The English chess explosion of the 1970s lit the fuse for a golden era in the 1980s, when a wave of brilliant British players rose to the very top of world chess. England became a major force in international competition, producing players who could stand head-to-head with the traditional superpowers of the game. The movement culminated in Nigel Short’s World Championship challenge in 1993 — but its true legacy lay in the astonishing creativity of its leading lights.