Chess player killed himself after suffering ‘mood swings’ over his games
Inquest hears the emotional state of Craig Woolcock, a title-winning amateur, varied dramatically depending on how his play was going
Leon Watson
3:59PM BST 14 Jul 2015
A champion chess player killed himself after suffering “mood swings” over how he was playing in matches.
Craig Woolcock, 43, lived for chess – but an inquest heard his emotional state varied dramatically depending on how his play was going.
He was found dead in his armchair by police after quitting his job because he “was just going to concentrate on his chess.”
Mr Woolcock had left a note telling his family to leave all his chess books to a close friend.
Fellow Chess Club member Kenneth Gandy told the inquest: “Craig had a taste for the finer things in life, he liked fine wine, nice clothes and going to the theatre.
“But Craig had his ups and downs particularly when his chess form was either particularly bad or particularly good.”
Cardiff Coroners Court heard how the keen chess player joined his local club in Barry, south Wales, 20 years ago to play “multiple nights” a week.
Mr Woolcock played in the British Chess Championships as well as the prestigious Four Nations Chess League – Britain’s leading chess competition.
His father Alfred told the inquest: “He didn’t have many girlfriends growing up and was a bit of a loner at times unless it involved the chess club.”
Mr Woolcock was described by his family as a “hard working man” who had previously worked two jobs to buy a BMW car.
He had left his job as a customer services official with Cardiff council after telling friends he wanted “to concentrate on chess”.
Mr Woolcock had won the south Wales autumn championships with a clean sweep to qualify for the British tournament. But he failed to progress to the late rounds.
He was found dead at his house in Barry, south Wales, after being missing for several days.
Full article here.