BRIGHTON CHESS
A HISTORY OF CHESS IN BRIGHTON
1841-1993
Chapter 2
1880-1885
THE NEW GENERATION
The Second Brighton Chess Club, 1880 to 1881
By the start of the new decade the first Brighton Chess Club had effectively ceased to exist. The future of chess in the town lay with a new generation of promising players who were developing their skills in the Public Chess Room. As the standard of their play began to rise, they looked round eagerly for suitable opponents and soon there was talk of building a new chess club. Their views found expression in the weekly chess column by W.T. Pierce in the Brighton Herald. They were also encouraged by overtures from the Chichester Chess Club which was looking for matches against other clubs.
Chess in Chichester was thriving. The local club had been founded in 1877 and by the end of the decade it had 46 members. One would have expected that it would have been very easy for Chichester to arrange a match with the keen enthusiasts of the Public Chess Room, but as there was no organised chess club in Brighton it required about a dozen letters from the Chichester secretary to complete the arrangements. Eventually it was decided that the match should be played by telephone. Consultation telephone matches had never been tried before, though two individuals had played a game by this means in 1878. The game took place on two dates, 6 and 13 February 1880. The Brighton team used an office in North Road, Brighton, but the Chichester Club had to travel to Littlehampton to find a suitable transmission point.
From the game that follows it can be seen that Brighton squandered a likely win and in the end had to fight for a draw.
(18) Chichester CC (Messrs McArthur, Downer, Ballard, Woods) - Pavilion Chess Players, Brighton (Messrs Leuliette, Rabson, Thomas, Stuckey)
Telephone Match, 1880
Ruy Lopez
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nd5 Bc5 8.d3 b5 9.Bb3 h6 10.c3 d6 11.h3 Ba7 12.Be3 Na5 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Bc2 Nc6 15.Nh2 Qg6 16.Kh1 Ne7 17.Bxa7 Rxa7 18.f4 f5 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Qe2 f4 21.Rf3 c5 22.Qf2 Rc7 23.Rg1 Qd6 24.Nf1 g5 25.g4 Ng6 26.Qd2 Kg7 27.Nh2 Bb7 28.Rf2 Nh4 29.Qe2 Rfc8 30.Nf3 Nxf3 31.Rxf3 c4 32.dxc4 Rxc4 33.Rd1 Qc6 34.Rd5 Qe6 35.Rd1 R8c7 36.Kh2 Qc6 37.Rfd3 Rxe4 38.Qxe4 Qxe4 39.Rd7+ Rxd7 40.Rxd7+ Kf6 41.Bxe4 Bxe4 42.Rd6+ Ke7 43.Rxh6 a5 44.Kg1 a4 45.Kf2 Bd3 46.Ke1 e4 47.Kf2 Bc4 48.Rg6 e3+ 49.Kf3 Bd5+ 50.Ke2 Bc4+ ½-½. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
On 28 April 1880, following the success of the match against Chichester, a meeting of Brighton chess players was held in the Curator’s Room of the Royal Pavilion. It was resolved that those present should form themselves into a club ‘in continuation of the old Brighton Chess Club’. L. Leuliette was appointed president and W.T. Pierce secretary (it is interesting that Monsieur Leuliette had been secretary of the first Brighton Chess Club from 1860 to 1862). The subscription to the new club was fixed at five shillings per annum, substantially less than the guinea which had been charged at the ‘Aquarium’ Club five years earlier. A further meeting on 1 May 1880 decided that the club should meet officially on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 3pm till closing time. A third meeting on 31 July 1880 resolved that a handicap tournament should be held in November.
Further consultation matches were arranged with Chichester either by telephone or over the board. When, however, matches were contested over the board on a non-consultation basis it was clear that Brighton were the stronger team. In December 1880 Brighton defeated Chichester by 8½ games to 1½ and then in February 1881 won a similar victory by 7 games to 2.
Despite this enthusiasm on the part of some of the Brighton players, problems were experienced with the level of membership within the club. The handicap tournament referred to above had a disappointing number of participants. Also the resignation of W.T. Pierce from the post of Hon Secretary early in 1881 could hardly have helped the club. The main problem, however, probably centred around the fact that the club used the Public Chess Room for its premises. There must have been little enthusiasm to pay an annual subscription to play in a room that could be used without charge.
