1926 British Chess Championship, Edinburgh, 2-13 August • 1925« »1928

1926 British Chess Championship		Draw No.	Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Fred Dewhirst Yates	4	Leeds	&;	1	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9½
2	Reginald Pryce Michell	7	Kingston-upon-Thames	0	&;	1	1	½	0	½	1	1	½	1	1	7½
3	Maurice Edward Goldstein	11	London	1	0	&;	½	1	½	1	0	0	1	½	1	6½
4	Joseph Henry Blake	3	Surbiton	0	0	½	&;	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	6½
5	Harold Saunders	8	London	½	½	0	0	&;	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	6
6	Andrew Rowland B Thomas	5	Liverpool	0	1	½	0	1	&;	½	0	1	0	0	1	5
7	George Shorrock A Wheatcroft	6	Oxford	0	½	0	0	0	½	&;	1	½	1	1	½	5
8	Christopher Barclay Heath	2	London	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	&;	0	1	½	0	4½
9	Charles Reuben Gurnhill	9	Sheffield	0	0	1	1	0	0	½	1	&;	0	1	0	4½
10	Dr. Ronald Cadell Macdonald	12	Inverness	0	½	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	&;	½	1	4
11	William Gooding	1	London	0	0	½	0	1	1	0	½	0	½	&;	0	3½
12	Henry Bernard Uber	10	London	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	1	1	0	1	&;	3½

1926 British Ladies' Chess Championship, Edinburgh, 2-13 August • 1925« »1928

1926 British Ladies Chess Championship		Draw No.	Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Mrs Agnes Bradley Stevenson (née Lawson)	2	London	&;	½	1	1	½	0	1	1	1	½	1	1	8½
2	Miss Edith Charlotte Price	8	London	½	&;	½	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	8
3	Miss Mary Dinorah Gilchrist	7	Edinburgh	0	½	&;	1	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	7½
4	Miss Hilda Florence Chater	1	Penzance	0	1	0	&;	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	1	7
5	Mrs Edith Mary Michell (née Tapsell)	10	Kingston-upon-Thames	½	0	0	½	&;	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	7
6	Mrs Amabel Nevill Gwyn Sollas (née Jeffreys)	3	Oxford	1	0	½	½	0	&;	0	1	1	½	1	1	6½
7	Miss Mary Constance Forbes	4	Edinburgh	0	1	½	0	½	1	&;	0	0	1	1	1	6
8	Miss Emily Eliza Abraham	9	Herne Bay	0	0	½	0	½	0	1	&;	1	0	1	1	5
9	Miss Mary Ann Eliza Andrews	6	London	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	&;	1	1	1	4½
10	Mrs M M Ritchie	11	Edinburgh	½	0	½	0	0	½	0	1	0	&;	½	1	4
11	Mrs Jeanie Brockett	12	Glasgow	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	½	&;	1	2
12	Mrs Millicent Louise Battrum (née White)	5	Malvern	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

1926 BCF Major Open, Edinburgh

1926 BCF Major Open		Draw No.	Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	John Arthur James Drewitt	8	Hastings	&;	0	½	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	9
2	John Harold Morrison	9	London	1	&;	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	9
3	Eugene Znosko-Borovsky	2	Paris	½	½	&;	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	9
4	George Wyville Moses	5	Hemsworth	0	1	0	&;	½	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	6½
5	H G Wright	6	Leicester	0	0	½	½	&;	1	1	1	½	½	½	1	6½
6	Walter Atkinson	4	Hull	0	0	0	0	0	&;	½	1	1	½	1	1	5
7	Patrick Charles Littlejohn	1	Nuneaton	0	0	0	½	0	½	&;	1	½	½	1	½	4½
8	Alfred Dudley Barlow	7	London	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	&;	½	1	1	½	4
9	Sydney Gerard Howell-Smith	10	London	½	0	0	½	½	0	½	½	&;	0	1	½	4
10	William Rowland Thomas *	12	Liverpool	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	0	1	&;	0	0	3
11	Henfrey Austin Turriff	11	Arbroath	0	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	0	1	&;	1	3
12	Harold Horace Watts	3	Middlesbrough	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	1	0	&;	2½

