BRIGHTON CHESS
A HISTORY OF CHESS IN BRIGHTON
1841-1993
Chapter 6
1922-1939
A GOLDEN AGE
In 1926 it was stated in the Annual Report of the Executive Committee of the Sussex Chess Association, ‘The game of chess is undoubtedly more popular today in Sussex than ever before.’ In Brighton itself it would have been difficult to improve significantly on the successes of the late 1880s and early 1890s, but it is certain that once the effects of the war had been shaken off chess became very popular in the town. There can be no doubt that the formation of a fourth Brighton Chess Club in 1922 played an important part in this success.
The Fourth Brighton Chess Club, 1922 to 1939
By 1921 there was clearly a growing interest in chess in Brighton. Unfortunately there was not at that time any local club to compare with the famous Hastings Club which opened its doors for long hours virtually every day of the year. When in 1921 Major Sexton of Shoreham presented a cup for a triangular competition between Brighton, Hastings and the Rest of Sussex it was hardly surprising that Hastings won the first competition, defeating the Rest of Sussex by 20½ to 10½ and Brighton and Hove by 13 to 7.
In the Brighton area there were three main clubs at this time, Christ Church, Hove and Shoreham; but all of these were limited in their size and activity. In the Sussex Daily News of 25 January 1921 H.W. Butler wrote:
Brighton … at the present time is dependent upon the Christ Church Club for its match playing facilities. The Club, in the strict sense of the term is not a chess club and has no chess committee. It simply offers accommodation to chess players at what might be called a very nominal subscription, runs its various tournaments, plays as many inter club matches as its Hon Secretary can give the time to, and above all it accords a hearty welcome to any chess player who may visit its premises.
H.W. Butler obviously considered that the club was not active enough, for he wrote in the Sussex Daily News of 30 August 1922: ‘While giving every credit to the energy displayed by Mr F. Brook the Hon Secretary of the Christ Church Club, the writer has constantly pointed out the fallacy of expecting that his members would continue to be satisfied with the small spoonful of match chess that has been doled out to them’.
Realising that the Christ Church Club could never hope to match the might of Hastings, H.W. Butler set out to promote the idea of the formation of a ‘Brighton and Hove’ Chess Club in his chess column in the Sussex Daily News. On 13 July 1921 he wrote:
We local players have for too many years taken matters in a far too leisurely manner. We have been content to pick up our chess crumbs without giving a thought to the upkeeping of the town’s reputation. In fact we have comparatively done nothing whatever for the real cause of chess and the maintaining of the name that was made for Brighton in the ’Eighties and ’Nineties.
Following this article a group of players provisionally formed themselves into the nucleus of a Brighton and Hove Chess Club and issued circulars seeking ideas. They also appointed an Hon Secretary pro tem. Progress was, however, rather slow at first and H.W. Butler wrote in the Sussex Daily News of 15 September 1921: ‘They are apparently wending their way in a very slow manner and unlike the body of 1881 avoid instead of court the publicity of the press’.
The 1921-2 season got under way without a new Brighton Chess Club being formed. Then in the summer of 1922 Hastings took a further step forward by occupying new premises at 7 Carlisle Parade on a freehold basis. This was a further incentive for Brighton to form a comparable club.
At the start of the 1922-3 season a big effort was made. Suitable premises had been obtained in the Royal Pavilion and a date was fixed for the formation of the new club. The all-important meeting was held in the Royal Pavilion on 13 September 1922. Alderman Dr Gervis was appointed chairman and presided over a good attendance. The Rev E. Swainson proposed that a Brighton Chess Club be formed and C.J.A. Wade seconded. It was decided that the club should be open from 10am to 10pm, Sundays excepted. Subscriptions were fixed at one guinea with a reduction for country members and juniors. The date set for the official opening of the new club was 4 October 1922.
The success of the fourth Brighton Chess Club was now guaranteed, and soon the membership topped the century mark. Where in Brighton would a chess club attract more visitors than in the popular Royal Pavilion? The period between the wars was also a boom time for chess, with more people in Sussex turning to chess than ever before.
Despite this good beginning, the ambitions of the Brighton Club remained somewhat limited. Regular fixtures were arranged against the Tunbridge Wells Chess Club, but the number of matches played against London teams was relatively small. In 1924 and 1925 the Brighton Chess Club arranged fixtures against Battersea, but it appears that afterwards it was left to Christ Church to take on the London club on a regular basis. In June 1939, after the demise of the Christ Church Club, Brighton once again played a friendly against Battersea.
In 1923, 1927 and 1928 the Brighton Chess Club took on the ‘all star’ London club Hampstead. Although Brighton won the first match they were defeated on the other two occasions and in the third encounter they were trounced by 11½ points to 2½. In 1927 Brighton also entertained the Westminster Bank from London and won by 13 points to 7. Apart from these matches I can find no example of an encounter between Brighton and a London club during this period.
In 1933 chess was featured as part of the Brighton/Bristol Alliance. The town of Brighton and the city of Bristol took part in a series of joint activities, and in September a special Brighton/Bristol week was held.
