Club History
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History of Stratford upon-Avon Chess Club
The first record of a Chess Club in Stratford-upon-Avon appears in the Stratford Herald of December 2nd 1881.
“A Chess Club for Stratford”.
A meeting of gentlemen interested in the formation of a chess club for Stratford-upon-Avon was held at the Town hall last Friday evening , when, after the matter had been fully discussed, it was resolved to establish a club. A code of rules was drawn up and approved and the various officers were elected, Mr Norris Alcester Road, being unanimously appointed Hon Secretary. The place of meeting and other information respecting the club will shortly be published by advertisement.
It may have got off to a slow start because another article appears in the issue of October 26th 1883 entitled “ resurrection of Chess Club” .
No further mention of the Club appears until Feb 3rd 1888 when a match was played against Leamington.
Chess Match
On Saturday last a very interesting match was played between gentlemen from Leamington and Stratfordians at the Union Club. There were nine sets of players, the Stratford representatives comprising the Rev F Smith, Messrs. H Sheppard, W H Eaton ER S Tulloch, M J F Brackenbury, G Garlick, J Stevenson, G A Norris, and Badcock. The visitors won with comparative ease the Stratford players being decidedly overweighted. (sic).I wonder whether G A Norris was related to Len Norris who was a leading player during the 1970’s for the Club.
Further matches were reported as follows:-
Nov 15th 1889 Stratford vs Redditch
Nov 22nd 1889 Redditch vs Stratford
March 21st 1890 Stratford vs Leamington
On Saturday last a match at chess arranged by Mr W H Eaton, took place between a number of Stratford Gentlemen and a similar number of members of Leamington Chess Club. The representatives were singularly unfortunate in winning only 3 games out of 21.
March 28th 1890 Stratford vs Redditch
On March 17th 1893 an Exhibition match took place and this was reported in the Stratford Herald.
Move to the Union Club
April 28th 1893
“During the past winter an interesting chess Tournament has been carried on at the UNION Club. 21 games were played including many tough and interesting struggles. The leaders were eventually Mr O’Connor (15), Mr Eaton (14) Rev F Smith (13) and, as will be observed, the struggle between the gentlemen was very close.”
Chess Match
June 23rd 1893
“An inter Club match was played at the YMCA rooms in Leamington on the 15th inst between 4 members of this club and 4 members of the Stratford upon-Avon YMCA Chess Club. The close fought match (especially between the Captains) ended Leamington 6.5 Stratford 4.5
June 23rd 1893 an Exhibition took place
November 24th 1893 saw a meeting take place)
April 20th 1900 reported a match of Snitterfield vs Claverdon
January 25th 1901 reported another match between Snitterfield and Claverdon January 24th 1902 reported another match between Stratford and Claverdon
October 24th 1902 reported another match between Stratford and Claverdon
The cross referenced Stratford Herald records at The Stratford Record Office run out at this point. It is presumed that the Chess Club folded around about the time of the first world War (1914).
The next mention of a Chess Club in Stratford is on June 13th 1924 when the Stratford Herald has an article entitled
A CHESS CLUB
“Chess is cheap and has unique fascinations. Chess or it’s evolutionary ancestor must have been the game which an ancient people played on alternate days during the years of famine, and were so absorbed by it that they forgot to want food till the following day”. Apparently the chess club used to meet at 8 Rother St which was the home of a dressmaker Miss Lucia Storer
In 1925 the British Championships were held in Stratford. There is mention in the programme of the local Secretary being the Reverend Henry Young of the Parsonage, Shottery, supported by the newly formed Chess Club.
THE BRITISH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
In 1925 Stratford THE BRITISH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS were held in Stratford-on-Avon at the Town Hall between August 17th and August 29th. The programme is attached
The prize money in the Championship itself was £20, £15, £10 and £5 with 10 shillings being awarded to each non-prize winner for each game won by him. The entry fee in this was £1
Other Tournaments held were as follows:
British Ladies Championship 10s entry
Major Open £1 entry
First Class 15s entry
Second Class 10s entry
Third Class Div 1 and 2 5s entry
The winner was H Atkins who won for the 9th and last time. The Ladies Champion was Mrs Stevenson.
In the Major Open Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, the only foreign entrant, tied with J A Drewitt. In one of the sections of the First Class Miss Vera Menchik (Future British Women’s World Champion) made her first appearance in a competition of such strength and was second.
“The duties of Local Secretary were undertaken by Rev Henry B Young of The Parsonage, Shottery , Stratford-upon Avon supported by the newly formed Chess Club.”
Further details are being sought of the resurrection of the Chess Club. However, I have obtained a copy of the notice that was used to advertise the club. Apparently the club met at the River Restaurant Waterside and the Club night was on Tuesdays from 5.00 p.m. !