Two correspondence games were arranged in 1881 with Glasgow Central, both of which ended in draws. The following is the score of the second game:
(19) Brighton (A.A. Bowley, H.W. Butler, F. Edmonds, L. Leuliette, W.T. Pierce) - Glasgow Central (J. Court, J. Russell, J. Young, W. Harrison and one other)
Correspondence Match, 1881
King’s Gambit Accepted, Steinitz Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.d4 Qh4+ 5.Ke2 b6 6.Qd2 g5 7.Nd5 Kd8 8.Kd1 Bg7 9.Nf3 Qh5 10.Be2 Qg6 11.Re1 Nge7 12.g3 fxg3 13.Qxg5 gxh2 14.Qh4 f6 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Nxd5 17.Bh5 Qg2 18.exd5 Qxd5+ 19.Bd2 h1Q 20.Rxh1 Qxe5 21.Re1 Qxb2 22.Rc1 c6 23.Qg3 Qb5 24.Bf7 Qf5 25.Qxg7 Qf3+ 26.Re2 Ba6 27.c4 Kc7 28.Rc3 Qh1+ 29.Re1 Qh4 30.Rd3 Rad8 31.Qg2 d5 32.Re7+ Kb8 33.Qg7 dxc4 34.Bxc4 Bc8 35.Qg3+ Qxg3 36.Rxg3 Rd4 37.Rg8 Rxg8 38.Bxg8 ½-½. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
By the time the above game had been completed the second Brighton Chess Club had folded. According to H.W. Butler, writing in the Sussex Daily News on 15 May 1924, ‘This Club lasted but a short time; in fact it hardly reached its anniversary’.
The Simultaneous Exhibitions of J.H. Blackburne, October 1881 and April 1882
The end of the second Brighton Chess Club did not diminish the enthusiasm of the Pavilion chess players and there was great excitement when it was learnt that Joseph Blackburne was to visit Brighton to give a couple of simultaneous exhibitions. Blackburne had come a long way since losing to J.W. Hannah in the 1862 London International Tournament (mentioned above) and now was undoubtedly the best player in the country.
The two simultaneous exhibitions were held in the King’s Apartments of the Royal Pavilion at the end of October 1881 and attracted many spectators. The first exhibition was a nine-board blindfold simultaneous which must have been watched with incredulity by many of the onlookers. Blackburne won four games, drew three and lost two against the nine strong local players. On the following evening he gave a normal seventeen-board simultaneous, winning fifteen games, drawing one and losing one.
In April 1882 Blackburne returned to Brighton to give similar exhibitions. This time he gave an eight-board blindfold simultaneous, winning three, drawing three and losing two. On the following evening he took on twenty players with sight of the board, winning eighteen games and drawing two. For many of the up and coming young players it was a great experience to play someone as well-known as Blackburne and a number of the games found their way into print in the Brighton Guardian. The following are two games that Blackburne played against Arthur Smith. In the first Smith defends in depth and then conducts a spirited counter-attack. In the second game, however, the Brighton player’s defence is brilliantly demolished by the star performer.
(20) J.H. Blackburne - A. Smith
Blindfold Simultaneous, 1881
Evans Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Be2 c6 11.Kh1 h6 12.Bb2 Ne7 13.Nh4 d5 14.e5 Nf5 15.Nxf5 Bxf5 16.g4 Bd7 17.f4 Qe7 18.f5 0-0-0 19.a4 Nc4 20.Bxc4 dxc4 21.a5 Bc7 22.Ba3 Qh4 23.Ne4 h5 24.Nd6+ Bxd6 25.Bxd6 hxg4 26.Ra2 g3 27.a6 b6 28.Rg2 Qe4 29.Qf3 Rxh2+ 30.Rxh2 Qxf3+ 31.Rxf3 gxh2 32.Kxh2 Rh8+ 33.Kg3 Rh5 34.Rc3 b5 35.Bc5 Kb8 36.Rc1 Bxf5 37.Kf4 g6 38.Bd6+ Ka8 39.Bc5 Be6 40.Ra1 Rf5+ 41.Ke3 Bd5 42.Kd2 Rf2+ 43.Kc3 Rf3+ 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(21) J.H. Blackburne - A. Smith
Simultaneous, 1882
Evans Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Bd3 c6 11.Bb2 d5 12.Re1 Ne7 13.Ba3 Be6 14.exd5 cxd5 15.Nb5 Nc8 16.Rc1 Nc6 17.Ne5 a6 18.Rxc6 bxc6 19.Nxc6 Qf6 20.Qa4 Kd7 21.Ne5+ Kd8 22.Nc3 Bc7 23.Nxd5 Qh4 24.Qd7+ Bxd7 25.Nxf7 mate. 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
The Events Leading up to the Formation of the Sussex Chess Association in 1882
Newspaper coverage is important to every chess club. When, therefore, W.T. Pierce gave up his chess column in the Brighton Herald in February 1881, it was important that another column be inaugurated. Almost immediately H.W. Butler started to write chess articles in the Brighton Guardian and these were to play an important part in the formation of the Sussex Chess Association.