In February two correspondence matches were started between the chess centres, each side playing White in one of the games. The matches received a great deal of local publicity and the residents of Brighton were invited to come forward with suggested moves. A committee was set up consisting of Charles Stacey, Fred Brook and Edmund Macdonald which had the final say over what move was actually played. Meanwhile in Bristol the moves were advertised in the window of a local electrical showroom. Towards the end of August the Brighton players drew the game in which they had the Black pieces. In the other game Brighton pressed for a win. However when sixty moves had been played with no sign of an immediate result the two teams agreed to adjudication. About eight months after the match had started the second game was declared to be a draw.
Brighton and Bristol also faced each other twice over the board in 1933. Because of the travelling involved the home side had a definite advantage and in the first match, held in Bristol on 17 June, Brighton were defeated by eleven games to five. It was, however, a different story when Bristol came to Brighton on 16 September. The Deputy Mayor, Alderman T.J. Braybon JP, opened the twenty-board match at the Royal Pavilion. On board one Charles Stacey defeated the Gloucestershire Champion Comins Mansfield, who was to become one of the world’s greatest problemists. Brighton eventually won the match by sixteen games to four and later the Bristol team were entertained at a supper at the Aquarium.
The fourth Brighton Chess Club was allowed to enter the McArthur Cup, although none of its first class players were permitted to represent the club in the competition. The Christ Church Club was subject to the same restrictions, but if we compare the record of the two clubs in this event from 1922 to 1938, we find that Christ Church won the trophy five times whereas the Brighton Chess Club could not register a single win, and for several years in the 1930s did not even enter a team in the competition. This would seem a surprisingly poor record for the town’s largest club.
At least five significant simultaneous displays are reported as having taken place at the Brighton Chess Club during this period. The well-known Hungarian master Géza Maróczy became a popular visitor to the town. He had in recent years been living in Hastings, where he sometimes gave coaching sessions at the local club. In January 1924 Maróczy began a series of visits to Brighton. He entered into an arrangement with the Brighton Chess Club whereby he would visit the club on alternate Wednesdays, the afternoons being devoted to lectures on chess openings and the evenings to simultaneous displays. On the first evening the Mayor of Brighton, Alderman Black, opened the proceedings. It was reported that Maróczy won nineteen and drew three out of the twenty-two games played.
When exactly this arrangement ceased is uncertain, but a few years later Maróczy gave three other simultaneous displays at the Brighton Chess Club. In April 1929 he made two visits on consecutive days. On the first occasion he played twenty-two games, winning seventeen and drawing five, while on the following day he won fifteen and drew five out of twenty games. He also gave a simultaneous display at the Brighton Chess Club in February 1932 though I have no further details of the occasion.
On 24 November 1928 the British Champion Frederick Yates came to Brighton to give a simultaneous. He took on twenty-seven opponents, winning eighteen games, drawing four and losing five. His victory over Ernest Reed was described as a fine game, though unfortunately the score is not available. The Sussex secretary George Self had an excellent win over the master which will be found in a later section of this history.
The Brighton and Hove Boys’ Championship which had been initiated by Mrs E.H. Sidney in 1922 appears to have ceased after 1925. It is likely that one or two of the most promising youngsters in the town would have travelled to Hastings to enter the open Boys’ Championship which was held annually.
From the end of 1933 Brighton had its own remarkable boys’ tournament. Colonel Sir William Thomas Dupree, Bt., who had died in March of that year, left a sum of money, which after payment of death and legacy duties amounted to about £7,400, to be divided between Brighton and Portsmouth for the encouragement of chess among boys who were under 21 years of age. The first prize of £100 represented a considerable sum of money in those days, though it must be said that the winners could not spend the money on anything that they wanted. Trustees administered the fund on the basis of educational needs. The original trustees of the fund were the Mayors of Brighton and Hove, the Headmaster of the Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and the Chairman of the Education Committee. Nowadays the Dupree Chess Tournament still survives, though the prizes are proportionately not so high. In the 1930s every young player of talent would have been likely to try to win the remarkable prize money, and the Brighton and Christ Church Clubs must have benefited from the surge of interest. Although the Dupree was generally thought of as a boys’ tournament the first winner, Freddie Baker, was a school teacher!
In 1938 chess in Brighton received a boost when it was declared that for the first time the British Chess Federation was to hold its annual congress in the town. Club member Mrs E.H. Sidney had offered a substantial donation of £150 to the Federation funds to encourage the transfer of the tournament to Brighton. She had first joined the Brighton Chess Club in the 1880s, and in the 1930s had a regular companion at the club. His name was given as Mr Cutts or Monsieur Le Chien (though in another version of the story he becomes ‘Mr Mick’), and he was the first dog to become a member!
The site chosen for the tournament was the Royal Pavilion, the dates being 8 to 19 August. The programme describes the venue as follows: ‘Its ornate rooms opening on to spacious lawns form the centre of the town’s social activities and offer ideal facilities for the Congress’. The first prize for the winner of the British Championship was £20, which was no less than £80 lower than the amount that the winner of the local Dupree Tournament received!
