1924 British Chess Championship, Southport, 11-23 August • 1923« »1925

1924 British Championship		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Henry Ernest Atkins	Huddersfield	7	&;	1	½	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	½	1	8½
2	Fred Dewhirst Yates	Leeds	11	0	&;	1	½	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	8
3	Sir George Alan Thomas	London	5	½	0	&;	½	1	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	7½
4	Roland Henry Vaughan Scott	London	3	0	½	½	&;	½	½	1	0	1	1	1	½	6½
5	Harold Saunders	London	6	½	½	0	½	&;	1	0	1	1	0	½	1	6
6	Hubert Ernest Price	Birmingham	8	0	1	0	½	0	&;	1	1	1	0	0	1	5½
7	Reginald Pryce Michell	Kingston-upon-Thames	1	1	0	½	0	1	0	&;	0	½	½	½	1	5
8	Vinayak Kashinath Khadilkar	Bombay, India	9	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	&;	½	1	1	0	4½
9	Edmund Spencer	Liverpool	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	½	½	&;	1	½	1	4½
10	Joseph Henry Blake	London	12	0	0	0	0	1	1	½	0	0	&;	1	1	4½
11	William Albert Fairhurst	Manchester	4	½	0	0	0	½	1	½	0	½	0	&;	1	4
12	William Gibson	Glasgow	10	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	&;	1½

1924 British Ladies' Chess Championship • 1923« »1925

1924 British Ladies' Championship		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Edith Charlotte Price	London	10	&;	½	½	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
2	Agnes Bradley Stevenson	London	3	½	&;	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	0	1	1	8
3	Edith Martha Holloway	London	5	½	½	&;	½	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	6½
4	Edith Mary Ann Michell (née Tapsell)	Kingston-upon-Thames	9	0	½	½	&;	½	1	1	0	½	1	1	½	6½
5	Mary Dinorah Gilchrist	Glasgow	6	0	0	0	½	&;	1	½	1	1	½	1	½	6
6	Amabel Nevill Gwyn Sollas	Oxford	12	1	0	1	0	0	&;	½	0	1	1	½	1	6
7	Mary Constance Forbes	Edinburgh	1	0	0	0	0	½	½	&;	1	1	1	½	1	5½
8	Mary Mills Houlding (née Palmer)	Wallingford	7	0	½	1	1	0	1	0	&;	0	½	0	1	5
9	Florence Hutchison Stirling	Edinburgh	8	0	0	1	½	0	0	0	1	&;	0	1	½	4
10	Rosa Annie Banting	London	2	0	1	0	0	½	0	0	½	1	&;	½	0	3½
11	Charlotte Helena Minchin-Cotton	London	11	0	0	0	0	1	½	½	1	0	½	&;	1	3½
12	Emily Eliza Abraham	Herne Bay	4	0	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	½	1	0	&;	2½

1924 BCF Major Open

1924 BCF Major Open		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Akiba Rubinstein	Poland	7	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	11
2	John Arthur James Drewitt	Hastings	5	0	&;	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	8
3	George Wyville Moses	Pontefract	2	0	1	&;	1	0	½	1	½	1	1	1	½	7½
4	Herbert Gibson Rhodes	Southport	11	0	1	0	&;	½	1	1	1	1	0	½	1	7
5	Oscar Conrad Müller	London	1	0	0	1	½	&;	1	½	½	0	1	½	1	6
6	Christopher Barclay Heath	Dundee	8	0	0	½	0	0	&;	1	1	0	1	1	1	5½
7	Cyril Duffield	Bristol	3	0	0	0	0	½	0	&;	1	1	1	½	1	5
8	Philip Walsingham Sergeant	London	6	0	0	½	0	½	0	0	&;	1	0	1	1	4
9	Andrew Rowland Benedick Thomas	Liverpool	9	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	&;	1	0	1	4
10	William Henry Watts	London	10	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	&;	1	1	4
11	Frank Schofield	Leeds	4	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	0	1	0	&;	½	3
12	George Wright	York	12	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	&;	1

