The 1963 Hampshire Individual Chess Championship was held over the 1962/63 season with 17 competitors. The previous year there were 30 entrants and this was therefore a disappointing number. This turned into the least of the issues, as in the end no championship title was presented. This was down to a play-off not being completed. As all the 7 rounds were played it is worthwhile detailing the competition.
One of the two tied winners WJE Yeeles is the playing standing to the left in the photograph.
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 details 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
This championship was a 7 round Swiss tournament controlled by DA Rawden (replacing K Robinson) with the following contestants:
- TE Hollington
- HR Moir
- A White
- TJ de Buriatte
- A Bacon
- Gillian Moore
- WJE Yeeles
- Dr BG Wells
- DA Rawden
- PL Marshall
- CH Henshaw
- MWJ Thompson
- AM Edmonds
- J Valler
- HG Burkert
- DJ Groves
- W Makar
There were a number of well known Hampshire players in the championship:
- Marshall Thompson – 9 time winner of the championship from 1958 to 1977.
- Gillian Moore – Former British Girls and shared British Ladies Chess champion. Current HCA Treasurer and has played more games for the Hampshire County team than any other player.
- Alf Edmonds – The current champion. He was also the Southampton Individual Champion for four years from 1965 to 1969.
- Peter Marshall – Former Hampshire League Officer (most positions) as well as holding committee positions for the SCL and WECU organisations. Was paramount in bringing the British Chess Championship to Southampton in 1986. He also won the Southampton Individual Championship in 1957 and 1958.
- Terry Hollington – Active Hampshire Chess junior organiser and founder of Portsmouth Chess Congress.
- WJE Yeeles – Long time Gosport Chess player. He did not play many times for Hampshire, but in the early 1960’s was often on the top boards.
Round 1
With an odd number of players, there was a one point bye each round and regular Hampshire Individual entrant TJ deBuriatte was the recipient in the first round. TE Hollington, A White, A Bacon, Dr BG Wells, Peter Marshall and WJE Yeeles all won their games. As Roger Paige reported in his book.
Round One
Two surprise results were Thompson being held to a draw by Rawden and last year’s unbeaten champion Edmonds being likewise held to a draw by the reigning British Girl Champion Gillian Moore
Hampshire Chess Games 1950 – 1970 – Roger Leslie Paige
Unfortunately there were no games from Roger’s book from the championship.
I did have the majority of the 1962 grades and have included these in the tables. The equivalent to the old grades is below and not much work is required to work out the current ratings which we now use.
| Rating | 3 digit equivalent | Rating | 3 digit equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9b | 105-112 | 6b | 154-160 |
| 9a | 113-120 | 6a | 161-168 |
| 8b | 121-128 | 5b | 169-176 |
| 7b | 137-144 | 5a | 177-184 |
| 6b | 153-160 | 4b | 185-192 |
From this the top seeds looked to be WJE Yeeles and Marshall Thompson who were between 177 and 184 and Alf Edmonds who was just one rank behind. I think these grades need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Marshall Thompson grade was close to 200 most years and Peter Marshall was normally graded plus 165 in his prime.
But you can get an idea of the player’s approximate strength in 1962/63 from this.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | 1 | CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | 0 |
| J Valler | Southampton | 7b | 0 | A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 1 |
| A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | 1 | HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 | |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | 1 | W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | 0 |
| DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | 0 | Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | 1 |
| HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | 0 | WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | 1 |
| DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | ½ | Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | ½ |
| AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | ½ | Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | ½ |
| TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | 1 | Bye |
Round 2
WJE Yeeles beat Terry Hollington and A White beat A Bacon to be the only players who moved onto maximum points from two rounds. A number of players were half a point behind including three of the players who drew in the first round. Gillian Moore was the player who had the full point bye, which is unusual as she had drawn her first round game.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | ½ | TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | ½ |
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | 1 | A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | 0 |
| A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 1 | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | 0 |
| Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | 1 | TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | 0 |
| AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | 1 | DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | 0 |
| W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | 1 | DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | 0 |
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 | J Valler | Southampton | 7b | 1 | |
| CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | 1 | HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | 0 |
| Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | 1 | Bye |
Round 3
WJE Yeeles retained his perfect score beating Bournemouth’s A White. The other player on maximum points going into round two A Bacon, lost to Alf Edmonds who moved to two and a half points. He was joined on this score by other Southampton Chess Club players Marshall Thompson and Peter Marshall who beat Terry Hollington and Gillian Moore respectively.