In 1938 the closure of the Christ Church Club probably led to an increase in the membership of the Brighton Chess Club. When the war came a year later it interrupted a successful period for the club.
The Christ Church Club, the Hove Club and Other Clubs, 1922 to 1939
The Christ Church Club continued to enjoy a successful existence after the fourth Brighton Chess Club was formed. A number of players were members of both clubs and the competitive afternoon and evening chess that the Christ Church Club offered remained attractive. Christ Church members were also attracted by the regular fixtures that were arranged against the Hastings and Battersea Clubs. In the early 1920s the club also played matches against representative sides from West Sussex, and later took on teams from the Mid-Sussex League. In the McArthur Cup it continued to be very successful, winning the trophy five times between 1922 and 1938.
In 1928 one of the keenest and most active members of the Christ Church Club, H.W. Butler, moved to Thornton Heath after playing chess in Sussex for over fifty years. The large sum of £55.13.0 was raised as a testimonial. His son Gilbert, who had recently won the Sussex Championship, went with him and both players joined the Battersea Club. In the regular fixtures between Battersea and Christ Church H.W. Butler nearly always chose to represent Christ Church. He looked forward greatly to these reunions with his former chess colleagues and right up to his death in 1935 never lost his enthusiasm for the game.
On 17 January 1931 the Christ Church Club received a visit from George Koltanowski, the Belgian Champion. He was an exceptional blindfold player and a few years later, in 1937, broke the world record for blindfold simultaneous displays by taking on thirty-four opponents at Edinburgh. At the Christ Church Club he played twelve games blindfold against unusually strong opposition, and on this occasion struggled somewhat, winning two games, drawing seven and losing three. However this performance was creditable considering that lined up against him were future Sussex Champions Charles Stacey and George Self, former Kent Champion C.F. Chapman and other strong local players. It should also be mentioned that some of the draws were agreed at a relatively early stage to allow the expert to press ahead with his schedule. The next item on his agenda was a talk in which he revealed how he summed up positions quickly. In this he gave fresh ideas on the powers and values of the pieces. Finally he brought the proceedings to a close with a second simultaneous. This time he allowed himself sight of the board and playing very rapidly won fourteen games, drew one and lost one.
The Christ Church Club continued to be popular during the 1930s, particularly with young players, but in 1938 it was forced to leave its premises after losing a case in the High Court. The action was taken by Lloyds Bank (who were acting as mortgagees) in order to overturn a legacy. The details of the legacy are uncertain, but in practice the club’s failure to pay its mortgage arrears probably played a significant part in its losing the case. It is believed that the owner of the property wanted to use the large house for a different purpose, and when the chess club had been forced to give up its tenure the premises became a general social club for the unemployed of the district. It appears that Fred Brook fought the case to the end but lost money in the process. A special collection was made for him and at the 1938 Sussex AGM he was presented with a cheque and a hand-written scroll listing the subscribers. His work for the Christ Church Club had been exceptional. He had been secretary of the club from its beginning in 1889 and had witnessed nearly fifty years of chess by its members. The loss of the premises at 26 Bedford Place brought a major Brighton club to an end, as the members did not reconstitute the club elsewhere. Several of them no doubt joined the Brighton Chess Club.
The Hove Chess Club maintained a steady existence between the two world wars. On 22 February 1922, after a Hove team had been defeated by five games to three by a Christ Church team, H.W. Butler wrote in his column in the Sussex Daily News: ‘It was unfortunate that the visitors [i.e. Hove] were unable to maintain its [sic] once undoubted strength of players. Death, removal and disinclination to play have caused the Club to become quite second rate, hence it was possible for the Christ Church Club secretary to secure a victory by the undermentioned 2nd and 3rd class team’. It is true that the Hove Club was generally less competitive than the Brighton or Christ Church Clubs, but it did enter the McArthur Cup on a regular basis. It was also a pleasant, sociable club with several lady members, and gained a special reputation for its hospitality and for the abundance of its refreshments. Players could choose between tea and coffee, and the lady members also prepared toasted tea cakes, muffins, sandwiches and a succulent array of cream cakes and sponges.
The trophy for the Hove Chess Club Championship has recently been rediscovered. It was in the possession of a Brighton resident, Judy Stanger, and had formerly belonged to her father Ernest, who died in 1980. It is not clear whether Ernest Stanger was a former member of the Hove Club, but the trophy has been kept in good condition. It is inscribed with the names of the club champions from 1899 to 1938 (there are gaps for the period from 1916-19 and for 1932) and was originally presented by Mrs Sidney. The full list of winners appears in the appendix.
The winner of the 1931 championship, A.G. Stubbs, achieved some distinction in the thirties and forties as a composer of chess problems, which were widely published in journals.
The Shoreham Chess Club (also called the ‘Shoreham and District and St Mary’s Chess Club’ or ‘The Shoreham St Mary’s Chess Club’) was revived in March 1920. It helped to enliven local competition and entered the McArthur Cup. On its top board was the former Australian Champion C.H. Brocklebank, who was to prove useful for the county. For a few seasons the club was quite active, but after 1925 it ceased to play in the McArthur Cup. It continued to affiliate to the Sussex Chess Association up to the 1926-7 season and appears to have lasted until about 1928.
