An early game of P S Milner-Barry

[Gerard Killoran]

From the Oxfordshire Weekly News of July 18, 1923.

[Event "British Boys' Championship"] [Site "Hastings"] [Date "1923.04.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Milner-Barry, Philip Stuart"] [Black "Court, William Ernest Francis"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [Opening "Philidor: exchange variation"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Bd3 Bd7 8. O-O Nc6 9. Nf5 Bxf5 10. exf5 Ne5 11. Be2 Qd7 12. g4 Rfd8 13. g5 Ne8 14. Nd5 Kh8 15. Ne3 c6 16. Kg2 f6 17. h4 d5 18. Bxe5 fxe5 19. Bg4 Qd6 20. Qe2 Kg8 21. Rad1 a6 22. Nc4 Qb4 23. Nxe5 Qxb2 24. Nd3 Qd4 25. Qe6+ Kh8 26. Ne5 {Oxfordshire Weekly News - July 18, 1923} 1-0

[Kevin Thurlow]

Thanks - most useful!

[Brian Denman]

This game, which was played on 11th April 1923, was a play-off to decide which player advanced from the preliminary section to the finals. William Ernest Francis Court (1906-1964) was a Hastings Grammar School pupil at the time of the Congress.

This was the first time that the Hastings Boys' Congress had allowed competitors from outside the local area. It appears, however, that the boys' competition was not called the British Boys' Championship until 1934. I can only assume that at some time the BCF organisers decided to backdate the list of winners to 1923 as their records show P S Milner-Barry as the first winner of the national junior event. Perhaps someone has some information about this.

[Gerard Killoran]

This indicates that this was a BCF title from the beginning.

From the Falkirk Herald - Wednesday 18 April 1923.

Falkirk Herald - Wednesday 18 April 1923.png (208.47 KiB) Viewed 318 times

[Brian Denman]

Thanks for this. I took the information from Reg Cload's book 'Battles of Hastings' written with Ray Keene (1991). In it he states (page 31): "Beginning in 1934, the Congress was recognised as a national event, re-named the 'British Boys Championship.'" However, this is clearly wrong as other information backs up the fact that the winner at the Hastings Boys Congress was given the title of British Boys champion from an earlier date. Sorry for my mistake.

[Gerard Killoran]

Thanks for this. I took the information from Reg Cload's book 'Battles of Hastings' written with Ray Keene (1991). In it he states (page 31): "Beginning in 1934, the Congress was recognised as a national event, re-named the 'British Boys Championship.'" However, this is clearly wrong as other information backs up the fact that the winner at the Hastings Boys Congress was given the title of British Boys champion from an earlier date. Sorry for my mistake.

Cheers Brian, but it wasn't your mistake. Unless the mistake you made was to overlook '...written with Ray Keene'.