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Conel Hugh O'DONEL ALEXANDER

 Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, detto CHOD, nacque a Cork in Irlanda il 19 aprile del 1909 e fu un crittografo, uno scacchista ed un bridgista che godette di una certa notorietà.

 Si trasferì con la famiglia  a Birmingham quando aveva 11 anni e a 19 vinse una borsa di studio per studiare matematica al King's College, dove si laureò nel 1931, per poi insegnare matematica a Winchester fino al 1938.

 Fece parte del team di Bletchley Park che decifrò la famosa macchina "Enigma" durante l'ultima guerra sotto la guida di Alan Turing.

 Maestro Internazionale di scacchi, vinse due volte il Campionato Britannico (1938 e 1956) e guadagnò un bronzo alle Olimpiadi di Folkestone nel 1933.

 La sua carriera fu limitata dal fatto che a causa del suo lavoro non gli era permesso entrare nei Paesi dell'Est ma ebbe particolare notorietà la rubrica che curò sul Sunday Times per oltre un ventennio.

 Scrisse numerosi libri di scacchi e fu anche un buon bridgista che frequentò abitualmente le sale del Cheltenham Bridge Club.

 Scomparve a Cheltenham il 15 febbraio del 1974.

  Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, known as CHOD, was born in Cork, Ireland on April 19, 1909, and was a cryptographer, a chess and bridge player who enjoyed a certain notoriety.

He moved with his family to Birmingham when he was 11 years old and at 19 he won a scholarship to study mathematics at King's College, where he graduated in 1931, and then taught mathematics at Winchester until 1938.

He was part of the Bletchley Park team that deciphered the famous "Enigma" car during the last war under the guidance of Alan Turing.

International Chess Master, won twice the British Championship (1938 and 1956) and earned a bronze at the Folkestone Olympics in 1933.

His chess career was limited by the fact that because of his job he was not allowed to enter the Eastern countries but he had particular fame in the column that he edited in the Sunday Times for over twenty years.

He wrote numerous chess books and was also a good bridge player who regularly frequented the halls of the Cheltenham Bridge Club.

He disappeared at Cheltenham on February 15, 1974.