Hampshire County Matches 1924 / 25

The SCCU implemented new changes for the 1924 / 25 season, which split the counties into four competitions. Hampshire faced the recently formed (1923) Dorset County team in section iii. The winners of this match would meet the winners of Bedfordshire and Berkshire who were in section iv. The winner of this match would face the winners of the other two sections which were Devon – Cornwall and Somerset – Gloucester. A number of these counties would go on to play in the WECU.

The final would be for the Montague Jones Cup and this winner would then face the winner of section v which contained a number of the heavyweights (Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex) for the SCCU Championship.

This was detailed in the British Chess Magazine.

Dorset v. Hants

The S.C.C.U. programme for next season comprises four competitions. The first for the championship, the second for the Montague Jones Cup—the grouping for these is: (I) Devon v. Cornwall, (II) Somerset v. Gloucester. The winners to play off on January 24th, 1925. (III) Hampshire v. Dorset, (IV) Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire. Winners of A to play winners of B on January 24th, 1925.

The two winners on January 24th, 1925 will meet on March 14th, 1925, for the final of the Montague-Jones Cup, and the winners on that occasion will play the winners of group (V) consisting of Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex for the Championship title on April 25th, 1925.

BCM – 1924

Hampshire actually played Dorset twice, as it seems it was a double rounded match in the Montague Jones Cup. The Montague Jones Cup was really the 2nd division, where the Western counties competed, although the winner would play off for the “championship” proper.

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For the record of Hampshire County matches, and links to any articles I have written, the table on the Hampshire County Chess Matches page will detail these. The Hampshire County Chess History page summaries the leagues Hampshire have played in, and the successes Hampshire have achieved. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.

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Hampshire 11½ – Dorset 4½ – Oct 25 1924 – Bournemouth

Hampshire met Dorset for the first time in their history, with the second time being two months later. Southampton Chess Club had played friendly matches against Bournemouth several times prior to this, although at this time Bournemouth was part of Hampshire. Several of the Dorset players were actually Hampshire Vice-President’s and it is likely a number of the opponents knew each other quite well.

The Swanage Times had a detailed (and most enjoyable) match report, although I think they may have taken a liberty with some of the facts. If county chess is similar to current times, the fact that this was a new match against another county and had less travelling time would have helped Hampshire gather a strong team for the match. The reporter was not adverse to making a comparison between the two teams using various analogies. The chess columnist was Capt. PH di Marco and the assumption is that he wrote the report.

This match was held one year after the formation of the Dorset Chess Association and this was their first ever county Match. Facing Hampshire was a tough task for them, similar to Hampshire taken on Kent and other SCCU powerhouses. It would take time, but Dorset had their first win against Hampshire in 1931.

Dorset v. Hants

On Saturday, 25th October last at the Gervis Hall Restaurant. the Headquarters of the Bournemouth Chess Club, Dorset met Hampshire in the first round of the Southern Counties Chess Championship and the Montagu Jones Cup.

The teams consisted of sixteen players aside, and so far as Hampshire were concerned, comprised the strongest team It ever had to represent the county, and such famous players as JH Blake (England), HD Lloyd, FJH. I Elwell, AB Coe (hon. sec. and treasurer of the County Chess Association) and other representative players. From the strength of the team it was quite evident that the Dorset men were held in high respect, and that Hants only expected to “squeak” through the first round by a narrow margin.

Dorsetshire, however, was overweighted. It was the little nut beneath the steam hammer. It was like a Member of Parliament. trying to refuse a peerage—unless he already possessed several. It was a worm wriggling on a hook. But, finer than all, and worthy of the highest measure of commendation was the splendid pluck and morale of the Dorset men in trying a fall with such doughty opponents.

They were animated by the spirit. of the old Dorset captains of historical fame. The spirit of doing gallant deeds such as paying one’s income tax before it is due, ‘etc. However, all honour is due to Dorset because it is its first experience of chess. The County Association is only a new organisation, and has not the chess centres to draw upon as is possessed by their opponents. They were further handicapped by the non-appearance of two of their numbers, and so were “two down” before they began.