1924 BCF First-Class A

1924 BCF First-Class A		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Charles Reuben Gurnhill	Sheffield	8	&;	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
2	Richard Whieldon Barnett, MP	London	6	0	&;	1	½	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	7½
3	E W Davies	London	12	0	0	&;	½	½	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	7½
4	Harold John Snowden	London	7	1	½	½	&;	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	7½
5	Henry James MacThomas Thoms	Dundee	9	0	0	½	½	&;	½	1	1	1	1	1	1d	7½
6	William Rowland Thomas	Liverpool	1	0	0	0	½	½	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
7	Geoffrey Kendall Nuttall	London	11	0	1	½	½	0	0	&;	0	1	0	1	1	5
8	F Wilkinson	Kingston	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	&;	0	1	0	1	4
9	Gerald Abrahams	Liverpool	4	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	1	&;	0	1	1	3½
10	Edward Victor Strugnell	London	2	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	1	&;	0	1	3½
11	Rev. E Wells	Bournemouth	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	&;	1d	3
12	Leslie Burland1	Rotherham	3	0	0	0	0	0d	0	0	0	0	0	0d	&;	0

¹ "Mr. Leslie Burland, discharged from the Army in 1915 with the loss of his right arm and leg has died at Osbournby, aged 53. In 1916 he demonstrated his artificial limbs before Their Majesties King George V, and Queen Mary. His hobby was chess, and he once played a game lasting 4 hrs 25 mins, against Capablanca, the world champion." (Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian, 2 April 1949) This game was played in Capablanca's Rotherham simul on 26 October 1922 when he scored +36, =0, -0.

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1924 BCF First-Class B

1924 BCF First-Class B		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	John Harold Morrison	Liverpool	4	&;	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	9
2	Walter (or Wm?) Atkinson	Hull	3	0	&;	1	1	0	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	7½
3	John Ellis Parry	Market Drayton	12	0	0	&;	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	0	6½
4	Frederick Charles Short	Walsall	11	0	0	1	&;	1	0	½	1	1	1	0	1	6½
5	J(oshua?) Jackson	Dewsbury	5	0	1	0	0	&;	1	½	1	1	0	1	½	6
6	Rev. Arthur Percival Lacy-Hulbert	Birmingham	2	1	0	½	1	0	&;	1	0	½	0	1	1	6
7	John MacAlister	London	9	0	½	0	½	½	0	&;	½	½	1	½	1	5
8	Col. Charles Edward Stuart-Prince	Nairobi	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	&;	1	1	½	1	5
9	Sydney Gerard Howell-Smith	Hythe	8	1	1	0	0	0	½	½	0	&;	0	½	½	4
10	Alfred Dudley Barlow	London	10	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	&;	½	0	3½
11	George Edmund Hewson	Sheffield	7	0	0	0	1	0	0	½	½	½	½	&;	½	3½
12	John Elliot(t) West	Ashton-under-Lyne	6	0	0	1	0	½	0	0	0	½	1	½	&;	3½

1924 BCF Second-Class A

1924 BCF Second-Class A		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Henfrey Austin Turriff	Arbroath	7	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
2	Alfred Clifford Falkner	Wallington	2	0	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	7
3	S J Osborn	London	1	0	0	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
4	C H Taylor	Lewisham	8	0	0	1	&;	0	0	1	1	1	1	5
5	Alfred Thomas Cannell	Norwich	5	0	0	0	1	&;	1	0	1	½	1	4½
6	Stephen Poulson Lees	London	6	0	0	0	1	0	&;	0	1	1	1	4
7	Frederick Oswald Nelson	York	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	&;	0	1	1	4
8	Laurence Small	Liverpool	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	&;	½	1	2½
9	Mrs Jeanie Brockett	Glasgow	10	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	&;	1d	2
10	Willington Lucette Wakefield	Coventry	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0d	&;	1

n.b. the table given in BCM showed the letter 'p' for Wakefield's game vs Mrs Brockett, and '1' for Mrs Brockett. I'm assuming some sort of default but might simply be a typo. I'm not quite sure how the BCF all-play-all pairings operated for a ten-player tournament.