1960’s Revival
The Club does not appear again until 1962 when it was reformed.
The initial Constitution was as follows:-
· The club shall be known as the Shottery Chess Club.
· The objects of the club shall be to encourage the playing of chess in the Stratford-on-Avon district and to form representative teams.
· Membership of the Club shall be open to all on the payment of an annual subscription, the amount of which to be determined at a General Meeting
· The Committee of the club shall consist of the President, the Secretary, The Treasurer and one other member. Such Officers and other committee member shall be elected for a term of office of one year at the Annual General Meeting and in the event of any of then resigning or being unable to act, the committee shall nominate a successor to act until the next Annual General Meeting.
· The President shall be responsible for the General oversight of the club
· The Secretary shall conduct all of the Club’s correspondence, record minutes of all General and Committee meetings and give at least twelve days notice of a General meeting to all members responsible.
· The Treasurer shall keep the club’s accounts and present a summary of the same at the Annual General Meeting
· The remaining Committee member shall be responsible for the running of all internal club tournaments and other such duties as may be delegated to him at a General meeting or a committee meeting.
· The Committee shall elect a Match Captain for each of the teams at the beginning of the each season. The match Captains shall be responsible for the selection if all representative teams and if not a member of the committee under 4) shall be an additional members.
· The Annual general meeting shall be held at the end of the playing season during March or April.
· The President may at any time call a General meeting and on must be held at the request of any four members. The quorum for a General Meeting shall be four including at least two committee members. Written notice of all general meetings shall be given to all members as under (6)
· A Committee meeting must be held at the request of any one member of the committee. The quorum at a committee meeting shall be three.
· The President shall act as Chairman at all General and Committee meetings. In his absence the chair shall be taken by one of the Committee members in the order given under (4). The Chairman shall have a casting vote at all such meetings.
· The constitution of the club may only be amended by a two thirds majority of the members present at a General Meeting and written notice of any proposed amendment must be given to the Secretary at least five days before it can bee considered.
1962-3
The first general meeting of the Club took place at the Shottery Memorial hall on 2nd April 1962 with 9 members and 3 non members with G Berry in the chair. An Advertisement was place in the Stratford-upon Avon Herald on 29th September 1961 asking for anyone interested in the formation of a club to contact him. There were 5 replies and the first meeting took place at Halls Croft on 15th November and G Berry agreed to act as Secretary and M J Dawson as Treasurer (Mr Dawson died in 1994 bequeathing £100 to the Chess Club) Roland Knight (still a member of the club) was elected as the first President.
The cheapest room that could be found was 17s 6d per evening when it was discovered that a committee room at Shottery Memorial Hall could be hired at 7s 6d an evening, the only condition being that the club must include the word “Shottery” in its title. So the Club was initially called the Shottery Chess Club!
The very first representative match was against Barford on 29th January 1962 and was drawn 1.5-1.5
A further 4 matches were played as follows:-
Barford home loss
Leamington home and away losses
Banbury away Draw
The first subscription was 25 shillings (£1.25) so today’s subscription of £7 is very good value by comparison! The Club applied for membership of the Leamington and District League and met Mondays. The League consisted of teams if 5 in those days
League matches resulted as follows:-
Lockheed 2.5-2.5 draw
Rugby 2.5-2.5 draw
Leamington College 2.5-2.5 draw
Leamington 1.5-3.5 Loss
Leamington ½-3½ Loss
Banbury 3-2 The first Club victory!
Lockheed 2½2½ draw
Banbury 1-4 Loss
The only players with more than 50% were G Berry 4.5/7 and R Soulsby 4/7.
1963-64
5 matches were played in this season. 3 matches were lost (St Peters - Leamington, Banbury and Rugby) and 2 drawn (Leamington and Leamington College) 2 players (G Berry 3/5 and W G Sutton 2/3) achieving more than 50%.
This year the club actually made a loss of about 10 shillings and the committee of Roland Knight (President), G Berry (Secretary) and M J Dawson (Treasurer) with J B McKelvey as the other committee member was re-elected.
1964-65
A new venue was found for the 1964-65 season because the Shottery rent had increased to 10 shillings per evening. The new venue was at the Flowers Brewery Club in Guild Street and the first 3 items of the Constitution were deleted.
An internal competition was held for the first time but was not completed. The same committee was elected with Mr P Harris being the other Committee member. The Club played 5 matches and all were lost except for a draw against Banbury. This year no-one gained more than 50%. The club had 12 members this year.
1965-66
The Club played all Leamington Division 1 clubs on a home and away basis this year with more success than the previous year. Wins were achieved against Banbury (4-1) and draws against Leamington College and Rugby.
Membership was 11 this year with 1 win, 2 draws and 6 losses in the league. This year saw the departure of the Secretary and strongest player Geoffrey Berry. A trophy was presented for the first time to the Club Champion J P Holland and would be known as the Geoffrey Berry trophy.