In January 1882 there arose a discussion in H.W. Butler’s column concerning the possibility of acquiring a cup and holding a Brighton competition. This brought a letter from W.T. Pierce, who agreed that a Brighton trophy would raise local interest but nevertheless recommended that consideration be given to acquiring a Sussex Championship trophy. The Chichester Chess Club went one stage further at a meeting on 23 January when it recommended the establishment of a Sussex Chess Association. The mood was now right for further developments, and when the Chichester Club played a match against a Brighton team on 20 February the occasion was used to discuss the formation of such a body. The Rev A.M. Deane of East Marden took the chair and raised the players’ enthusiasm by referring to the popularity of county matches at football and cricket and declaring that he could see no reason why chess should not benefit in the same way. Following this an executive committee was set up comprising representatives of Brighton and Chichester plus R. Lucas of Eastbourne to bring about the formation of a Sussex Chess Association.
Chess in Sussex was further strengthened in June 1882 by the formation of a club at Hastings, and it was obvious that the start of the 1882-83 season would be a good time to inaugurate a Sussex Chess Association. The all-important meeting was held on 21 October 1882 in the Royal Pavilion. Unfavourable weather contributed towards a sparse attendance and by now doubts had begun to creep in as to the benefits of such a body. When the vote was taken the players were undecided as to whether a Sussex Chess Association should be formed. At this point Arthur Smith, the chairman, showed himself to be the man for the crisis by using his casting vote to bring about the establishment of the new institution.
Sussex was one of the first counties in the country to set up its own chess association, and this was soon to prove a great success. In 1883 the first county championship was held and in 1884 Sussex played its first county match against Surrey. These developments greatly raised the standard of chess both in Brighton and in Sussex generally.
The St Nicholas Club, 1882 to 1885
Although there was no official Brighton Chess Club in 1882 enthusiasm for the game increased in the town during that year. Most chess players visited the Public Chess Room if they wanted a game, but in the first half of the year a couple of friendlies were arranged between teams selected from the Working Men’s Clubs of the St Nicholas and St Bartholomew’s Churches. In June 1882 a new club was formed at West Brighton (now called Hove) and contained many influential figures.
Eventually in October 1882 the chess players of St Nicholas Working Men’s Club officially formed themselves into a chess club. H.W. Butler was the vice-president of the club and his influence on this group of players was substantial. From humble beginnings there developed a thriving club which began to look around for opponents. Notable visitors on 22 November 1882 were the newly formed Hastings Chess Club. The St Nicholas Club won this encounter 7½ to 5½ although it was obvious that the Hastings team had potential for the future.
As interest in chess developed in Sussex, more and more clubs were formed. In the period from 1883 to 1885 we know that the St Nicholas Club competed against the chess clubs of Lewes, Steyning, Henfield, Horsham, Chichester, Eastbourne, St Ann’s of Hove (see below) as well as against the Hastings Chess Club. Outside of Sussex it took on the Southampton Chess Club and a combined team of Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
By September 1883 the St Nicholas Club had 24 members, and by January 1884 it had the confidence to take on a team representing the Rest of Brighton. In a 22-board match it lost by the close margin of 23 games to 21. A return match was arranged over 21 boards in April 1884 which the Rest of Brighton again won, this time by 23 games to 17. Undeterred by these defeats, however, the St Nicholas Club was victorious in a third encounter played over 30 boards in November 1884, winning by the score of 31½ to 26½.
By October 1884 the club had 40 members and H.W. Butler was now the Hon Secretary. Clearly it had grown to the level where it dwarfed all other clubs in the area and it may not have been surprising that the well-known columnist W.N. Potter, writing in Land and Water in January 1885, discussed whether the St Nicholas Club should now be called the Brighton Chess Club. A large Brighton Chess Club would, however, require more suitable premises. The St Nicholas Club, situated in Centurion Road, was an awkward climb away from the town centre and its accommodation was limited in size.