The Brighton YMCA Chess Club revived briefly in the early 1930s. At the beginning of 1931 the club played a friendly against the Hove Club, losing by five games to two. In 1932 the YMCA became an affiliated member of the Sussex Chess Association, but it seems that not long after this the club came to an end.
The Brighton Technical College (also called Brighton Students) proved to be the surprise team of the late 1930s. The Students appear to have first entered the McArthur Cup in the 1935-6 season and they are known to have played in the last competition before World War II. Their greatest achievement came in 1937, when they won the trophy.
The Principal of the college, Dr W. Mansergh Varley, built up a strong team which combined his own experience with the talents of some promising young players. He himself was greatly respected in local chess circles, having in the past carried out the administrative duties of secretary and treasurer of the Sussex Chess Association. In 1929 he had reached the final of the county championship, losing against Wallace King of Hastings.
In the 1935-6 season the Students fielded the strong Hastings player A. Mortlock on top board, but it was in the following season that they achieved their greatest success. However the 1937 McArthur Cup win was not achieved without controversy! At the time there was a general rule banning first class county players who were members of Brighton and Hastings clubs from taking part in the competition. The prohibition did not, however, apply to school or college teams and Dr Varley included himself and another first class player, Kenneth Gunnell, grandson of Henry Butler, in his team. When Fred Brook, the secretary of the Christ Church Club, heard about the composition of the Students’ team, he objected to Mr Gunnell’s inclusion on the grounds that he had no connection with the college. This argument may have seemed unassailable, but he was outwitted by Dr Varley who paid for Mr Gunnell’s enrolment for a course on Railway Signalling and also put up the money for his club subscription! Needless to say Ken Gunnell did not win any diplomas for signalling, as he did not attend a single lesson!
Ken Gunnell now lives in Cornwall, but in 1993 answered a call for players to represent Sussex in the county correspondence team. His return to correspondence play for the county came about sixty years after his first appearance for Sussex in this type of chess.
In the mid-1930s a group of chess players began to meet at the Lyons Restaurant in North Street, Brighton. An arrangement was made with the management of Lyons under which the chess enthusiasts could play on their own boards at the rear of the restaurant for no more than the price of a cup of tea or coffee. The games were played in the afternoons and evenings as the restaurant would have been very crowded at lunch time. The main organiser of the chess group was Gerald Sharp, a promising young player who managed to attract some experienced campaigners to the restaurant. The Lyons Frequenters, as the group called themselves, arranged one or two friendly matches in 1935 and 1936 and it is on record that they played against Christ Church and the amalgamated Bognor and Chichester Chess Club. The venture was probably rather short-lived and I have been unable to find any reference to the Frequenters in local chess records after 1936.
The Players, 1923 to 1929
G.V. Butler
Gilbert Butler, the son of Henry Butler, was only 23 when he won the county championship in 1927. He followed this by winning the Brighton Chess Club Championship in 1928. In the same year he moved to Thornton Heath with his father and joined the Battersea Chess Club. There he played many interesting games in the London League. Sadly he suffered increasingly from ill health and was only 39 years of age when he died from tuberculosis in 1943. I append three of his games:
(71) J. Storr-Best - G.V. Butler
County Championship Final, 1927
French Defence, Classical Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Nb5 Nb6 8.c3 a6 9.Na3 Bd7 10.f4 c5 11.Nf3 Ba4 12.Qd2 Nc6 13.Be2 Rc8 14.0-0 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 Qc5 17.Qxc5 Rxc5 18.Rac1 0-0 19.Kf2 f6 20.exf6 Rxf6 21.Ke3 Rc7 22.g4 Nc8 23.Bd3 Re7 24.c4 Bc6 25.Kd4 Rxf4+ 26.Rxf4 e5+ 27.Ke3 exf4+ 28.Kxf4 Nb6 29.cxd5? Nxd5+ 30.Kg5 h6+ 31.Kh4 g5+ 32.Kh5 Kg7 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(72) G.V. Butler - P.I. Wyndham
Battersea v Hampstead, 1931
French Defence, Winawer Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 exd5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Bf5 7.Bd3 Bg6 8.Rb1 b6 9.Ne2 Ne7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Nf4 Qd6 12.Qf3 Nbc6 13.g3 Na5 14.h4 Bxd3 15.cxd3 Rfe8 16.Kg2 c6 17.Nh3 Nb7 18.Rb2 Qd7 19.Re2 Qf5 20.Rfe1 Qxf3+ 21.Kxf3 Kf8 22.Ng5 h6 23.Nh7+ 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(73) G.V. Butler - Dr H. Fraenkel
Sussex v Kent (Board 3), 1934
Alekhine’s Defence
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.d4 Nxc3 5.bxc3 e6 6.Bd3 c5 7.Nf3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Qa5+ 9.Bd2 Bb4 10.0-0 Bxd2 11.Nxd2 Nc6 12.Nb3 Qc3 13.Re1 0-0 14.Re3 Qb4 15.c3 Qd6 16.Nd2 b6 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Ne4 Qf4 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Ng5 Rd8 21.Rf3 Qc7 22.Nxf7 1-0. (play through game - link opens in new window.)
