English Chess Forum

I've now uploaded some games from the 1912 British Championship, played at the Castle Assembly Rooms* in Richmond.

http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/191 ... iewer.html

This comprises 32 of the 66 Championship games, 5 from the Major Open, 4 from the Women's Championship and 4 from an unusual (I suspect, fairly informal) match held on the second Monday of the congress between the 12 British Championship competitors and the 12 of the Major Open (which the Major Open XII won by 6½-5½).

The title winner was Richard Clewin Griffith, aged 40, on his first and last appearance in the British Championship. Griffith was then better known as the author of Modern Chess Openings and later became editor of BCM.

A minor snippet about Griffith which I came across earlier today whilst researching the 1912 Championship:

Morpeth Herald, Friday 30 August 1912 wrote:Mr. R.C. Griffith, who distinguished himself so greatly in the Championship Tournament at Richmond Chess Congress, is an excellent golfer, and filled in a good deal of his time with practice on the Mid-Surrey course, where he is a member. Other well-known chess-players to whom a golf bag is an essential are Mr. Beamish (another excellent golfer) and Mr. A.J. Mackenzie, Mr. E. Macdonald, and Mr. Wardhaugh (who are among the long handicap brethren).

I see Mr Beamish has been mentioned in another thread, earlier today.

My thanks to Gerard Killoran for help with collecting the game scores.

* note to Richard James: I'm not quite sure where the Castle Assembly Rooms are or were in Richmond, though I haven't tried very hard yet. Any idea?

John Saunders wrote: * note to Richard James: I'm not quite sure where the Castle Assembly Rooms are or were in Richmond, though I haven't tried very hard yet. Any idea?

Richard has said a bit about the Castle Assembly Rooms in an earlier thread:

http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php ... 19&#p98119

Thanks, Chris - that pretty much answers my question.

I enclose a couple of games from the Major Open event at Richmond.

[Event "BCF Congress, Richmond, Major Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "1912.08.14"] [Round "3"] [White "O'Hanlon, JJ."] [Black "Waterman, JC."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A46"] [PlyCount "54"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bf4 Nbd7 4. e3 g6 5. Bd3 Bg7 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. c3 Qe8 8. Qc2 e5 9. Bg3 Nh5 10. O-O-O c5 11. dxe5 Nxg3 12. hxg3 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 dxe5 14. Ne4 Qe7 15. f3 Be6 16. g4 c4 17. Bf1 b5 18. g3 Rfd8 19. Qh2 Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 Rd8+ 21. Kc1 h6 22. Be2 a5 23. Bd1 b4 24. Bc2 b3 25. axb3 cxb3 26. Bb1 a4 27. Nf2 a3 {Sources: British Chess Magazine of November 1912 and Hastings and St Leonards Observer of 23.4.1955.} 0-1 [pgn]
[Event "BCF Congress, Richmond, Major Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "1912.08.22"] [Round "10"] [White "Waterman, JC."] [Black "Gunston, WH."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [PlyCount "96"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 d6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Ne2 Nh5 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. d4 f5 11. dxe5 fxe4 12. Nfd4 Qe8 13. exd6 Bxd6 14. Ng3 Nf4 15. Nde2 Bg4 16. Qe1 Nxe2+ 17. Nxe2 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Qh5+ 19. Kg3 Bxe2 20. Rh1 Qg4+ 21. Kh2 Rf5 22. Kg1 Raf8 23. Be3 R8f6 24. Rh3 Rh5 25. Rg3 Qh4 26. Rh3 Qxh3 27. gxh3 Rxh3 28. Kg2 Rh4 29. Kg3 Rg4+ 30. Kh3 Bf3 31. Qb4 h5 32. Qe7 Kh7 33. Qe5 Rfg6 34. Qe7 Rf6 35. Qe8 Rfg6 36. Qd8 Rf6 37. Qe7 Bg2+ 38. Kh2 Rf3 39. Qxe4+ Rxe4 40. Kxg2 Rf5 41. Rh1 Kg6 42. Rh3 Rg4+ 43. Kf1 h4 44. c3 Rg3 45. Rxg3+ hxg3 46. f4 Kh5 47. Kg2 Kg4 48. b4 Rxf4 {Sources: Essex Times of 2.11. 1912, The Field of 9.11.1912 and the Chess Amateur of February 1913. Also published in the West Sussex County Times and Standard of 19.10.1912, where White's 32nd move is given as 'Q-R7' and the game ends at Black's 40th move.} 0-1[/pgn]

Many thanks, Brian. I have added those games to the Britbase file.

John Saunders wrote:Many thanks, Brian. I have added those games to the Britbase file.

