The 1960 Hampshire Individual Chess Championship was held during the 1959/1960 season. There were 20 players who entered with the format being a 7 round Swiss tournament played over the season. The winner would receive 10 guineas with the runner up 5 guineas.
For a list of the winners of the Hampshire Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written the table on the Hampshire Individual Championship is the best place to look. In addition, the table on the Hampshire Tournaments will detail these and any other tournament articles I have completed. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.
Tournament Details
The Hampshire Individual Chess Championship has used numerous formats in the last 90 odd years, from the Knockout format in 1930, qualifying sections e.g. 1932 to the current Swiss tournament held over three days. The format used for the 1960 Championship was a 7 round Swiss Tournament held over the season. The tournament controller was JEC Grant.
The list of original entrants and their clubs is detailed below. As can be seen there were a number of current and future champions, and also other strong Hampshire players.
- WH Pratten – Fareham
- GWS Goggin – Bournemouth
- G Richardson – Cosham
- JE Smith – Portsmouth
- Dr BG Wells – Portsmouth
- Lieut. DK Butler – Portsmouth
- AM Edmonds – Woolston
- CH Henshaw – Basingstoke
- ME Ventham – Fareham
- W Makar – Portsmouth
- AC Barton – Southampton
- M Thompson – Southampton
- JEC Hobbs – Southampton
- AS LaLond – Southsea
- J Valler – Southampton
- WC Martin – Fareham
- NC Taylor – Fareham
- SL Russell – Broughton
- DK Bevis – Bournemouth
- A Carter – Portsmouth
There were ten entrants from the Portsmouth area, six from Southampton, two from Bournemouth and one each from Basingstoke and Broughton.
Round 1
In the first round Wilf Pratten defaulted and although paired in round two this was not played and he withdrew from the competition. Wilf was probably the strongest player in the county at this time (4a – 193 – 200), but other commitments likely kept him from playing in the competition.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SL Russell | Andover | 1 | WC Pratten (def) | Fareham | 0 |
| NC Taylor | Fareham | 1 | Lt DK Butler | Portsmouth | 0 |
| DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 1 | GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 0 |
| A Carter | Portsmouth | 1 | WC Martin | Fareham | 0 |
| AC Barton | Southampton | 1 | JEC Hobbs | Southampton | 0 |
| W Makar | Portsmouth | 1 | JE Smith | Portsmouth | 0 |
| M Ventham | Farnborough | ½ | CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | ½ |
| M Thompson | Southampton | 1 | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 0 |
| J Valler | Southampton | ½ | AM Edmonds | Woolston | ½ |
| G Richardson | Cosham | ½ | AS La Lond | Southsea | ½ |
There were wins for all the previous champions, SL Russell (default), and M Thompson. Others winners were NC Taylor, DK Bevis, A Carter, AC Barton and W Makar.
Round 2
Two players moved onto maximum points with Marshall Thompson beating A Carter and W Makar beating NC Taylor. I am presuming A Carter was Tony Carter who played in the Portsmouth League for many years. I played him three times in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Tony won the Portsmouth Individual Chess Championship six times between 1968 and 1998 and was a very strong player (graded 197 in 1971 when he played in the Portsmouth Chess Invitational). He won the Southsea Chess Congress in 1975, which was a round robin between the majority of top Portsmouth players.
W Makar was not a player I knew about. He played for Portsmouth Chess Club, and represented Hampshire 1959 to 1969 on boards 16 to 43 and scored almost 60%. The report in the Portsmouth News mentioned his great start, although he had a tough match in round 3 facing Marshall Thompson.
Other winners were Alf Edmonds, J Valler, CH Henshaw, Dr BG Wells, WC Martin and GW Goggin.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC Taylor | Fareham | 0 | W Makar | Portsmouth | 1 |
| A Carter | Portsmouth | 0 | M Thompson | Southampton | 1 |
| AS La Lond | Southsea | ½ | AC Barton | Southampton | ½ |
| AM Edmonds | Woolston | 1 | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 0 |
| J Valler | Southampton | 1 | SL Russell | Andover | 0 |
| JE Smith | Portsmouth | 0 | WC Martin | Fareham | 1 |
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 1 | G Richardson | Cosham | 0 |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 1 | Lt DK Butler | Portsmouth | 0 |
| GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 1 | JEC Hobbs | Southampton | 0 |
Round 3
The two leaders drew their game and were joined on two and a half points by two Southampton players, AC Barton and J Valler. AC Barton was covered in the 1968 Hampshire Individual, which he won. A strong player, and also a Hampshire Officer for a number of years, including running the Hampshire Individual from 1968 to 1985.