W.R. Andrews
W.R. Andrews was well into his sixties when he amazingly regained the county championship in 1924, thirty-five years after his first title win. During the 1920s he had made a welcome return to over-the-board chess, but it was not to last. As he grew older, and less active, correspondence play once again became his main interest. He died in 1941 aged 84.
I append a game from the county championship finals of 1924:
(74) W.R. Andrews - W. Bridger
French Defence, Winawer Variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 Kf8 6.a3 Qa5 7.Bd2 Nc6 8.0-0-0 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Qb6 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.Nf3 Nge7 12.Bd3 h6 13.h4 Bd7 14.Rh3 Rc8 15.Rg3 g6 16.h5 Rg8 17.hxg6 Nxg6 18.Qh5 Ke7 19.Qxh6 Rcf8 20.Nd4 Kd8 21.Nxc6+ Qxc6 22.Bb4 Rh8 23.Qg5+ Kc8 24.Bxg6 fxg6 1-0. (play through game - link opens in new window.)
J. Storr-Best
John Storr-Best joined the Christ Church Club at the start of the century and according to Sussex chess records made his first county appearance in 1904. He achieved his best results in the years following World War I. He won the Brighton Chess Club Championship in 1924 and 1929 and lost in the county championship final against Gilbert Butler in 1927. He was always a player to be reckoned with and on his day could defeat some quite strong players, as the following two games show:
(75) J. Storr-Best - G.M. Norman
Sexton Cup, 1924
Caro Kann Defence
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.Bc4 e6 8.0-0 Bd6 9.Qe2 Ngf6 10.Ne5 Qc7 11.f4 0-0-0 12.Bb3 c5 13.c3 cxd4 14.cxd4 Nb6 15.Bd2 Qe7 16.Rac1+ Bc7 17.f5 exf5 18.Rxc7+! 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(76) J. Storr-Best - Vera Menchik
Brighton v Hastings (Board 4), 1927
Nimzowitsch Defence
1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Be3 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 0-0-0 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.bxc3 e4 10.Nd2 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 f5 12.Rab1 Nf6 13.Rb5 Qd7 14.Rfb1 Nd5? 15.Rxb7 Qf7 16.Qa6 Kd7 17.c4 Nc3 18.d5 Nb8 19.Rxc7+ Kxc7 20.Qxa7+ Kd6 21.Bf4 mate. 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
N.B. Holmes
N.B. Holmes won the first championship of the fourth Brighton Chess Club in 1923 and his name appears at the top of the original championship board which still hangs in the club. He had been a strong Lancashire player before moving to Newhaven. In addition to his membership of the Brighton Club he also represented Lewes in the McArthur Cup. Not long after his success in the Brighton Chess Club Championship he moved to Kent. His death occurred in 1927. The following game was played in 1913:
(77) Major F.H. Rawlins - N.B. Holmes
Giuoco Piano
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Be3 Bb6 6.c3 d6 7.Nbd2 Be6 8.Bb5 0-0 9.d4 exd4 10.cxd4 Bg4 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.0-0 Re8 13.Qc2 Qe7 14.e5 dxe5 15.Nxe5 c5 16.Bg5 Qe6 17.Bxf6 Bf5 18.Qa4 Qxf6 19.dxc5 Bxc5 20.Nd7 Bxd7 21.Qxd7 Rad8 22.Qxc7 Bb6 23.Qc1 Re2 24.Nf3 Rxb2 25.Qe1 g5 26.Qe5 Qxe5 27.Nxe5 Rc2 28.h3 Rdd2 29.Ng4 f5 30.Ne3 Bxe3 31.fxe3 and Black mates in 3 moves. 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
W. Castle Leaver
Former Christ Church Champion William Castle Leaver won the Brighton Chess Club Championship in 1925 after defeating J. Storr-Best by three games to one in a play-off. He died in 1938 aged 78. The following game was part of the play-off mentioned above:
(78) W. Castle Leaver - J. Storr-Best
Ruy Lopez
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 d6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Bd5 Bd7 10.c3 Rb8 11.b4 Ne7 12.Bb3 0-0 13.Nbd2 Ng6 14.Nf1 c6 15.Ne3 a5 16.a3 a4 17.Bc2 Be6 18.Qd2 Qc7 19.Rc1 d5 20.d4 Rfd8 21.0-0 Qd7 22.Rfd1 dxe4 23.Bxe4 Nf4 24.Qe1 exd4 25.cxd4 Bd5 26.Ne5 Bxe5 27.dxe5 Qe6 28.Nxd5 cxd5 29.Bf3 Ng6 30.Rc5 Nxe5 31.Bxd5 Qf6 32.Qf1 Qg6 33.Rxb5 Rxb5 34.Qxb5 Qc2 35.Bxf7+ Nxf7 36.Rxd8+ Nxd8 37.Qe8 mate. 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
C.F. Chapman
C.F. Chapman had won the Kent Championship no fewer than six times before he moved to Sussex. He became a member of the Brighton Chess Club and won the 1926 club championship. After this he moved to the Chichester area where he bought some chess equipment and a trophy for the local club and revived its fortunes. He later moved on to Eastbourne where he led the local club to victory in the McArthur Cup in 1930. After a short stay in the town he moved out of the county. He died in 1949 at Bournemouth aged 84. The following game is taken from the 1930 McArthur Cup final in which Eastbourne defeated Christ Church:
(79) C.F. Chapman - C.H. Stacey
Queen’s Pawn Opening
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 b6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Bb7 6.Bd3 Ne4 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nbd2 f5 10.Qc2 d5 11.Ne5 c5 12.f3 c4 13.fxe4 cxd3 14.Qxd3 Ba6 15.c4 fxe4 16.Rxf8+ Qxf8 17.Qe2 dxc4 18.Rf1 Qc8 19.Qh5 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
The Players, 1930 to 1939
C.H. Stacey
Charles Stacey enjoyed a remarkable run of success during the 1930s. In 1932 he lost in the county championship final against A.J. Mackenzie of Hastings, but in 1933 won the title after defeating another Hastings player, A. Mortlock, at the final stage. In 1934 he retained his title by defeating Arthur Winser in the final, only to lose to the same player a year later at the same stage of the competition. In 1936 he won the title for the third time after again defeating A. Mortlock in the final.