I did not research the 1912 Championship in any detail as it is the only one of the 1904-1914 series that Blackburne did not compete in.

However in the course of my research into the Brown brothers of Dudley I came across (with Gerard Killoran's help) three games by Frank Brown from the Major Open which do not as yet appear to be in the Britbase file. I don't seem to have noted (or been told by Gerard) what was the source for his game with O'Hanlon.

[Event "BCF Major Open"] [Site "Richmond"] [Date "1912.08.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Brown, Frank"] [Black "Speijer, Abraham"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C60"] [Annotator "BCM 1912 page 479"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "1912.08.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [SourceDate "1998.09.30"] 1. e4 e5 {In this tournament Dutch expert Speijer played under the pseudonym 'A. Green.'} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 4. d3 Ng6 5. c3 d6 6. O-O Be7 7. h3 O-O 8. Be3 f5 9. exf5 Bxf5 10. Ba4 Kh8 11. Bc2 d5 12. d4 e4 13. Nh2 Bd6 14. Qh5 Nf4 15. Bxf4 Bxf4 16. Qe2 Qg5 17. Kh1 Rae8 18. g3 Bxh3 19. Rg1 Bd6 20. Nd2 Re6 21. f4 exf3 22. Ndxf3 Rxe2 23. Nxg5 Rff2 24. Nhf3 Rxc2 25. Rad1 {Gerard Killoran comments that 25. Rad1 makes little sense as Rae1 would threaten mate in one, thus provoking 25... g6, but BCM gives 25. QR-Qsq.} g6 26. Nxh3 Rxf3 27. Rdf1 Bxg3 28. Rxf3 Rh2# {BCM 1912 p.479} 0-1

[Event "BCF Major Open"] [Site "Richmond"] [Date "1912.08.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Gunston, William Hewison"] [Black "Brown, Frank"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [Annotator "BCM 1912 page 480"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1912.08.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [SourceDate "1998.09.30"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Ne5 O-O 8. O-O c6 9. f4 Nd5 10. Ne4 Nb6 11. Bb3 N8d7 12. Ng5 Nxe5 13. fxe5 Nd5 14. c4 Nc7 15. Bf4 Ne6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. d5 cxd5 18. cxd5 Qb6+ 19. Kh1 Bd7 20. Qd2 Rad8 21. Bg5 Rde8 22. d6 exd6 23. exd6 Re4 24. Be7 Rc8 25. Rxf7 Rec4 26. Rf4 Qb5 27. Rxc4 Rxc4 28. Qe2 {BCM 1912 p.480} 1-0

[Event "BCF Major Open"] [Site "Richmond"] [Date "1912.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "O'Hanlon, John J (IRL)"] [Black "Brown, Frank"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D53"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1912.08.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [Source "Tim Harding"] [SourceDate "2008.07.25"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Nf3 c6 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Nd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. O-O Nxc3 11. bxc3 e5 12. e4 O-O 13. Re1 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb6 15. Bb3 Bg4 16. h3 Bh5 17. Qd3 Rad8 18. Rad1 Qc7 19. Qc3 Qf4 20. Rd3 Qf6 21. g4 Bg6 22. Ne5 Qd6 23. f4 h6 24. h4 Nd7 25. f5 Bh7 26. Nxf7 Rxf7 27. e5 Qc7 28. e6 Nf6 29. exf7+ Kf8 30. Rde3 Qd6 31. Re6 Qa3 32. Re8+ Nxe8 33. Rxe8+ Rxe8 34. fxe8=Q+ Kxe8 35. Bf7+ 1-0

I also note that the 1912 Britbase file has "Schories" for the Sheffield player (also mentioned in my post today about Chester 1914) but in my Blackburne book I have "Shories" which was the spelling I (almost at least) invariably found in primary sources, e.g. the reports by Gunsberg and Hoffer about Ostend 1907 and Teichmann's book of that tournament.

A source for John J. O'Hanlon -v- Frank Brown, Richmond 1912 is the Northern Whig for 27th March 1913 (with notes by O'Hanlon). Times given as White: 1 hour 26 minutes; Black: 1 hour 55 minutes.

Many thanks to Tim for the games and David for the source data.

Re Schories/Shories: I thought about this for a while before plumping for Schories, his German name, as given on Wikipedia and in the ChessBase Player Encyclopaedia. He was first and last a German, despite living in the UK for quite a while. For printed material, it makes good sense to use the name he went under while resident in the UK, but for database purposes it might be better to stick with his real name, so that his games are allocated to the right entry in the ChessBase player index when people add Britbase files to their databases. I take a different line with native Brits and Irish players, however - using full names helps researchers to look people up on family history sites, etc.