I don’t really know much about J Valler, who played for Hampshire 11 times from 1958 to 1963. I had a search on Britbase and he played in the British Chess Championship Over 60’s Championship in 1977 scoring 6 points. Wilf Pratten also played in this competition and was equal third with 8½ points (he shared 1st the previous year).
JE Hobbs withdrew from the competition after losing his first two games. The report in the Portsmouth News states that Wilf Pratten withdrew, but as he did not play any games, this was really from round 1.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W Makar | Portsmouth | ½ | M Thompson | Southampton | ½ |
| AC Barton | Southampton | 1 | AM Edmonds | Woolston | 0 |
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 0 | J Valler | Southampton | 1 |
| WC Martin | Fareham | ½ | AS La Lond | Southsea | ½ |
| SL Russell | Andover | 0 | A Carter | Portsmouth | 1 |
| DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 1 | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 0 |
| GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 0 | NC Taylor | Fareham | 1 |
| JE Smith | Portsmouth | 1 | Bye | 0 | |
| Lt DK Butler | Portsmouth | 0 | Default | 1 | |
| G Richardson | Cosham | 1 | M Ventham (def) | Farnborough | 0 |
Round 4
The four players on two and a half points met and in another bloodthirsty round (only one draw in each of the previous two rounds) these two games ended (as did the other games in this round) with a decisive result. Marshall Thompson and W Makar were the two winners.
A Carter, SL Russell, Dr BG Wells, NC Taylor, CH Henshaw, JE Smith and Lt DK Butler (by default) also won their games.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Thompson | Southampton | 1 | J Valler | Southampton | 0 |
| W Makar | Portsmouth | 1 | AC Barton | Southampton | 0 |
| A Carter | Portsmouth | 1 | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 0 |
| AS La Lond | Southsea | 0 | SL Russell | Andover | 1 |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 1 | G Richardson | Cosham | 0 |
| NC Taylor | Fareham | 1 | WC Martin | Fareham | 0 |
| AM Edmonds | Woolston | 0 | CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 1 |
| JE Smith | Portsmouth | 1 | GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 0 |
| M Ventham (def) | Farnborough | 0 | Lt DK Butler | Portsmouth | 1 |
Round 5
The two leaders met and Marshall Thompson came out ahead. W Makar’s good run also came to an end, losing to A Carter. J Valler recovered from his loss in the previous round, by beating AC Barton. Previous champion SL Russell (1935) beat Bournemouth’s DK Bevis. Dr BG Wells, AS La Lond and GW Goggin were the other winners.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Thompson | Southampton | 1 | NC Taylor | Fareham | 0 |
| A Carter | Portsmouth | 1 | W Makar | Portsmouth | 0 |
| J Valler | Southampton | 1 | AC Barton | Southampton | 0 |
| DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 0 | SL Russell | Andover | 1 |
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 1 | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 0 |
| AS La Lond | Southsea | 1 | AM Edmonds | Woolston | 0 |
| WC Martin | Fareham | 0 | GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 1 |
| G Richardson | Cosham | ½ | JE Smith | Portsmouth | ½ |
Round 6
CH Henshaw could not beat Marshall Thompson, who retained his lead in the competition, although he could still be caught if he lost in the last round. A Carter was his closest rival, but he lost to J Valler, and looks as if he withdrew from the last round (no result mentioned). As he could have still won or shared 2nd prize this was a strange decision.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | ½ | M Thompson | Southampton | ½ |
| J Valler | Southampton | 1 | A Carter | Portsmouth | 0 |
| SL Russell | Andover | 0 | W Makar | Portsmouth | 1 |
| NC Taylor | Fareham | 0 | AS La Lond | Southsea | 1 |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 1 | JE Smith | Portsmouth | 0 |
| AC Barton | Southampton | ½ | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | ½ |
| GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 0 | G Richardson | Cosham | 1 |
Round 7
Marshall Thompson beat AS La Lond to win the championship in style, just dropping the two draws in his seven games. J Valler and W Makar drew their game whilst CH Henshaw beat AC Barton to finish in 2nd place one point behind the winner, on five points.
