The 1962 Hampshire Individual Chess Championship was held during the 1961/1962 season. The tournament originally started with 30 players with the format being a 8 round Swiss tournament played over the season.
Update August 2024: John Jones round 6 game against TJ De Buriatte was included in the games John supplied to the original HCA Website and I have added this to the article.
For a list of the winners of the Hampshire Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written the table on the Hampshire Individual Championship is the best place to look. In addition, the table on the Hampshire Tournaments will detail these and any other tournament articles I have completed. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.
Tournament Details
The Hampshire Individual Chess Championship has used numerous formats in the last 90 odd years, from the Knockout format in 1930, qualifying sections e.g. 1932 to the current Swiss tournament held over three days. The format used for the 1962 Championship was a 8 round Swiss Tournament held over the season. The entry for this was substantial, with 30 players entering, although there were some drop outs during the competition.
There was some information in the Hampshire Bulletin and the Portsmouth News also had details on the initial round. It is likely the Portsmouth News also had details of the subsequent rounds, but currently the British Newspaper Archives only have up to 1961 available. I will hopefully revisit this article with additional information when they add from 1962 onwards.
The Championship controller was K Robinson, who is not a player I am aware of and he may not have been in the County for a long period. He ran the Congress for just this one year, and only played twice for Hampshire, from 1960 to 1962 on the low boards in the 50 board matches against Surrey and Sussex. He won and drew one game in these two matches.
The list of original entrants and their clubs. As can be seen there were a number of current and future champions and also other strong Hampshire players. I remember Gunther Burkert playing for Eastleigh as a very old man, he last played in 2014.
- A Hocking – Southampton
- A White – Bournemouth
- AM Edmunds – Woolston
- AS La Lond – Southsea
- BD Harding – Southampton
- CH Henshaw – Basingstoke
- DJ Groves – Southampton
- DK Bevis – Bournemouth
- Dr BG Wells – Portsmouth
- HG Burkert – Eastleigh
- HM Ewans – Farnborough
- HR Moir – Fareham
- JH Jones – Gosport
- G Knott – Bournemouth
- L Kirkham – Winchester
- L West – Southsea
- M Thompson – Southampton
- C Mansfield – Bournemouth
- MJ Dymond – Portsmouth
- PL Marshall – Southampton
- PM Collins – Portsmouth
- RL Paige – Cosham
- SL Russell – Broughton
- Sq-Ldr L Vine – Eastleigh
- TE Hollington – Cosham
- TJ De Buriatte – Fareham
- W Makar – Portsmouth
- WH Pratten – Fareham
- WJE Yeeles – Gosport
- J Valler – Southampton
A couple of photos of Gunther Burkert circa 2010’s.
Round 1
The first round results were detailed in the Portsmouth Evening News, and there may have been some seedings completed, as a number of the stronger players avoided each other. It is also noticeable that for the majority of players they were paired with someone from the same region / club. This ensured less travelling was required, and was certainly a sensible decision.
It maybe for later rounds some players decided that the travelling was too far and withdrew, which is the downside of this method.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G Knott | Bournemouth | 0 | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 1 |
| A White | Bournemouth | 0 | C Mansfield | Bournemouth | 1 |
| HM Ewans | Farnborough | 1 | SL Russell | Broughton | 0 |
| L Kirkham | Winchester | 1 | Sq-Ldr L Vine | Eastleigh | 0 |
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 | CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 1 |
| JH Jones | Gosport | 1 | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 0 |
| TE Hollington | Cosham | ½ | W Makar | Portsmouth | ½ |
| TJ De Buriatte | Fareham | 0 | WH Pratten | Fareham | 1 |
| PM Collins | Portsmouth | 0 | RL Paige | Cosham | 1 |
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 1 | L West | Southsea | 0 |
| BD Harding | Southampton | ½ | PL Marshall | Southampton | ½ |
| DJ Groves | Southampton | 0 | M Thompson | Southampton | 1 |
| J Valler | Southampton | 0 | A Hocking | Southampton | 1 |
| AS La Lond | Southsea | 0 | MJ Dymond | Portsmouth | 1 |
| HR Moir | Fareham | 0 | AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 |
I will not be able to show many games from the championship, but luckily the Wilf Pratten games supplied by Arthur Brameld to Britbase are available, and I will include these with light comments.
In round one Wilf played Fareham’s TJ De Buriatte who was the HCA Treasurer from 1967 to 1978 and Honorary Examiner for at least one season(1966/67). He was also Fareham Club Champion several times, and their President. His grade in the 1960’s went from 144 to 162 although he may have been stronger in the 1970’s?
In this game De Buriatte goes for an early sacrifice but Wilf Pratten avoids too many complications and soon has a winning position.
For the game you can move through move by move, select any move, or press the middle button which will autoplay the game.
Round 2
TJ De Buriatte had a bye in the 2nd round as W.Makar seems to have withdrawn following his draw against Terry Hollington. But nevertheless there were some big clashes, with probably the Wilf Pratten – John Jones game being the pick of the bunch. John Jones would have been about 21 when this game was played, but would go on to be a 200 + graded player. Wilf Pratten would have been in his mid 50’s and was a four times Hampshire Champion.
