Alfred Milner Manchester - any relation with Milner Barry or Sir Alfred Milner

[Henrik Malm Lindberg]

I am just about to finalize a book on Folke Rogard the FIDE-president 1949-1970 at Thinkers Publishing and I have a Q that might get an answer in this forum!

I have seen that Rogard communicated with an Alfred Milner in August 1949 efter he was appointed president of FIDE in Saltsjöbaden. Milner seems to have met Rogard in Stockholm 1945 as well, which might indicate that he was into business or maybe had a military background. Milner signs the letter as former president of Manchester CC and thats pretty much all I know about him.

I wonder if there is more information on this Milner and his possible meeting with Rogard in 1945. Can he be related to either https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Mi ... unt_Milner or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Milner-Barry?
/Henrik Malm Lindberg

[Mick Norris]

See viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6915&hilit=alfred+milner&start=15

Alan Smith's article, not much about Alfred Milner, he was President of the MCF in 1933-34 and Treasurer from 1960 to 1969

CHESS IN MANCHESTER

An article submitted by Alan Smith


The organisation of chess in Manchester dates back to the foundation of the Manchester Chess Club on the 3rd of September 1817. A second club was formed at the newly built Athenaeum in 1839. The next major advance occurred while James Stanley KIPPING was the secretary of the Manchester Chess Club, between 1854 and 1863. The club commenced a series of matches with the Liverpool Chess Club in 1855. The series continued for over a century and showcased the talents of the leading Lancashire players. In 1857 the club hosted the first congress of the Chess Association, where LOWENTHAL won first prize, ahead of BODEN and ANDERSSEN.

Many famous players visited the Manchester Chess Club, and some liked what they saw so much that they stayed. Bernhard HORWITZ gave lessons on his speciality- the endgame. Charles Henry STANLEY wrote the first local chess column in the Manchester Weekly Express and Guardian from August 1860 to May 1862. Edward PINDAR was the rising star of the club, winning the championship tournament of 1861, defeating HORWITZ 3½-1½ in the final. Later in the year his star was eclipsed by Joseph Henry BLACKBURNE, one of the strongest players of the 19th century. BLACKBURNE defeated PINDAR twice in set matches, and went on to win to be British Champion in 1868.

When BLACKBURNE, PINDAR, HORWITZ and STANLEY moved away, another player came to the fore- Alexander STEINKUHLER. The leading player for over a decade, he won games from BLACKBURNE, HORWITZ, BURN and even Wilhelm STEINITZ. He established a second chess column, which ran throughout 1873, in the Manchester Weekly Times.

The Manchester Chess Club ran out of steam in 1876 and amalgamated with the union chess club, which supplied the officials who reinvigorated the club.

The 1880’s were a boom time for chess. The advent of the British chess magazine in 1881 meant that British chess players had a choice of three different chess magazines (The Chess Players Chronicle and The Chess Monthly were the others).

The first match for the world chess championships between STEINITZ and ZUKERTORT in 1886 further raised the profile of the game. Local players were kept informed and educated by the excellent column conducted by Charles DUST in the Manchester weekly post. There were six chess clubs in Manchester by 1886. A first attempt at a local organisation stalled in 1887, but by 1890 the proliferation of new clubs, both in the city and the surrounding area, prompted another attempt.

On the 14th of June 1890 representatives of 24 Lancashire and Cheshire clubs met at the Manchester Chess Club to form a chess league. It was a rather loose knit organisation but evolved rapidly. The 1891 meeting saw the adoption of a title – The Lancashire Chess League Association, and the election of officers. The reverend John Owen was the first president, W.B. Shaw the secretary and A.B. Rink the treasurer. The 1892-1893 season saw the adoption of a formal division structure and competition for the association’s trophies began.

Liverpool North End were the first winners of A division, while the first Reyner Shield knock out, was won by Piccadilly, who defeated ROSSENDALE, 4.5-2.5. The new league was not the only organisation active in Manchester in 1890. The reformed British Chess Association held its sixth congress at the Manchester Athenaeum, from 25th August to 8th September. Twenty players met each other in an all play all tournament for seven prizes.

Doctor TARRASCH of Nuremberg went through undefeated and won the first prize with 15.5 out of 19. BLACKBURNE was second with 12.5, MACKENZIE and BIRD second with 12, GUNSBERG and MASON with 11.5, while TINSLEY, ALAPIN and VON SCHEVE tried for the seventh prize on 11. Daniel MILLS of the Manchester Chess Club won the Amateur tournament with a score of 9 out of 11.