1924 BCF Second-Class B

1924 BCF Second-Class B		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Newman Clissold	New Brighton	2	&;	½	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	9
2	Rev. Edwin John Evans Howlett	Stoke-on-Trent	11	½	&;	½	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	8½
3	Dr Vickerman Henzell Rutherford	London	4	0	½	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	7
4	George Breese	Wimbledon	6	0	0	1	&;	0	1	1	0	1	1	½	5½
5	Herbert Norman Saffery Heath	London	10	0	0	0	1	&;	½	1	½	0	1	1	5
6	George Arthur Youngman	Maidstone	7	0	0	0	0	½	&;	½	1	1	1	1	5
7	W Barker	Wolverhampton	5	½	½	0	0	0	½	&;	½	1	1	½	4½
8	Henry David Osborn	Gosport	3	0	0	0	1	½	0	½	&;	1	0	½	3½
9	Miss M Andrews1	London	8	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	&;	1	1	3
10	Miss Hilda Florence Chater	Penzance	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	&;	1	2
11	Henry Edward Doran	Coventry	9	0	0	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	0	&;	2

¹ BCM, August 1923, p281-282, reported that Miss M Andrews was "sister to the well-known Sussex amateur" without giving his name. I think his name was W R Andrews, who played for Christ Church, Brighton, and won the Sussex championship, but I have yet to find his forenames or that of his sister. JS.

1924 BCF Third-Class Division 1

1924 BCF Third-Class Div 1		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	E H Smith	London	2	&;	01	11	11	11	11	9
2	Rev. William Thomas Mackenzie Hooppell	Stoke-on-Trent	6	10	&;	11	1½	11	11	8½
3	G W Bedford	Leyton	5	00	00	&;	1½	½1	11	5
4	W Lyon	Ashton-in-Makerfield	1	00	0½	0½	&;	01	11	4
5	John E Coleman	Grays	4	00	00	½0	10	&;	10	2½
6	Mrs M Healey	Manchester	3	00	00	00	00	01	&;	1

1924 BCF Third-Class Division 2

1924 BCF Third-Class Div 2		Residence	Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	W A Aston	Wolverhampton	4	&;	1½	10	½0	11	11	7
2	Mrs A Chase	London	6	0½	&;	1½	11	01	11	7
3	Miss Stella Violet Aline Malcolm	Edinburgh	3	01	0½	&;	10	11	11	6½
4	Albert James Smith	Malton	1	½1	00	01	&;	11	11	6½
5	Miss Louisa Gertrude Ogden	Manchester	5	00	10	00	00	&;	11	3
6	Mrs Clara Margaret MacVean	Bournemouth	2	00	00	00	00	00	&;	0

The 1924 British Championship was held in the same art gallery, at the top of the library building in Southport, as the 1905 championship. Here is a picture of the same galleries as they are in 2015 (photos copyright © 2015 John Saunders):

Exterior photo of Southport Library, 2015...

From the Manchester Guardian, 23 July 1924:

"British Championship: H. E. Atkins, Huddersfield; J. H. Blake, London; W. A. Fairhurst, Manchester; W. Gibson, Glasgow; V. K. Khadilkar, Bombay; R. P. Michell, Kingston; H. E. Price, Birmingham; H. Saunders, London; R. H. V. Scott, London; E. Spencer, Liverpool; Sir G. A. Thomas, London (holder); F. D. Yates, Leeds.
Major Open Tournament: J. A. J. Drewitt, Hastings; Cyril Duffield, Bristol; C. B. Heath. Dundee; G. W. Moses, Pontefract; O. C. Muller, London; H. G. Rhodes, Southport; A. Rubinstein, Poland; F. Schofield, Leeds; P. W. Sergeant, London; A. R. B. Thomas, Liverpool; W. H. Watts, London; G. Wright, York.
British Ladies’ Championship: Miss E. E. Abraham, Herne Bay; Mrs. R. A. Banting, London; Miss H. Cotton, London; Miss M. C. Forbes, Edinburgh; Miss M. D. Gilchrist, Glasgow; Mrs. E. M. Holloway, London; Mrs. M. Houlding, Wallingford; Miss F. Hutchison-Stirling, Edinburgh; Mrs. R. P. Michell, Kingston; Miss E. C. Price, London (holder); Mrs. A. Sollas, Oxford; Mrs. R. H. S. Stevenson, London.

