History of the Grading System

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi guys.

With all this drama and melody revolving around the grading system
I thought this might be of interest.

Whilst waiting for the games to finsh at the current Edinburgh FIDE tournament.
(ends today - designed to get players IM norms - no luck there but there
have been some excellent games especially by McNab and Greet).

Dalily reports and all the games.

http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandler.php

Anyway....

Whilst waiting for the games to finsh at the current Edinburgh FIDE tournament.

I browsed the old CHESS magazines. Not the bound book but the original magazines.

December 1952 and Ken Whyld writes a rather lengthy letter putting forward
a case and a method for grading players using the 3 digit method in place today.

"The two mechanical difficulties are:

(1) Finding the right system.
(2) Finding WIlling Workers."

He then goes on to add that (1) can be solved by imagination and some
trail and error (some things never change)

(2) will be solved by distributing the work.

January 1953.
A lad calling himself 'King's Pawn' is against it whilst Hugh Courtney is all for it.

A bloke called H.W.Tharp claims it is his system that Whyld quotes with a few changes.

February 1953

Mr. Cozens is for it as is a Mr.Toms.

Also in this issue a reader, John Barrs, suggest CHESS a 'BY Yourself' feature
scoring points for moves. Chess took it up next month.
This later turned into 'How Good is Your Chess?'

Not got onto March 1953 yet as these old magazine are so interesting.

Pity the tournament ends today. I was going to start looking at our full set
of BCM's.

Also noted a certain L.W.Barden reporting on the Helsinki International.
(October 1952) "...with insight, accuracy and wit."

Indeed, some things never change.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Our chess club got given a load of old CHESS mags (from the start in 1935 to about 1960) a few years ago.

I am slowly going through them myself - am a few years behind you at the moment it would seem.......

As you say, they are ace

(what is the "bound book" you refer to BTW?)

[James Coleman]

Matt, you used to be able to get the old years of chess 40's/50's/60's (in its old A5 size) in a bound brown hardback so each yearly set of 12 issues looked like an actual book. Chess and Bridge certainly had some still left for sale as recently as a few years ago.

[Geoff Chandler]

The Club has a full set of bound CHESS and BCM and also
100's and 100's of loose copies of both mags.

You are right each one really is fascinating.
A peek back into the past.
The pictures off the players all seem the same.
Everyone has neat haircuts, shirt and tie, baggy grey flannel trousers
and an important look upon their face.

You can folllow the readers heated debates. "Why don't postal players resign
in totally lost positions?" went on for a while.

Some famous games in print for the first time but also wee gems played in
league and club matches. It's these 'one off, every dog has it day' games played
by people who actually buy the mag that BHW indentified with.

Wonder if they will look at NIC in 50 years time and say the same?

I doubt it. NIC has this clique feel about it.
'New Excuses in Chess' is what it's referred to up here as it's often used as a vehicle
for players giving excuses as to why they lost their games.

Sometimes I find reading it aloud in a squeaky girlie voice suits very well.

Mind you the price tag does not do it any favours up either.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Matt, you used to be able to get the old years of chess 40's/50's/60's (in its old A5 size) in a bound brown hardback so each yearly set of 12 issues looked like an actual book. Chess and Bridge certainly had some still left for sale as recently as a few years ago.

Oh, *that* is what you mean. Yes, the first three volumes our club has are like that

(the first ever game of the first ever issue was Foerder-Alekhine, Warsaw 1935)

[Kevin Thurlow]

I read BCM from about 1895 onwards (for book research) and was struck by the discussions regarding the formation of BCF in 1904. Yorkshire complained that they couldn't see the point of a BCF and why were the meetings always in London...

[Matt Mackenzie]

The Club has a full set of bound CHESS and BCM and also
100's and 100's of loose copies of both mags.

You are right each one really is fascinating.
A peek back into the past.

Going through the March 1951 issue at the mo.........

There is a collection of miniature games in it, including one from the USSR where a certain Mr "Korchnoy" gets his a**e handed to him on a plate. Doubt if he will ever amount to much, on this evidence