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1st Annual Meeting of the Yorkshire Chess Association

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Scarbro’s Hotel, 15 Bishopgate Street, Leeds

Monday, 18/01/1841

 

The first meeting of the original Yorkshire Chess Association was held at “Scarbro’s Hotel”, Leeds, on Monday 18th January 1841.  Scarborough’s Hotel, aka the King’s Arms, was at 15 Bishopgate Street, according to White’s Directory of Leeds & the Clothing District, 1842, wherein the proprietors were given as Sarah and Charles Scarborough.  Parson’s General & Commercial Directory of Leeds, 1826, listed Henry Scarborough as the proprietor.  It is now known as the Scarbrough Hotel (thus spelt), and is a stone’s throw from the railway station, being visible from the approach road thereto.

 

There were said to be nearly fifty attenders of the meeting.  The Leeds Mercury listed 47 names, so that list must have been nearly complete if not actually complete.  There were two guests from Liverpool Chess Club, but the others were drawn mainly from the membership of the Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Halifax Chess Clubs.  There were also players from Bradford and Sheffield, though there seem not to have been clubs in existence in those towns at that time.

 

The meeting was presided over by James Milnes Gaskell, Esq., M.P.

 

The guests from Liverpool were Augustus Mongredien and Gustave Christian Schwabe, the president and secretary, respectively, of the Liverpool Chess Club.  These two appear to have travelled by rail from Liverpool to Manchester, whence, as Medley tells us, they travelled the remaining forty-five miles or so to Leeds, through snow, by the post coach.

 

Of the chess played, we know Augustus Mongredien played a number of games with John Rhodes, who was then secretary of Leeds Chess Club, and with Robert Cadman of Leeds.  James Milnes Gaskell is recorded as having drawn a game with Gustave Christian Schwabe.

 

The Chess Player’s Chronicle, Vol. I, page 53, published one of the games, introducing it as follows:

The subjoined Game was one played at the chess Witenagemot held at Leeds some time since, between Mr. A. M., President of the Liverpool Chess Club, and Mr. J. R., secretary of the club at Leeds.  We have received several games played on this occasion, the best of which will appear in our Chronicle.

 

The game itself was as follows:

Yorkshire Chess Association Annual Meeting, Leeds, 18/01/1841

White: Mongredien, Augustus,

Black: Rhodes, John

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. b4 Bxb4 4. f4 d5 5. exd5 Nf6 6. fxe5 Nxd5 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. O-O O-O 9. c3 Ba5 10. Ba3 Re8 11. Qb3 Bxf3 12. Rxf3 Bb6 13. d4 Rxe5 14. Nd2 Nc6 15. Kh1 Na5 16. Qc2 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Rh5 18. Ne5 Nxc3 19. Nxf7 Qxd4 20. Raf1 c5 21. Rxc3 Bc7 22. h3 b6 23. Rcf3 Qd5 24. Bb2 g6 25. Qc3 Qd4 26. Qb3 c4 27. Qb4 Qc5 28. Qc3 Be5 29. Nxe5 and wins, 1-0

 

As things turned out, the Chronicle seems not to have published any more games from the meeting.

 

The following are the attenders listed by the Leeds Mercury, along with the writer’s opinion as to the identity of those so listed.

 

 

Name in Mercury

Location

Inferred Indentity

 

A Mongredien

Liverpool

Augustus Mongredien

#

GC Schwabe

Liverpool

Gustav Christian Schwabe

 

J Milnes Gaskell

Leeds

James Milnes Gaskell

 

Muff

Leeds

Joshua Muff

 

Robert Cadman

Leeds

Robert Cadman

 

John Rhodes

Leeds

John Rhodes

 

R. A. Brown

Leeds

Robert Alexander Brown

 

Robert Barr

Leeds

Robert Barr

 

F. Boscovitz

Leeds

Frederick Boscovitz

 

J. D. Luccock

Leeds

John Darnton Luccock

 

T. Powell

Leeds

Powell, T

#

Robert Perring

Leeds

Robert Perring

#

Dr. Thomas Smith

Leeds

Dr. Thomas Smith

#

R. Slocombe

Leeds

Richard Slocombe

 

W. Firth

Leeds

 

 

J. Mitchell

Leeds

 

#

Jackson

Leeds

 

#

J. Cross

Leeds

John Cross

#

A. Titley, jun.

Leeds

Anthony Titley, junior

 

J. Bates

Leeds

 

 

T. Hick

Leeds

 

 

W. Garber

Leeds

 

#

Capt. Elliott

Bradford

 

#

Martin

Bradford

 

#

Holloway

Bradford

 

#

Willett

Bradford

 

#

J. Willett

Bradford

 

#

Schlesinger

Bradford

Julius Schlesinger

#

Pearson

Bradford

 

 

Cronhelm

Halifax

Frederick William Cronhelm

 

Forbes

Halifax

Neil MacVicar Forbes

#

Emery

Halifax

 

 

Craven

Halifax

J Craven, senior

#

Holroyd

Halifax

 

 

Rev. T. Tyson M.A.

Wakefield

Rev. Edwin Colman Tyson

 

Calder B.A.

Wakefield

 

 

Shepherd

Wakefield

Edward Shepherd

 

Robinson

Wakefield

William Ledgar Robinson

 

France

Wakefield

John Morrell France

 

Parrott

Huddersfield

Thomas Parrott

 

Kilner

Huddersfield

John Hirst Kilner

 

Brierley

Huddersfield

Joseph Brierley

 

Atkinson

Huddersfield

Charles Atkinson

 

Lewis

Sheffield

 

 

Linley

Sheffield

 

#

Deakin

Sheffield

 

#

Greaves

Sheffield

James Haines Greaves (?)

# in column 1 denotes this was only attendance at such a meeting

 

 

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Created

25/04/2012

Copyright © 2012 Stephen John Mann

Last Updated

25/04/2012