"In the British championship Messrs. H. E. Atkins, a former champion. W. A. Fairhurst, Cheshire and Manchester champion, V. K. Khadilkar, Bombay, R. P. Michell and H. Saunders, London, and E. Spencer, Lancashire champion and winner four times in all, take the places of Messrs. Wainwright, Jacobs, Uber, Hamond, Steele, and Gooding, who played last year. It will be recalled that E. Spencer defeated Sir G. A. Thomas in the recent Weston-super-Mare tournament. A particularly interesting point will be to note the progress of Spencer and Fairhurst who make their debut in the championship.

"In the ladies’ championship. Mrs. R. A. Banting, and Miss M. C. Forbes, take the places of Miss Andrews and Mrs. Brockett. The Major Open has no less than nine new names. Alekhine, the victor last year, is absent, but A. Rubinstein is playing, and he, of course, is much the strongest player at the Congress. There is a good proportion of Northerners playing in the other events, and the outlook for the Congress generally is very favourable."

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Results from the Manchester Guardian, 23 Aug 1924:

"Championship: H. E. Atkins 8½, F. D. Yates 8, Sir G. A. Thomas 7½, R. H. V. Scott 6½, H. Saunders 6, H. E. Price 5½, R. P. Michell 5, V. K. Khadilkar 4½, E. Spencer 4½, W. A. Fairhurst 4, W. Gibson 1½.
Major Open: A. Rubinstein 11/11, J. A. J. Drewitt 8, G. W. Moses 7½, H. J. Rhodes 7, O. C. Muller 6, C. B. Heath 5½, C. Duffield 5, A. R. B. Thomas 4, P. W. Sergeant 4, W. H. Watts 4, F. Schofield 3, G. Wright 1.
Ladies’ championship: Miss E. C. Price 9, Mrs. R. H. S. Stevenson 8, Mrs. E. M. Holloway 6½, Mrs. Michell 6½, Miss M. D. Gilchrist 6, Mrs. Sollas 6, Miss M. C. Forbes 5½, Mrs M. Houlding 5, Miss F. Hutchison-Stirling 4, Mrs. R. A. Banting 3½, Miss H. Cotton 3½, Miss E. E. Abrahams 2½.
First Class A: C. R. Gurnhill 10/11, E. W. Davies 7½, Major R. W. Barnett, M.P., 7½, H. J. Snowden 7½, H. J. M. Thoms 7½, W. R. Thomas 7, G. K. Nuttall 5, F. Wilkinson 4, G. Abrahams 3½, E. V. Strugnell 3½, Rev. E. Wells 3, L. Burland 0.
First Class B: J. H. Morrison 9/11, W. Atkinson 7½, F. C. Short 6½, J. E. Parry 6½, J. Cookson 6, Rev. Arthur Percival Lacy-Hulbert 6, J. Macallister 5, Col. C. Stuart Prince 5, S. G. Howell Smith 4, A. D. Barlow 3½, G. E. Hewson 3½, J. E. West 3½.
Second Class A: H. A. (Henfrey Austin) Turriff 9/9, A. C. Falkner 7, S. Osborne 6, C. H. Taylor 5, A. T. Cannell 4½, S. P. Lees 4, F. O. Nelson 4, L. Small 2½, Mrs. J. Brockett 2, W. L. Wakefield 1.
Second Class B: Newman Clissold 9/10, the Rev. E. J. E. Howlett 8½, Dr. V. H. Rutherford 7, G. Breese 5½, G. A. Youngman 5, H. N. S. Heath 5, W. Barker 4½, H. D. Osborn 3½, Miss M. Andrews 3, Miss H. F. Chater 2, H. E. Doran 2.
Third Class (1): E. H. Smith 9/11, the Rev. M. Hooppell 8½, G. W. Bedford 5, W. Lyon 4, J. E. Coleman 2½, Mrs. M. Healey 1.
Third Class (2): W. A. Aston 7/11, Mrs. A. Chase 7, Miss S. V. A. Malcolm 6½, A. J. Smith 6½, Miss L. G. Ogden 3, Mrs. MacVean 0."

