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Tournament: 36th Varsity Match • Venue: St George's Chess Club, Savile Row, London • Date: Monday 23 March 1908
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Monday December 11, 2023 11:47 PM
The 36th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University was held at St George's Chess Club, Savile Row, London, on Monday 23 March 1908.
| 1907« 1908 Varsity Chess Match »1909 | ||||
| Bd | Oxford University | vs | Cambridge University | Openings |
| 1b | Noel James Roughton (New) | ½-½ | Leonard Illingworth (Trinity) | Ruy Lopez |
| 2w | Reuben Lob (Worcester) | 1-0 | Bertram Herbert Russell Stower (Queens') | Vienna Game |
| 3b | Robert Petrie (Balliol) | ½-½ | Coventry Ernest Woodhouse (Pembroke) | Ruy Lopez ...f5 |
| 4w | Herbert Jennings Rose (Balliol) | 1-0 | Hyman Lob (King's) | Vienna Game |
| 5b | Alexander Percival Waterfield (Christ Church) | 0-1 | John Brown (Sidney Sussex) | QP |
| 6w | John George Rennie (New) | 1-0 | John Matthias Bee (St Catharine's) | Vienna Game |
| 7b | Cyril Scriven Norris (Hertford) | 0-1 | William Arthur Cooper (King's) | Petroff |
| 4-3 | ||||
Main sources: Oxford-Cambridge Chess Matches (1873-1987), (compiled by Jeremy Gaige, Philadelphia 1987); Sergeant, Philip W, A Century of Chess (London 1934, referred to in the text as PWS); Ancestry.com; FindMyPast.com; Who Was Who 1897-2007; Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette - Friday 27 March 1908 (openings used - gives the Oxford board 7 as "C. J. Morris"); Wikipedia. One game available in the download (board 2).
Notes:
(1) Play from noon to 6pm with an hour's interval for lunch
BCM, April 1908, p170: "... play was from midday to six, with an hour's interval for lunch, but was not of a high standard, as on several boards clear wins were thrown away. On the first board Roughton got into difficulties in defending the Ruy Lopez against Illingworth; the latter, however, did not make the most of his opportunities, and a draw resulted. On the next board Lob played the Vienna against the Cambridge president, and obtained a fine attack, his opponent not knowing the opening. The Oxonian played a brilliant game, and never gave the defender a chance of getting out of his early difficulties - first win for Oxford. On the third board Woodhouse soon gained two pieces for a rook and pawn, which should have given him the game. Petrie, however, won a bishop for a pawn, and the game developed into a pawn ending, with a bishop against a rook. The play was prolonged to over 50 moves, and resulted in a draw. On the fourth board Lob looked like winning at the adjournment, being a pawn up. His opponent (Rose) after this loss made a good fight, and eventually won the game. On the last three boards Oxford lost two games... Rennie played the Vienna against Bee, and won the exchange... Cooper played a strong game against Norris..."
File updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| 17 April 2022 | Original upload. Biographical details and match reports to be added later. |