* V Buerger was named as a Major Open competitor in the list given in BCM, August 1926, but must have been replaced by WR Thomas at a later date.
§ the player is given as H H Watts in BCM and as H H Watts (Musselburgh) in The Scotsman, 16 August 1926. Is this the Harold H Watts who played in the 1947 and 1949 BCF Congresses? Almost certainly: I'm fairly sure that 'Musselburgh' is a Scottish typesetter's error for 'Middlesbrough'. Harold Horace Watts was born in Stockton, Durham, and was listed as a student and resident with his parents in Middlesbrough in the 1911 census. He served as a seaman in WW1 when his occupation was listed as customs officer. He is a civil servant with HM Customs in Southport in 1939. He died in Southport in 1967. His son Theodore Watts played in the 1955 British Championship.

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1926 BCF First Class

1926 BCF First Class		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Rev Arthur Percival Lacy-Hulbert	Birmingham	&;	1	0	0	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	7½
2	H Parsons	Bristol	0	&;	1	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	7½
3	Francis Vaughan Dix	Coventry	1	0	&;	½	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	1	7
4	Mrs Edith Martha Holloway (née Crittenden)		1	½	½	&;	½	0d	1	½	0	1	1	½	6½
5	Francis Albert Joyce		½	0	½	½	&;	½	1	0	1	1	1d	½	6½
6	Major Sir Richard Whieldon Barnett		1	½	½	1d	½	&;	0	1	0	½	0	1	6
7	John MacAlister		0	½	1	0	0	1	&;	½	1	½	½	1	6
8	Frederick Wilkinson		0	½	½	½	1	0	½	&;	½	½	0	1	5
9	H H Elliot		0	0	0	1	0	1	0	½	&;	0	1	1	4½
10	Geoffrey Kendall Nuttall		0	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	1	&;	1	1	4½
11	Bernard John Barton-Eckett		0	½	0	0	0d	1	½	1	0	0	&;	½	3½
12	George Dickson Hutton		0	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	0	0	½	&;	1½

1926 BCF Second Class A

1926 BCF Second Class A		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	John Macdonald	Paisley	&;	½	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	9
2	W Barker	Wolverhampton	½	&;	½	½	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	7½
3	Anthony Clifford Steadman	Bristol	0	½	&;	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	7
4	Patrick Humphrey Sullivan		0	½	½	&;	½	0	1d	1	1	1	1	6½
5	Henry Stanley Shelton? §		0	0	0	½	&;	1	1	1	½	½	1	5½
6	Ernest Edward Shepherd		0	1	½	1	0	&;	0	½	½	1	1	5½
7	Leslie Burland		0	0	0	0d	0	1	&;	1	1	½	1	4½
8	Stephen Poulson Lees		½	0	0	0	0	½	0	&;	1	1	1	4
9	Alexander Goldberg		0	0	½	0	½	½	0	0	&;	1	1	3½
10	Miss A Heard		0	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	0	&;	1	2
11	Mrs B Reid		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

§ BCM gives 'H H Shelton' but I'm inclined to think this is a typo for H S Shelton – Henry Stanley Shelton played in the 1925 BCF Congress.