Rubinstein Simultaneous Display, 22 August 1924: Akiba Rubinstein +19, =9, -4 (F.P. Wenman, A.C. Falkner, C.B. Heath, H.J.M. Thoms) (source of info: Manchester Guardian, 25 Aug 1924)

Lightning (10-seconds-a-move) Tournaments: (1) Date? - won by Rubinstein - possibly the one dated 13 August, reported in BCM, September 1924, p351 – Rubinstein beat Yates in the final [round?]; 2nd was Thomas, 3rd N Clissold, 4th Dr. Regan; (2) Played 16 August. 1 WA Fairhurst, 2 JH Morrison, 3 F Wilkinson, 4 Miss Andrews*. Rubinstein played but was knocked out at an earlier stage by Cyril Duffield; (3) ?? but must have been won by Rubinstein as the Guardian says he won three of these side events - JS; (4) 1 A Rubinstein, 2 JH Morrison, 3 JE West (Cambridge Univ captain), 4 Miss Andrews* (who won two prizes in the Lightning events); (5) 1 Edmund Spencer, 2 F Wilkinson, 3 Rev. AP Lacy-Hulbert, 4 ARB Thomas. (* presumably the same Miss M. Andrews who scored 3/11 in Second-Class B - JS)

Problem Solving Tourney (3-moves): 1 Brian Harley, 141 (max. points); 2 JW Dixon, 109; 3 John Keeble, 104; 4 FD Yates, 100.

Rubinstein received £16 for winning the Major Open.

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Letter to the Editor, 7 September 1924: "BRITISH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP - Sir, I wish to point out an unfortunate peculiarity of the British Chess Federation Meeting, which has caused a considerable discontent. The Championship entries are limited to twelve, chosen by a committee. The same players, more or less, are selected year after year, with the result that the numerous strong amateurs throughout the country are hopelessly kept out. In no other country is there this limitation.

"The old British Chess Association placed no restriction. Is the condition referred to right? Is the responsible British Chess Federation doing its duty by the public? Of course, the explanation is convenience. But difficulties are things to overcome. If larger and unrestricted tournaments can be held in other countries, why not in England? I suggest the formation of an organisation prepared to hold a tournament without this absurd and unfair restriction: a championship tournament rational and national. I am, etc, S.F. Smith¹, Emperor's Gate Hotel, S.W."

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1924 British Boys (Under-18) Championship, Hastings Town Hall, 21-26 April

n.b. the junior (boys and girls) championships were not held during the BCF Congress until some decades later but were stand-alone events held during the Easter school holidays. I have included them in the same file as the main British Championship of a given year for convenience. JS

BCM, June 1924, ppn 231-234

BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AT HASTINGS.

The second year of the Boys’ Championship Congress—though it is the fourth occasion, in all, that Hastings has held a congress for boys—saw a fine entry of thirty-six players for the championship, and twenty-four for the general event. The latter was not this year, as last, held concurrently with the championship during the Easter holidays, but before, in order to suit the convenience of boys who may be at school in Hastings and St. Leonards, but do not wish, or may not be able to spend their holidays there.

The main tournament opened at the Town Hall on the evening of Easter Monday, April 21st. We gave last month the names of the competitors in the six preliminary sections from which the six finalists were to be drawn, and shall content ourselves with the score-lists of these sections and some very brief remarks :—

[Preliminary Section] A: (1) (Philip) Stuart Milner-Barry (holder) 4½/5; (2) Ronald Walter Dodds 3½; (3) Leslie George Norman 3; (4) L B Hunt 2½; (5) G Austin 1½; V Watling 0 (2 lost by default). The holder drew with Dodds in the second round, but after that had an easy passage, whereas Dodds drew 2 more games.

[Preliminary Section] B: (1) Leslie Nerquia Stuart 4½/5; (2) Roderick Alfred Pilkington 4; (3) (William) Arthur Winser 3½; (4-6) J Hosford, T H Silcock and W A Spouse 1 each. Stuart and Winser had a fine set-to in the second round, a game full of ingenuity, which ended in a draw. Stuart won his other 4 games; but Winser was beaten, and passed in the score, by Pilkington (from Vancouver) in the last round.

