[2][5] Possibly his greatest tournament success was when he tied for first place in the British Chess Championship of 1973, although he lost the play-off match with William Hartston.

[2] During the 1974–75 Hastings tournament, Basman (playing Black) defeated the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson in a match that became known as the "Immortal Waiting Game".

[2][9][10] After graduating with a degree in history from the University of Leeds, Basman received a scholarship to study medicine in Yerevan in the Armenian SSR.

Whilst living in Yerevan, he learnt Armenian, won the local chess championship, and met a fellow student named Berdjouhi Kuiumdjian, whom he married.

[2][9][10] His creation of the UK Chess Challenge in 1996 led to a dispute with the Inland Revenue, which claimed he ought to be collecting VAT on entry fees.