Experience told in the game where Pratten took advantage of an over extended position in a Closed Sicilian, although John Jones would have been happy with the position from the opening.
Other players who moved onto maximum points were A Hocking, AM Edmunds, C Mansfield, HM Ewans and M Thompson. Alf Edmonds and Marshall Thompson have been covered in previous articles, but I tried to find out about A Hocking, C Mansfield and HM Ewans as these are not players I am familiar with.
A Hocking played for Southampton Chess Club but did not win any of their trophies. His Hampshire record was just the one game and therefore I have not found out anything much on him.
C Mansfield was a Bournemouth player and did not play for Hampshire, although Bournemouth was part of Hampshire at this time. I am pretty sure this was the well known Chess Problem Composer Comins Mansfield as he was Bournemouth Chess Club’s Vice-President from 1961 to 1966 and he won their individual championship in 1961. BCN also did an article on Comins, and Britbase has a collection of his games.
He was a strong enough player to beat Sir George Thomas in 20 moves in 1928 and I give this game which was from BCN below.
HM Ewans was a member of Farnborough Chess Club, and played 40 times for Hampshire between 1960 and 1972, scoring 25 points, and was often on the top 3 boards. He probably stopped playing for the County when we joined the WECU as SCCU matches would be easier for someone based in the north of Hampshire. In the 1964/65 season he had a grade of 208 and he was one of the best players in Hampshire in this period.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 0 | HM Ewans | Farnborough | 1 |
| A Hocking | Southampton | 1 | MJ Dymond | Portsmouth | 0 |
| TE Hollington | Cosham | 0 | BD Harding | Southampton | 1 |
| PL Marshall | Southampton | 1 | HR Moir | Fareham | 0 |
| RL Paige | Cosham | ½ | WJE Yeeles | Gosport | ½ |
| WH Pratten | Fareham | 1 | JH Jones | Gosport | 0 |
| SL Russell | Broughton | 1 | HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 |
| M Thompson | Southampton | 1 | L Kirkham | Winchester | 0 |
| J Valler | Southampton | 0 | AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 |
| Sq-Ldr L Vine | Eastleigh | ½ | DJ Groves | Southampton | ½ |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 1 | PM Collins | Portsmouth | 0 |
| L West | Southsea | 1 | AS La Lond | Southsea | 0 |
| C Mansfield | Bournemouth | 1 | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 0 |
| G Knott | Bournemouth | ½ | A White | Bournemouth | ½ |
| TJ De Buriatte | Fareham | 1 | Bye | 0 |
Round 3
The regional pairings had to stop at some time and round 3 seems to have been the right time. There were some key clashes with the six players on maximum points meeting.
These included Wilf Pratten against Marhsall Thompson and I give this game below where Wilf beat Marshall. Alf Edmonds came out on top against Comins Mansfield but the game against Ewans and Hocking was only recorded as adjourned / adjudicated, but was Ewans was on 4½ out of 6 as detailed for Round 7 pairings and he won in round 4 and lost in round 5 this must have been a draw.
Of the players half a point behind Peter Marshall and Roger Paige beat Jim Yeeles and BD Harding respectively. There were a couple of defaulted games by A White and Mike Dymond although they don’t seem to have withdrawn from the competition, so I presume this was as they could not meet the deadline.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WH Pratten | Fareham | 1 | M Thompson | Southampton | 0 |
| AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 | C Mansfield | Bournemouth | 0 |
| HM Ewans | Farnborough | 1 | A Hocking | Southampton | 0 |
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 0 | PL Marshall | Southampton | 1 |
| BD Harding | Southampton | 0 | RL Paige | Cosham | 1 |
| DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 1 | CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 0 |
| MJ Dymond (def) | Portsmouth | 0 | SL Russell | Broughton | 1 |
| JH Jones | Gosport | 1 | L West | Southsea | 0 |
| L Kirkham | Winchester | ½ | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | ½ |
| DJ Groves | Southampton | 1 | G Knott | Bournemouth | 0 |
| A White (def) | Bournemouth | 0 | Sq-Ldr L Vine | Eastleigh | 1 |
| TJ De Buriatte | Fareham | 1 | TE Hollington | Cosham | 0 |
| PM Collins | Portsmouth | 1 | HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 |
| HR Moir | Fareham | 0 | J Valler | Southampton | 1 |
| AS La Lond | Southsea | 1 | Bye | 0 |
Round 4
The fourth round is where not many results are known, as these were not included in the Hampshire Bulletin. The pairings were available and I may be able to find some of the results later. I am hoping these will be in the Portsmouth Evening News when 1962 is added to the British Newspaper Archives.
Two players withdrew at this stage. Marshall Thompson due to ill health and G Knott, because he found the travelling too much.