This, of course, affected the disposition of the team, and reserves had to be found at the last minute for others of the team who could not see their way to assist their county. Consequently the whole of the Dorset team was ‘overweighted,” and each had to play (on the first eight boards, at any rate) well above his strength, and here a special word of praise is due to Mr. WH Curtis for his drawn game on No. 3 board against FJH Elwell, and Mr. DH Napper for winning on No. 7 against HA Way. The final result was a win for Hampshire by 11½ (two games were “walk avers”) to 4½. Congratulations are due to Hampshire and tight lips and set teeth are now being adopted by Dorsetshire in readiness for the second round, which takes place at the (Jervis Hall, Bournemouth, on Saturday, December 6th

Swanage Times & Directory – Saturday 01 November 1924 – Capt PH di Marco

Hampshire winners were JH Blake, HD Lloyd, FN Braund, CT Bennett. FA Joyce, Allan Hayes, JS West, E Clayton, Revd E Wells (default) and Brig-Gen GF Muspratt (default).

JH Blake beat EL Raymond who had played for Hampshire from 1982 to 1894 and these two veteran players had played many times before in their youth. as stated in the British Chess Magazine, when reporting on the second match.

Board	Hampshire	Club	Result	Dorset	Result
1	JH Blake	Southampton	1	EL Raymond	0
2	HD Lloyd		1	JM Doulton	0
3	FJH Elwell	Southampton	½	WH Curtis	½
4	FN Braund	IOW	1	Capt PH di Marco	0
5	CT Bennett		1	Dr BE Sendermore	0
6	FA Joyce	Newport (IOW)	1	WT Wilkinson	0
7	HA Way	Portsmouth	0	DH Napper	1
8	Allan Hayes	Portsmouth	1	AF Thomas	0
9	WJ Fry	Southampton	0	P Ward	1
10	JS West	Gosport	1	A Hicks	0
11	HD Osborn	Gosport	½	O Robbins	½
12	E Clayton	Portsmouth	1	WJ Ibbett	0
13	Revd E Wells		1	Absent	0
14	DHH Wassell	Petersfield	0	E Lambert	1
15	AJ Woodford		½	WJ Mitchener	½
16	Brig-Gen GF Muspratt		1	Absent	0
	Total		11½	Total	4½

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Hampshire 11½ – Dorset 4½ – Dec 6th 1924 – Bournemouth

Hampshire met Dorset again just a month or so later, and the match was again held in Bournemouth, and the result was the same. There was an extra board which did not count towards the Montague Jones Cup though, but Hampshire also won that, which meant the final result was 12½ – 4½.

The same enthusiastic reporter (based on the writing) for the Swanage Times gave a full report.

Dorset v. Hants

On Saturday, 6th December, at the headquarters of the Bournemouth Chess Club at the Gervis Restaurant, a friendly match between the two counties occupied the thrilling interest of everybody in the counties concerned—at least it ought to have done, in the interests of the game.

Hampshire, who had already administered the “coup de grace” to Dorsetshire in the Southern Counties Chess Association at Bournemouth on October 25th last, must have been reading up on Byron, for they “came down like the wolf on the fold” on the poor Dorsetshire lambs, gathered up the spoils, and departed without turning a hair.

But we of Dorset did not mind. We, felt much like the oysters in their charming conversation with the walrus and carpenter, “and thanked him much for that.” We did our best, and one of these days will give then such a hiding that they will migrate into Dorsetshire to learn all about “Elementary Chess for Beginners” not forgetting their note books and fountain pens.

Seriously speaking, however, it is an undoubted fact that Hampshire are very much the better county, and Dorsetshire congratulate them very heartily on their win. The strength of Hampshire can be gauged from the fact that the Rev. E. Wells, one of the first three, of the Bournemouth Club, actually played at No. 14 board. Such first-class players as Messrs. J. H. Blake and F. J. H. Elwell only did what was expected of them, and won their games.

