Robert C. (Bob) McWilliam (12.7.1919-12.2.1997)

Chess composer of chess problems

Robert C. (Bob) McWilliam (12.7.1919-12.2.1997) was a book collector and for many years the "book uncle" of our British sister society. As a composer he was mainly concerned with two-movement music. In a brochure entitled Schiffs with Everything he dealt intensively with the Schiffmann theme, to which he was particularly fond. In 1980 he took over the book distribution from Guy Chandler, who died shortly afterwards at the age of 90, and in 1996 handed over this position to Tony Lewis - who was also to remain faithful to this service to the problemist community for the rest of his life. As a chess composer, McWilliam concentrated on two-movement pieces, and in the 1950s and 1960s he organised a series of promotional tournaments, which at the time was still a promising way of recruiting young problemists.