You may be aware of the annual Hampshire Chess Congress, which includes the various Hampshire Chess titles, the first of which is the Silver Rook which is giving to the Hampshire Individual Champion. This article details the origin and original rules of the Hampshire Chess Individual Championship, which commenced in 1930.
The Hampshire Archives details the information above on the origin of the Hampshire Chess Individual Championship. I have scanned the pages, but to make this information hopefully clearer I have typed the information below for the origin and the rules. There may be some typos and if so I will amend when advised or I spot. The archives for this information was complied by Hampshire Chess Secretary Frank Taylor in the early 1940’s and relate to the first championship in 1930 to 1939. The full details completed by Frank Taylor are available here.
G.Stuart 6 December 2021.
In addition, I have delved into the British Newspaper Archive to determine if there were any articles or information from Hampshire Chess meetings on the Hampshire Chess Championship.
HCA Chess Individual Championship Origin
“The suggestion to hold a Chess County Individual Championship was first recorded in the minutes of the 1898 Annual meeting and the Committee was instructed to prepare a scheme and submit it at the next Annual meeting. No further mention of it was made, and the next recorded proposal was at the 1929 Annual meeting. The Annual meeting drafted some rules on the spot, and the first competition was held in the ensuring season.
Frank Taylor Hon Hampshire Chess Secretary 1944
These rules provided that each club should hold a contest to decide its entrant, and that subsequent stages should be on the knockout principle. It was soon found desirable to play in a “league” basis, and to invite entries direct, and the rules were amended to the form in which they now stand. It was also felt desirable to have some deterrent to players withdrawing, hence the applicable clauses in the present rules.
A Trophy (note 1), consisting of a Silver Rook on a plinth was purchased by the association in 1932, and is held by the Champion for one year. All of the engraving on this trophy was done by the association by Mr F.J.Tinkler, a vice-president. Although not provided for in the rules a replica has always been presented to the winner, as agreed to at the 1931 Annual meeting.
The Championship has usually attracted a good entry, and has been the means of the better players getting good practice in playing under tournament conditions, i.e. a slower speed and playing to a finish, as against the faster League games.”
Hampshire Championship Rules (1940)
- This competition should be open to all members of the Association.
- Entries to the submitted to the honorary secretary by Nov. 1st with an entry fee of ten shillings. Half of this entry fee will be returned when a player completes his games, or satisfies the Council as to why he did not. Any player not completing his fixtures to be debarred from completing the following year unless he satisfies the Council as to why he did not.
- The entries received to be considered by the Council, and not more than 15 of them to be accepted and divided into not more than three sections. The accepted entries to be allocated to sections by the Council. This is to be done by November 15th.
- Each player to play one game, as arranged by the Council with each player in the same section.
- The rate of play shall be 20 moves per hour.
- The two players scoring the highest number of points in each section shall form a final section [Ties in a section shall be dealt with by the Council]. The winner of a game, or both players in a drawn game, shall notify the honorary secretary withing three days.
- The winner of the final section shall hold the County Championship Trophy for one year, and shall receive a prize to the value of £1-1. The second prize shall also be to the value of £1-1.
- Any disputes shall be referred to the Council, whose decision shall be final.
Notes by G.Stuart
(1) The trophy which was not named the Silver Rook Trophy at this time, but is what it is now called cost £12 in 1932 which was the equivalent of £800 to £850 in 2021.
Hampshire Chess Individual Championship Players
F.Taylor also supplied details on the players in the Hampshire Chess Individual Championship from 1930 to 1939 as he states:
“”In the following results of the Hampshire Championship Competitions the clubs from which the players entered has not been recorded, they are given below as a matter of interest.”
Frank Taylor Hon Hampshire Chess Secretary 1944
Winners of the Hampshire Individual Chess Championship 1930 – 1939
The winners of the Hampshire Chess Individual Championship between 1930 and 1939 were:
