Hampshire County Matches 1927 / 28

At the HCA AGM the President Joseph Blake would state that the year just ended had been the most successful in the long history of Hampshire chess, and the record of achievements made most interesting reading. In over the board matches Hampshire had defeated Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire. The had won the Montague Jones cup for the first time, with the fine aggregate of 45½ points to 18½.

I think Hampshire had had better individual results before this season, but you have to go with what the President stated, as he had been there since Hampshire’s first match in 1887 against Sussex.

Photo above is the Hampshire team which met Middlesex from the Hampshire Advertiser. It may be an idea to take a picture of the current Hampshire team for prosperity?

---

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.

---

Hampshire 12½ – Bedfordshire 3½ – 5th Nov 1927 – London

Hampshire’s first match in Group 4 was against Bedfordshire and this was these counties first meeting. Hampshire were comfortable 12½ – 3½ winners. In fact, according to my records Hampshire have met Bedfordshire five times and have won every time.

The match was reported in the Hampshire Advertiser

HAMPSHIRE v. BEDFORDSHIRE. This match was played at St. Bride’s Institute, London last Saturday, Hampshire winning with sensational ease. AS Dance, the Andover secretary was the first to score with a Caro-Khan Defence. His playing time was only 13 minutes!

It was observed on many of the lower boards that very little importance was given to that fundamental factor to success, namely speedy development of the minor pieces. SW Dickens the Bedfordshire champion, played extremely well to draw with JH Blake, whilst RH Rushton completely outplayed WJ Fry.

Hampshire Advertiser – Saturday 12 November 1927

The Luton News and Bedfordshire Chronicle had Bedfordshire’s perspective on the match, and quite rightly concentrated on their good performance on the top boards, where they scored 3½ points from the top 5 boards.

There are too many Hampshire winners to mention, but as stated Bedfordshire did well on the top boards, but losing every game on boards 6 to 16 highlighted that their strength dropped off very quickly. It would be good to see the mentioned AS Dance’s win in the Caro-Kahn, especially as this only took 13 minutes!

Board	Hampshire	Colour	Result	Bedfordshire	Colour	Result
1	JH Blake	Black	½	SW Dickens	White	½
2	FJH Elwell	White	1	W Church	Black	0
3	WJ Fry	Black	0	RH Rushton	White	1
4	Allan Hayes	White	0	F Dickens	Black	1
5	HA Way	Black	0	GL White	White	1
6	FA Joyce	White	1	JW Thorburn	Black	0
7	HD Lloyd	Black	1	T Goddard	White	0
8	Dr GF Trubridge	White	1	G Hales	Black	0
9	Revd W Proctor	Black	1	EW Phillips	White	0
10	JS West	White	1	F Baulk	Black	0
11	AS Dance	Black	1	JT Needham	White	0
12	E Clayton	White	1	HD White	Black	0
13	AR Cooper	Black	1	TW Bate	White	0
14	GC Ives	White	1	AV Oliver	Black	0
15	GAB Dewar	Black	1	R Hill	White	0
16	Revd E Wells	White	1	AE Randall	Black	0
	Total		12½	Total		3½

---

Hampshire 11½ – Berkshire 4½ – 3rd Dec 1927 – London

Since Hampshire had started playing Berkshire in the 1922/23 season all the matches had been close. This season was different though with Hampshire winning by 11½ – 4½ points. Anthony Fulton had this game down as a friendly, but the Hampshire Advertiser mentions that this was part of the Montague Jones competition. The adjourned games did in fact go Hampshire’s way, as the match result was 11½ for Hampshire.

Only the one Hampshire player lost and although the Berkshire’s team looks to have been weaker than the previous year when Hampshire won 9 – 7, this was an impressive victory. Hampshire winners were JH Blake, FJH Elwell, Revd HF Hawkes, JS West, GF Trubridge, LC Whetham, E Clayton and Revd E Wells.

By winning this match Hampshire progressed to the semi-final of the Montague Jones competition.

Board	Hampshire	Result	Berkshire	Result
1	JH Blake	1	PJ Lawrence	0
2	FJH Elwell	1	FW Neale	0
3	WJ Fry	½	H Lyford	½
4	HA Way	0	LA Rumble	1
5	A Hayes	½	JH van Meurs	½
6	FA Joyce	½	EJ Brooks	½
7	AB Coe	½	H Runham	½
8	HD Lloyd	½	AS Hamilton	½
9	Revd W Proctor	½	S Dobson	½
10	Revd HF Hawkes	1	GM Arrowsmith	0
11	JS West	1	GH Kingham	0
12	GF Trubridge	1	AJ Upton	0
13	AS Dance	½	CG Greenfield	½
14	LC Whetham	1	AE Brooks	0
15	E Clayton	1	E Wickes	0
16	Revd E Wells	1	AHM Salmon	0
	Total	11½	Total	4½

---

Hampshire 11 – Hertfordshire 5 – 3rd Mar 1928 – London

Hampshire met Hertfordshire in the KO stage (semi-final) the previous season, and although the match ended in a draw, Hertfordshire went through on board elimination. This season, their semi-final match was not close, with Hampshire winning by six points.

The Hertfordshire included the donor of the cup, although he lost to AH Yerbury. The other Hampshire winners were JH Blake, FJ Elwell, WJ Fry, A Hayes, HA Way, JS West and AS Dance. As can be seen, Hampshire were very dominant on the top boards (five and a half points on the top six boards).

FN Braund played for Hampshire on board three the previous season, losing to GSA Wheatcroft. This year he was playing for Hertfordshire on board four, but this time he lost to Hampshire’s A Hayes. He would have better luck in future matches against Hampshire though. He had also played for Surrey against Hampshire in the late 19th century and falls into one of those players who has played for multiple counties.

Board	Hampshire	Result	Hertfordshire	Result
1	JH Blake	1	GSA Wheatcroft	0
2	FJH Elwell	1	AG Fellows	0
3	WJ Fry	1	GPA Richards	0
4	Allan Hayes	1	FN Braund	0
5	Revd HF Hawkes	½	GT Womack	½
6	HA Way	1	EJ Fairchild	0
7	FA Joyce	½	LS Penrose	½
8	HD Lloyd	½	DL James	½
9	AB Coe	½	GE Marler	½
10	JS West	1	RE Webb	0
11	Revd W Proctor	0	AH Knight	1
12	Dr GF Trubridge	½	EG Attenborough	½
13	AH Yerbury	1	Major Montague Jones	0
14	AS Dance	1	EH Bateman	0
15	GC Ives	½	CK Trotter	½
16	E Clayton	0	AE Cozens	1
	Total	11	Total	5

---

Hampshire 10½ – Gloucestershire 5½ – 31st Mar 1928 – Salisbury

Another new county for Hampshire to play against in the final of the Montague Jones Cup competition, although Hampshire would meet Gloucestershire many times in the future. Initially this would be in the SCCU, but later in the WECU.

The Hampshire Advertiser had a report on the match and from this account Hampshire were never in trouble, with the first four results all being wins for Hampshire.

A fine Hampshire win – Montague Jones Cup

Hampshire made no mistake in winning the Cup when they met Gloucestershire at Salisbury last Saturday. Northover (Southampton) won early and at the tea interval A Hayes (Southsea) and then Rev F Hawkes (Woolston), and the Revd W Proctor (Bromley) had increased the lead to 4-0.

Then followed a succession of drawn games, but WJ Fry (Southampton) and WA Way (Southsea) declared further wins before Gloucestershire’s successes had been recorded. The five Southampton representatives returned a score of 4½ out of a possible 5 points!

Hampshire Advertiser – Saturday 07 April 1928

From the opponents side, the Western Daily Press did report that Gloucestershire were missing three of their top eight players through illness. They also provided one of the three wins where C Sullivan beat the Isle of Wights Frank Joyce.

Hampshire winners were JH Blake, FJH Elwell, WJ Fry, Allan Hayes, Revd HF Hawkes, Revd W Proctor, WA Way and HHR Northover and as per the below the heavy scoring on the top boards were key (5½ points from top 6 boards).

Board	Hampshire	Result	Gloucestershire	Result
1	JH Blake	1	C Mansfield	0
2	FJH Elwell	1	AW Martyn	0
3	WJ Fry	1	C Welch	0
4	Allan Hayes	1	HM Cuttle	0
5	Revd HF Hawkes	1	CE Scutt	0
6	HA Way	½	FF Finch	½
7	FA Joyce	0	C Sullivan	1
8	HD Lloyd	0	HD Wells	1
9	GS West	0	GW Powell	1
10	Revd W Proctor	1	AC Steadman	0
11	WA Way	1	CB Pepler	0
12	Dr GF Trubridge	½	AJ Nutt	½
13	AS Dance	½	FR Rickman	½
14	AH Yerbury	½	P Gale	½
15	HHR Northover	1	WJ Matthews	0
16	HS Overmass	½	W Starr	½
	Total	10½	Total	5½

Hampshire 6 – Middlesex 10 – 22nd Sept 1928 – Southampton

Six months later Hampshire faced Middlesex in the final of the Shannon competition. This was held at Taunton’s college in Southampton, which although an advantage for Hampshire, Middlesex won 10 – 6. This result was not a surprise, as this was a very strong Middlesex team. Hampshire held the score level on the first seven boards, helped by wins by HA Way and HD Lloyd, but only scored half a point on the bottom four. Whereas in a lot of the earlier matches Hampshire were stronger on the bottom boards, this was the opposite in this match where Middlesex’s strength in depth was evident.

Maurice Goldstein beat Joseph Blake on board one, he was strong enough to finish in third place in the 1926 British Championship (tied with Blake). According to Richard James, Goldstein was one of the strongest London amateurs of his day.

In addition to HA Way and Lloyd the other Hampshire winners were Dr GF Trubridge and the other member of the Way family, WA Way (HA Way’s nephew). See the 1921/22 season for additional information on the Way’s.

A picture from the match was included in the Hampshire Advertiser (quality not the best).