1966-7
The Constitution as altered to include the post of Vice-President. With the departure of Mr Geoffrey Berry a new Committee was elected as follows:-
President Mr J Jarrett
Vice-President Mr G Berry elected for Life
Secretary Mr R Knight
Treasurer Mr M J Dawson
Committee Member Mr P Harris
A team was entered in the Second Division this year. The Division 1 team had 2 draws Banbury and Leamington College but lost all of the other 5 matches. The Division 2 team beat Barford, Leamington Boys Club (twice), Leamington and drew against Leamington College, but losing 3 matches. These matches consisted of 3 boards only.
The Club Champion this year was John Weston. A Social event was held this year for members and spouses with a buffet supper and a slide presentation.
1967-8
President Mr J Jarrett
Secretary Mr R Knight
Treasurer Mr M J Dawson
Committee Member Mr P Meakin
The Division 1 team achieved a win against Banbury, and draws against Leamington College (twice) and Banbury.
The Division 2 team beat Banbury II and had draws against Leamington Spa II and Barford but there were 3 losses.
Mr Soulsby won the internal Club competition and again a buffet supper was held in December.
The Brewery Club presented a Tankard Trophy to the Chess section (This is the current Knock Out Cup) and this was presented to Mr R Soulsby the Club Champion. Another trophy was presented to the winner of a knock our tournament between the bottom 8 players on the main tournament.
1968-9
President Mr J Jarrett
Secretary Mr G Simms
Treasurer Mr M J Dawson
Committee Member Mr R Soulsby
The Division 1 team had a win against Banbury drew against Leamington A but lost all of the other 8 games.
The division 2 team had a win against Banbury, drew against Leamington but lost the other 8 games Mr B Donaldson was Club Champion and Mrs Casenove got a trophy for best attendance!
1969-70
President Mr J Jarrett
Secretary Mr G Simms
Treasurer Mr P Harris
Committee Member Mrs Casenove
The club continued to have poor results with only 1 team entering the Leamington League. 12 matches played with 2 wins (Banbury and Barford and 1 draw against Leamington College)
This year saw the first Lightning Tournament and was won by Mr Whissell. The Club Champion was Mr J Coe. This year the Club social was held at the house of Mr and Mrs Harris.
1970-71
President Mr J Jarrett
Secretary Mr G Simms
Treasurer Mr P Harris
Committee Member Mr J Coe with special responsibility for Publicity.
A Chess supper was held at the house of Mr and Mrs Jarrett.
The Club had 1 team in division 1 and did not win any, drew 2 (Warwick University and Banbury and again lost 8.
The Club Champion this year was Dr Sidney Savage.
1971-72
President Mr J Jarrett
Secretary Mr G Simms
Treasurer Mr P Harris
Committee Member Dr S Savage
The Chess supper was held at the house of Mr and Mrs Jarrett.
It was decided that any person winning a League match would have 1/4 point added to their internal championship points”!
It was also decided to relocate the Club to the Embassy Club in Rother St and met on Mondays. The Club name changed to the Stratford on Avon Chess Club
The Club had 1 team in division 1 and did not win any, drew 2 (Warwick University and Banbury and again lost 8.
The Club Champion this year was again Dr Sidney Savage. He also held a summer chess meeting in his garden.
There were 2 wins (Leamington College and Banbury) but 8 losses.
1972-73
President Mr R Knight
Secretary Dr S Savage
Treasurer Mr J Carslake
Committee Member Mr J Jarrett
There were wins against Banbury draw against Leamington B but again 7 losses
Len Norris was this years Club Champion and a new Trophy was introduced to the player with the highest number of League wins (Roland Knight)
1973-74
President Mr R Knight
Secretary Dr S Savage
Treasurer Mr J Carslake
There were wins against Banbury draw against Leamington B but again 7 losses
Len Norris was this years Club Champion and a new Trophy was introduced for the player with the highest number of League wins (Roland Knight)
There was 1 win against Banbury, 2 draws against Leamington B and Leamington A and 5 losses. However, we had defeated Evesham twice in friendlies.
1974-75
President R Knight
Secretary S Savage
Treasurer L Norris
Committee member D Walker
This year the Club again moved premises to the South Warwickshire College of Further Education.
There was 1 win against Daventry 2 draws against Leamington and Banbury but again 7 losses. The second division team fared better with wins against Lockheed B, Rugby D and Daventry with 2 draws.
Len Norris was again this years Club Champion and the trophy for the player with the highest number of League wins was presented to Sidney Savage.
There were 3 wins against Banbury and twice against Evesham , 2 draws against Leamington B and Leamington A and 5 losses
This year there were 2 socials at Sidney Savage’s house in September and an Xmas dinner at a Restaurant.
