1921/22 Hastings Premier, 26-31 December 1921

1921/22 Hastings Premier		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Borislav Kostic	Cologne / Serbia	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
2	Hubert Ernest Price	Birmingham	0	&;	0	1	½	1	1	1	4½
3	Arthur John Mackenzie	Birmingham	0	1	&;	0	1	½	½	1	4
4	Edward Guthlac Sergeant	Teddington	0	0	1	&;	0	1	1	½	3½
5	Fred Dewhirst Yates	Leeds	0	½	0	1	&;	1	0	1	3½
6	George Marshall Norman	Hastings	0	0	½	0	0	&;	1	1	2½
7	Roland Henry Vaughan Scott	St Pancras, London	0	0	½	0	1	0	&;	1	2½
8	John James O'Hanlon	Ireland	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	&;	½

N.B. round 3 and 4 both played on 28 December 1921.

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HASTINGS CHESS FESTIVAL [BCM, February 1922, ppn 41-43]

"The Hastings Christmas Chess Festival, which commenced on Boxing Day and concluded on the following Saturday, December 31st, 1921, was a thorough success and reflected great credit on the organisers, the officials of the Hastings Chess Club, headed by Mr. H. E. Dobell, the new president of the club. Nor must mention be omitted of the share which the municipality of the town took in promoting the success of the meeting, for through the courtesy of the Mayor, Alderman J. W. Fellows, and the Council, play took place in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall, a room admirably suited for a gathering of the size on this occasion. Lastly, the requirements of the players in the way of refreshments were well looked after by the same energetic band of local ladies who had done like service at the Victory Congress in 1919. The wish expressed by Mr. Dobell at the prize-giving on the final afternoon, that chessplayers should come to regard Hastings as the natural place to look for chess at Christmastide, is sure of fulfilment if the standard set up by the congresses of Christmas, 1920 and 1921, be maintained.

"The programme comprised a Premier Tournament, a Major Tournament, and First, Second and Third Class events, three sections being included in the last named. Every section consisted of eight players, and to enable the seven rounds to be got into the six days available for play two rounds were played on the Wednesday. Thus all was satisfactorily arranged to permit of the return home of those competitors who were bound to leave Hastings on Saturday.

"In the Premier Tournament there was naturally some disappointment over the absence of H. E. Atkins, Sir G. A. Thomas and V. L. Wahltuch; but the participation in the contest of Boris Kostich, the Serbian master, was a welcome compensation. F. D. Yates represented the North of England—not to mention British championship chess—H. E. Price and A. J. Mackenzie, the Midlands; J. J. O’Hanlon, Ireland; E. G. Sergeant and R. H. V. Scott, London; and G. M. Norman, Hastings itself. Play did not proceed entirely as expected. Kostich, indeed, carried off the first prize, with an even better score than had been anticipated, winning every game. But Yates and the two London players were in disappointing form and all three failed to get prizes. Price and Mackenzie taking the second and third respectively back to Birmingham. Norman did more than respectably in his first contest of such strength ; but O’Hanlon was in his Malvern, not his Broadstairs form. The race for the prizes, outside the first, was interesting. Yates and Price drawing their game in Round 1, and adding two wins, were 2½ points each after Round 3. Both had adjourned games in the next round, Yates’s being with Kostich and Price’s with O’Hanlon. In Round 5 Yates beat Sergeant, while Price fell to Kostich. The Birmingham man then won his adjourned game and also won v. Sergeant in Round 6, while Yates was defeated by Mackenzie, who by this brought his score up to 3. Yates, on Friday night, after a struggle of 6½ hours, was compelled to surrender to Kostich, and thus the position of the leaders, when the last round opened was :—Kostich, 6; Price, 4½; Yates, 3½; Mackenzie, 3. Mackenzie beating Price, while Yates lost to Scott (who scored 0 in the first four rounds, 2½ in the last three !), the final result was as stated, with the British Champion just outside the prize-list, equal with E. G. Sergeant. A comparison between the chess "table manners" of Kostich and Yates suggests that the latter often went into the position too deeply for a 20 moves-an-hour time-limit, and tired himself out, whereas the former’s Capablanca-like ease and detachment left him always fresh. Price played some vigorous chess, and Mackenzie lasted splendidly.

"The Major Tournament, with five Hastings, one Brighton and and two London players, looked like being a "good thing" for J. A. J. Drewitt, whose modesty appears always to preclude him from entering for the chief event. As a matter of fact, however, his defeats by Lean and Packer put the first prize within reach of Stephenson and either Lean or Berryman, if one of these two should succeed in winning the game between them in the last round. Lean, who in his last two games had an extraordinary chapter of accidents before winning them both, came up to the scratch and tied with Stephenson for first and second prizes, Drewitt having to be content with third.

"Two British Ladies’ Championship winners in the past were included in the First Class Tournament, Mrs. Stevenson and Mrs. Holloway, and the former made sure of her victory by beating the local player, J. A. Watt—hitherto unbeaten—in the last round. A very good performance on the part of the winner of chief honours among the ladies at Edinburgh in 1921!

"The Second Class event fell to the Londoner, A. D. Barlow, with 5½ points, Captain A. E. Dickinson, 5, taking second prize, and the third being divided between C. J. Daniel, G. H. Heritage, S. P. Lees and Mrs. Sollas, who all scored 4 points.

