The furness rival chess clubs

[AlanLlewellyn]

In southern cumbria on the west coast there are two rival chess clubs, Ulverston and Barrow, the two towns are rivals in the southern cumbrian politics and its fair to say Barrow is the more northern industrial of the two and Ulverston is gentrified. Barrow is the stronger club its fair to say because the BAe Marine Systems which produces the nuclear deterrent submarines amongst other things attracts many bright minds to the region.
I first went to the Barrow club in 1990 living inbetween the two in the nice town of Dalton (4 miles from Barrow and the direct other way 4 miles from ulverston), being abit anxious and reserved and also i have to admit, frustrated because the Barrow club was much stronger than i expected, and myself being i have to admit a moron, i moved to Ulverston club in 1992.
I soon became one of their strongest players as two of their strongest players left the club. I played board 1 for their A-Team and then became club secretary. They made me feel at home but there was always a problem with my membership in that I looked on chess much more aggressively than they did. They looked upon it as simply woodpushing the kind of communist way of thinking and i wanted spectacular chess that not so much belittled my opponent but made him squirm and impressed him.
My chess heros werent karpov botvinnik and petrosian but Fischer Korchnoi and Short the western triumphant. I wasnt anti-russian just pro-western chess, i am after all a traditional Liberal. So when the ulverston and barrow clubs merged being held in barrow in 2007, i choose to play and tie my mast to the more competitive Barrow Club which had a family friendly atmosphere and sort the pursuit of the glorification of chess as more than a hobby or a pastime but a way of life.

[Stephen Westmoreland]

This is politics again. I think to grow and thrive, clubs need to be a part of the community.

[AlanLlewellyn]

Its not meant to be political its meant to describe the facts behind my personal chess decisions. Sure its from a certain viewpoint and calling people woodpushers aint nice but its because you refuse to accept theyre are different viewpoints in chess and if you think we are being political criticizing you just get a thicker skin we are not the monsters you think we are.

[Stephen Westmoreland]

Alan you frequently refer to communism and fascism. In one post you made reference to 'rampant blairite droulling nazi' which is really pushing a viewpoint that should not be on this section of the website. You are highly political.

I do not dispute viewpoints or refuse to accept this. It is a good topic of debate. For instance should clubs focus on winning, development or both?

Your monster comment has me highly confused.

[AlanLlewellyn]

i am not critscizing blair for any war in iraq like the average Corbynite as i think the war was justified in iraq. That decision to support the usa was a good one but thats bye the bye. I think by ignoring or censoring politics you are in itself making a political point of controlling thought which is anti-western. Sure political statements alone shouldnt be contenanced on any point of view but i am not trying to make a political judgement here i am just giving my own point of view on chess clubs and i understand others have differing views.

[AlanLlewellyn]

personally i think clubs push the juniors too early, at the barest of the parents. The aim is a well rounded individual not a robot off a manufacturing production line. Letting the kid find his own enjoyment in the game of chess is key and making him strong enough to enjoy his play is the aim, and not achieving super stardom.

[Stephen Westmoreland]

To be fair, I do not see that in my neck of the woods with juniors. As a parent, coach and player.

In terms of Iraq 2... Happy to debate that in the Not Chess section.

[Neill Cooper]

So when the ulverston and barrow clubs merged being held in barrow in 2007, i choose to play and tie my mast to the more competitive Barrow Club which had a family friendly atmosphere and sort the pursuit of the glorification of chess as more than a hobby or a pastime but a way of life.

I'm confused by this - if they merged did you have a choice? And is there not still an Ulverston Chess Club?

[AlanLlewellyn]

So when the ulverston and barrow clubs merged being held in barrow in 2007, i choose to play and tie my mast to the more competitive Barrow Club which had a family friendly atmosphere and sort the pursuit of the glorification of chess as more than a hobby or a pastime but a way of life.

I'm confused by this - if they merged did you have a choice? And is there not still an Ulverston Chess Club?

they still played as different teams and then an ulverston club opened up again at a different venue.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Yes, the club at Ulverston folded for a few years and then relaunched.

They were thriving pre-Covid, but are now struggling again - partly due to venue problems.

[Neill Cooper]

I think a brief update is required:
Ulverston Chess Club is now thriving, partly thanks to the great work Peter Hanks has done both for the club and the community. This has been recognised by the ECF and he has been awarded this year's ECF Award for Contribution to Chess in the Community https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-awards-2025/
Also Ulverston A has won the Cumbria South League for the past 3 years.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Yes, you have certainly come on strong in the past few years!

Meanwhile at Barrow......we have lost our long standing and well regarded club website due to, ahem, events.

A new one has been set up but is still pretty basic as of yet.