1975-76
President R Knight
Secretary S Savage
Treasurer L Norris
Committee member D Tarrant
A new club rule was instituted that prospective new members could visit the club twice and then would be required to join. The Club Champion was Derek Walker with Alan Whitbread winning the most number of matches - 8.
This year there were 2 socials at Sidney Savage’s house in July and an Xmas dinner at a Restaurant. This year there were also 2 new members ( Alan Whitbread and Colin Searle!) It also saw the Club being more successful with 5 wins (Kenilworth -twice, Police, Daventry and Leamington) with 2 draws Banbury - twice and only 5 losses.
The second Division also did well with 7 wins 1 draw and 4 losses.
1976-77
President R Knight
Secretary S Savage
Treasurer L Norris
Committee member D Tarrant
Bill Glaisher was elected second team Captain replacing Alan Thomas.
Frank Emberton was Club Champion.
Len Norris was Knock Out Champion
The upturn in the Clubs results continued with 7 wins 3 draws and 5 losses in the first division. The Second division team had fair results winning 3 drawing 3 and losing 4
The club had it’s first ever success this year in winning the League knock out Cup. We beat Barford 4-1 in the first round, Rugby 3.5-1.5 in the Semi Final and Daventry 4.5-0.5 in the final. The full result of this Red Letter day was:-
Daventry Stratford
J Cheetham 0-1 Alan Whitbread
G Dellor 0-1 Colin Searle
W Ludlow ½-½ Derek Walker
R Hall 0-1 Frank Emberton
G Schofield 0-1 Len Norris
½-4½
1977-78
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Sidney Savage
Treasurer Len Norris
Committee member David Tarrant
Bill Glaisher was elected second team Captain replacing Alan Thomas.
The upturn in the Clubs results continued with 8 wins 1 draws and 5 losses in Division 1 and Division 2 resulted in 6 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses
The Knock Out Cup we beat Banbury in Round 1 but lost 3-2 to Leamington the Semi-final. This year saw the trial of a new venue for 2 evenings at the Drill Hall in Bishopton which were free whereas the College Rooms were now £2 per evening.
The Club Champion was Len Norris
Division 1 most games won A Whitbread
Division 2 most games won Bill Glaisher
1978-79
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Sidney Savage
Treasurer Len Norris
Committee member David Walker
Division 1 captain Frank Emberton
Division 2 Captain Dennis Tarrant
The Division 1 team won 7 and lost 4
The Division 2 team won 4 drew 3 and lost 9
The club also lost in the knock out Cup in the first round to Kenilworth
Most wins in Division 1 was shared between Alan Whitbread 6/8, Ray Stacey 6/10 and Len Norris 6/10 but the cup was given to Alan Whitbread due to his better percentage. Division 2 most wins was D Tarrant
The Club Champion was Len Norris
The Club Lightning Champion was Alan Whitbread
The venue was the main subject of discussion in these days and seemed to have taken up a lot of the time at the AGM.
This year also saw a match against the Prison near Evesham and Len Norris Captained the A team This year saw the annual subscription rise to £5 with new members paying £3 in the first year.
1979-80
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Sidney Savage
Treasurer Len Norris
Committee member David Walker
Division 1 captain Frank Emberton
Division 2 Captain Dennis Tarrant
The Division 1 team won 2, drew 1 and lost 6
The Division 2 team won 4 drew 2 and lost 4
The club also lost in the knock out Cup in the first round to Kenilworth
The Club Champion was Alan Whitbread.
Most wins in Division 1 was shared between Alan Whitbread 4 and Frank Emberton 4 but the cup was given to Alan Whitbread due to his better percentage. Division 2 most wins was G Waterson with 6
A ladder Tournament was introduced and a Notice board was produced by Alan Thomas. There were a number of special events arranged this year including a training evening organised by Alan Whitbread, a simultaneous by Alan Whitbread and a Pairs Tournament Apparently the experiment at the Drill Hall in Bishopton was not a success because the College was still the venue.
1980-81
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Sidney Savage
Treasurer Len Norris (Resigned Oct 1980 replaced by Ray Stacey)
Division 1 captain Frank Emberton
Division 2 Captain Bill Glaisher 1st half of the season and Henry Beecham 2nd half
3rd team Captain B Bessel
The Division 1 team won 6, drew 3 and lost 3 an improvement on the 1979.
The Division 2 team won 4 drew 3 and lost 6
The club also lost in the knock out Cup in the first round to Kenilworth
Division 1 most wins was won by Alan Whitbread.
Division 2 most wins was Roland Knight
The Club Championship was not awarded this year.
The Lightning Champion was Alan Whitbread
This year saw the annual subscription rise to £6 with new members paying £3 in the first year. Again the main topic at the AGM was Club premises and they looked at St Gregory’s Hall in Henley St.