The Lancashire Chess League Association changed its name to the Manchester and District Association when the Liverpool league was formed in 1897. Meanwhile the British Chess Association had ceased to exist. A new body was formed in 1904, the British Chess Federation. The Manchester League was among the founder members.

Originally comprising four divisions the league expanded. E division was added in 1907 and a second knock out competition – the WAHLTUCH Trophy - was introduced in the 1908-1909 season. F Division was added in 1951, along with a third knock out competition – the HARTLEY Trophy. The FISCHER boom of the early 1990’s prompted further expansion. A Seventh division was added in 1973.

The League reached its high-water mark with the addition of an eighth division in 1980 and a fourth knock out – the ALFRED MILNER Trophy – in 1985.The league amalgamated with the Greater Manchester Chess Association in 2002 under the banner of the Manchester Chess Federation. The MCF competes in the English counties and plays matches against other leagues. There are currently 43 teams, competing in 4 divisions, with 325 registered players.

Many local players have gone on to success at a national and international level.

Joseph Henry BLACKBURNE

British Champion 1868
First at Simpson’s Division 1876
First at Berlin 1881
First at London 1886
First at Belfast 1892
First at Simpson’s Division 1893
First equal British Championship’s 1914

Daniel Yarnton MILLS

Won the Scottish Championships 8 times between 1885 and 1900

Edmund SPENCER (Rossendale and Manchester)

Champion of both Manchester and Liverpool Chess Clubs. He was Lancashire champion 8 times between 1908 and 1932. He was a member of the BCF team which came third at the London 1927 Olympiad.

Victor Lionel WAHLTUCH (Ardwick, Manchester)

Won the Manchester CC Championship 10 times 1905-1932 4 times champion of Lancashire 1905-1914. He was Northern counties champion in 1907, 1908 and 1921.
On the last occasion he tied with YATES but won the playoff match 3-1.
He was a member of the British team in the cable match with the USA 1909-1911 and his score of 3 out of 3 was the best in the history of the competition. Chess columnist of the Manchester Weekly Times 1907-1922.

William Alan FAIRHURST (Manchester & Wilmslow)

The first player to win the championships of Cheshire, Lancashire. He went on to win the Scottish Championship 11 times – every time he played. British Champion in 1937 he represented both Scotland and New Zealand in Olympiads.

Reginald BROADBENT

Lancashire Champion 1930, 1931, 1934
NCCU Champion 1934-1939
British Champion 1948, 1950
A regular of English and BCF teams from 1937-1951

Alan PHILLIPS (British and Manchester)

First equal in the 1954 British Championship. He drew the playoff match with Leonard BARDEN.

Jonathon MESTEL (Manchester G.S. and East Cheshire)

World U-18 Champion 1974
British Champion 1976, 1983 and 1988
Played for England in 6 Olympiads 1976-1988

Nigel SHORT (Bolton and Atherton)

British Champion 1984, 1987 and 1998
First Prize Reykjavik 1987
First Prize Amsterdam 1988
First equal Amsterdam 1991
First place Candidates 1992-1993
First prize Tallinn-Parnu 1998
First prize Budapest 2003

He has defeated SPEELMAN, GELFAND, TIMMAN and KARPOV, amongst others, in matches. He was top board for the English team which won the European championship at PULA in 1997.

Ruth SHELDON (Trafford Junior Knights and Northwest Eagles)

Twice a winner of girls World Championships
The under 14’s in 1993
The under 18’s in 1998

Other notable events –
The counties Chess Association congress of 1882
1-2 THOROLD, FISHER 6 out of 9

Manchester Chess Club 5.5-4.5 British C.C. played on 31st May 1890. The Manchester side, led by MILLS and MINIATI scored a famous victory.

The World Chess Champion, Emmanuel LASKER, conducted a chess column in the Manchester Evening News during 1901.

The Manchester Chess Club defeated the two strongest London clubs during a tour in 1904. They beat the Metropolitan 6.5-4.5.

The Anglo-Dutch match of 1973 was held at Manchester Town Hall on 27th-28th October. The Dutch team recorded a narrow victory, 10.5-9.5.