He was also successful within the Brighton Chess Club, winning the championship in 1935 and 1936. Not content with these victories he won the Christ Church Championship an amazing five times in succession from 1932 to 1936. In 1936 he was thus the winner of the county championship, the Brighton Chess Club Championship and the Christ Church Championship all in one season.
After this Stacey moved to London, joining the Battersea Chess Club. During this period he continued to play for Sussex, for whom he had a very good record. He later returned to Sussex, though it appears that he did not enter any more local individual competitions. Although he played very few games for many years he remained a very formidable opponent and continued to play on a high board for Sussex. In 1972 he took over the captaincy of the Sussex first team, handing over in 1974 to Ray Williams. When he died in 1980 Julian Simpole wrote an obituary in Sussex Chess News in which he referred to Charles Stacey as the ‘Capablanca of Sussex’ because of Stacey’s admiration for the great Cuban’s style. He also commented favourably on Charles Stacey’s personality:
To an older generation he remained the modest youth whose lucid, positional style reflected his benign personality … Above all this was the stature of a man who seemed beyond reproach, and possessed of a rare spiritual quality that communicated itself to those lucky enough to have met him …
Undoubtedly Charles Stacey was one of the strongest Sussex players ever. Unfortunately we cannot know his true potential as he played in relatively few external tournaments. It would have been particularly interesting to see how he would have fared in the British Championship. I append a number of his games which I hope will enable the reader to assess his strength:
(80) W.A. Winser - C.H. Stacey
County Championship Final, 1934
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tarrasch Defence
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 c4 7.Bg2 Bb4 8.0-0 Nge7 9.Bf4 0-0 10.Ne5 Be6 11.Qd2 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 f6 13.Bf4 Qd7 14.a3 Ba5 15.Rfd1 a6 16.h4 b5 17.Qc2 Rfd8 18.Bd2 Bc7 19.Na2 Bh3 20.Kh2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Qg4 22.e3 Nf5 23.Rh1 Bxg3 24.Rag1 Bxh4+ 25.Kf1 Qf3 26.Rh2 Re8 27.Nc3 Rxe3 28.Rxh4 Rxc3 29.bxc3 Nxh4 30.Bh6 Qh3+ 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
In the following game Charles Stacey takes on the strong Belgian player George Koltanowski and obtains an honourable draw. One should note White’s brilliant 42nd move.
(81) C.H. Stacey - G. Koltanowski
Hastings Premier Reserves, 1934-35
King’s Indian Defence
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bd3 0-0 6.f3 Nfd7 7.Be3 e5 8.d5 f5 9.Qd2 f4 10.Bf2 a5 11.Nge2 Na6 12.0-0-0 Nac5 13.Bc2 a4 14.b4 axb3 15.axb3 Nb6 16.Kb2 Bd7 17.Ra1 Qf6 18.Rxa8 Rxa8 19.Ra1 Rxa1 20.Kxa1 g5 21.h3 h5 22.Bd1 Qd8 23.Nc1 Bf8 24.Qa2 Qa8 25.Qxa8 Nxa8 26.b4 Na6 27.Nd3 Nb6 28.Bxb6(?) [28.Bb3!] 28...cxb6 29.Kb2 Kf7 30.Kc2 Be7 31.Kd2 Kf6 32.Ba4 Bc8 33.Be8 g4 34.hxg4 hxg4 35.Na4 Bd8 36.b5 Nc5 37.Naxc5 bxc5 38.Nf2 g3 39.Nd3 Bh3 40.Ne1 Ba5+ 41.Ke2 Bxe1 42.Kf1!! Bc8 43.Kxe1 Ke7 44.Bh5 Kd8 45.b6 Bd7 46.Ke2 Ke7 47.Bg6 Ba4 48.Bf5 Bb3 49.Kd3 Kd8 50.Bg4 Ba2 51.Bh5 Bb1+ 52.Kc3 Kd7 ½-½. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Stacey’s opponent in the next game is given in the Sussex Daily News as ‘R.P. Mitchell’, but was probably the well known player R.P. Michell.
