the English scene, including Leonard Barden, Bob Wade and Harry Golombek; as a teenager he made a radio appearance on a chess programme and he was invited to meet the Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres.

Once he had left school Jimmy was employed as a sales assistant in the cushion department of John Lewis throughout the 1960s, at a Post Office sorting office in the 70s and as a welfare officer with the London borough of Haringey in the 80s.

However, having taught himself Russian so that he could read Soviet chess publications, he launched a parallel career as a chess journalist with a first freelance job with the BBC, transmitting the moves of the Fischer-Spassky world chess championship match in 1972.

By the early 90s he was working full-time as editor of Chess magazine at the publishing company Pergamon Press, where he also edited many of their chess books. He wrote a good many books himself, including biographies of Keres and three other famous players, Gyula Breyer, Mikhail Chigorin and Salo Flohr.

After leaving Chess magazine Jimmy worked as a freelance journalist for other publications, including British Chess, American Chess and New in Chess.

I first met him when he asked me to write an article for him. Subsequently we often met in a cafe near the Chess & Bridge shop in north London, where he always bought himself two coffees because he knew he was going to talk for such a long time.

In 1982 Jimmy married Sharon Boyer. She survives him, along with their daughter, Charlotte, and his sister, Brenda.