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Yorkshire Chess History |
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Contents: |
1903-04: County Matches |
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1902-03 County Matches - 1904-05 County Matches 1) Northern Counties Championship, First Round played at the King's Head Hotel, Sheffield, on 23/01/1904, over 25 boards
This was the first occasion on which an inter-county chess match had been played in Sheffield. The local arrangements had been undertaken by the Sheffield & District Chess Association. The Yorkshire team was captained by I. M. Brown; the Cheshire team was captained by J. Burtinshaw.
The host Sheffield players scored well with three wins, three draws and a loss from seven games (64%), whereas the other Yorkshire players scored only 47%.
After the match the players were entertained to tea by the Sheffield & District Chess Association, with W. P. Turnbull, an S&DCA vice-president, in the chair. (“Tea” meant what is otherwise known as high tea, “dinner” being the midday meal in local common parlance.) Besides the usual votes of thanks, J. Burtinshaw expressed the view that the smaller counties, such as Cheshire and Cumberland, were at a disadvantage was compared with Yorkshire and Lancashire, suggesting that the latter two counties ought to be subdivided to make matches more even - which was a little odd in the context of the result just reached. After proposing a vote of thanks to the Sheffield &DCA, I. M. Brown replied to Mr. Burtinshaw’s comment by saying it was hardly practical in the case of Yorkshire, but that the idea deserved consideration. I. M. Brown’s idea was perhaps that dividing Yorkshire into its constituent ridings, assigning York either to the North or East Riding, would merely dilute “Yorkshire” to the West Riding, while the North and East Ridings would be unable to sustain teams.
A report on the match appeared in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph of 25/01/1904.
2) Northern Counties Championship, Final Round played at Manchester Chess Club, on 19/03/1904, over 25 boards
The Yorkshire captain faced a number of problems in fielding a team. All the Hull players invited chose to decline to play. This was primarily due to their difficulties getting home from the 1902 Lancashire v Yorkshire match. Among others who were invited, but had to decline, were W. P. Turnull, G. H. Harrison, A. E. Harrison, and W. H. J. Sparkes, all of Sheffield. Then, on the day, three or four players who had gone along as spectators has to be drafted in as substitutes for players who, for reasons unexplained at the time, did not turn up. Even then, Yorkshire still had to default one board, there being no more would-be spectators to call on.
The Yorkshire team was thus believed to have been the weakest ever fielded, while the Lancashire team was almost at full strength, so the relative closeness of the final result came as a surprise to both teams.
(@ = result after adjudication of unfinished game) (0d1 = loss by default, due to nonappearance of named player)
A report on the match appeared in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph of 21/03/1904.
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Created 31/08/2013 |
Stephen John Mann |
Last Updated 19/11/2013 |