[3] Brian Eley belonged to the wave of talented chess masters who came to the fore in Britain in the 1970s, after the dominance of Jonathan Penrose ended—a group that included Raymond Keene, William Hartston, George Botterill, Robert Bellin and others.

[9] In July 1991, Eley was arrested at his South Yorkshire home on suspicion of sexually abusing an underage male he had once coached.

He was subsequently charged with more than 30 offences of a similar nature and remained a fugitive, wanted by the British police and Interpol.

[3] According to reportage by Plaskett's wife, Fiona Pitt-Kethley, which was published some months after his death, Eley had a "miserable time" as a fugitive from British justice.

After running out of the money he received from selling his house in the UK, he earned a living playing chess for small bets in cafés and doing computer work for a religious organization's ashram.