SHEFFIELD Chess History

 

Contents:

Davy Trophy

Yorkshire Home

 

Sheffield Home

Narrative

Organisations

Events

Games

People

Graves

Competitions

Trophies

Made in Sheffield

Miscellaneous

 

Although the Sheffield and District Chess Association was formed in 1883, it was not until 1909 that a trophy was presented for tenure by the winners of the inter-club team competition which today has become the top division of what is loosely called the “league”, though back in 1909 there was no second division or other similar competition.

 

The trophy takes the form of a silver rook, with two diametrically opposed handles.  It is about 20cm high, and the base is about 12.5 cm in diameter.  The rim of the cup takes the form of battlements, as typically surmount a rook; the slightly odd thing is that there are seven battlements, which is at odds with the bilaterally symmetry arrangements of the handles.  On its front it is inscribed as follows:

 

Sheffield Chess Association

The “Davy” Challenge Trophy

1909

On the base is the inscription:

 

Presented by Mr. Ernest R. Davy, in memory of his father

 

The trophy bears the sterling silver mark, the Sheffield assay marks for 1909, and two maker’s marks.  One of makers mark consists of a shape containing letters arranged as follows:

W

SS H LD

&

 

This mark looks as if it might be that of William Hutton & Sons Ltd, after whom Hutton’s Chess Club was named.  The other maker’s mark consists of five downward-pointing parallel arrows running from top left to bottom right, and another five downward-pointing arrows running from top right to bottom left, the two sets being roughly orthogonal.

 

(Click here for a photograph of the trophy.)

 

Ernest Richards Davy’s father was chess-playing Arthur Davy of Arthur Davy & Sons, who died in 1902.  Arthur Davy was president of the Sheffield Athenaeum Chess Club at the time of the establishment of the Sheffield & District Chess Association in 1883, and became the Association’s first president.

 

The Sheffield & District & Chess Association had ceased to exist in 1908, and Sheffield Chess Club had assumed responsibility for running the Association’s affairs, and Ernest R Davy became one of the club’s vice-presidents.  Perhaps he thought his father’s Sheffield & District Chess Association had died for good, and so introduced a continuing memorial to his father.   The choice of the wording with “Sheffield Chess Association”, which has never been the formal title of any organisation (unless it be in the United Stated), may have been a way of sidestepping the political issue of whether it was the Association or the “club regent” which had the right to rule.  In the event the S&DCA was resuscitated in time.

 

The new trophy was first awarded to the winners of the competition of the season 1909-10, West End Chess Club, who went on to win it five times out of the trophy’s first seven seasons, showing West End to be the dominant club at the time.

 

Successive winners of the trophy, as engraved thereon except items in italics, have been as follows:

 

1909‑1910

West End Chess Club

1910‑1911

West End Chess Club

1911‑1912

Sharrow Chess Club

1912‑1913

West End Chess Club

1913‑1914

Walkley Reform Chess Club

1914‑1915

West End Chess Club

1915‑1916

West End Chess Club

1916‑1917

Walkley Reform Chess Club

1917‑1918

Walkley Reform Chess Club

1918‑1919

Firth Park Chess Club

1920

West End

1921

Woodseats

1922

Woodseats

1923

St. Augustines

1924

Y.M.C.A.

1925

Rotherham

1926

Y.M.C.A.

1927

Y.M.C.A.

1928

Woodseats Friends

1929

Woodseats Friends

1930

Woodseats Friends

1931

Woodseats Friends

1932

Woodseats Friends

1933

Woodseats Friends

1934

Button Lane

1935

Woodseats Fds

1936

Button Lane

1937

Button Lane

1938

Button Lane

1939

West End

1940

no contest

1941

no contest

1942

no contest

1943

no contest

1944

no contest

1945

Button Lane

1946

Sheffield Transport

1947

Y.M.C.A.

1948

Chesterfield

1949

Y.M.C.A.

1950

Y.M.C.A.

1951

Y.M.C.A.

1952

Chesterfield

1953

Chesterfield

1954

Chesterfield

1955

Kimberworth

1956

Sheffield University

1957

Kimberworth

1958

Kimberworth

1959

University

1960

Kimberworth

1961

University

1962

University

1963

University 'A'

1964

University 'A'

1965

University 'A'

1966

University 'B'

1967

Hillsborough 'A'

1968

University 'A'

1968‑1969

University [not engraved]

1970

University 'B'

1971

University 'B'

1972

Y.M.C.A. 'B'

1973

University A

1974

University A

1975

Rotherham A

1976

Ecclesall NPC 'A'

1977

University A

1978

Rotherham A

1979

Rotherham A

1980

Rotherham B

1981

University A

1982

Ecclesall A

1983

Rotherham A

1984

Rotherham A

1985

Ecclesall A

1986

Banner Cross Phoenix

1987

Aughton A

1988

Ecclesall A

1989

Rotherham A

1990

Chesterfield A

1991

Nomads A

1992

Nomads A

1993

Ecclesall A

1994

University A

1995

Ecclesall A

1996

Ecclesall A

1997

University A

1998

Chesterfield A

1999

Rotherham A

2000

Ecclesall A

2001

Rotherham Juniors A

2002

Nomads A

2003

Chesterfield A

2004

Woodseats

2005

Woodseats

2006

Nomads A

2007

Nomads A

2008

Nomads A

2009

Nomads

2010

Chesterfield

2011

Nomads

2012

Chesterfield *

2013

Nomads A

2014

Nomads A

2015

Chesterfield A

2016

SASCA/RJ A

2017

Chesterfield A

2018

Ecclesall A

2019

Ecclesall A

2020

Sheffield Nomads A

* engraved twice for 2012!

 

 

Created

14/05/2012

Copyright © 2012 Stephen John Mann

Last Updated

16/02/2021