Our national chess library

[Brian Denman]

I am sure that there are several BCF yearbooks that are not in the library, but I do not have the catalogue and am relying on memory. The yearbooks started in about 1907 and were published annually until about 1915. Some of these early yearbooks are probably in the library, though I am not sure if they are all there. There was then a break for the war and I believe that it was not until about 1930 that all the unions combined to form a new yearbook. Some of the 1930s yearbooks may be in the library, but not all. There was then a break for World War II, but, after it finished, yearbooks were once again published annually. Virtually all of these are in the library up to the mid 1970s. Then there is a gap and I believe that the library has yearbooks from about 1988-1993. Whereas the library probably has all the British Chess Magazines from 1881 to about 1999, its collection of yearbooks contains gaps and omissions.

[MJMcCready]

Thank you for your information.

[Brian Denman]

Ken Norman has kindly pointed out to me that the early yearbooks from about 1907-16 were in fact published independently rather than through the agency of the BCF. Ken also believes that there were yearbooks in the 1920s, though they are not in the National Chess Library. I myself have a BCF yearbook dated 1929, though there is no report for my own county, Sussex, therein. Shortly after this Sussex started submitting reports to the national bulletin.

[MJMcCready]

ok thanks again, it was certainly from the thirties onwards that I was hoping to read up on.

[Gordon Cadden]

E.A. Michell and W.H. Watts are the names behind the early Year books. Variously published by Printing Craft Limited, Frank Hollings, and Whitehead and Miller.
Believe that the first BCF Yearbook appeared in 1933. Continued to be published spasmodically until after the war, when it was published annually.

[benedgell]

To add to what has been said here, this was previously discussed here:

http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php ... 30#p145997

And also on the official forum here:

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/Forum/vi ... ?f=4&t=191

I'll quote here what Ben Edgell said over there:

"A couple of points from the AGM about this: The FD said the cost of storing the books would be somewhere in the range of £1500- £3000pa, and said if we wanted to go down this route we shouldn't necessarily just go for the cheapest option. The number of visitors is very low. 43 visits a year some time back, been going down since then. There was a suggestion from someone that this may be partly because of where the books are located and how they are presented. Chris Priest, the Hampshire representative, suggested digitising the books, and wondered whether Google might be interested in doing it for free. Phil Ehr seemed interested in discussing this further with him after the meeting."

This was around the same time as the Board meeting minutes linked to earlier (11 October 2014).

Has there been any update since? (The deadline quoted earlier was March 2015.)

I will ask over there (now done, I think I saw some tumbleweed blowing and heard some crickets).

David Eustace has posted about the National Chess Library on the other Forum:

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/Forum/vi ... f=37&t=245

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thanks, Ben. Will try and pop over there at the weekend and add some thoughts. Might even consider volunteering. If they get enough volunteers or plans concrete enough to ask for volunteers, something might be possible.

[Tim Harding]

ok thanks again, it was certainly from the thirties onwards that I was hoping to read up on.

These pre-1920 yearbooks had nothing to do with the BCF.
Michell, E. A. (ed.), The Year-Book of Chess (London 1907-13, annually; 1914 edition, ed. M. W. Stevens; final 1915-16 ‘war number’, ed. W. H. Watts and A. W. Foster).

The BCF itself published:

——— Ten years of Chess Federation. Being a resumé of the Work of the British Chess Federation. 1904-1913. (Redhill? 1913).
——— The British Chess Federation 1928 Year book and resumé of the first twenty-five years (Redhill 1928).

The British Library doesn't have the first of those but I saw it in the Manchester Chess Club collection at Manchester Central Library many years ago.

The following list is based on the Betts bibliography. Most but not all are in the BL and I have seen some of them:

Betts 8-29 and 8-30 Southern Counties Chess Union yearbook series ed by J. H. van Meurs and others
1929-30 was apparently the first.
Then 1930-1
Succeeded by:

Betts 8-31 to 8-38 English Counties Chess Unions, combined yearbook
ed by J. H. van Meurs & others. Published by Whitehead and Miller, Leeds
1931-2; 1933-4 not in BL, not seen
1934-5 seen at BL, this and the next four: 1935-6; 1936-7; 1937-8; 1938-9. which was last in series.

Betts 8-41 through 8-60
8-41 British Chess Federation Yearbook 1938-45
Betts says this continued the English Counties series, which seems right as editor and publisher continue from the pre-war series for the first few vols.
The next two in series, which according to Betts were:

Betts 8-42 1946-47 (i.e. there wasn’t one called “1945-6”)
Betts 8-43 1947-48 (published 1948)
Betts 8-44 1948-50 (with 32 games)
This is an error by Betts as there were separate volumes (as one would expect) for 1948-49 and 1949-50. It is the latter which has the games. The last also for a while edited by Van Meurs but he came back later?

There is probably also a 1950-51 which I didn't manage to see… Maybe Van Meurs also did this one??

Betts 8-45 1951-52 (ed Brian Reilly, includes a list of chess columns apparently)
Betts 8-46 1953-4 (ed Brian Reilly. This was the first dated for current season, as Betts observes: there was no volume dated 1952-3. Includes a history of the BCF 1903-53.)

Then van Meurs resumed editing.
1957-58 includes 1957 revised rules for correspondence play

New ed A. D. Biles from 1959-60

I hope this is of some help and maybe somebody can check this list against ECF holdings.
My vote (if I had a vote) would be to offer the ECF library to the BL and the archive material to Kew.

[Gordon Cadden]

Very helpful information by Tim Harding, on a neglected subject. I would add that I have a copy of the 1950/51 BCF Yearbook, edited by J.H. van Meurs, and published by Whitehead & Miller Limited. A BCF Yearbook was published in March, 1946, by Whitehead & Miller Limited, and edited by J.H. van Meurs. It covered the period 1938 - 1945. Suspect that very few of the early BCF Yearbooks have survived, that are not in public collections. I have a good collection of BCF Yearbooks, but have struggled to find the early years.

[Tim Harding]

I have a copy of the 1950/51 BCF Yearbook, edited by J.H. van Meurs, and published by Whitehead & Miller Limited. A BCF Yearbook was published in March, 1946, by Whitehead & Miller Limited, and edited by J.H. van Meurs. It covered the period 1938 - 1945. Suspect that very few of the early BCF Yearbooks have survived, that are not in public collections. I have a good collection of BCF Yearbooks, but have struggled to find the early years.

That 1938-1945 would be Betts-41. I did see it eventually in BL during my attempts to find out what happened to the British Correspondence Championship and Ward-Higgs during WW2. Thanks for the confirmation about 1950/51.
It would be very useful to locate copies of those 1930s counties yearbooks which my earlier post indicate are not in the BL. Are they in the ECF collection?

[MJMcCready]

I can have a look and let you know in about a month's time when I will be there.

[benedgell]

http://www.englishchess.org.uk/Forum/vi ... 1&start=10

Another couple of posts about the library.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thanks. I forgot about that. Will pop over there now.

[Carl Hibbard]

Thanks. I forgot about that. Will pop over there now.

The post or the forum?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

(the post, really)