1981-82
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Sidney Savage
Treasurer Ray Stacey
Division 1 captain Frank Emberton
Division 2 Captain Bill Glaisher
The Division 1 team won 3, drew 4 and lost 3
The Division 2 team won 3 drew 3 and lost 2
Division 1 most wins was won by Henry Beecham
Division 2 most wins was Bill Glaisher
This year saw the annual subscription rise to £8 with new members paying £4 in the first year
The Club Champion was Alan Whitbread
The Club Knock Out Champion was Alan Whitbread
The Lightning Champion was Alan Whitbread
The club moved this year to the Peak Engineering Social Club in Masons Rd.
1982-83
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Sidney Savage
Treasurer Ray Stacey
Division 1 captain Henry Beecham
Division 2 Captain Bill Glaisher
Division 3 Captain Philip Askew
The Division 1 team won 7, drew 0 and lost 5
The Division 2 team won 5, drew 2 and lost 5
Division 1 most wins was shared by Richard McNally and Ray Stacey both 5 but the Trophy as awarded to Richard McNally for a better percentage.
Division 2 most wins was shared by Bill Glaisher 5/11 and Roland Knight 5/5
This year saw the annual subscription drop to £7
The Club Championship was not awarded this year
The Knock out Champion was Alan Whitbread.
The Lightning Champion was Alan Whitbread
The club stayed at the Peak Engineering Social Club in Masons Road. The membership fees were reduced to £7. The widow of Dr D Budge had presented the club with 3 sets and boards.
1983-84
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Bill Glaisher
Treasurer Ray Stacey
Division 1 captain Peter Wassall
Division 2 Captain Eric Roper
Division 3 Captain Chris Arnold
The Division 1 team won 4, drew 4 and lost 6
The Division 2 team won 3 drew 4 and lost 5
The Division 3 team won 0 drew 1 and lost 6
The club won the Leamington League Knock Out Cup for the second time in its History (The first being 1977). We beat Leamington, after 2 drawn matches, on board elimination.
Division 1 most wins was won by Peter Wassall
Division 2 most wins was Bill Glaisher
The Club Champion was Colin Searle who also got through to the Semi-final of the League Knock Out.
The Lightning Champion was Alan Whitbread who also won the Leamington League Lightning
1984-85
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Bill Glaisher
Treasurer Ray Stacey
Division 1 captain Peter Wassall
Division 2 Captain Eric Roper
The Division 1 team won 5, drew 3 and lost 4 3rd out of 7
The Division 2 team won 2 drew 2 and lost 6 5th out of 6
The Division 3 team won 2 drew 1 and lost 7 6th out of 6
Division 1 most wins was won by Peter Wassall
Division 2 most wins was Bill Glaisher
No Club Tournaments were run this year!
Colin Searle again got through to the Semi-final of the Leamington League Individual Knockout.
The club got through to the final of the Leamington League Knock Out Cup but lost 3-2 against Daventry
The club was still unhappy about premises and were now looking at the Union Club, however, this was rejected due to cost.
1985-86
President Alan Whitbread
Secretary Bill Glaisher
Treasurer Ray Stacey
Division 1 captain Peter Wassall
Division 2 Captain Eric Roper
Division 3 Captain Mrs A Ullman
The Division 1 team won 3, drew 1 and lost 8 7th out of 7
The Division 2 team won 2 drew 1 and lost 5 4th out of 5
The Division 3 team won 2 drew 1 and lost 5 5th out of 5
Division 1 most wins was won by Richard McNally
Division 2 most wins was Eric Roper
Division 3 most wins was Mike Jolley
The Club Champion was Colin Searle.
The Lightning Champion was Peter Wassall with 7 out of 7
Colin Searle became Leamington League Champion by beating Joe Soesan in the final.
he League Lightning was won by Eric Smith (subsequently to join Stratford)
The Club started looking at the home Guard Club in Tiddington. The subs were still £5 with just 11 members and the closing funds were £172.01 The Club also started a burst if educational activity with both Alan Whitbread and Colin Searle doing a simultaneous display and teach-ins on different evenings in the summer.
1986-87
President Colin Searle
Secretary Bill Glaisher
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
A team Captain Peter Wassall
B team Captain Eric Roper
C team Captain Mike Jolley
D team Captain Harry Clamp
The A team won 4, drew 1 and lost 9 7th out of 8
The B team won 0, drew 6 and lost 4 5th out of 6
The C team won 7, drew 2 and lost 1 1st out of 6 DIVISION 3 Champions
The D team won 2, drew 0 and lost 8 5th out of 6
A team most wins was won by Mark Layton
B team most wins was won by Alan Thomas
C team most wins was won by Brian Eastgate with 10/10
D team most wins was won by Alex Chapman.