Benedictine Internationals – A series of six annual events held in Manchester, 1978-1983. Richard Furness entertaining tournaments attracted up and coming players from across the globe. The winners were:

1978 Aldo HAIK
1979 Murray CHANDLER and George BOTTERILL
1980 John NUNN and Gyula SAX
1981 Tony MILES
1982 Tony MILES and Sergey KUDRIN
1983 Jim PLASKETT

1990 Slater Links Young Masters was won by Viswanathan ANAND with 7.5/9. Second was Michael ADAMS with 7.

On September 27th, 1992, Vic KNOX’s Manchester league team took on the London League at Manchester Bridge Club. The Manchester League won 11.5-8.5.

Alan Smith

[John Townsend]

Alfred Milner, "the grand old man of Manchester chess", died in November 1984 and an obituary appeared in British Chess Magazine, Volume 105, 1985, Page 77. It isn't currently available on Google Books, but you may find that the kindness of a forum member with access to a copy will extend to assisting you with information contained in it.

[Gerard Killoran]

From the Manchester Evening News - Wednesday 24 May 1950 p.2

Who knew?

Manchester Evening News - Wednesday 24 May 1950 p.2.png

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Alfred Milner's birth name was Alfred Meilizner so it seems unlikely that he was related to either Stuart Milner-Barry or Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.
See https://mannchess.org.uk/NHistory/History2.htm
(Edit: A bit of searching suggests that the Manchester chess site has a typo, or else the match report they refer to has. I believe it should be Mielziner rather than Mielzner)

[Henrik Malm Lindberg]

Thanks for the assistance so far: Mick, John, Gerald and Jon. In just a couple of hours I have found out plenty of new information.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

In the 1939 register Alfred Milner is living at 1 Moorland Road, Didsbury (the same address given as his residence in his probate some 45 years later). His occupation is "Cotton spinning, mill design manager", or something like that. Alfred is single but four family members are in the same household, including his father, Emil, but not his mother, Olga, who was a patient at the mental hospital in Macclesfield, where she died the following year.

A sparse family tree is available if you register with Family Search (free!):
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/perso ... s/GGYQ-VG9

[Matt Mackenzie]

Alfred Milner, "the grand old man of Manchester chess", died in November 1984 and an obituary appeared in British Chess Magazine, Volume 105, 1985, Page 77. It isn't currently available on Google Books, but you may find that the kindness of a forum member with access to a copy will extend to assisting you with information contained in it.

He was still actively playing into his early 90s, a few years before he died.

[Neil Graham]

My father played Mr.Milner in the Veterans Section at Bognor Regis in 1968 and described him as one of the most discourteous players had had ever had the misfortune to meet.

[James Pratt]

I knew him a little. We got on. At Brighton 1980 he approached me saying that if we played he'd be as careful as if he were playing Capablanca. I like the story that when the Mayor turned up a few minutes late for a grand congress - maybe Blackpool? - opening he'd started the clocks and asked why he'd even come.

At Morecambe '81, his last BCF, he opening with all pawns creating a starfish pattern. At Paignton he was personally served at the board by a hovering waiter. I'd love to say it was steamed fish.

Alfred Milner was also the name of a politician around WWI. And well, Google knows more than me ..

[Geoff Chandler]

I see the forum has come through again! Well done boys!

Gerard's excellent find regarding chess computers reminded me of a cartoon that appeared in CHESS in 1946.


“I take a poor view of that ‘mediocre’ remark of yours, Mountbatten.”

It was linked too this piece also in the magazine.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Agreed. Some excellent new material and recollections here. Loved what James Pratt wrote, including: "served at the board by a hovering waiter"!

Mentioning Lord Milner (he of the famed kindergarten) is naughty!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Mi ... unt_Milner

I had forgotten his first name was also Alfred (rarely used).

As mentioned above, any connection very unlikely. I do wonder where and when this chess-playing Alfred Milner was born. Unfortunately, as is common, there seem to be a number of variants of the spelling of Mielziner, so difficult to take this further with certainty. Hopefully more will emerge.

[Kevin Thurlow]

A bit cheeky of Mountbatten, given his somewhat controversial performance in the Navy, and in India...

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I do wonder where and when this chess-playing Alfred Milner was born. Unfortunately, as is common, there seem to be a number of variants of the spelling of Mielziner, so difficult to take this further with certainty. Hopefully more will emerge.

Well, not that hard to take further - he was born in Bradford on the 3rd August, 1890 to Emil and Olga Mielziner, who were both born in Germany / Prussia. Alfred and his siblings (two sisters and a brother) all changed their surname to Milner around the time of the Great War but their parents seem to have stuck to Mielziner. (see family tree I linked to above).

[Gerard Killoran]

It seems that Alfred's father was also a chess player:

Bradford Observer, Tuesday 30 November 1875 p.4.png