1926 BCF Second Class B

1926 BCF Second Class B		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Newman Clissold	New Brighton	&;	½	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	9½
2	John Keeble	Norwich	½	&;	1*	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
3	C H Taylor	London	0	0*	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
4	Alfred Lindsay Densham		0	½	0	&;	1	0	1	1	½	1	1	1	7
5	George Breese		0	1	0	0	&;	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	6
6	Robert Davidson Dykes §		0	0	0	1	1	&;	0	0	1	1	1	1	6
7	Willington Lucette Wakefield		0	0	0	0	1	1	&;	1	0	1	1	1	6
8	J E Riley		1	0	0	0	0	1	0	&;	½	½	1	1	5
9	G M Rowson		0	0	0	½	0	0	1	½	&;	1	1	1	5
10	Miss Stella Violey Aline Malcolm		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	&;	0	1	1½
11	George Arthur Youngman		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	&;	½	1½
12	Miss Lillie Eveling		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	&;	½

* infraction of time limit. "In section B, Keeble won his first six games, and led Clissold and Taylor by a point. He could not keep this up in the second week, and Clissold emerged winner by 1 point." (BCM)
§ BCM gives 'RB Dykes' but I'm assuming this is a typo for the Edinburgh-based Robert Davidson Dykes (1908-61) whom the Chess Scotland website tells us "started serious chess in his teens with the Stockbridge Club."

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1926 BCF Third Class A

1926 BCF Third Class A		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	G W Bedford	Leyton	&;	1 ½	1 1	1 1	1 1	1 1d	9½
2	Henry Edward Doran	Coventry	0 ½	&;	1 1	1 1	1 1	1 1d	8½
3	John E Coleman	Grays	0 0	0 0	&;	½ 1	0 1	1 1d	4½
4	Miss Jane Violet Kessen	Edinburgh	0 0	0 0	½ 0	&;	1 1	½ 1d	4
5	Mrs M M Sim		0 0	0 0	1 0	0 0	&;	1 1d	3
6	Mrs A Harrison		0 0d	0 0d	0 0d	½ 0d	0 0d	&;	½

"The old Hampstead player, G. W. Bedford, won Division I of the Third Class in superior style with 9½ out of 10. This is his first first-prize in an open tournament, and the youthful octogenarian is hoping for fresh worlds to conquer next year." (BCM) A George William Bedford was born in Shoreditch in 1841 - could be him.

1926 BCF Third Class B

1926 BCF Third Class B		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Mrs M Healey	Purley	&;	½	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	8½
2	William Patrick Pepper	Liverpool	½	&;	1	0	1	1	1	1d	1	1	1	8½
3	Miss E H Henderson	Edinburgh	0	0	&;	1	1	½	1	1d	1	1	1	7½
4	C W Marshall	Greenock	1	1	0	&;	½	1	1	1	0	1	1	7½
5	Miss M Crookshanks		0	0	0	½	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	5½
6	J M Harris		0	0	½	0	1	&;	1	0	1	1	1	5½
7	Miss M R Watson		0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	1	1	4
8	Mrs M Barker		0	0d	0d	0	0	1	0	&;	1	0d	1	3
9	Mrs E Copland		0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	&;	0	1	2
10	Miss M Tweedie		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1d	1	&;	0	2
11	Mrs A Fletcher		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	&;	1

Lancashire Evening Post - Thursday 12 August 1926: "FATAL COLLAPSE AT A CHESS MATCH. A tragedy brought a sudden end to the British Chess Congress in Edinburgh, yesterday. Games in the lightning tourney were being contested when one of the onlookers, Mr. J[ames]. Marshall, collapsed. Two doctors went to his assistance, but their efforts were of no avail, and he died in a few minutes. Mr. Marshall was Scottish chess champion in 1889, and for many years he has taken an active part in the affairs of the Scottish Chess Association, being president in 1922."

