Chess club folds

[Mike Gunn]

In my search through the old yearbooks I found Hampton (and Cobham) in the 1999 one and I don't think either club survived much beyond then (I have a vague recollection of playing Cobham once, or, at least being present when my club was playing Cobham. Then, of course, there was Mitcham who for several years were the only chess club in Surrey that a website (although they had recently stopped playing ... that was in the 90s).

My first contact with a Surrey chess club was in the 1970s when I was living in Clapham Park and I saw people playing chess on the common (presumably the Clapham Common club). Those guys have their names on some trophies but have seemingly disappeared without trace.

[John McKenna]

Thanks for looking up the last known year for Hampton club, Mike.
I recall going there to play - in a rather good pub not far from Kingston-on-Thames.

[Nick Grey]

A few Hampton players came to Kingston, some elsewhere. One teacher at Hampton School. Thames Valley League. Nice pub etc. Nice players. Local too.

Clapham Common - or at least some gentlemen playing chess in all weathers were there in late 70s/early 80s. Battersea & Streatham near.

Point is getting more than one person organising.

Miss Islington Congresses/GG - annual May Bank/Hol team tournament. We were spoilt in the 1970s/early 80s.

It has been very quiet from 2 clubs in TV league - so I ought to give them a call.

& premises changes (pressure to make as flats/housing)

[John Clarke]

It isn't just clubs that fold or mutate beyond recognition.

On this forum, see my post on http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2266 (about half-way down the second page). Numerous defunct or merged clubs there, plus an entire league that seems to have disappeared, not just from the contemporary scene, but from history.

And if you've time, check out the contents of http://www.northcircularchess.co.uk/ncclhistory.html to see how another suburban league has evolved since its foundation in the 1950s. It certainly bears a very different look nowadays.

[Neil Graham]

Loads of chess clubs have started then vanished in Nottinghamshire , due mostly for the reason stated in the opening post. Man runs chess club, man gives up, nobody else can be bothered, club folds. Here is a list (from memory) of disappearing clubs affiliated to Notts - note the number of defunct "works" teams.

Albany Knights
Boots
British Celanese
Bulwell
Castle
Clifton
Clifton College
Cosmos
Dark Horses
Eastwood
Five Ways
Forest Town
Hoveringham Gravels
Hucknall
Ilkeston
Jessops
Keyworth
Latvians
Mansfield Electricity
National Westminster Bank
Nottingham Boys Brigade
Nottinghamshire Constabulary
Nottingham Electricity
Notts Juniors
Nottingham Mechanics
Nottingham Polytechnic
Ollerton & Bevercotes
Phoenix
Players
Plessey
Plumtree
RAF Newton
Rainworth
Raleigh
Sherwood
Southwell
Staythorpe Electricity
Sutton Bonnington Students
Ukrainians
Victoria Centre
Welbeck Colliery Village
Wilford View
White Knights
Whitwell
Woodborough
YMCA

[Christopher Kreuzer]

A few Hampton players came to Kingston, some elsewhere. One teacher at Hampton School. Thames Valley League. Nice pub etc. Nice players. Local too.

I remember playing against Hampton way back when as part of a Richmond Junior Chess Club team in the TVL. That is showing my age a bit now!! This would have been back in 1993-4 or something like that. Does anyone know when Hampton stopped playing?

On the other points, that list of names of defunct clubs from Neil is scary. I think it would be possible to come up with a similar list for the TVL, with a number of 'works' clubs there as well.

http://www.thamesvalleychess.org/archive/main.htm

British Airways
Pinner

Hmm. There is a list of other clubs somewhere I can't remember right now. Maybe on the trophies themselves. NPL (National Physical Laboratory) used to have a team. Mortlake as well, I think. Maybe someone will be able to come up with a list of all TVL teams from when it started. That would be easier than doing it for some of the other leagues that have been around for longer.

[Stewart Reuben]

Not just clubs, not just leagues, but federation.
The Gambia played in the Olympiad in 1986 in Dubai. I went there in 1994 and contacted somebody in the defunct federation with the help of FIDE. I played blitz against half of the federation - 3 players.
2013 I was invited to the reborn Gambia CF. Nobody seemed ever to have heard of the Swiss system. On my arrival they had the first organised competitive chess since 1986. Over 25 years. They played in Tromso 2014. It is noticeable that the travel expenses were paid for teams in 1986 and 2014. The accommodation and food has always been paid.
2 members of their team have now defected.