A new Trophy was awarded called the outstanding player of the year and this was won by Brian Eastgate whose performance of 10/10 for the C team and 3/3 for the B team could not be bettered! He also made the Stratford Herald (See Appendices).
The Club Champion was Bill Glaisher
The Lightning Champion was Mark Layton with 6 out of 6
The Knock out cup was won by Mark Layton
The club now moved to the Home Guard Club in Tiddington. The subs were still £5 with just 11 members and the closing funds were £172.01
1987-88
President Colin Searle
Secretary Mark Layton
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
Competitions Sec. Mike Jolley
A team Captain Brian Eastgate
B team Captain Bill Glaisher
C team Captain Mike Jolley
D team Captain Harry Clamp
The A team won 8, drew 4 and lost 4 2nd out of 8 in Division 1
The B team won 4, drew 1 and lost 5 6th out of 6 in Division 2
The C team won 5, drew 3 and lost 2 1st out of 6 DIVISION 2 Champions
The D team won 3, drew 1 and lost 6 5th out of 6
The Club also reached the final of the Leamington League Knock out Tournament losing 3.5/1.5 to Rugby
A team most wins was won by Brian Eastgate
B team most wins was won by Eric Roper
C team most wins was won by Frank Palatzky
D team most wins was won by Richard Walch.
The Club Champion was shared between Richard McNally and Eric Smith
The Lightning Champion was Alex Chapman
The Knock out cup was won by Richard McNally
1988-89
President Colin Searle
Secretary Mark Layton
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
Competitions Sec. Mike Jolley
A team Captain Brian Eastgate
B team Captain Bill Glaisher
C team Captain Mike Jolley
D team Captain Harry Clamp
The A team won 9, drew 2 and lost 3 2nd/8 in Division 1
The B team won 4, drew 3 and lost 5 3rd/5 in Division 2
The C team won 0, drew 3 and lost 9 8th/8 in Division 1
The D team won 8, drew 2 and lost 4 Champions of Division 3
The E team won 6, drew 2 and lost 6 4th/8 in Division 3
The Club also reached the final of the Leamington League Knock out Tournament losing 3.5/1.5 to Rugby
A team most wins was won by Colin Searle with 11/13
B team most wins was won by Stan Lapidge
C team most wins was won by Richard Doyle
D team most wins was won by Richard Walch
E team most wins was won by Harry Clamp
Outstanding player of the year was Richard Walch
Club Champion Colin Searle
Lightning Champion Alex Chapman
Knock out cup Phil Bennett
At long last the ideal premises were obtained with the move to Stratford Foods. This was suggested by Brian Eastgate who worked there. It had plenty of room, tables, beer and parking and was also well heated and lit.
Colin Searle became Fixtures Secretary of the Leamington League
1989-90
President Colin Searle
Secretary Mark Layton
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
Competitions Sec. Richard McNally
A team Captain Colin Searle
B team Captain Richard Walch
C team Captain Bill Glaisher
D team Captain Harry Clamp
The A team won 5, drew 3 and lost 4 were 4th/7 in Division 1
The B team won 6, drew 1 and lost 4 were 4th/7 in Division 2
The C team won 2, drew 2 and lost 5 were 6th/7 in Division 2
The D team won 3, drew 2 and lost 4 were 5th/6 in Division 3
The Club also reached the final of the Leamington League Knock out Tournament losing 3.5/1.5 to Rugby
A team most wins Richard McNally
B team most wins Brian Eastgate
C team most wins Bill Glaisher
D team most wins Don Jones
Outstanding player of the year was Don Jones
Club Champion Colin Searle
Lightning Champion Colin Searle
Knock out cup Champion Richard McNally
Leamington League Knock
Out Cup Runner up Colin Searle
Colin Searle was still Fixtures Secretary of the Leamington League
1990-91
Chairman Colin Searle
Secretary Stan Lapidge
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Competition Sec. Philip Bennett
Equipment Sec. Harry Clamp
A team captain Colin Searle
B team captain
C team captain
D team captain
The A team won 7 drew 1 and lost 6 were 4th/8 in Division 1
The B team won 6, drew 3 and lost 3 were 2nd/7 in Division 2
The C team won 8, drew 3 and lost 1 were 1st/7 in Division 2
The D team won 2, drew 5 and lost 5 were 5th/7 in Division 3
Swiss won by Richard McNally
Knock Out Cup Colin Searle
Lightning won by Colin Searle
A team most wins Richard McNally
B team most wins Richard Walch
C team most wins Tim Sambrook
D team most wins Pete Wassall
Best all round performance Tim Sambrook
Best Junior Matthew Dewsbury
Colin Searle became Chairman of the Leamington League
1992-93
Chairman Colin Searle
Secretary Stan Lapidge
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Competition Sec. Philip Bennett
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
A team Captain Tim Sambrook
B team Captain Richard Walch
C team Captain Bill Glaisher
D team Captain Cyril Denney
E team Captain Philip Askew
The A team won 8 drew 3 and lost 3 were 3rd/8 in Division 1
The B team won 1, drew 0 and lost 13 were 8th/8 in Division 2
The C team won 6, drew 4 and lost 2 were 2nd/7 in Division 2
The D team won 14, drew 2 and lost 2 were 1st/10 in Division 3
The E team won 10, drew 1 and lost 7 were 5th/10 in Division 3
Club Champion (Swiss tournament) Eric Smith & Richard McNally jointly
Knockout Tournament Colin Searle
Lightning Chess Champion Colin Searle
A team most wins Richard McNally
B team most wins John Lock
C team most wins Ray Stacey
D team most wins Cyril Denney
E team most wins Phil Askew
Best junior player Christopher Barnett
Overall best performance Cyril Denney
Leamington League Knock Out Cup
Open section Runner up Tim Sambrook
The highlight of the year was a simultaneous by GM Michael Adams who the previous week he had just won the British Isles Zonal Tournament in Dublin and subsequently won BIEL Interzonal in July.