The creation of a new Brighton Chess Club was discussed in full at a general meeting of the St Nicholas Club on 2 September 1885. Membership had now risen to about fifty and this seemed an appropriate time to make changes. The Hon Secretary H.W. Butler tried to keep the name ‘St Nicholas’ but suggested a move to the Castle Hotel in West Street. He referred to the lack of success of previous Brighton Chess Clubs (it seems likely that he knew little if anything about the Staunton/Kennedy era). The chairman G. Humphreys, on the other hand, suggested that it would be a good idea to rename the club ‘The Brighton Chess Club’. The chairman’s proposal won the day and new premises were sought.
The St Ann’s Well and Wild Garden Chess Club, 1883 to 1885
The St Ann’s Well and Wild Garden Chess Club was formed in July 1883 and originally met under the trees in St Ann’s Park, Hove. It never acted as a major competitor for the St Nicholas Club although it had as a member William Pierce, the winner of the 1884 and 1885 county championships. In March 1885 the club played two matches against St Nicholas and was defeated by the scores of 6-4 and 6½-2½.
The Two Exhibitions of Chess with Living Pieces Held in September 1883
In September 1883 two exhibitions of chess with living pieces were held in Brighton. The first was organised by the Young Men’s Friendly Society which was based at 8 Dorset Gardens. It was part of a fête which was intended to raise money for the building of a gymnasium.
At first the fête was to have been held in St Ann’s Park on 12 and 13 September but it was rescheduled to take place at the Royal Pavilion on the 18th and 19th of the month. It appears that the organisers of the event asked for too much money from the public, for the Brightonian of 22 September commented:
We fear that the fete and chess tournament at the Pavilion in aid of the Young Men’s Friendly Society was not a brilliant success. This was not the fault of the attractions offered, but we fancy the cause must be sought in the ill-advised action of the Committee in having more than [one] charge. It was a mistake to ask an extra sixpence for a sight of the chess match, and perhaps the Committee of the approaching Queen’s Square Bazaar will accept the lesson and abandon the idea of making an extra charge. It is a big mistake. When the British public have paid up at the door, they do not care to part again, and the prejudice should be respected.
The second exhibition was arranged by some of the best players in the county and proved to be very successful. It was held at the Corn Exchange from 25-27 September and money was raised for the Queen’s Square Congregational Church Restoration Fund. Some fine costumes were provided for the exhibition which portrayed Henry VIII as the head of the White pieces and Francis I of France leading the opposition from the Black side. Boys and girls dressed up as pawns and gave assistance to the players who comprised H.W. Butler, G.R. Downer (the Sussex Champion who played for Chichester), W. Mead, C.D. Locock and A.A. Bowley. The following game formed part of the exhibition:
(22) H.W. Butler - G.R. Downer
Giuoco Piano
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 d6 5.d3 Bg4 6.Be3 Bb6 7.c3 Nge7 8.Bxf7+ Kd7 9.Nbd2 Ng6 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Nce7 13.Qg4+ Kc6 14.Bd5+ Kb6 15.Qd1 c6 16.Be6 a6 17.Qb3+ Ka7 18.a4 d5 19.exd5 cxd5 20.Qb4 Qc7 21.Rf7 Qc6 22.Bg4 Rae8 23.Raf1 Rhg8 24.e4 Nf4 25.Rxe7 Nxd3 26.Qa3 Rxe7 27.Qxe7 Qb6+ 28.Kh2 Qxb2 29.Rb1 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Johannes Zukertort’s Visits to Brighton in 1883 and 1884
Although there was no official World Chess Championship in the early 1880s Steinitz was generally considered to be the premier player and Zukertort a potential champion. We know that Zukertort visited Brighton on at least two occasions, in 1883 and 1884. The first visit resulted in a highly amusing occurrence, the story of which has often been related in Sussex chess circles.
The occasion is described by H.W. Butler in the Sussex Daily News of 14 September 1920:
Just previous to the London Tournament of ‘83, Dr Zukertort paid a holiday visit to Brighton and was spending most of his time with the writer, who was at that time Hon Secretary for the ‘Old Nicks’, a facetious name by which the Club was known. A fixture at the week-end with Henfield had to be met, and the Brighton Hon Secretary induced ‘The Doctor’ to take part in the match and to play at the bottom board, in order, be it stated, that his worthy guest should have an opportunity of winning his two games. Dr Zukertort, a real good sport, appreciated the fun immensely, and suggested he should play under an assumed name; it was agreed, and ‘Dr Sonitd’ duly made the journey (the team being pledged to secrecy) and won his two games against Mr Penfold who on both occasions got so much the better of the opening, midgame and forces, that he very audibly remarked on receiving his coup de grace that he must be playing the very devil himself. The match finished by the Doctor rising, as he stated, ‘to denounce his friend, the Seaweed Champion and Secretary of the visiting Club for playing him, Dr Zukertort, under an assumed name, violating all laws and principles of chess match play’. This was expected to make a great sensation. But it fell extremely flat, for strange to say, his reputation had not reached the players of the Henfield Club…
It is interesting that with the passage of time H.W. Butler had probably forgotten some of the details of this amusing event. The match itself took place on 21 April 1883 and the full score was reported in three newspapers, the Brighton Guardian, the Southern Weekly News and the West Sussex Journal, Horsham, Petworth, Midhurst and Steyning Express. When we look at the list of players who took part in the match we find that there is no mention of Dr Sonitd, while Mr Penfold played as high as board seven (out of twelve boards) for the Henfield team. As the latter gentleman won one and lost one of his games it is unlikely that he was playing against Zukertort.
