The information below is what I have located from the Hampshire Chess Archives, or other sources (mainly the British Newspaper Archives). I welcome updates to correct any incorrect information, or to supply additional information.
Club History
The first mention I could locate for Andover Chess Club was from two posts in the Andover Chronicle in September 1889. The first post advising that a meeting would be held at the Institute Library with the aim of forming a club, and the second inviting people interested in the game to attend. The second was from the Hon. Sec. P Earnest J Talbot, who would later be the President of the Hampshire Chess Association (1914 – 1925).
I would assume that the first meeting formed the club and the second was drumming up interest, now that Officers had been appointed. With this in mind it would seem the club was formed in 1889, which was before the Hampshire Chess Association in 1890. GH Barclay the Andover Match Captain is recorded as the first HCA Vice President in the HCA Hampshire Chess History document. He was also another HCA President (1907-1909)
Early Matches
Andover entered the Hampshire Chess League (Hampshire Trophy) when it commenced in the 1895/1896 season1, although this was a knockout tournament and they lost to Southampton. Before this time they played friendlies against other local clubs, with Salisbury being a regular fixture. The first match I could locate was in 1893, but a good example is the 1895 one below.
Salisbury were formed in 1888 and were a larger club (33 members in 1893) and some of the matches were with four players. But the 1895 match had 9 players, some players playing two games (as was often the case in the 19th century). Andover seemed to have the stronger players at the top, but Salisbury would have had strength in depth. Andover won the 1896 match, which was played over five boards (again some players managed two games).
Spencer Clarke, E Clarke and GH Barclay were strong players. Spencer Clarke played on the top 5 boards for Hampshire and the other two normally in the middle boards.
Andover’s major successes were in winning the Hampshire Trophy in 1922/23. They also won the Hampshire League in the same season (think of these as Hampshire League Div. 1 and 2). This was reported in the British Chess Magazine.
This was the only time Andover won the Hampshire Trophy, or the renamed Hampshire League from the records I have. But they did win the original Hampshire League and the 2nd Division of the new Hampshire League several times.
A couple of players it is worth highlighting who played for Andover are Archibald Snelling Dance who played board one in the Hampshire League match above. He also played for the county team approximately 50 times between 1921 and 1951, and played in the first Hampshire Individual Championship in 1930, as well as many other times. His best result was probably in 1938 when he reached the final section.
The other player was not of his standard, but was one of the most influential players in Hampshire Chess history. John Spedan Lewis was actively involved in the Hampshire Chess Association, being a committee member, and was the President from 1952 to 1955. Lewis was a great beneficiary to the Hampshire Chess Association and the Southern Counties Chess Union. Lewis seems to have played on the lower boards for the team in the Hampshire League Division 1, but was more often found playing in the 2nd Division.
Recent Times
I think Andover started playing in the Southampton Chess League in the 1993/94 season, based on them winning Division Four that season. A club of the strength of Andover would have had no issues with the lower divisions, and they won Division Three the following season. Since this time they have normally been in either Division One or Two and their 2nd team in Division Three of Four.
There best achievements were in 1997/98 when they won Division One, and 1998/99 and 2012/14 when they won the Robertson Cup.
I have the records from the Southampton Chess League from 1998/99, but not the year before. Andover finished fourth in 1998/99 (won by Southampton University) and their team consisted of:
| Player | Grade |
|---|---|
| Stuart Knox | 173 |
| Iain Jamieson | 174 |
| J Mantle | 162 |
| Terry Gray | 165 |
| David Thompson | 145 |
Paul Hackman played for the club in 2012/13 when they won the Rob Cup for the second time.
Trophies
Full details of the SCL League winners can be found here.
| Season | League | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912-1913 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1921-1922 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1922-1923 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 1 |
| 1922-1923 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1927-1928 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1931-1932 | Hampshire League | Andover ii | Division 2 |
| 1950-1951 | Hampshire League | Andover & Portsmouth | Division 2 |
| 1972-1973 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1977-1978 | Hampshire League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1993-1994 | Southampton League | Andover | Division 4 |
| 1994-1995 | Southampton League | Andover | Division 3 |
| 1994-1995 | Southampton Cup | Andover | Rob Plate |
| 1995-1996 | Southampton League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 1997-1998 | Southampton League | Andover A | Division 1 |
| 1997-1998 | Southampton League | Andover B | Division 4 |
| 1998-1999 | Southampton Cup | Andover | Rob Cup |
| 2000-2001 | Southampton Cup | Andover | Rob Plate |
| 2007-2008 | Southampton League | Andover | Division 3 |
| 2008-2009 | Southampton League | Andover | Division 2 |
| 2011-2012 | Southampton Cup | Andover | Rob Plate |
| 2012-2013 | Southampton Cup | Andover | Rob Cup |
| 2013-2014 | Southampton Cup | Andover A | Rob Plate |
| 2014-2015 | Southampton Cup | Andover | Rob Plate |
| 2016-2017 | Southampton League | Andover | Division 5 |
| 2017-2018 | Southampton Cup | Andover B | Division 4/5 Cup |
Additional Information
Please do contact me if you have any additional information to add to this brief history of Andover Chess Club.
Acknowledgements and Sources
- Andover Chess Club website.
- British Newspaper Archives
- Andover Chronicle
- Salisbury and Winchester Journal
- Hampshire Chess Archives
- Hampshire Advertiser
- The Hampshire League was originally the Hampshire Trophy from 1895/96 to 1927/8 with the Hampshire League introduced in 1912/13 as a junior league. These were replaced in the 1928/29 season with a Hampshire League with a Division One and Two. ↩︎