John Nunn has commented on the decade of decline that led to  Batsford’s insolvency in 1999, but he arrived behind the scenes too late to witness goings-on during the publisher’s – and Raymond Keene’s – 1980s heyday. Batsford insider and Keene crony Osama len Baden uncovers some of the secret history of what Nunn calls ‘a golden age’.

Click here for Kingpin’s intimate  portrait of England’s second GM: Ex Acton ad Astra_Kingpin_39