Another account of the story is given by Walter Mead in an obituary of Zukertort in the Southern Weekly News of 30 June 1888. Mead tells us that Zukertort played under the name of Miller and indeed the score of the match reveals that a J.H. Miller won both of his games on board 11 against J. Rouse. Mead also states that Zukertort had two easy victories.
It is not clear why the local newspapers of 1883 made no mention of Zukertort playing in the match, as this would surely have made a good story. One wonders whether Zukertort later became embarrassed at what had happened and did not wish the episode to be reported, hence the apparent silence until after his death.
Finally I should like to mention that another version of the story, which appears to have originated in the 1930s, transfers the scene of the action to Worthing. I hasten to add that this version is incorrect!
Zukertort’s second recorded visit to Brighton was in November 1884 when he gave two simultaneous exhibitions in the Royal Pavilion. The first was a nine-board blindfold simultaneous in which he recorded the exceptional score of six wins, two draws and one loss. On the following day he took on thirty opponents with sight of the board, winning nineteen, drawing six and losing five. The events were a success and a profit of £2.12s.0d was handed over to the Children’s Hospital. The following scores comprise one game in which Zukertort was victorious and one in which he was defeated.
(23) J. Zukertort - Councillor E. Booth
Blindfold Simultaneous, 1884
Vienna Opening
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 c6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.f4 d6 5.d3 Be7 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Ng5 0-0 8.f5 a5 9.Bb3 Nb6 10.a4 h6 11.h4 d5 12.Qf3 Bb4 13.Bd2 Qd6 14.g4 Bd7 15.Nh3 dxe4 16.dxe4 Qd4 17.Nf2 Rad8 18.0-0-0 Bxc3 19.Bxc3 Qc5 20.Nd3 Qe7 21.g5 Nh7 22.f6 gxf6 23.gxf6 Nxf6 24.Rdg1+ Kh7 25.Nxe5 Be6 26.Nxc6 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(24) H. Erskine - J. Zukertort
Simultaneous, 1884
Evans Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3 Qf6 8.0-0 dxc3 9.Bg5 Qg6 10.Nxc3 Bxc3 11.Qxc3 f6 12.Bxg8 Rxg8 13.Bh4 d6 14.Nd2 Bd7 15.Qb3 0-0-0 16.Rab1 b6 17.f4 Qh5 18.Bf2 Rge8 19.f5 g6 20.Nc4 gxf5 21.Bxb6 Be6 22.Bxc7 Bxc4 23.Qb7+ Kd7 24.Ba5+ Ke6 25.exf5+ Kd5 26.Rfd1+ Qxd1+ 27.Rxd1+ Kc5 28.Bxd8 Rxd8 29.Qb2 Rd7 30.Qf2+ Kb5 31.Rb1+ Ka6 32.Qb2 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
The Players, 1880 to 1885
In 1880 the enthusiasm for chess of many of the young players of the Public Chess Room was very marked. They often practised wild gambits and played in a romantic style, though as yet many lacked experience and some of the play was rather erratic. During the next five years the general standard of play rose noticeably as the St Nicholas Club became more competitive and the formation of the Sussex Chess Association resulted in the first county championship in 1883 and the first county match in 1884. In the next section we look at the skills of this new generation of chess players in the period from 1880 to 1885.
W.T. Pierce
William Pierce was already a well-known problemist when he moved to Hove in 1878. He soon showed his enthusiasm for local chess by writing a chess column in the Brighton Herald from 1878 to 1881. It is interesting that he was probably the first British columnist to use the standard (algebraic) notation for publishing games.