"The three sections of the Third Class Tournament showed the following prize-lists :—

Section A : I, J. W. Danahay, 7 points; II, K. R. B. McLeod, 4½; III, Rev. J. G. Watson, 4.

"Of these victories none was more meritorious than that of Danahay, who is a 16-year-old pupil of Hastings Grammar School. It is a very encouraging sign for the future of chess in Hastings that no less than seven of the competitors in the minor events hailed from that school, most of the pupils in which are natives of the town.

"Apart from the tournament play, there were two exhibitions of simultaneous chess; one by Kostich against 23 opponents on the Tuesday night, the single player in 2 hours and 40 minutes winning 20 and drawing 3 games (S. G. Howell-Smith, Miss Beddall and G. Taylor); the other by Newell W. Banks, the American draughts champion, against 25 opponents on Friday night [30 December 1921], the single player winning 16 and drawing 9 games. A lightning tournament on Thursday¹ afternoon attracted 36 entries, the prizes falling as follows:—I, Kostich ; II, Yates; III, Price; IV, Mackenzie. ¹ some sources state that the lightning tournament was held on the Friday.

"On Saturday afternoon the prizes were presented to the successful competitors by the Countess Brassey, the Mayor presiding. Votes of thanks were proposed, and carried by acclamation, to the Mayor, the Congress Committee, and the lady helpers at the canteen."

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1921/22 Hastings Major

1921/22 Hastings Major		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Richard Edward Lean	Brighton	&;	0	1	1	1	0	1	1	5
2	Harold John Francis Stephenson	Hastings	1	&;	0	½	1	½	1	1	5
3	John Arthur James Drewitt	Hastings	0	1	&;	½	0	1	1	1	4½
4	William John Berryman	Barnsley	0	½	½	&;	½	½	1	1	4
5	George Frederick Harold Packer	Hastings	0	0	1	½	&;	1	0	½	3
6	Henry Pinkerton	Hastings	1	½	0	½	0	&;	0	1	3
7	Herbert Edward Dobell	Hastings	0	0	0	0	1	1	&;	½	2½
8	John MacAlister	London	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	&;	1

1921/22 Hastings First Class

1921/22 Hastings First Class		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Mrs Agnes Bradley Stevenson (née Lawson)	Lambeth	&;	1	1	1	0	1	1	½	5½
2	James Arthur Watt	Hastings	0	&;	½	½	1	1	1	1	5
3	Alfred George Ginner	Hastings	0	½	&;	½	1	0	1	1	4
4	Sydney Gerard Howell-Smith	Hythe	0	½	½	&;	½	½	1	1	4
5	Mrs Edith Martha Holloway (née Crittenden)	Bromley	1	0	0	½	&;	1	½	0	3
6	Samuel John Holloway	Bromley	0	0	1	½	0	&;	0	1	2½
7	E J Merrill	Hastings	0	0	0	0	½	1	&;	1	2½
8	Henry W Wickham Hore	Hastings	½	0	0	0	1	0	0	&;	1½

Results of other sections given in The Times, 2 January 1922

Second Class: (1) Alfred Dudley Barlow 5½/7; (2) Captain Arthur Edward Dickinson 5; (3-6) C J/T Daniel (Hastings), G H Heritage (Hastings), S P Lees, Mrs. Amabel Nevill Gwyn Sollas 4; (7) Rev. G T Turnbull 1½; (8) J W Howes 0.

Third Class A: (1) John William George Danahay (Hastings Grammar School, aged 16) 7/7; (2) Keith Reginald Bruce McLeod 4½; (3) Rev. J G Watson 4; (4-5) Miss Ida French-Lucas, P W Mathews 3½; (6) Captain Hubert George McMullon 3; (7) Mrs. Howes 1½; (8) W Harvey 1.

Third Class B: (1) A S Allen 7/7; (2) Miss Minnie Musgrave (Hastings) 6; (3) Miss Ella Margaret Beddall¹ (Hastings) 5; (4-5) A V Brignall, Lawrence Alfred John Glyde 3; (6-7) Miss Jennings, L Langmore 1½; (8) A Boucher 1.

Third Class C: (1-2) R H Brown, R Owen (Hastings) 5½/7; (3) E C Brown 4½; (4) Mrs Ayris (Hastings) 3½; (5) Miss Margaret Keith-Dowding (Guildford) 3; (6) E W Skyrme 2½; (7) C H Carleon 2; (8) M C Birch 1½.

¹ Ella Margaret Beddall (1892-1968) married the chess writer Brian Harley (1883-1955) in 1926.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
(some years ago)	Initial upload of 1921/22 Hastings page with all 45 games
10 August 2020	All 45 games, plus three from subsidiary sections, crosstables, reports and results of all sections.
11 August 2020	Two more games from the subsidiary event have been sent in by Brian Denman—Packer-Lean, round 1 of the Major tournament, and MacLeod-Danahay from the Third Class A tournament. Andy Ansel has corrected two games—in Norman-O'Hanlon (round 5) White played 41.Rd7+ before doubling on the 7th rank as in the game; and in Kostic-Scott (round 1) White played 58.Kf7 rather than 58.Kg7. Many thanks to Brian and Andy.
26 March 2024	Added the game E.M.Beddall 1-0 NN from the Third Class B section. Many thanks to Brian Denman. Various other cosmetic amendments applied.