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 details, or to supply additional information. I do not have much information on Emsworth chess club, so please do reach out to fill in some of the gaps.
Picture above of some of the Emsworth Chess club players, which I have sourced from their website.
Club History
Emsworth Chess club was formed in 1976 and play in the Portsmouth and District Chess league. I am not sure which players were involved in creation of the club, but likely the ones included in the results below. Checking the Chess Notes from 1977 which had the final position for the season, Emsworth had one team in Division Four and finished in 3rd place.
Below is one of their wins as detailed in the Portsmouth News. They beat Schroder (a club no longer playing) although none of the players are ones I am familiar with.
Emsworth obviously impressed the PDCL as the following season they were playing in Division 3 although they did not win their first league title until the 1982/83 season and this was Division 5; so they must have been relegated or placed in the lower division at some time.
The Chess Notes articles from 1976 to 1979 and 1987 are probably the best place to find results and information on the club and as more of these are hopefully added to the British Newspaper Archives this will help flesh out the club successes.
Portsmouth & District Chess League
Emsworth’s best results were from 2009 to 2015 where they won Division One four times. They also won the Cole Cup five times between 2007 and 2015 as well. Their A team for the 2014/2015 season included the following players. Dominic Tunks is a four time Hampshire Individual Champion, Keith B Richardson represented England as a junior but is more well known for his Correspondence Chess career which included equal 3rd place in the World Championship in 1975 and 1984. He passed away in 2017.
| Player | Grade |
|---|---|
| Dominic Tunks | 197 |
| Paul F Cooper | 177 |
| Keith B Richardson | 175 |
| Michael Krawczuk | 176 |
| Clive Gilliam | 176 |
| Philip Stimpson | 170 |
| Kier Eyles | 162 |
Trophies
Emsworth have won Division One four times and the Cole Cup five times.
Full details of the PDCL League winners can be found here and the Portsmouth Chess League website has information as well.
| Season | League | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-1983 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 5 |
| 1986-1987 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 4 |
| 1986-1987 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 5 |
| 1988-1989 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 3 |
| 1991-1992 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 2 |
| 1992-1993 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Plate |
| 1993-1994 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 3 |
| 1997-1998 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 2 |
| 1998-1998 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 3 |
| 2000-2001 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Plate |
| 2001-2002 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 2 |
| 2001 -2002 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Plate |
| 2002-2003 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 2 |
| 2003 -2004 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Plate |
| 2004-2005 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Cup |
| 2005-2006 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 3 |
| 2006-2007 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Plate |
| 2007-2008 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Cup |
| 2008-2009 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Cup |
| 2009-2010 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 1 |
| 2010-2011 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 1 |
| 2011-2012 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth A | Cole Plate |
| 2012-2013 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 1 |
| 2012-2013 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth A | Cole Cup |
| 2013-2014 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth A | Cole Plate |
| 2014-2015 | PDCL League | Emsworth A | Division 1 |
| 2014-2015 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth A | Cole Cup |
| 2015-2016 | PDCL League | Emsworth C | Division 3 |
| 2017-2018 | PDCL League | Emsworth B | Division 2 |
| 2018-2019 | PDCL League | Emsworth C | Division 3 |
| 2023-2024 | PDCL Cup | Emsworth | Cole Cup |
Additional Information
Please do contact me if you have any additional information to add to this brief history of Emsworth Chess Club.
Acknowledgements and Sources
- British Newspaper Archives
- Portsmouth Evening News
- Hampshire Chess Archives
- Emsworth Chess Club