[Preliminary Section] C: (1) R(alph?) H(enry?) Brown 5/5; (2-4) T H Goodwin, Alfred Mortlock, Theodore Magnus Wechsler 3; (5-6) Denys Jearrad P Gale, R S Hunter ½ each. Brown should not have got more than a draw against Gale in the fourth round; but he finished with a great win against Wechsler, after being a piece down. Wechsler scored 3 off the reel (like Brown), but then lost 2 in one day, letting up two others to tie with him. In the play-off, by lightning chess, for second prize in the section, Mortlock won.

[Preliminary Section] D: (1-4) Eric John Scrimgeour, Arthur Duncan Birks, Ernest George Exell, Arthur Eric Smith 3½/5; (5) Arthur John Adrian Goetzee 1; (6) J S Maxwell 0. Smith would have won this section, had he not resigned a game to Birks through not seeing a draw. The quadruple tie for first place was, owing to lack of time before the final was due to begin, decided by a small lightning tournament, in which Scrimgeour won all his 3 games, and Birks won 2. This section evidently contained the four players of almost nearly equal strength.

[Preliminary Section] E: (1) Lionel Frank Papé 4½/5; (2) Peter Geoffrey Husbands 4; (3) Donald Alfred Gordon Salter 3½; (4) Anthony Clifford Steadman 2; (5) Godfrey Walter Charig 1; (6) Charles Sydney Kennedy George 0. Husbands, after drawing with Papé, should have tied with him but failed to win a won game against Salter.

[Preliminary Section] F: (1) Wilfred Henry Pratten 4½/5; (2) A G Charles 4; (3) Raymond Hampden Blomfield 3; (4) Clement Bruning 1½; (5-6) (Alfred) Rupert (Neale) Cross, Donald Arthur Charles Gibbs 1 each. Pratten rather outclassed the rest, though he could only draw his first game, v. Bruning. Charles’s first three opponents each presented him with a piece.

After the tie in Section D had been decided on Wednesday morning, April 24th, the championship proper began at 5 p.m. that day, the contestants, with schools and ages (in brackets), being :—

P[hilip] S[tuart] Milner-Barry, Cheltenham College (17)
L[eslie] N[erquia] Stuart, Sywell House, Rhyl (17)
R[alph?] H[enry?] Brown, Hastings Grammar School (17)
E[ric] J[ohn] Scrimgeour, St. Paul’s, (17)
L[ionel] F[rank] Papé, Skinner’s School, Tunbridge Wells (16)
W[ilfred] H[enry] Pratten, Esplanade H.S., Southsea (15)

Little over an hour had elapsed in the first round when Pratten, who is at once the "baby" and the dark horse of the section, inflicted a defeat in 17 moves on Brown, the local favourite. Brown, however, helped with a blunder. Scrimgeour and Papé followed with a steady draw. The last to finish were Stuart and Milner-Barry; but the former early established an attacking position in a Ruy Lopez, and the holder, having unwisely captured an offered Pawn, found himself the Exchange down, with a hopeless position.

In Round 2, Brown completely tied Stuart up and won decisively. Papé v. Pratten was a featureless draw. Milner-Barry v. Scrimgeour was a long game, which occupied two sittings. The holder attacked vigorously, gave up a Knight, and then won the Exchange. After the adjournment, however, he was faced with an ending in which he had Rook and three Pawns against two Knights and five Pawns; and the superior number of units won.

In Round 3, Brown won easily in 18 moves against Papé. Milner-Barry suffered his third defeat in succession, making, as he expressed it, "an awful howler" against Pratten. Stuart won in excellent style against Scrimgeour. This left the scores on Friday night: Pratten, 2½; Brown and Stuart, 2 ; Scrimgeour, 1½; Papé, 1; and Milner-Barry, 0.

Round 4 was played on Saturday morning. Milner-Barry, reproducing at length his last year’s form, won a good victory over Brown in 30 moves. Scrimgeour and Pratten made a steady draw. Lastly Stuart, who, as Black, had had a breathless time against Papé in the Blumenfeld variation of the Scotch, pulled through successfully. Thus Pratten and Stuart, who were to meet in the afternoon, headed the table with 3 points each.