Board	Hampshire	Club	Result	Middlesex	Result
1	JH Blake	London	0	ME Goldstein	½
2	FJH Elwell	Southampton	½	BE Siegheim	1
3	WJ Fry	Southampton	½	H Saunders	½
4	HA Way	Southsea	1	JH Morrison	½
5	Revd HF Hawkes	Woolston	0	RC Griffith	0
6	FA Joyce	Freshwater	½	WH Regan	1
7	HD Lloyd		1	A West	½
8	A Ashby		0	Dr FS Duncan	0
9	Dr GF Trubridge	Soton University	1	WH Watts	1
10	JS West	Gosport	0	W Jones	0
11	HC Lewis	Woolston	0	PL Wyndham	1
12	WA Way	Emsworth	1	CC Excell	1
13	AS Dance	Andover	0	AG Kershaw	0
14	HHR Northover	Bitterne Park	½	HG Excell	1
15	Revd E Wells	Bournemouth	0	WS Wallis	½
16	JW Webster	Bournemouth	0	Revd AM Ewbank	1
	Total		6	Total	10

Summary

An excellent season for Hampshire, only losing to the strong Middlesex team in the final of the Shannon championship, and winning the Montague Jones Cup for the first time. Hampshire would go on to be successful in the Montague Jones Cup several times, but would only win the Shannon Championship twice, once in 1947/48 and again in 1969/70, just before they left the SCCU.

The Hampshire Advertiser report on the AGM is below.

COUNTY ASSOCIATION. Annual Meeting. The thirty-ninth annual meeting was held at the Crown Hotel, Southampton. last Saturday. The chair was taken by the President. Mr. JH Blake, of Tolworth. Surrey. who was supported by Messrs. AS Dance (Andover), FJH Elwell (Southampton), ACF Hughes (Bournemouth), HD Lloyd (Portsmouth). HJ Penwill (Southampton), HA Way (Southsea), JS West (Smithson), and the Rev. E Wells (Bournemouth), vice-presidents of the Association.

The following clubs were well represented: Andover, Bournemouth, Broughton, Old Tanntoniana, Portsmouth, Southampton, Salisbury, Winchester, Taunton’s School, Y.C.M.A., University College and the Southampton Chess League group.
Commenting upon the secretary’s report, the Chairman said that it reflected great credit upon the county’s organisation. The year just ended had been the most successful in the long history of Hampshire chess, and the record of achievements made most interesting reading.

OVER THE BOARD MATCHES. By defeating Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire, we had won the Montagne Jones cop for the first time, with the fine aggregate of 45½ games to 18½.

CORRESPONDENCE CHESS MATCHES. The challenge of “The Referee” London Chess Circle for a return match of 100 boards aside easily a record for county correspondence matches, and no less remarkable was the result Hampshire 60½ – “The Referee” London, 39½.
In the Counties and Districts Correspondence Championship, 1928 (30 boards aside) the scores were Hampshire 19 All Britain, 11, which was only half a point behind Middlesex and Surrey, who were joint champions.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Mr JH Blake was unanimously re-elected President of the Association. GAB Delwar (Abbotts End) H Targett (Ashurst), JW Webster (Bournemouth), and the Rev. CF Russell, M.A. (Southampton). were elected vice-presidents. Mr AB Coe (Southampton) was re-elected honorary’ secretary and treasurer.

The delegates to Southern Counties Chess Union were Messrs JH Blake, HA Way and AB Coe and the honorary auditors. Messrs. FJH Elwell , Southampton), and BM Hobby (Southampton), were re-elected.
It was decided to discontinue the existing trophy and league competitions and to form a Hampshire Chem League, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions, the creation of promotion and relegation will he decided as in other sports competitions. For the ensuring season teams will be grouped in the three divisions by the Advisory Council, which meets on October 17th.

Hampshire Advertiser – Saturday 13 October 1928

As mentioned at the AGM the Correspondence season was also a success, finishing 3rd in the County championship, and beating the Sunday Referee in their 100 board match. There would be more of these matches in the future, and for some I have the individual records, but not for this match.

These matches may have been more of a Hampshire Advertiser vs Sunday Referee, but certainly come under the HCA with the entrants as per the HCA records.

The Hampshire Advertiser had Hampshire Secretary AB Coe’s game from the National County’s Correspondence Championship, which I give below, with their original analysis. In addition with the help of Stockfish I have added some additional comments.

There was no British Chess Championship in 1927 as the 1st Chess Olympiad was held in England.

The Hampshire Trophy in the 1927/28 season was again won by Old Tauntonians, with Andover winning the Shield. I have been calling this competition the Hampshire League, but really this was more the Hampshire Trophy and a 2nd division. At the AGM it was reported that for the following season this would be a full Hampshire League, with three divisions.

The AGM as reported in the Hampshire Advertiser, and the photo of the Hampshire players for the Middlesex game are below. Although the photo is grainy, you still get an idea of the Hampshire players.

---

The HCA officers elected at the AGM were:

• JH Blake – President
• AB Coe – Hon. Secretary and Treasurer
• JH Blake – Match Captain
• FJH Elwell, BM Hobby – Hon. Auditors
• JH Blake, HA Way & AB Coe – SCCU Delegates

---

Acknowledgements and Sources

---