Capt, R. S. Bowles did well on No. 2 board in drawing with Mr. HD Lloyd, and Messrs. LL Adams (No. 11) and JM Doulton (No. 4) performed similarly well. Only three games were actually won by Dorset, viz.: Capt. P.H di Marco on No. 5, Mr. DH Napper on No. 6, and Mr E Lambert on No. 16. •

The match commenced at 3.30 p.m. and time was called at 6.45 p.m. There were seventeen players aside, and the result was a decisive victory for Hampshire by 12½ to 4½.

Swanage Times & Directory – Saturday 13 December 1924 – Capt PH di Marco

Although there were a some differences in the report, with JH Blake on board 2 in one of them, I think the below in correct. Hampshire winners this time were JH Blake, FJH Elwell, Allan Hayes, WJ Fry, HD Osborn, EG Parsons, FG Binning, Revd E Wells, AS Dance and Brig-Gen GF Muspratt.

Hampshire won the match but Dorset won on the titled front with two Captains and one Admiral, compared to Hampshire’s one Brigadier General and Reverend. I think the Admiral may have been a Vice-Admiral.

Board	Hampshire	Club	Result	Dorset	Result
1	JH Blake	Southampton	1	EL Raymond	½
2	HD Lloyd		½	Capt Bowles	0
3	FJH Elwell	Southampton	1	WH Curtis	0
4	CT Bennett		½	JM Doulton	½
5	FA Joyce	Newport (IOW)	0	Capt PH di Marco	1
6	HA Way	Portsmouth	0	DH Napper	1
7	Allan Hayes	Portsmouth	1	WT Wilkinson	0
8	WJ Fry	Southampton	1	Dr Scudamore	0
9	HD Osborn	Gosport	1	P Ward	0
10	EG Parsons	Andover	1	O Robbins	0
11	PL Blakeley		½	LL Adams	½
12	E Clayton	Portsmouth	1	G Hicks	0
13	FG Binning		1	HK Money	0
14	Revd E Wells		1	Admiral Glossop	0
15	AS Dance	Andover	1	WJ Ibbett	0
16	PEJ Talbot	Southampton	0	E Lambert	1
17	Brig-Gen GF Muspratt		1	FS Barnes	0
	Total		12½	Total	4½

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Hampshire 9 – Berkshire 7- Feb 14th 1925 – London

With this win Hampshire went on to face Berkshire (who must have beaten Bedfordshire). These were two evenly matched teams and this was the third time the counties had met with one win a piece. This time it was Hampshire who came out on top winning 9 – 7.

BCM covered the match and referred to Hampshire with a couple of unusual titles such as Dockyard County and Seasiders! Of more relevance was the fact that Berkshire after trailing 2 points to 7 almost pulled off a remarkable recovery to win the match, scoring 5 points from the last 7 games! Hampshire’s win meant they would go on to meet Somerset in the final of the Montague Jones Cup the following month.

Hampshire winners were JH Blake, FR Barlow, HD Lloyd, FA Joyce, WJ Fry, HD Osborn and Revd W Proctor.

Board	Hampshire	Colour	Result	Berkshire	Result
1	JH Blake	Black	1	GH Caws	0
2	W Winter	White	½	PJ Lawrence	½
3	FJH Elwell	Black	0	WOC Stuchbery	1
4	RF Barlow	White	1	IA Rumble	0
5	HD Lloyd	Black	1	JM Van Meurs	0
6	CT Bennett	White	0	M Lyford	1
7	FA Joyce	Black	1	CR Farmer	0
8	AB Coe	White	½	R Reinham	½
9	HA Way	Black	½	B Hamilton	½
10	Allan Hayes	White	0	R Kingham	1
11	WJ Fry	Black	1	FA Westlake	0
12	HD Osborn	White	1	S Dobson	0
13	Revd W Proctor	Black	1	MG Gray	0
14	AH Yerbury	White	0	GM Arrowsmith	1
15	E Clayton	Black	½	S Oades	½
16	WH Winter	White	0	JM Cox	1
	Total		9	Total	7

Another report on the match did state that the pawn which GH Caws was up for 3 hours was in fact a sacrificed one.