Peter Marshall was a long time Southampton Chess player, who although never winning the Hampshire or Southampton Individual titles (he was Southampton Club Champion in 1964) proved his worth to Hampshire in many other ways. As well as holding Hampshire and Southampton Secretary roles (among others) he was instrumental in bringing the British Chess Championship to Southampton (with others) in 1986 in his role as President. The tournament booklet for this can be found here along with the 1983 Southampton Chess Club Centenary Booklet.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 0 | WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | 1 |
| TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | 0 | Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | 1 |
| Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | 1 | Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | 0 |
| A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | 0 | AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | 1 |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | ½ | CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | ½ |
| TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | ½ | W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | ½ |
| DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | ½ | J Valler | Southampton | 7b | ½ |
| HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | 1 | HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 | |
| DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | 1 | Bye |
Round 4
WJE Yeeles held Marshall Thompson to a draw and retained his lead. Alf Edmonds and Peter Marshall who were the other two players like Marshall Thompson who were half a point behind, also drew. They were joined by A White who was successful against Gillian Moore. TJ deBuriatte and W Makar were half a point behind these four players.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | ½ | WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | ½ |
| AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | ½ | Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | ½ |
| J Valler | Southampton | 7b | ½ | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | ½ |
| Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | 0 | A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 1 |
| CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | 0 | TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | 1 |
| W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | 1 | TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | 0 |
| A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | ½ | HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | ½ |
| DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | 1 | DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | 0 |
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 1 | Bye |
Round 5
WJE Yeeles maintained his lead by beating Alf Edmonds, whilst the Southampton players Marshall Thompson and Peter Marshall kept close by beating A White and W Makar. The players on 3 points and above following the round 5 results were:
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| WJE Yeeles | 4½ |
| Marshall Thompson | 4 |
| Peter L Marshall | 4 |
| A White | 3 |
| AM Edmonds | 3 |
| DJ Groves | 3 |
| TJ deBuriatte | 3 |
With two rounds to play it would seem the winner would come from one of the top three players, and the key game looks to have been the round 6 game between Peter Marshall and WJE Yeeles.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | 1 | AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | 0 |
| A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 0 | Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | 1 |
| Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | 1 | W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | 0 |
| TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | ½ | J Valler | Southampton | 7b | ½ |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | 0 | DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | 1 |
| TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | 1 | A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | 0 |
| HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | 0 | Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | 1 |
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 | CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | 1 | |
| DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | 1 | Bye |
Round 6
This looks to be where some issues with the tournament started to appear. The WJE Yeeles game against Peter Marshall was a marathon, going over 90 moves and the game was adjourned several times. I think the time control was likely 20 moves in 1 hour. With no round 7 results I cannot 100% determine the result of this, but as WJE Yeeles and Marshall Thompson finished in 1st place it is likely that this was drawn and WJE Yeeles won his last game. I have therefore included this as a draw as this makes sense with the final position.
Maybe when the Portsmouth News for 1963 is added to the British Newspaper Archives this will be clarified, but for now the Chess Archives do not have the results of the last round, or the 6th round Yeeles – Marshall game.