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1926 BCF All-Play-All Pairings

Table 1	1	2	3	4	5	6
Rd 1	1 v 2	11 v 3	10 v 4	9 v 5	8 v 6	7 v 12
Rd 2	3 v 1	7 v 8	6 v 9	5 v 10	4 v 11	12 v 2
Rd 3	1 v 4	2 v 3	9 v 7	10 v 6	11 v 5	12 v 8
Rd 4	5 v 1	4 v 2	8 v 9	7 v 10	6 v 11	3 v 12
Rd 5	1 v 6	2 v 5	3 v 4	10 v 8	11 v 7	9 v 12
Rd 6	7 v 1	6 v 2	5 v 3	9 v 10	8 v 11	12 v 4
Rd 7	1 v 8	2 v 7	3 v 6	4 v 5	11 v 9	12 v 10
Rd 8	9 v 1	8 v 2	7 v 3	6 v 4	10 v 11	5 v 12
Rd 9	1 v 10	2 v 9	3 v 8	4 v 7	5 v 6	11 v 12
Rd 10	11 v 1	10 v 2	9 v 3	8 v 4	7 v 5	12 v 6
Rd 11	1 v 12	2 v 11	3 v 10	4 v 9	5 v 8	6 v 7

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1926 British Boys' Championship

BCM, May 1926, p227

BOYS' CHAMPIONSHIP AT HASTINGS.

The fourth boys' chess championship meeting (and sixth annual boys' congress) was held at Hastings between April 12th and 17th, play taking place, as last year, at the rooms of the Hastings and St. Leonards C.C. Unfortunately, the holder of the title, W. H. Pratten, was unable to defend it, as, though he is still eligible in the score of age, he has left school and is now engaged in business. Twenty-eight entries were secured, however—four more than last year—and two of the finalists of 1925 were included, H. T. Reeve and C. Bruning.

The winners of the four preliminary sections were: C. H. O'D. Alexander (King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham), G. H. Rowson (St. Paul's), A. J. A. Goetzee (St. Alban's), and V. Soames [sic] (Chigwell). These four played off against one another in three rounds on the morning and evening of April 16th and the morning of April 17th, and the result was a handsome victory for Alexander, as the table shows.

1926 British Boys' Championship Final		School	1	2	3	4	Total
1	C Hugh O'D Alexander	King Edwards' GS, Birmingham	&;	1	½	1	2½
2	Geoffrey Harold Rowson1	St Paul's	0	&;	1	½	1½
3	Arthur John Adrian Goetzee2	St Alban's	½	0	&;	½	1
4	Victor James Richard Soanes3	Chigwell	0	½	½	&;	1

¹ Geoffrey Harold Rowson (1910-1943) - birth surname Rosenbaum - see this entry in the English Chess Forum for further biographical details and links.
² Arthur John Adrian Goetzee (or Goodsea), (c.October 1912, China - 30 March 1947, Singapore) was a chartered accountant.
³ Victor James Richard Soanes (27 June 1908 - 21 March 1981) - his name is wrongly given as V Soames in this article. Became a notable chess administrator and organiser. President of the British Chess Federation, 1961-64. See this entry at the English Chess Forum.

The twenty-four boys who were unsuccessful in the preliminary sections were re-grouped in six more sections according to the places which they had obtained (seconds with seconds, thirds with thirds, etc.), and played off for consolation prizes.

Consolation Section 1: (1) Alfred Mortlock (University School, Hastings) 3/3; (2) (Arthur) Eric Smith (Brighton) 2; (3) Eric Sigmund Bensinger (St. Paul's) 1; (4) Harold Talbot Reeve (St. Paul's) 0.

Consolation Section 2: (1-2) Eustace Neville Fox (St. Albans), Allan James Kidney (Caterham)

Consolation Section 3: (1) F Wilson (Manchester)

Consolation Section 4: (1-3) G Barber (Cambridge), James Dengate (St. Leonard's Collegiate), Leslie Charles Pengilly (Twickenham)

Consolation Section 5: (1-2) Cecil Allison Bircham (Rye G.S.), Clement Frederic Bruning (Ealing Priory - see this article by Richard James for further details)

Consolation Section 6: (1-2) T Bowron (Hampton G.S.), Douglas William Riley (Hastings G.S.)

An interesting feature was the competition of two boys from Worcester College for the Blind, Rupert Cross, who has played before at Hastings and Amos Brace. They both got into the 3rd section of the final but were beaten by F. Wilson.