Pierce used to play regularly in the Public Chess Room, often adopting an aggressive style and experimenting with complex gambits. His greatest achievements were probably his victories in the 1884 and 1885 county championships. He was also an important contributor to the British Chess Magazine where he provided useful analysis on openings. In the January 1886 issue he discussed a new opening which came to be known as the Pierce Gambit. This was a variation of the King’s Gambit Accepted which ran as follows: 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Nc6 3.Nc3 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4. If Black played 5 … g4 White sacrificed a piece by 6.Bc4 gxf3 7.0-0! As far as is known only two other Sussex players, C.D. Locock and R.E. Lean, have had opening variations named after them (see pages 24 and 48 respectively).
W.T. Pierce did not stay in Brighton long after his county championship victories and it seems that he changed addresses a number of times in the ensuing years. He was an accomplished correspondence player and many of his games in this sphere continued to be published. He made a final return to local chess after World War I and though he was then past 80 years he caused one or two upsets before his death in 1922.
Two of Pierce’s games are appended. In the first against the 1883 Sussex Champion he produces a pretty finish:
(25) G.R. Downer - W.T. Pierce
Sussex Championship, 1884
Scandinavian Defence
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Bd3 g6 6.Nge2 Bg7 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Ne4 Bg4 9.f3 Be6 10.Nc5 Nd5 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.c3 Nd7 13.Qc2 0-0-0 14.Nf4 Nxf4 15.Bxf4 e5 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Be4 Nc4 18.Kh1 Rhf8 19.Qc1 Nxb2 20.Bg5 Rd7 21.Qxb2 Bxc3 22.Qb3 Bxa1 23.Bh6 Rfd8 24.Rxa1 Qxa2! 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
The second game is a typical example of his aggressive style.
(26) W.T. Pierce - W.H.S. Monck
Correspondence Game, 1890
King’s Gambit Accepted, Pierce Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4 g4 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.Bxf4 gxf3 8.Qxf3 Nxd4 9.Qg3 Nxc2+ 10.Kd2 Bxc3+ 11.Kxc3 Nxa1 12.Bxc7 Nf6 13.Qg7 Nxe4+ 14.Kd3 Qf6 15.Re1!! Qxg7 16.Rxe4+ Qe5 17.Rxe5+ Kf8 18.Bd6+ Kg7 19.Re3 h5 20.Rg3+ Kh7 21.Bxf7 b6 22.Bg6+ Kg7 23.Be5+ Kg8 24.Be4+ Kf7 25.Bd5+ Ke7 26.Rg7+ Kf8 27.Rf7+ Ke8 28.Bxh8 Ba6+ 29.Kd2 Rc8 30.Bc3 Rc5 31.Rf5 Bc4 32.Re5+ Kd8 33.Bxc4 Rxc4 34.b3 Rg4 35.Re2 Nxb3+ 36.axb3 Kc7 37.g3 h4 38.h3 Rg6 39.g4 Kc6 40.Re8 Rd6+ 41.Kc2 Kd5 42.Re5+ Kc6 43.Rf5 Re6 44.Rf6 Kd5 45.Rxe6 dxe6 46.g5 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
H.W. Butler
Henry William Butler had a major influence upon Sussex chess for nearly fifty years. He was born in Brighton in 1858 and in 1877 first visited the Public Chess Room. He was one of the early enthusiasts who were determined to build up chess in the town. When he started a chess column in the Brighton Guardian in February 1881 he found that it was read not just locally but nationally, as the problem competitions were very popular. The column also helped in the formation of the Sussex Chess Association. Although in October 1882 he was forced to give up the column through pressure of work, he continued to encourage chess in Brighton and played a major part in building up the St Nicholas Club.
As a player he had probably not yet reached his peak. Nevertheless he showed in the county championships of the time that he was a formidable opponent and one of the best players in Sussex. I append a game of his against W.T. Pierce in which the latter finds no answer to Butler’s French Defence:
(27) W.T. Pierce - H.W. Butler
Rest of Brighton v St Nicholas (Board 1), 1884
French Defence, Advance Variation
1.e4 e6 2.e5 d5 3.d4 c5 4.f4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.c3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Bc5 8.Bb5 Bxd4 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.cxd4 Ba6 11.Nc3 Ne7 12.Rb1 Nf5 13.Ne2 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Qxd4 15.Bd2 0-0 16.g4 Nh4 17.Be3 Qe4 18.0-0 d4 19.Qf2 Qxe3 20.Qxe3 dxe3 21.Rbe1 Rfd8 22.Rxe3 Rd2 23.Rc1 Rxb2 24.a3 Rd8 25.Rec3 Rdd2 26.Rxc6 Rg2+ 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
A.A. Bowley
A.A. Bowley was another of the young enthusiasts to benefit from regular practice in the Public Chess Room. He arranged several matches against the stronger players and more than held his own. He often played W.T. Pierce and generally came off better in their encounters. In 1882 H.W. Butler discussed the various Brighton players in the Brighton Guardian and obviously felt that A.A. Bowley was the most promising. It could be argued that he never really fulfilled his potential. For a while, however, he suffered a period of ill health and later the strong player W.V. Wilson came on the scene to block his path towards honours. Bowley’s first major success came many years later in 1908 when he first won the county championship.