I have not found the result from the RIchardson and Taylor game.
| Player | Club | Result | Player | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS La Lond | Southsea | 0 | M Thompson | Southampton | 1 |
| W Makar | Portsmouth | ½ | J Valler | Southampton | ½ |
| AC Barton | Southampton | 0 | CH Henshaw | Basingstoke | 1 |
| G Richardson | Cosham | NC Taylor | Fareham | ||
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | ½ | SL Russell | Andover | ½ |
| JE Smith | Portsmouth | 0 | DK Bevis | Bournemouth | 1 |
| GW Goggin | Bournemouth | 1 | Bye |
Summary
With a year long competition there will normally be more withdrawals than a congress, and this was the case with the Championship, with a number dropping out during the season.
Marshall Thompson was a deserving winner, and there were excellent results for the players in shared 2nd place.
Hampshire would continue with the year long Swiss tournament for a few years. As number dropped suddenly in 1964 and 1965, they changed to a weekend congress over 5 rounds in 1966 and double weekend one with 11 rounds in 1967.
| Rank | Name | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M Thompson | 9+ | 5+ | 3= | 2+ | 11+ | 4= | 7+ | 6 |
| 2 | J Valler | 15= | 6+ | 4+ | 1- | 17+ | 5+ | 3= | 5 |
| 3 | W Makar | 14+ | 11+ | 1= | 12+ | 5- | 6+ | 2= | 5 |
| 4 | CH Henshaw | 18= | 13+ | 2- | 15+ | 9+ | 1= | 12+ | 5 |
| 5 | A Carter | 16+ | 1- | 6+ | 8+ | 3+ | 2- | Wdr | 4 |
| 6 | SL Russell | 20+ | 2- | 5- | 7+ | 8+ | -3 | 9= | 3½ |
| 7 | AS La Lond | 13= | 19= | 16= | 6- | 15+ | 11+ | 1- | 3½ |
| 8 | DK Bevis | 10+ | 15- | 9+ | 5- | 6- | 12= | 14+ | 3½ |
| 9 | Dr BG Wells | 1- | 17+ | 8- | 13+ | 4- | 14+ | 6= | 3½ |
| 10 | GW Goggin | 8- | 19+ | 11- | 14- | 16+ | 13- | +bye | 3 |
| 11 | NC Taylor | 17+ | 3- | 10+ | 16+ | 1- | 7- | 13 | 3 |
| 12 | AC Barton | 19+ | 7= | 15+ | 3- | 2- | 8= | 4- | 3 |
| 13 | G Richardson | 7= | 4- | 18+ | 9- | 14= | 10+ | 11 | 3 |
| 14 | JE Smith | 3- | 16- | +bye | 10+ | 13= | 9- | 8- | 2½ |
| 15 | AM Edmonds | 2= | 8+ | 12- | 4- | 7- | Wdr | 1½ | |
| 16 | WC Martin | 5- | 14+ | 7= | 11- | 10- | Wdr | 1½ | |
| 17 | Lt DK Butler | 11- | 9- | -def | 18+ | Wdr | 1 | ||
| 18 | M Ventham | 4= | +bye | -13 | 17- | Wdr | 1½ | ||
| 19 | JEC Hobbs | 12- | 10- | Wdr | 0 | ||||
| 20 | WC Pratten | 6- | Wdr | 0 |
M. Thompson name on the Silver Rook plinth for 1960 (and 1958).
Games
It is a shame there are no games from the tournament, but it was unusual for Newspapers to publish them in this period. I have looked at my records to see if I have any games from the players which I have not already published. I have left out losses, as that would be a bit unfair!
The first game I found was a drew between A Makar and Cmdr A.J Peters from the 1967/1968 Portsmouth Individual which was won by Mike March.
The second (and last) game was from Albert Stanley La Lond who finished in mid table. The game below is from the 1958 BCF Major Open and his opponent was Betram Goulding Brown and his details on Britbase are well worth a read and includes an Obituary from Sir P Stuart Milner-Barry.
In the game Albert was struggling, but defended well to hold the draw. I have added light comments. Source Bertram Goulding Brown Scoresheets – via Britbase
Acknowledgements and sources:
- Hampshire Chess Archives
- Portsmouth Evening News
- Britbase