In addition to the boys' championship there was a "Jumbo" tournament of twenty-four local boys, in four sections, according to age, held between April 6th and 10th.

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Hastings and St Leonards Observer, Saturday 17 April 1926

BOYS' CHESS CONGRESS.

The Boys' Chess Congress at Hastings has attracted an entry of 48 players—a record for this or any other country. In consequence of the large entry the event has been spread over a fortnight, the junior boys, mostly local, have taken part in a separate competition, played in four sections of six players each, from April 6th to April 10th [n.b. these were the local preliminaries - the nationwide preliminary sections took place 12-15 April - JS]. Prizes were given to the first and second in each section, and were won by the following:

[Local Preliminary Sections]

Section 1: First, tie between Cecil Allison Bircham, Rye Grammar School, and R. Crouch, Hastings Grammar School, 4½ each.
Section 2: First, James Dengate, Collegiate School, 4; second, tie between L. Crouch, Hastings Grammar School and Allan James Kidney, Caterham, 3½ each.
Section 3: First, J. A. J. Corwyn, Collegiate School, 5; second, Douglas William Riley, Hastings Grammar School, 3½.
Section 4: First, J. Beveridge, Collegiate School, 5; second, E. F. G. Thorpe, Hastings Grammar School, 4.

On Saturday evening the prizes were presented to the successful competitors by Mrs. Kidney who, in reply to a vote of thanks, referred to the fostering care bestowed upon young players by the Hastings Chess Club.

The Boys’ Championship Division started at 6.30 p.m. on Monday [11 April 1926], when Mr. H. B. Dobell, the president of the Hastings C.C., welcomed the boys, and mentioned that on Wednesday afternoon the Hastings Corporation invited all the competitors to St. Clement’s Caves. On that occasion they were the guests of the Corporation. On Thursday evening the Chess Club took all the competitors to the Theatre to see "Princess Ida."

Two blind boys. Rupert Cross and Amos Brace, from the Worcester College for the Blind, are playing in the championship division, and their play has been watched with interest by a large number of people during the week. Cross lives in Cheyne-gardens, Chelsea, and Brace comes from Penarth, near Cardiff. They play on special boards, the black squares of which are slightly lower than white. The black chessmen are round at the top, and the white ones pointed, so that they are easily distinguishable when touched. The boys play entirely by the sense of touch, and their fingers are continuously running lightly over the chessmen during play. The competition concludes this (Saturday) evening.

[Nationwide Preliminary Sections - I have supplied forenames - JS]

The scores in the preliminary rounds were :— [n.b. names are not in score order]

Section 1.—William Francis Darke, Hampton Grammar School, 3; Arthur John Adrian Goetzee, St. Alban's School, 5; Cyril Aidan Oswald Warman, Weymouth College, 1½; Douglas William Riley, Hastings Grammar School, 1½; Leslie Charles Pengilly, 2; David Ellis Organe, Taunton School, 4; (Arthur) Eric Smith, Brighton, 4.

Section 2.—James Dengate, St. Leonards Collegiate School, 3; Cecil Allison Bircham, Rye Grammar School, 1; L Kerridge, Hampton Grammar School, 0; Victor James Richard Soanes, Chigwell School, 5; Rupert Cross, Worcester College for the Blind, 3½; Harold Talbot Reeve, St. Paul's School, 4½; Eustace Neville Fox, St. Alban’s School, 4.

Section 3.—Alfred Mortlock, University School, Hastings, 4½; Donald Arthur Charles Gibbs, St. Leonards Collegiate School, 3; Thomas Henry Silcock, Taunton School, 3½; J. H. Finch, 1½; F Wilson, Manchester, 3; Geoffrey Harold Rowson, St. Paul’s School, 5; T Bowron, Hampton Grammar School, 4.