The following game is typical of the lively chess played in the Public Chess Room:
(28) A.A. Bowley - W.T. Pierce
Match Game, 1882
Bishop’s Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nc3 Nxc3 5.dxc3 f6 6.0-0 d6 7.Nh4 g6 8.f4 Qe7 9.f5 g5 10.Qh5+ Kd8 11.Nf3 Bg7 12.Nxg5 d5 13.Nf7+ Kd7 14.Bxd5 Rf8 15.Be6+ Kc6 16.Qf3+ Kb6 17.Be3+ c5 18.b4 Na6 19.bxc5+ Kc7 20.Bxc8 Raxc8 21.Nd6 Rb8 22.Nb5+ Kc8 23.Nxa7+ Kd8 24.Nb5 Nxc5 25.Rfd1+ 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
F. Edmonds
We have already seen how Frederick Edmonds defeated the automaton Mephisto in 1879. It is clear that in the early days of the Public Chess Room he was one of the most promising Brighton players. When he played future county champion W.T. Pierce in matches, he generally won more games than he lost. Unfortunately by 1882 he was already suffering from a health problem which was greatly to restrict his chess activities. In the autumn of 1885 he set off on a long holiday to New Zealand but it was reported that this did not produce a complete cure.
I do not have any information as to the nature of his health problem but it may have been the reason why he only played chess actively for a relatively short time. There would have been few who remembered him when in 1929 he wrote to the Sussex Daily News enclosing the scores of some of his chess games.
In July 1933 local newspapers reported the death of a 74-year-old Brighton resident, Fred Edmonds. According to the reports he was a former Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School teacher who had written 17 operettas. None of the obituaries mentioned that he had any connections with chess, but it was stated that in his younger days he had travelled to New Zealand to recover his health, which had never been robust. In the week that he died a game of chess played by Frederick Edmonds in 1881 was published in a local chess column. These facts make it virtually certain that the school-teacher Fred Edmonds was the chess player who had shown so much promise in the early 1880s.
The game quoted here was published in 1880 in the Brighton Herald. It has been chosen to illustrate Edmonds’ potential (note the two queen offers). His opponent may have been an inexperienced youngster in 1880 but he later became a regular Essex county player.
(29) F. Edmonds - F.W. Markwick
Brighton, 1880
(Remove White’s Ra1)
1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 exf4 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Nc3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Qh4+ 7.g3 fxg3 8.hxg3 Qe7+ 9.Kd1 Nf6? 10.Bb5+ Kd8 11.Re1 Qd6 12.Qxf6+! Be7 13.Qxg7 Qf6 14.d6! cxd6 15.Qg4 a6 16.Nd5 Qg6 17.Qc4 Nc6 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Nxe7 Qh5+ 20.g4 Qc5 21.Nxc6+ Kc7 22.Qxc5 dxc5 1-0.
L. Leuliette
The club minutes record that Monsieur L. Leuliette attended a special general meeting of the first Brighton Chess Club as early as 29 December 1858. He was Hon Secretary of the club from 1860 to 1862 and must have been considered one of the strongest players, as he was selected to play in the consultation matches against the St James’s Club in 1864. We know from the club minutes that he was still a member in 1870, but after this date details of the club’s membership become fragmentary and we do not know if his association with it continued. When the second Brighton Chess Club was formed in 1880 he became president, though the club had only a short life. After this he appears to have played in very few match games, though he was in the Sussex side which played its first county matches against Surrey in 1884. Monsieur Leuliette was paired with the strong player Herbert Jacobs and recorded two wins as opposed to one draw and one loss. We know that he became a member of the third Brighton Chess Club (see chapter 3 below) and his last recorded appearances were in 1891, when he played correspondence chess for Sussex v West Yorkshire and also represented Brighton in a match against Ludgate Circus.