In the final round Scrimgeour, with his usual French Defence, won early against Brown. Pratten played the Lopez against Stuart and, pressing the attack too hard, got what appeared to the onlooker a lost game. But he only took just half the time of his opponent and at the crisis Stuart went wrong. Seeing his error, the Rhyl boy made a sensational sacrifice of his Queen, hoping for a perpetual. It was not there, so Pratten won the game and the championship. The remaining game, Papé v. Milner-Barry, was comfortably won by the latter.

1924 British Boys' Under-18 Chess Championship: Final Group

1924 BCF Third-Class Div 1		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	Wilfred Henry Pratten	Esplanade High School, Southsea (15)	&;	1	½	1	1	½	4
2	Leslie Nerquia Stuart	Sywell House, Rhyl (17)	0	&;	1	0	1	1	3
3	Eric John Scrimgeour	St. Paul’s, (17)	½	0	&;	1	1	½	3
4	R[alph?] H[enry?] Brown	Hastings Grammar School (17)	0	1	0	&;	0	1	2
5	(Philip) Stuart Milner-Barry	Cheltenham College (17)	0	0	0	1	&;	1	2
6	Lionel Frank Papé	Skinner’s School, Tunbridge Wells (16)	½	0	½	0	0	&;	1

We congratulate the new champion, who was born at Swindon on May 10th, 1908, but is being educated at Southsea. He was "tipped" as a likely winner by one of the strongest players in the Hastings Chess Club, who met him at the Southsea Congress last summer. We also believe him to be a player of great possibilities, who has already a tournament style noteworthy for his age.

Of the other five, we described Stuart last year as a remarkable player. We adhere to that view, and consider him unlucky not to have won either last year or this, as he is full of brilliant ideas. Scrimgeour is a thoughtful player, who suffers perhaps a little by contenting himself with remaining on the defensive. Brown is difficult to estimate as he can be so very good, and yet at other times lets himself be crumpled up. Milner-Barry is fine in attack, and a great seeker after ingenious sacrifices. It is not fair to pay too much attention to his record this year, as he had only just got over an attack of German measles—to which, however, it is obvious he put up a fairly good defence! Papé is possibly too keen to let his adversary do the combining—which, in spite of Steinitz, "vill (not) sure be rotten" every time. However, he has another year in which to try for the championship again.

We have allowed more space than we intended to the principal event at this congress (for which reason we can only give summaries of any but the major competition), because we think that the standard of play in the championship final was so high this time that it deserved all the notice we could spare. We believe that some of these young players will go far—presuming, of course, that they keep up their chess.

The prize-winners in the lower sections of the final competition were as follows :—

Section A: (1) Raymond Hampden Blomfield (Norwich H.S); (2) Percy Geoffrey Husbands (Polytechnic).
Section B: (1-2) Roderick Alfred Pilkington² (Vancouver), A G Charles (Taunton)
Section C: (1-2) Theodore Magnus Wechsler (St Paul's); (2) Arthur Eric Smith (Brighton)
Section D: (1) Alfred Mortlock (Milne's School, Hastings); (2) Clement Bruning (Ealing Prior)
Section E: (1) J S Maxwell (Hastings G. S.); (2) (Alfred) Rupert (Neale) Cross (Worcester College for the Blind)

The last named in this list, little Cross, is only 11 and plays with wonderful skill, considering his handicap. His success was very popular.

The arrangements for the congress were ably carried out by the committee of one—E. J. Ackroyd, who, however, was the first to admit his indebtedness to Messrs. H. H. Bishop and H. E. Dobell for their assistance.

Visitors to the congress during the week included such distinguished chessplayers of the past as Messrs. H. H. Cole and E. M. Jackson; His Worship the Mayor (Councillor A. Blackman), who, with the Corporation, contributed much to the convenience of both players and spectators by lending the Council Chamber for the congress; and, on the last day, the Hon. F. G. and Lady Margaret Hamilton-Russell. Lady Margaret presented the Ginner championship cup, the medals and the prizes to the various winners on Saturday night.

After the prize-giving, G. M. Norman gave a simultaneous exhibition.