Richard Holmes (who is by profession an archivist) has been in touch to tell me that the Richmond & Twickenham Times reported extensively on the tournament. Their reports are available on microfiche in the Richmond Local Studies collection.

I must have a look at some point.

I had a look at the Richmond Local Studies Collection today. There are indeed two excellent reports on the 1912 British Championship in the Richmond & Twickenham Times editions of 17 and 24 August 1912, with lots of background 'colour' and full round-by-round results of each section. Also, a couple of game scores, though not from the top section (they were A Compton Ellis (Kew) vs E Davidson Palmer (N. London), 1st Class A, and R Henderson (Kew) vs CG Verey (Dover), 3rd Class B.) I didn't actually take copies of any material today (it was more of an exploratory visit), but intend to the next time I go. I may also look at the Richmond Herald, which the librarian told me they also have on microfiche, to see if that offers anything. The staff there are extremely helpful. Unfortunately Richmond Reference Library doesn't hold back numbers of The Field.

The librarian I spoke to was able to show me some old photos and cuttings relating to the Castle Assembly Rooms. None of them were actually of the chess in progress but I saw a couple of the ballroom where play actually took place (recognisable from the photo which Gerard Killoran found in the Illustrated London News - scroll down to see the photo). The still elegant building is now used as offices by PayPal!

A game where dodgy pharmacist, Harry Bogdanor, refutes the great man's unsound Queen sac.

[Event "BCF-ch 9th Simul."] [Site "Richmond"] [Date "1912.08.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Marshall, Frank James"] [Black "Bogdanor, Harry"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C44"] [Opening "Scotch gambit"] 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 d6 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. O-O Ne5 7. Bb3 c5 8. Ba4+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nfxd7 10. Nf5 Nf6 11. Nc3 g6 12. Ng3 a6 13. h3 Be7 14. Bh6 Bf8 15. Bg5 Be7 16. f4 Nc6 17. Nd5 h6 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. Ne4 Qe7 22. Nd6+ Kf8 23. fxe5 Nxe5 24. Qd5 Rd8 25. Rad1 Rd7 26. Nxf7 Rxd5 27. Nxe5+ Kg7 28. Rxd5 Rd8 29. Rfd1 Rxd5 30. Rxd5 Qg5 31. Rd7+ Kf6 32. Ng4+ Ke6 33. Rxb7 h5 34. Rb6+ Kd5 35. Nf6+ Ke5 36. Nd7+ Kf4 37. Rb3 Qe7 38. Rf3+ Kg5 39. Nf6 Qe1+ 40. Rf1 Qe3+ 41. Kh1 Qe2 42. Nh7+ Kh6 43. Rf7 Qxc2 44. h4 Qc4 45. Ng5 Qxh4+ 46. Nh3 Qc4 47. Rf6 Qc1+ 48. Kh2 Qxb2 49. Rxa6 Qe5+ 50. g3 Qe2+ {Essex Times, Saturday, September 14, 1912 p.7} 0-1

Was this played in a simul?

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 25, 2021 8:23 am

Was this played in a simul?

Yes!

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 19, 2015 7:26 pm

I've now uploaded some games from the 1912 British Championship, played at the Castle Assembly Rooms* in Richmond.

http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/191 ... iewer.html

This comprises 32 of the 66 Championship games, 5 from the Major Open, 4 from the Women's Championship and 4 from an unusual (I suspect, fairly informal) match held on the second Monday of the congress between the 12 British Championship competitors and the 12 of the Major Open (which the Major Open XII won by 6½-5½).

The title winner was Richard Clewin Griffith, aged 40, on his first and last appearance in the British Championship. Griffith was then better known as the author of Modern Chess Openings and later became editor of BCM.

A minor snippet about Griffith which I came across earlier today whilst researching the 1912 Championship:

Morpeth Herald, Friday 30 August 1912 wrote:Mr. R.C. Griffith, who distinguished himself so greatly in the Championship Tournament at Richmond Chess Congress, is an excellent golfer, and filled in a good deal of his time with practice on the Mid-Surrey course, where he is a member. Other well-known chess-players to whom a golf bag is an essential are Mr. Beamish (another excellent golfer) and Mr. A.J. Mackenzie, Mr. E. Macdonald, and Mr. Wardhaugh (who are among the long handicap brethren).

I see Mr Beamish has been mentioned in another thread, earlier today.

My thanks to Gerard Killoran for help with collecting the game scores.

* note to Richard James: I'm not quite sure where the Castle Assembly Rooms are or were in Richmond, though I haven't tried very hard yet. Any idea?

Thank you for your efforts, they are much appreciated.