The event was attended by 42 participants, all from the Leamington and District League. Michael Adams won 37 games drew 2 and lost 3.
Rod Barnett, Cyril Denney, Paul Denney, Phil Bennett, Christopher Barnett, Matthew Barnett, Richard Walch, Colin Searle all played and lost.
1993-94
Chairman Colin Searle
Secretary Cyril Denney
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Competition Sec. Philip Bennett
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
Honorary Vice President Eric Roper
A team Captain Tim Sambrook
B team Captain Richard Walch
C team Captain Bill Glaisher
D team Captain Cyril Denney
E team Captain Philip Askew
The A team won 5 drew 3 and lost 7 were 6th/9 in Division 1
The B team won 7, drew 3 and lost 7 were 4th/8 in Division 2
The C team won 4, drew 3 and lost 7 were 5th/8 in Division 2
The D team won 1, drew 4 and lost 9 were 8th/8 in Division 3
The E team won 8, drew 0 and lost 10 were 6th/10 in Division 3
Best player A team Tim Sambrook
Best player B team Eric Smith
Best player C team Phil Bennett
Best player D team Rod Barnett
Best player E team Phil Askew
Winner of the Summer competition Wiatt Ropp
Stratford Lightning Champion Wiatt Ropp
Under 125 winner Nigel Towers
Knock out cup winner Richard McNally
Club champion Colin Searle
Best all round performance Wiatt Ropp
Leamington League Knock Out Cup
Open section Runner up Colin Searle
Leamington Lightning Champion Ian Dutton
This year the takeover of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society was announced by Lloyds Bank. It was also announced that account holders would be getting about £500 as part of this transaction. As the Club banks with the C & G we can look forward to a windfall in 1995 sometime.
The Club also received £100 as a bequest from a former club player Mr M J Dawson.
1994-95
Chairman Colin Searle
Secretary Cyril Denney
Treasurer Brian Eastgate
Competition Sec. Philip Bennett
Equipment Secretary Harry Clamp
A team Captain Wiatt Ropp
B team Captain Richard Walch
C team Captain Brian Eastgate
D team Captain Rod Barnett
E team Captain Cyril Denney
Club champion Nigel Towers
Winner of the Summer competition Wiatt Ropp
Minor Section Cyril Denney
Stratford Lightning Champion Colin Searle
Under 125 winner Nigel Towers
Knock out cup winner Ray Stacey
Best all round performance Nigel Towers
Leamington League Champion Colin Searle
Leamington Under 125
Lightning Champion Nigel Towers
(Nigel won in a play off with Andrew Caswell and Howard Harding also Stratford)
Simultaneous display by WIM Harriet Hunt
This was held at the Stratford Chess Club on April 27th. Women’s International Master Harriet Hunt, who also has a man’s IM norm and was board 2 for the English team at the recent Moscow Olympiad (9/14) took on 21 local Stratford players. She succeeded in winning 18 and losing only to Don Jones, Eric Smith and Wiatt Ropp.