Section 4.—Eric Sigmund Bensinger, St. Paul’s School, 4½; Amos Brace, Worcester College for the Blind, 3; C Hugh O’D Alexander, King Edward’s Grammar School, 6; G Barber, Central School, 2½; C. Bruning, Ealing Priory School, 1; F Lovelock, William Ellis School, 0; Allan James Kidney, Caterham School, 4.

The semi-final round scores were:—

Section 1.—A. Mortlock, 1; E. S. Bensinger, 0; E. Smith, 1; H. S. Reeve, 0.
Section 2.—T. H. Silcock, 1; A. J. Kidney, 0; D. Organe, 0; E. N. Fox. 1.
Section 3.—F. Wilson, 1; A. Brace, 0; W. F. Darke, ½; R. Cross, ½.
Section 4.—D. A. C. Gibbs. 0; G. Barber, 1; L. Pengilly, 1; J. Dengate. 0.
Section 5—J. H. Finch, 0; C. Bruning, 1; C. A. O. Warman, 0; C. A. Bircham, 1.
Section 6.—F. Bowron, 1; F. Lovelock, 0; D. W. Riley, 1; L. Kerridge, 0.

The scores in the final round to date are: G. H. Rowson, St. Paul’s School, 0; C. H. O'D. Alexander, King Edward's Grammar School 1; A. J. A. Goetzee. St. Alban's School, ½; V. Soanes, Chigwell School ½.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
March 2016	Original upload. My thanks to Gerard Killoran for his help in sourcing the games, culled from BCM and newspapers.
9 March 2016	Seven more games from the Tinsley notebooks, which have a complete record of games from rounds 1, 10 and 11. Many thanks to Tony Gillam. I'm hoping that Tinsley records of games from other rounds will eventually turn up.
13 March 2016	Corrected one move in the Saunders-Wheatcroft game, rd 1 (37.h4, not 37.a4). My thanks to Andy Ansel.
15 March 2016	Included one more Championship game, between Gooding and Yates in Rd 3. No ordinary game - it went to a staggering 142 moves! It turned up in the chess column of the Glasgow Herald some two years after it was played.
16 March 2016	15 further games from Gerard Killoran, including three from the Championship proper.
4 April 2016	Removed a duplicate game - the game Watts-Drewitt was shown with the colours reversed in the Glasgow Herald. My thanks to Brian Denman for spotting the error.
11 April 2016	Games sourced from The Scotsman newspaper. Three championship games (Goldstein-Thomas, Rd 3, Wheatcroft-Heath, Rd 6, and Goldstein-Michell, Rd 5) have more moves at the finish (replacing the "and wins" comments in BCM); four more games from the women's championship, and one from 2nd Class B.
26 April 2016	Added one Major Open game, Barlow-Littlejohn (which The Scotsman newspaper gives with the wrong colours). Many thanks to Gerard Killoran for supplying.
15 April 2018	Minor change of move order in the game Goldstein-Thomas, Round 3, after checking against Thomas's book 'Chess for the Love of It'. The Scotsman also has this correct move order.
5 March 2019	Two games added: Youngman-Wakefield & Breese-Wakefield, both Second Class B. Many thanks to Brian Denman.
28 August 2020	One game added – Parsons 1-0 Elliot, in the First Class section. Found by JS.
1 June 2022	One game added, from the Championship proper: C.Gurnhill 1-0 W.Gooding. Geoff Chandler found this in an undated press clipping from The Scotsman (presumably in the weekly edition as it is not discoverable in the online archive of the daily editions). Thanks, Geoff. Running total of Championship game scores now 53 out of 66. I have also used the opportunity to add/amend round numbers and dates of games in the Women's Championship.
3 December 2024	Added the game H Parsons 0-1 A Lacy-Hulbert (First Class), contributed by Gerard Killoran via the English Chess Forum, for which many thanks.
4 March 2025	Added 13 games from the British Boys (Under-18) Championship, played in April 1926 in Hastings. Most of the games were from Brian Denman's collection, for which many thanks.