[Nick Grey]

Hampton were playing in TV league in 2001/2002 - but nor after that - looking at TVL Secretarial. Though many of them continued with playing bridge - dr R. Harris was also a Kingston member so we as a club were very aware & local teams for their players to join happened.

Teams what have withdrawn from Thames Valley League since or from 01/02 are:
British Airways
Addlestone
Pinner
Slough
& Richmond Juniors as Junior Teams.

Bracknell must have been before Hampton.

I think the worst club folding I have ever come across in Greenford in the Thames Valley League. I was playing for Battersea & we turned up at the venue which was unlit. We met one of their players outside who was blind & he had not been told either. But that incident was a major reason for Battersea withdrawing from Thames Valley League.

Chris - I am quite happy that you can go through all TV files given to me if you want to chronicle this but not on my agenda as the new TV Secretary.

I am far more encouraged by clubs expanding or offering something different. CCF opening on Wednesday afternoons (which I only became aware of two players mentioning this at the beginning of a London League match last week).

[Francis Fields]

Does this mean there are no bad apples at CCF?

[John McKenna]

Well, Francis, CCF hasn't folded (despite the odd whiff of scandal that has nothing to do with chess) and in fact was still going strong last time I visited.

However, every club and congress has its apples and oranges. The apples play quietly and undemonstrably while the oranges play boisterously and agitatedly. The apples internalise a loss and the oranges externalise one. That is why some players (apples) kick themselves hard for losing while some others (oranges) kick out viciously at their opponent or anyone else in the vicinity immediately following.

Most players accept what comes in a good spirit and neither crow over a win nor cry about a loss. Of course, the manner of a loss or draw can be hard to stomach - I've even felt bad after a win sometimes - particularly if some gamesmanship or even disturbing behaviour has been a significant distraction to an innocent party. Hopefully that can be put behind us as time makes the memory less painful. Nil desperandum

[Barry Sandercock]

Does anyone know when the Uxbridge Chess Club folded ? I played for them in the 1940's, so it could be a long time ago.

[Gordon Cadden]

In my search through the old yearbooks I found Hampton (and Cobham) in the 1999 one and I don't think either club survived much beyond then (I have a vague recollection of playing Cobham once, or, at least being present when my club was playing Cobham. Then, of course, there was Mitcham who for several years were the only chess club in Surrey that a website (although they had recently stopped playing ... that was in the 90s).

My first contact with a Surrey chess club was in the 1970s when I was living in Clapham Park and I saw people playing chess on the common (presumably the Clapham Common club). Those guys have their names on some trophies but have seemingly disappeared without trace.

Don't believe that the chess players of Clapham Common, ever formed a club. Possibly many of the players were affiliated to the nearby Battersea Club. Have played the odd game at Clapham Common, which was a popular chess haunt in the 1960's, and 70's. Sad memories of Vera Menchik, who lived nearby.

[Richard James]

Clapham Common won various Surrey titles between the 1920s and 1950.

http://www.scca.co.uk/hist/hist_index.html

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Clapham Common won various Surrey titles between the 1920s and 1950.

http://www.scca.co.uk/hist/hist_index.html

I think these links may work better:

http://www.scca.co.uk/hist/hist_team_1_index.html
http://www.scca.co.uk/hist/hist_team_2_index.html
http://www.scca.co.uk/hist/hist_team_3_index.html

(Appears to be split apart for some reason I can't fathom, but great to have the lists there)

Some of the more intriguing names include:

Nightingale Lane (Surrey League champions in 1902-3)
Old Wilsonians (Beaumont Cup in 1913/14)

Nightingale Lane Chess Club was apparently very famous:

http://www.batterseachessclub.org.uk/cl ... ub-history

"Balham, Kennington, Nightingale Lane and Putney are but four of many famous Surrey Clubs now broken up."

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.c ... rolls.html
http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter54.html

Interesting that chess in the Surrey League continued into the 1915-16 season.

Looking at the Richmond area history:

Richmond - 1896/97 (Beaumont Cup, must be an earlier club before the current one?)
Richmond & Kew (Beaumont Cup 1933/34 and 1929/30)

Is that a third club with the Richmond name?

[Gordon Cadden]

Clapham Common won various Surrey titles between the 1920s and 1950.

http://www.scca.co.uk/hist/hist_index.html

Thank you for that very interesting information. Will check early volumes of CHESS/BCM, to see if I can find some names that we can recognise.