(82) C.H. Stacey - R.P. Michell
Battersea v Kingston (Board 1), 1936
Queen’s Gambit Declined
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.e3 c6 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.Qc2 h6 9.Bh4 0-0 10.0-0-0 Re8 11.g4 g5 12.Bg3 Bxg3 13.hxg3 Nxg4 14.f3 Nxe3 15.Qh2 Qf6 16.Re1 Re6 17.Qd2 Nf5 18.Nge2 Nf8 19.f4 Bd7 20.fxg5 hxg5 21.Ref1 Rd6 22.g4 Qe7 23.gxf5 f6 24.Rh6 Re8 25.Nd1 Kg7 26.Rh2 b6 27.Rfh1 c5 28.Nf4 cxd4 29.Ng6 Rc6+ 30.Kb1 Qc5 31.Rh8 Rcc8 32.Nf2 Kf7 33.Ng4 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(83) C.H. Stacey - Dr S. Fazekas
London League, 1936-37
Catalan Opening
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b5 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 e6 5.a4 b4 6.c4 c5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Be3 Na6 9.Nbd2 Rc8 10.0-0 Be7 11.Bh3 Nh7 12.Qb1 f5 13.d5 g5 14.Ne5 Bf6 15.Ndf3 d6 16.Nd3 g4 17.Nf4 gxf3 18.Nxe6 Qe7 19.exf3 Ng5 20.Bxg5 hxg5 21.Re1 Rxh3 22.Nxg5 Bxg5 23.Qxf5 Rh5 24.Rxe7+ 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
(84) F.H. Watts - C.H. Stacey
Horsham v Christ Church (Board 1), 1937
Giuoco Piano
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.d3 d6 6.0-0 Bg4 7.Be3 Nd4 8.Bxd4 Bxd4 9.Rb1 c6 10.Qe2 Nh5 11.Kh1 Nf4 12.Qd1 Qf6 13.Ne2 Nxg2 14.Nfxd4 exd4 15.Qd2 Qf3 16.Nxd4 Nf4+ 17.Nxf3 Bxf3+ and mates next move. 0-1. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Finally, from a later period:
(85) C.H. Stacey - D.G. Springgay
Over 21s v Under 21s, 1955
King’s Fianchetto Defence
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be2 Nf6 5.Nc3 0-0 6.h3 Nfd7 7.Be3 e5 8.g4 exd4 9.Bxd4 Bxd4 10.Nxd4 Re8 11.Qd2 Nc5 12.0-0-0 Nc6 13.h4 Bd7 14.h5 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Qg5+ 16.Kb1 Ne6 17.Qc4 Bc6 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.Nd5 Kg7 20.Nxc7!! Nxc7 21.Rh7+! 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
E.G. Reed
In the finals of the 1937 and 1938 county championships, Ernest Reed defeated J.H. Jones and Arthur Winser respectively to regain and then retain the championship title. This was a remarkable achievement for a man in his late sixties who had last won the title in 1907. It is true that he had been runner-up in the competition in 1926 and 1931, but it is unlikely that many people would have expected him to become champion at his age. His nine championship victories have never been repeated by any other player.
He continued playing chess during World War II and for a number of years afterwards. It is known that he became an Honorary Member of the Brighton Chess Club, but it is uncertain when this honour was bestowed upon him. He was always an opponent to be respected and in his last county appearance in January 1954 he played as high as board 12. Shortly after that match he died, having reached the age of 85. The following game was played against an old adversary of his:
(86) E.G. Reed - H.E. Dobell
Brighton v Hastings (Board 4), 1925
Caro Kann Defence
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 e6 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.Ne2 Nd7 9.Be3 Ngf6 10.h3 Nd5 11.Qd2 Qc7 12.a3 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 Qa5+ 14.c3 Qc7 15.Ng5 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Nf6 17.0-0 h6 18.Ne4 0-0-0 19.b4 Rhg8 20.a4 e5 21.Rfc1 Nxe4 22.Qxe4 exd4 23.Nxd4 Qd7 24.b5 c5 25.Nb3 Rge8 26.Qc4 b6 27.a5 Kb8 28.axb6 axb6 29.Ra6 Bc7 30.g3 Kb7 31.Rca1 Qd5 32.Ra7+ Kc8 33.Qg4+ Qe6 34.Qa4 Qe4 35.Qa6+ Kd7 36.Qxb6 Qe5 37.Rxc7+ Qxc7 38.Nxc5+ 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
I also give the conclusion of the battle of the ‘heavyweights’ for the 1938 title. Arthur Winser and Ernest Reed won the county championship competition more times than anyone else. On the only occasion when they met in the final the game was adjourned in the following position, with Reed playing White:
Play continued:
45.g4 hxg4 46.Bxg4 Rh8 47.h5 gxh5 48.Be6 h4 49.Rg1 Bc8 50.Kh1+ Kf8 51.Qd1 Bxe6 52.dxe6 Rc8 53.Rxc4 Qxc4 54.Qg4 Ke8 55.Qg8+ Rxg8 56.Rxg8 mate. 1-0.
