The 1967/68 Southampton Individual Chess Championship (for the 1967 / 68 season) was played over the chess season, with games either being played at participants homes or clubs. Paul Habershon has been sorting out his loft and kindly supplied the cross-table he completed on the competition. Paul was the champion this season and played against a number of strong Southampton Chess players.
Contents
For a list of the winners of the Southampton Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written, the table on the Southampton Chess League page is the best place to look. This page also details the Southampton league and cup winners.
All articles I have on Hampshire Tournaments are included on the Tournaments Page.
Tournament
The Southampton Individual Chess Championship has been held since the 1957/58 season and the normal format is that this is played during the season, with players either playing the games at their homes or clubs. 14 players entered the championship in 1967/68 and comparing to recent championships this is a good number.
The one time I entered there were just three players, with Fraser McLeod winning with three points from his four games. I scored two points with one win, two draws and a loss, whilst Richard Perrin scored one point, with two draws and two losses.
Back to the 1967 / 68 tournament, Paul scored an impressive five and a half points from his six games, finishing one point ahead of four time winner Alf Edmonds.
Paul supplied some background on his tournament with the key game being his win against seven time winner Marshall Thompson in round five.
Southampton Individual 1967 / 68
Paul Habershon – March 2024
I played Pritchard in the first round, Edmonds in the second. The crucial game was in Round 5 against Thompson, after which I was a clear point ahead and needed only a draw v Barton in the last round (6).
I have added the players with their grades for the 1967/68 season below. In addition, a number of these players won the championship, which I have indicated after the grades.
Players
- Paul Habershon 180
- AC Barton 160 – 1 title (shared)
- A Edmonds 183 – 4 titles
- PH Collins 182
- Marshall WJ Thompson 197 – 7 titles
- John Wilkinson 179 – 6 titles
- MR Johnson 148
Players
- R Compton 169 – 1 title
- Sq-Ldr L Vine 163
- JM Popiel 142
- F Grumbley
- GL Pritchard 150
- S Rysewski 113
- B Robinson 122
Games
Paul has supplied his key win against Marshall Thompson from the 5th round. A sharp Milner-Barry line of the French Advance where Black takes two pawns. Later on Black sacrifices his Queen, but White has given up too much material and Black is triumphant.
Summary
It was great to hear from Paul on this tournament, there is very little information on these annual tournaments and to understand more of how these were held is very useful. The format does not seem to have changed (certainly since this time) and the Portsmouth Individual also uses the same format.
The level of the competition was strong, with an average grade of 161 (1908 rating) and to only drop half a point in the six rounds, and this in the last round is impressive.
Update – June 2024
Paul has kindly supplied two articles from the Southern Evening Echo, which he has located. These articles detail the tournament, but also additional information on the ongoing SCL leagues, and other chess activities. As Paul noted it is interesting to see the prominence and detail given to chess on the sports pages.
Acknowledgements and Sources
- Paul Habershon
- Hampshire Chess Archives
- Southern Evening Echo