From the small number of his games that survive it is obvious that Monsieur Leuliette was a player of natural ability who was willing to experiment in opening theory. For example in a Brighton v Chichester match in December 1880 he opened his game against W. McArthur with the eccentric 1.b4 d5 2.Ba3 e5 3.b5 Bxa3 4.Nxa3. The following game sees him fight back well from a lost position following a blunder on the part of his opponent. Lack of practice may have caused him to get into difficulties in the first place.
(30) Herbert Jacobs - L. Leuliette
Surrey v Sussex, 1884
French Defence, Winawer Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bd3 b6 7.0-0 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Bb7 9.c4 Qh5 10.Bf4 Rc811.Rb1 Nf6 12.h3 0-0 13.Rb5 e5 14.dxe5 a6 15.Rb1 Ne8 16.Kh2 f5 17.c5 b5 18.a4 b4 19.Be2 Qf7 20.Ng5 Qe7 21.Bc4+ Kh8 22.Nxh7? Qh4! 23.Nxf8 Qxf4+ 24.Kg1 Qxc4 25.Qh5+ Kg8 26.Ng6 Qe6 27.Rb3 Nxe5 28.Qh8+ Kf7 29.Nxe5+ Qxe5 30.Re3 Qd5 31.Rg3 Qe6 32.Qh5+ Kg8 33.Rd1 Be4 34.Re1 Nf6 35.Qg5 Qf7 36.Qd2 a5 37.f3 Bc6 38.Qd3 Qd5 39.Qb3 Kf8 40.Qxd5 Nxd5 41.Rg5 Ne7 42.Re6 Kf7 43.Re1 Kf6 44.Rh5 Nd5 45.g4 g6 and Black went on to win (46.Rh7 Bxa4 etc.). 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
C.D. Locock
Charles Locock was born in Brighton in 1862. He is known to have played chess in the town in 1883 and 1884 and to have been a member of the St Nicholas Club. At that time he was a student at Oxford University and played in the varsity matches against Cambridge from 1882 to 1886. It appears that after this he lived in London for a while and in 1887 he succeeded in winning the Amateur Championship of Great Britain after a play-off. He returned to Sussex chess in the 1890s and became a member of the Hastings Chess Club. He also played for the county and in 1894 was selected to represent the South team in a large scale match against the North. He gained an excellent win on board six. Nationally he represented Great Britain in the 1896-9 cable matches against the USA. Not surprisingly he found the opposition tough at this level and in the four games that he played he recorded three draws and a loss. His only defeat, however, was against the strong player Jackson Showalter.
The following game was played in 1884:
(31) J.H. Blake - C.D. Locock
Scotch Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Qd2 Bxd4 8.cxd4 d5 9.Nc3 Qg6 10.Bb5 Qxg2 11.0-0-0 Be6 12.Rdg1 Qf3 13.Be2 Qf6 14.e5 Qh4 15.Nb5 Kd7 16.Bg5 Qe4 17.f3 Qf5 18.Rg3! a6 19.Bd3 axb5 20.Bxf5 Nxf5 21.Rg4 Rxa2 22.Kc2 h6 23.Bh4 Na5 24.Qb4? Ne3+ 25.Kb1 Ra1+ 26.Kxa1 Nc2+ 27.Kb1 Nxb4 28.Rxg7 Ra8 29.b3 Nxb3 30.Kb2 Nxd4 31.Kc3 c5 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Locock also produced a number of written contributions to chess. In opening theory he was the originator of two rather obscure variations. The Locock Gambit occurs in Philidor’s Defence and follows the sequence 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Ng5 h6? 5.Nxf7! More risky is the Locock Counter Attack which arises out of a main line of the Vienna Game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3. The Locock move is the aggressive 5 … g5.
In his later years Charles Locock was best known as a problemist, and as the author of several books including the successful One Hundred Chess Maxims for Beginners and Moderate Players (1930). In the problem world he earned distinction in the specialised field of ‘fairy chess’, his inventions including ‘transparent pieces’ and such variant pieces as the Jibber, which moves like a queen but stops short of the first man it meets.
Locock lived to the age of 83 and died in 1946. Until the time of his death he was a regular contributor to the British Chess Magazine, whose problem editor T.R. Dawson paid tribute to his ‘unrivalled’ mastery of synthetic construction tasks. The following two-mover was published in 1896 when he was probably still active on the Sussex chess scene:
#2 - Key: Qb4 (2.Be1)
1. … Kd3 2.Qe4
1. … Kf3 2.Be1
1. … Kf2 2.Bd4
1. … Nf4 2.Bd4
1. … Nf2 2.Bd2
Go to Chapter 3