We append three of the games:— [Pratten 1-0 Blomfield, Winser ½-½ Stuart, R.Brown 1-0 Papé - included in download]

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Biographical Information

¹ Presumably Dr. Stephen Francis Smith, born c1860, Ontario, Canada, died 12 May 1928, London, aged 67, played in the 1910 British Championship, champion of British Columbia in 1915, had been champion of the City of London club in 1895 and 3rd in the West of England Open in Tenby in 1928.
² Roderick Alfred Pilkington (24 November 1907 - 7 November 1978) - native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Returned to Canada later in 1924 where he revived the University of British Columbia Chess Club. In the 1950s served as president of the British Columbia Chess Federation.

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File Updates

Date	Notes
2015	First uploaded in its current format.
3 Oct 2015	Two more Major Open games contributed by Brian Denman, many thanks.
4 Oct 2015	Three games (Khadilkar-Atkins, Khadilkar-Gibson and Yates-Khadilkar) supplied by Andy Ansel, many thanks.
7 Oct 2015	Another six Championship games, and 13 more subsidiary event games, thanks to some assiduous work from Gerard Killoran.
19 Feb 2016	One game added: Watts-Moses (Rd 10). Thanks to Gerard Killoran.
7 March 2016	We now have all 66 games from the 1924 British Championship, and all of them are complete (though some have move order issues), thanks to my receipt of the Tinsley notebooks. Fairhurst-Yates (Rd 2) was missed out in the photocopying process but an appeal to Scottish archivist Alan McGowan secured the first half of the game, and there was a photocopy of the second half.
12 Apr 2016	I have added two ARB Thomas games from the Major Open: his tenth round loss to C Duffield, and the final part of his fifth round loss to Sergeant. Both were in BCM.
5 March 2019	One game supplied by Brian Denman - Wakefield-Falkner, Second Class A - for which many thanks.
26 May 2019	Added three games from the Major Open and one game from the First Class A section. Three games by GW Moses (Rd 3 v Duffield, Rd 4 v F.Schofield and Rd 11 v HG Rhodes) and one by CR Gurnhill (v H.J.M.Thoms, round number unknown). I found these games on Steve Mann's excellent Yorkshire Chess History site, specifically on the pages devoted to George Wyville Moses and Charles Reuben Gurnhill. Steve quotes the original source for the games as the YT&S (Yorkshire Telegraph & Star).
23 July 2019	Added one game from the women's championship (Banting 0-1 Holloway, Rd 5), kindly sent by Alan Smith. I've taken the opportunity to add round numbers and dates to some of the other women's championship games, add crosstables and images.
29 March 2021	Some typos amended – my thanks to Philip Jurgens for drawing my attention to these – and some cosmetic changes made to crosstables and games (Schofield,F now rendered as Schofield, Frank, having consulted the Yorkshire Chess History website).
3 January 2023	Now includes 58 games from other sections. Added today: (1) J.Drewitt 1-0 O.Muller (Major Open, rd 4, part-game - an unusual double knight promotion finish); (2) C.Heath 1-0 F.Schofield (Major Open, rd 10); (3) R.Barnett 1-0 H.Thoms (First-Class A, rd 2, part-game); (4) W.Thomas 1-0 G.Abrahams (First-Class A, rd 3, part-game); (5) J.H.Morrison 0-1 Rev. A.Lacy-Hulbert (First-Class B, rd 4); (6) J.Jackson 0-1 J.Parry (First-Class B, rd 8, part-game); (7) A.Barlow 0-1 F.Short (First-Class B, rd 8). Many thanks to Gerard Killoran for contributing the games via the English Chess Forum. EDIT: a small correction made to the game Drewitt 1-0 Muller.
1 June 2023	Added detail and games from the 1924 British Boys (Under-18) Championship, held in Hastings.
1 January 2024	Added the game L.Papé 0-1 L.Stuart, Boys Under 18 ch, rd 4.
28 February 2024	Added the game P.Sergeant 0-1 H.Rhodes (Major Open, rd 4). Many thanks to Gerard Killoran for submitting the game via the English Chess Forum.
12 May 2024	Added the game P.Milner-Barry 0-1 E.Scrimgeour, Boys Under 18 ch final, rd 2.
21 October 2024	Added two games from First Class B: (1) J West 0-1 FC Short (rd 4); (2) SG Howell-Smith 0-1 FC Short (rd 6). Many thanks to Gerard Killoran for submitting the games. Running total: all 66 games from the Championship plus 67 from other sections.