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Hampshire 7 – Somerset 8- Mar 14th 1925 – Salisbury

Hampshire met another county for the 1st time, facing Somerset in the final of the Montague-Jones cup. This was played in Salisbury. Somerset had formed in 1895 but had not really played in the SCCU until this point in time. More details on this are in Anthony Fulton’s excellent Southern Counties Chess book, but from now on Hampshire would play Somerset six times until the start of the 2nd world war. The teams were very well matched with 3 wins each in this period.

The match was reported in the BCM and as can be seen it was extremely close, but Somerset won by the narrowest of margins. Hampshire winners were FJH Elwell, CT Bennett and E Clayton.

Board	Hampshire	Club	Result	Somerset	Result
1	JH Blake	Southampton	½	Capt PD Bolland	½
2	FJH Elwell	Southampton	1	C Duffield	0
3	RF Barlow		0	H Parsons	1
4	HD Lloyd		½	Revd EW Poyton	½
5	CT Bennett		½	RM Norman	½
6	FA Joyce	Newport (IOW)	1	G Breakwell	0
7	AB Coe	Southampton	½	D Campbell	½
8	HA Way	Portsmouth	½	JL Palmer	½
9	Allan Hayes	Portsmouth	0	LE Vine	1
10	WJ Fry	Southampton	½	Commd RD Graham	½
11	JS West	Gosport	½	BT Barker	½
12	Revd W Proctor	London	½	J Blair	½
13	HD Osborn	Gosport	½	WJ Titley	½
14	AG Binning		0	G Gordon	1
15	AH Yerbury	Basingstoke	0	C Holman	1
16	E Clayton	Portsmouth	1	Dr CW Gee	0
	Total		7½	Total	8½

Somerset would lose to Middlesex 6 – 10 in the final of the Shannon Championship.

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Summary

Although this was a large change for Hampshire. and in what seems to be a demotion to a 2nd division, this looks to have allowed for more competitive matches, and specifically helped the lower boards. It was on these where Hampshire struggled against the South powerhouses, who had the strength in depth. Dorset being a newly formed and smaller county were going to struggle, but both Berkshire and Somerset were of the same strength as Hampshire.

In addition, Hampshire were able to play four matches this season, the most for a long time.

In Correspondence matches Hampshire finished 4th in the County Correspondence Championship and defeated Warwickshire and Hertfordshire comfortably, it seems that Correspondence chess was still flourishing in the county.

The two Hampshire players who played in the 1923 British Championship were also in the 1924 British Chess Championship. Sir George Thomas did not retain his title, but was third behind Atkins and Yates. Joseph Blake shared the 8th to 10th position of the 12 players. He would have now been 65 years of age and therefore this was a good performance. He would go on to play in two more championships.

Also of note was Wilf Pratten’s success in the Under 18 Championship which was held in April 1914 in Hastings (not with the main championship). He was only 15 at the time and finished ahead of a number of future strong players, specifically Stuart Milner Barry. Wilf Pratten would not play for Hampshire until 10 years later though.

The game which won Wilf Pratten the U18 Championship.

Additional information the championship is on Britbase.

The Hampshire Trophy in the 1924/25 season was won by Portsmouth B (beating Winchester) whilst Taunton School Club were successful in the Hampshire League Shield against Portsmouth A (not sure why A were in the shield and B in the Trophy). The Shield final was played in April and the League final in September.

The 36th Hampshire AGM was reported in great detail in the Hampshire Advertiser. Andover’s PEJ Talbot who had been president since 1914/15 stepped down and was replaced by Gosport’s HD Osborn. He had been playing for Hampshire since their 2nd match in 1888 and would serve for 3 years as President. There were no other changes to the officer.

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The HCA officers elected at the AGM were:

• HD Osborn – President
• AB Coe – Hon. Secretary and Treasurer
• JH Blake – Match Captain
• FJH Elwell, E Sims – Hon. Auditors
• JH Blake, HD Osborn & Sir GA Thomas – SCCU Delegates

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Acknowledgements and Sources

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