Yorkshire Chess History

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Bradford v Leeds, Woodhouse Cup, 1885

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Played on Saturday, 17th January 1885, at the County Restaurant, 7 New Ivegate, Bradford.

The first ever Woodhouse Cup match was played over the maximum of twenty boards. The final score was 20½-15½ in favour of Bradford. Two games were played on most boards, but only one game was played on four of the boards.

The Leeds Mercury Weekly Supplement of 24/01/1885 gave full results. James White mentioned Bradford’s success was probably partly attributable to the coaching received in recent months by the Bradford players from Isidor Gunsberg. White’s tendency, when his own club or county lost a match, was to slip into making excuses and/or recrimination. On this occasion, he came up with the following, which seems critical of the Bradford players and captain:

We are puzzled a little to understand why some of the players known to be rapid players finished only one game, and a little further on some contestants who are slow in moving contrived to get through two games, and lose them too. We fancy, too, we detect some good generalship in a few points in the arrangement of the home team.”

The truth would seem to be that Leeds were marginally stronger on the higher boards, but that Bradford had strength in depth. White pointed out that Leeds scored two more points than Bradford over the top six boards. However, the minimum number of boards, according to the rules, was eight, and over the top eight boards Bradford prevailed by 7 points to Leeds’s 6. Over the top ten boards things were again even, at 8 points each. On the second ten boards, Bradford scored 12½ to Leeds’s 7½, so winning the match.

The report of the result in the Sheffield & Rotherham Independent Weekly Supplement of 24/01/1885 didn’t give board results, but described how at the close of the match:

Mr. James Rayner, of Leeds, addressed the meeting, and warmly congratulated the victors on their success; to which Herr Cassel replied in suitable terms, and after Herr Gunsberg had said a few words the proceedings terminated for that evening.

Below are board-by-board game results, with names as furnished by the Leeds Mercury, and the present writer’s view as to the players’ fuller names:

Fuller Name	Bradford	20½		15½	Leeds	Fuller Name
Robert McCheyne Macmaster	R M Macmaster	0-1	1	½-½	C G Bennett*	Charles George Bennett *
George Frederick Onions	G F Onions	0-1	2	½-½	A Bilbrough	Alfred Bilbrough
Thomas Spencer	T Spencer	1-0	3		Jas Rayner	James Rayner
John Edmund Hall	J E Hall	½-½	4		T Y Stokoe	Thomas Young Stokoe
George Edmund Mallett	G E Mallett	½-½	5	0-1	E B Hussey	Edward Bishop Hussey
Robert Whitaker	R Whitaker	½-½	6		A Howell
Samuel Moulding Cockin	S M Cockin	½-½	7	1-0	J W Stringer	John Wiliam Stringer
George Adolphus Schott	S A Schott [sic]	1-0	8	1-0	F Toothill	Frank Toothill
	S Hudson	½-½	9		F C Shepard [sic]	Frederick Crosland Shepherd
Charles Ogden	C Ogden	0-1	10	½-½	M Wright	Murrell Wright
Peter Tarbet Macauley	P T Macaulay	1-0	11	1-0	S Taylor	Samuel Taylor
William Cole Ferrand	W C Ferrand	1-0	12	0-1	J Craven	John Craven
Thomas Fieldsend	T Fieldsend	1-0	13	1-0	A G Cowling	Arthur Goodyear Cowling
Hartwig Cassel	H Cassel	1-0	14	½-½	T Smith
Joseph Algernon Woollard	J Woollard	1-0	15	1-0	J Birkinshaw
Edward Billingsley Stead	E B Stead	1-0	16	0-1	J Musgrove	John Musgrove
Nathan Nachbar	N Nachbar	1-0	17	1-0	J L Bisbey	James Lilley Bisbey
Henry Glaser	H Glaser	1-0	18	0-1	E G Wacheux [sic]	Eugene Joseph Wacheux
Charles Augustus Müller	C Muller	0-1	19	0-1	T W Tate	Thomas William Tate
Henry Brady Priestman	H B Priestman	0-1	20	0-1	A G Burgoyne

* = captain

There were no unfinished games reported as having been adjudicated.

Created

09/07/2012

Last Updated

30/07/2013