Known winners apart from Marshall Thompson were Alf Edmonds, TJ deBuriatte, J Valler, CH Henshaw and Dr BG Wells.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | 1 | DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | 0 |
| AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | 1 | A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 0 |
| WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | ½ | Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | ½ |
| Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | 0 | TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | 1 |
| J Valler | Southampton | 7b | 1 | TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | 0 |
| W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | 0 | DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | 1 |
| CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | 1 | A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | 0 |
| Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | 1 | HG Burkert | Eastleigh | 0 | |
| HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | 1 | Bye |
Round 7
No reported results from round 7, although as Alf Edmonds was awarded his 3rd place prizes, he more than likely defeated CH Henshaw. We do know that WJE Yeeles and Marshall Thompson finished tied and a 2 round playoff as specified in the rules was to be played. With this is mind I am pretty sure it would have been a win for these three players as Yeeles and Thompson would finish on 6 points and Edmonds on his own on 5 points.
| Player | Club | Grade | Result | Player | Club | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TJ deBuriatte | Fareham | 7a | 0 | WJE Yeeles | Gosport | 5a | 1 |
| Peter L Marshall | Southampton | 7a | 0 | Marshall Thompson | Southampton | 5a | 1 |
| CH Henshaw | Andover | 6b | 0 | AM Edmonds | Southampton | 5b | 1 |
| DJ Groves | S. University | 7b | J Valler | Southampton | 7b | ||
| DA Rawden | Southampton | 7b | Dr BG Wells | Portsmouth | 7a | ||
| TE Hollington | Cosham | 7b | HR Moir | Fareham | 10b | ||
| A Bacon | Portsmouth | 9b | W Makar | Portsmouth | 7a | ||
| HG Burkert | Eastleigh | Gillian Moore | Woolston | 9a | |||
| A White | Bournemouth | 7a | 0 | Withdrawn |
Summary
A final table cannot be completed, as the round 7 (and one game from round 6) are unknown. But it is known that WJE Yeeles and Marshall Thompson were in equal 1st position and that ALF Edmonds was in sole third place.
With the two players tied the rules had specified that a playoff would need to be played over 2 games. The championship 7 rounds was likely completed by early May 1963, but by September 1963 the play-off had not been completed. One report states that one game (won by Thompson) had been played, but another that no games had been played.
The September 1963 Committee led by the keen John Grant had had enough and decided that as the play-off had not been completed no trophy or prize money would be awarded. It was stated that 3rd place prize money would be paid to Alf Edmonds (hence knowing that he was in sole third place). This also stated that no games had been played, unlike the HCA Bulletin.
The October1963 HCA Bulletin confirmed this position, and this is the reason why there is no engraving (or title awarded) for the 1963 Hampshire Individual Chess Championship, despite the tournament’s 7 rounds being completed.
John Grant had taken over as the HCA Chess Secretary this season, and he would hold this position for another 24 years. Reading John’s initial Secretary reports he was keen to change a lot of things, and was not happy with the apathy of a lot of members. He certainly was instrumental in bringing positive change to Hampshire Chess, but I think this decision had larger initial impacts than he (or the committee) probably thought it would have.
Personally I think a compromise should have been made, especially due to what seems to be the fallout from the decision.
This can be seen from John’s 1963/64 Secretary Report below, which refers to several heated controversies and that several individuals who had severed ties with the county. As it does not mention names I can only go with the facts I have which are:
- The HCA Individual Championship for 1964 only had 11 entrants and neither WJE Yeeles or Marshall Thompson played
- WJE Yeeles did not play for the County team until 1970 (after playing 3 games in the 1962/63 season). He did not play in the Hampshire Individual Championship again (from the records I have), but he had only entered once before, so this may not be relevant.
- Marshall Thompson did not play for the County team until the 1967/68 season (after playing 5 games in the 1962/63 season). He skipped one year in the Championship, but did play and win the 1965 Championship.
- There were other players who played for the County in 1962/63 but not the following season. A number of these were Gosport players, and with WJE Yeele’s club being Gosport this may be relevant?
This is therefore the report on the Hampshire Chess Championship which was lost to time, as until recently it was just a missing year on the trophy (not the only one, as 1953 and 1954 are also not engraved, but names were included in Roger’s book).
The full report from Roger’s book.
Acknowledgements and sources:
- British Newspaper Archive
- Roger Paige
- Hampshire Bulletins
- Hampshire Chess Archives