Of the results known, we are lucky we have the game from the Wilf Pratten collection, where he lost to Alf Edmonds. The other two known results were HM Ewans beating DK Bevis and WJE Yeeles coming out on top against Squadron Leader Leslie Vine.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 | WH Pratten | Fareham | 0 |
| RL Paige | Cosham | TJ De Buriatte | Fareham | ||
| A Hocking | Southampton | PL Marshall | Southampton | ||
| DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 0 | HM Ewans | Farnborough | 1 |
| SL Russell | Broughton | JH Jones | Gosport | ||
| Sq-Ldr L Vine | Eastleigh | 0 | WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 1 |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | DJ Groves | Southampton | ||
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | J Valler | Southampton | ||
| L West | Southsea | L Kirkham | Winchester | ||
| C Mansfield | Bournemouth | BD Harding | Southampton | ||
| MJ Dymond | Portsmouth | PM Collins | Portsmouth | ||
| TE Hollington | Cosham | AS La Lond | Southsea | ||
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | A White | Bournemouth | ||
| HR Moir | Fareham | 1 | Bye |
Round 5
Only four pairings from round 5, but at least this also included the results. Alf Edmonds continued his winning ways defeating HM Ewans with Black. WJE Yeeles beat the 1960/61 Portsmouth League Individual Champion DR BG Wells. John Jones lost to Roger Paige, who we have to thank for his effort in producing the Wilf Pratten games with Arthur Brameld.
Finally Wilf Pratten beat Southampton’s A Hocking, and again this game is available (unfortunately this is the last one I have from the tournament).
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HM Ewans | Farnborough | 0 | AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 |
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 1 | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 0 |
| JH Jones | Gosport | 0 | RL Paige | Cosham | 1 |
| WH Pratten | Fareham | 1 | A Hocking | Southampton | 0 |
Round 6
Just three games were reported in the Hampshire Bulletin from round six. Alf Edmonds defeated Roger Paige, Comis Mansfield beat Wilf Pratten and HM Ewans came away with the win against Southampton’s Peter Marshall. It is a shame the Comis – Pratten game was not in the Pratten collection.
It was reported in the Hampshire Bulletin with the draw for round 7 that Alf Edmonds was now one and half points ahead of the field, with two games to be played and it he looked very likely to be the winner of the championship.
This included the points scored for the players, and it can be seen that HM Ewans was in 2nd place on 4½ points whilst DK Bevis, Comin Mansfield, Roger Paige, A Hocking, WJE Yeeles and Wilf Pratten were all on 4 points.
I have managed to find another game, which was between TJ De Buriatte and John Jones, which is from round 6. John supplied this annotated game to me for the original HCA website and I give this below.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RL Paige | Cosham | 0 | AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 |
| C Mansfield | Bournemouth | 1 | WH Pratten | Fareham | 0 |
| PL Marshall | Southampton | 0 | HM Ewans | Farnborough | 1 |
| TJ De Buriatte | Fareham | 0 | JH Jones | Gosport | 1 |
Round 7
Only the pairings from round 7 were available, as mentioned it maybe that when the Portsmouth Evening News post 1961 are made available that I can update with the results.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM Edmonds | Woolston | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | ||
| HM Ewans | Farnborough | C Mansfield | Bournemouth | ||
| RL Paige | Cosham | A Hocking | Southampton | ||
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | WH Pratten | Fareham | ||
| TE Hollington | Cosham | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | ||
| TJ De Buriatte | Fareham | SL Russell | Broughton | ||
| MJ Dymond | Portsmouth | PL Marshall | Southampton | ||
| JH Jones | Gosport | BD Harding | Southampton | ||
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | PM Collins | Portsmouth | ||
| HR Moir | Fareham | Sq-Ldr L Vine | Eastleigh | ||
| J Valler | Southampton | L West | Southsea | ||
| L Kirkham | Winchester | DJ Groves | Southampton | ||
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 1 | Bye |
Round 8
No information on round 8 is available, hopefully when I can add details in the future.
Summary
It is a shame that only some information was available, but on the other hand having five games from the Wilf Pratten Games Archive has given extra flavour. His games are always a joy to play through. It was certainly a large number of entrants, from all over Hampshire from Bournemouth to Farnborough. This would have been a long journey, being 75 miles apart. This was the case in round 4 and 7, but I presume these were played at a neutral venue?
Alf Edmonds was a deserving winner as can be seen from the results giving, where he won his first six games (the results from the other two games are not known). The quality of the other entrants was high, with multiple previous and future winners, as well as a number of very strong Hampshire Chess stalwarts.
Alf Edmonds did not play many county matches (14) but he played in the Southampton and Hampshire Chess Leagues for many years. I played him in 1993 when I had only been playing league chess for a couple of years and he was still graded 150, and beat me easily. At that time he was playing for Sarisbury Chess Club, as Woolston was no longer active.
Finances at the HCA were a bit tight in 1962, as the prize money was not paid out straight away. Not something we could get away with today.
There was no final crosstable, but picture of the Silver Rook Plinth showing the 1961 to 1967 winners.
Gallery
A number of snippets from the Hampshire Bulletin, Portsmouth Evening News and Southern Evening Echo.
Acknowledgements and sources:
- Hampshire Bulletins
- Hampshire Chess Archives
- Southern Evening Echo
- Portsmouth Evening News
- British Chess News
- Britbase
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