WIM Harriet Hunt - Wiatt Ropp (Modern Defence)
Simultaneous at STRATFORD-on-Avon 1995
1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Be2 0-0
6.0-0 c6 7.a4 Nbd7 8.h3 e5 9.Re1Qe7 10.Bf1 Rd8
11.Bg5 Nf8 12.d5 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Ng6 15.h4 g4
16.Nh2 h5 17.Bc4 c5 18.Nf1 Bh6 19.Ne3 Nf4 20.Nf5 Bxf5
21.exf5 Qd7 22.Bd3 a5 23.f3 Kh8 24.fxg4 Nxg4 25.Qf3 f6
26.Ne4 Nxd3 27.Qxd3 Rg8 28.c4 Qxf5 29.Rf1 Qg6 30.Qf3 Raf8
31.Rae1 f5 32.Nc3 e4 33.Qe2 Ne3 34.Bf4 Bxf4 35.Rxf4 Qxg2+
36.Qxg2 Nxg2 0-1
WIM Harriet Hunt - Don Jones Hippopotamus Defence
Simultaneous display by Harriet Hunt, 1995
1.Nf3 d6 2.e4 h6 3.d4 g6 4.Bc4 e6 5.0-0 Bg7
6.Re1 Ne7 7.Nc3 a6 8.a4 Nd7 9.Be3b6 10.Qd2 Bb7
11.Rad1 Qc8 12.Bb3 Nf8 13.d5 e5 14.h3 g5 15.Nh2 Nfg6
16.Ne2 Qd7 17.c4 Nf4 18.Bc2 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Ng6 20.b4 Nf4
21.Qf3 Bc8 22.c5 h5 23.Qg3 Qe7 24.cxd6 cxd6 25.Bxb6 g4
26.h4 Bf6 27.a5 Bd7 28.Nf1 Bxh4 29.Qe3 Bg5 30.Qb3 h4
31.Ne3 g3 32.fxg3 hxg3 33.Nf5 Bxf5 34.exf5 f6 35.Qxg3 Qh7
36.Ba4+ Kf8 37.Be3 Bh4 38.Qh2 Bf2+ 39.Kxf2 Qxh2 40.Rg1 Nh3+ 0-1
Stratford One Day Rapidplay Congress
Stratford-upon Avon Chess Club held their first Rapidplay Tournament on Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23rd at the Stratford High School. The Congress Director was Colin Searle. The sponsors were the Avon Insurance Company and there were 164 entries.
Major Under 180
1st= Hakan Nohre Leicester 5
Mark Probert Nuneaton 5
Nigel Hosken Cheltenham 5
Under 160 grading Prize Greg Dyett (Worcester St John’s)
Kevin Hurney St James (Birmingham)
Slow Starter Prize Simon Smith Warley Quinborne
Intermediate Under 140
1st Richard Reynolds Olton 5½
2nd = Ian Gilbert Coddon (Shropshire) 5
Geoffrey Herbert Warwick University 5
Robert Taylor Sherwood House 5
Under 120 grading Prize Nigel Towers Stratford
M J R White Musketeers/Downend
Slow Starter Prize Alan Jones Newbury
Minor Under 100
1st Sian Davies Trentham (Stoke) 5½
2nd= Aidan Ellis Red Dragons (Northampton) 5
Darran Ince Sherwood House (Nottingham) 5
Stephen Herbert Ross-on-Wye 5
Thomas Moffat Whoberley (Coventry) 5
Geoffrey Rosser Wolverhampton 5
Under 80 grading Prize M Monaghan W.M. Travel
Junior Prize
Robert White Musketeers
Kemal Ozeren Warley Quinborne
James Bourne Trentham (Stoke)
James Tudge Solihull Youth
Slow Starter Prize Alan Garcia (Birmingham)
Howard Harding (Stratford)
From the Stratford Herald of August 21st 1925
British Chess Federation
Tournament at Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is enjoying remarkable publicity this week by reason of the Chess Congress , promoted by the British Chess Federation, which began on Monday last (August 17th 1925) and will conclude on the 29th. This is the coming of age meetuing of the Federation which was formed in 1904, and held its first meeting in Hastings of that year.
The Federation consists of the Chess Unions of the South, North, and Midlands of England, the Chess Associations of Wales and Scotland the City of London Chess League, the House of Commons Chess Circle, the British Chess Problem Society and some Colonial support. It has been quite a success from the start and has arranged yearly Championships for men and ladies. It has put chess in the Country on a firm basis, and moreover, has been a great success financially, having found a true friend in the late Sir John Thursby, who bequeathed it £5,000. The first meeting in Hastings in 1904 was succeeded by others in August of each year as follows:-
Southport 1905, Shrewsbury 1906, Crystal Palace 1907, Tunbridge Wells 1908, Scarborough 1909, Oxford 1910, Glasgow 1911, Richmond 1912, Cheltenham 1913, Chester 1914, Hastings 1919, Edinburgh 1920, Malvern 1921, Westminster 1922, Portsmouth 1923, Southport 1924 and now Stratford-upon-Avon 1925.
Shakespeare and Chess
Mr John Keeble of Norwich who has attended every Congress writes: The present meeting is likely to prove
1996 Colin Searle and Paul Johnstone (both of Stratford) shared the Leamington League Open Championship.
1997
1998
1999
2000 Colin Searle won the Leamington League Open Lightning Championship for the 4th time.
2001 Colin Searle won the Leamington League Open Knock Out Championship for the 4th time.
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