E.D. Ovenden
Ted Ovenden is first listed in Sussex chess records in 1921. In 1930 he won the West Sussex Queen competition and in 1932 his first Brighton Chess Club Championship. He also came first in the Brighton competition in 1938 and 1939. We shall see that he registered similar successes in later years, though perhaps surprisingly he never won the county championship. Unfortunately I do not possess a publishable game played by him during this period, though a couple of his wins can be found in later sections.
C.F. Cornwall
Cecil Cornwall, who had won the 1930 Surrey Championship, came to Brighton in 1932 and won the club championship in 1933. He repeated the achievement in 1937. The following game was published locally in 1933 and has a beautiful finish:
(87) C.F. Cornwall - G.W. Richmond
Colle System
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.0-0 Nc6 6.b3 Bd6 7.Bb2 0-0 8.Nbd2 b6 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.a3 Rc8 11.f4 Qc7 12.c4 Rfd8 13.Qe2 cxd4 14.exd4 Bf8 15.Ndf3 h6 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Rac1 Qb8 18.Nxf7 Kxf7 19.Ng5+ hxg5 20.fxg5 Rd6 21.Rce1 Qc7 22.Bf5 Re8 23.Qh5+ Nxh5 24.Bh7+ Rf6 25.g6 mate. 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
J. Storr-Best
John Storr-Best remained one of Brighton’s strongest players in the 1930s and won the club championship in 1934 for the third time. He continued to play for the Brighton Chess Club during World War II. The last time his name appears in Sussex chess records is in the Sussex Daily News of 31 July 1945, where he is listed among the entrants for the Brighton Chess Club Championship. He died later that year aged 68.
The following game was played in the Major Open ‘A’ tournament at the BCF Congress in Brighton in 1938 and features a victory against a well-known player:
(88) J. Storr-Best - J. Mieses
Sicilian Defence, Taimanov Variation (by anticipation)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Ndb5 Nf6 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 Ne5 12.Bg5 Be6 13.Re1 Ng6 14.Bxg6 hxg6 15.Qd4 b6 16.Nd1 Qc7 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qxf6 Qxc2 19.Ne3 Qc7 20.Rac1 Qd7 21.h4 Kh7 22.Rcd1 Rac8 23.h5 Rg8 24.Nxd5 Bxd5 25.Re5 Qg4 26.Rexd5 gxh5 27.Qxf7+ Kh6 28.Rd6+ Rg6 29.Rxg6+ Qxg6 30.Qf4+ Kh7 31.Rd6 Rc1+ 32.Kh2 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
W. Atkinson
It is believed that W. Atkinson played for Yorkshire before coming to Sussex. He is listed in Sussex chess records from 1927 to 1935. Initially he played for Hastings, but at the end of 1929 he joined the Brighton Chess Club. He won the club championship in 1931 and also represented the Christ Church Club. We know that by 1933 he had returned to Hastings and in the following game, played in 1935, he is representing Hastings against Brighton. The game itself may not be entirely representative of his play but I do not possess the score of any of his other wins.
(89) W. Atkinson - D.H. Caw
Queen’s Gambit Declined
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 Nf6 6.Ba3 c6 7.Qb3 Nbd7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.e3 Nb6 10.Bd3 Be6 11.Ne5 Ne4 12.0-0? Nd2 13.Qc2 Nxf1 14.Rxf1 f6?? 15.Bg6+ 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
E. Macdonald
Edmund Macdonald won the Brighton Chess Club Championship in 1930. Although he was English by birth he hailed from an old Scottish line, and in 1902, while living in London, he won the Scottish Championship. An E. Macdonald is listed in connection with Sussex chess in 1895, 1903, 1904 and 1906 (records between 1896 and 1902 are at times somewhat sketchy). He played in the Brighton Congress at the Aquarium in 1904, scoring three points out of eight. I believe that there is a good chance that this is the same Edmund Macdonald who later became a prominent member of the City of London Chess Club and spent his retirement in Brighton. He died in 1937 at the age of 72 years.
Unfortunately I do not possess the score of any of Macdonald’s wins during his later years, but the following game was played in Brighton in 1906:
(90) E. Macdonald - R.E. Lean
Danish Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 6.exd5 Nf6 7.Nf3 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Qe7+ 9.Kf1 0-0 10.Qb3 b6 11.Re1 Qc5 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Rxe4 c6 14.d6 Ba6 15.Kg1 Qf5 16.Qxb4 Kh8 17.Qc3 Rg8 18.Qxg7+ Rxg7 19.Re8 mate. 1-0. (Play through game - link opens in new window.)
Go to Chapter 7