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Event: 59th Varsity Match • Venue: City of London Chess Club, Wardrobe Court, London EC • Date: 23 March 1935
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The 59th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University was held at City of London Chess Club, Wardrobe Court, London EC, on 23 March 1935. All game scores from this match are available.
| 1934« 1935 Varsity Chess Match »1936 | |||
| Bd | Oxford University | 1935 | Cambridge University |
| 1w | James Macrae Aitken (Balliol) | 0-1 | James Marston Craddock (Magdalene) |
| 2b | Francis George Tims Collins (Balliol) | ½-½ | Francis Ernest Appleyard Kitto (King's) |
| 3w | Nicholas Anthony Perkins (St John's) | ½-½ | Bernhard Hermann Neumann (Fitzwilliam) |
| 4b | Graham Powell Britton (Jesus) | ½-½ | David Bernard Schultz (Magdalene) |
| 5w | Stephen Hubert Llewellyn-Smith (New) | 0-1 | Ronald Grubb Stansfield (Clare) |
| 6b | Alan Stewart Orr (Balliol) | 1-0 | Arnold Charles Lynch (Emmanuel) |
| 7w | Richard Terence Spencer (Wadham) | 1-0 | Edward Willingham Brocklesby (Christ's) |
| 3½-3½ |
Sources: Oxford-Cambridge Chess Matches (1873-1987), compiled by Jeremy Gaige, Philadelphia 1987; The Times, 25 March 1935; BCM, April 1935, p165.
Match notes
[The Times, 25 March 1935] "UNIVERSITY
CHESS -
ANNUAL MATCH
DRAWN -
SCORES OF THE GAMES -
FROM OUR CHESS CORRESPONDENT -
The 59th annual chess match between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge was played on Saturday afternoon at the rooms of the City of London Chess Club, Wardrobe Court, E.C., and was drawn at 3½ games all. The record of the series now is: Cambridge University, 26 wins; Oxford University, 25 wins; with eight matches drawn.
"It was a fortunate draw for both universities on Saturday, the errors on one side cancelling those on the other, and some of the Oxford players were by no means pleased with themselves."
[BCM, April 1935, p165] "UNIVERSITY CHESS WEEK. This annual event came at an awkward time for a magazine which aims at publication on the first of the month, and our report has consequently to be brief.
"The first match of the "week" was on Saturday, March 16, when Oxford alone met London University at Torrington Square, and suffered defeat from a very strong team by 8—2, though aided by Rupert Cross and J. Montgomerie on the top boards. These two seniors lost respectively to H. Golombek and M. Cohen.
"On the 18th the Combined Universities beat the Insurance C.C. by 11½-8½ and on the 19th, with a good assortment of seniors on the top boards, they defeated Hampstead by 12½-6½.
"On the 20th the regular fixture, Combined Universities v. Citv of London C.C. was brought off. The City fielded a very powerful team, including 12 of their championship players, and won by 11½-6½. We reserve the score till next month.
"On the 21st West London was met, at the City of London C.C. The result was :—Combined Universities 9½; West London 6½.
"On the afternoon of Saturday, March 23, the Universities met as usual at the City of London C.C. for their individual encounter. This was the 59th match in the series, the scores to date being : Cambridge 26 wins, Oxford 25, drawn matches 8. The result was [results as above]
"It may be added that both Universities had finished their home engagements on March 9, Oxford against West London, a loss by 4½-5½, and Cambridge against United Banks, a draw of 6—6."
An anecdote relevant to both Schultz and Neumann (from the London Mathematical Society bulletin linked to above): "While pursuing his mathematical studies with evident success, [Schultz] continued to cultivate his talent as a chess player. B. H. Neumann, who was a research student at Cambridge at that time, relates that he and Bernard Schultz (as he then was) went to London to take part in a weekend tournament and returned with all the prize money between them (about £7)."
Oxford Past vs Cambridge Past, 15 December 1934 at City of London CC, Wardrobe Court
| Bd | Oxford University Past | 1934 | Cambridge University Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1w | Edward Mackenzie Jackson (New) | 1-0 | William Winter (Clare) |
| 2b | (Alfred) Rupert Neale Cross (Worcester) | ½-½ | John Matthias Bee (St Catharine's) |
| 3w | George Shorrock Ashcombe Wheatcroft (New) | ½-½ | (Philip) Stuart Milner-Barry (Trinity) |
| 4b | Gerald Abrahams (Wadham) | 0-1 | Lachlan McLean (King's) |
| 5w | Richard Hilary Newman (Worcester) | 0-1 | Roland Hartnett (Downing) |
| 6b | Philip Walsingham Sergeant (Trinity) | 0-1 | George Ernest Smith (St John's) |
| 7w | Rev Ernest Walter Poynton (Exeter) | ½-½ | Richard William Barnes Clarke (Clare) |
| 8b | John Montgomerie (Corpus Christi) | ½-½ | Leonard Illingworth (Trinity) |
| 9w | William Ernest Baker Pryer (Pembroke) | 1-0 | Paul Ian Wyndham (Trinity) |
| 10b | Eric Sigmund Bensinger (Wadham) | 0-1 | Michael Benger (Corpus Christi) |
| 11w | Edward Paice (Merton) | 0-1 | Eric Augustus Coad-Pryor (Trinity) |
| 12b | Dermot Michael Macgregor Morrah (New) | 0-1 | Jacob Bronowski (Jesus) |
| 4-8 |
The Times, 17 December 1934: "OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE PAST MEMBERS - FROM OUR CHESS CORRESPONDENT- The annual match between “Past” members of Oxford and Cambridge Universities was played at the rooms of the City of London Chess Club, Wardrobe Court, E.C., on Saturday afternoon, and was won by Cambridge University by a majority of four games.
"Oxford had ihc move on the odd-numbered boards. Oxford began badly by losing the game on the last board, where Morrah lost a piece by an oversight and resigned after 21 moves. Paice did much the same thing against Coad-Pryor, and Bensinger lost on the time limit, though the game was probably positionally lost. Jackson had the better of matters against Winter, coming out a piece to the good in a queen and rook ending.
"Cross had a very complicated position against Bee at the finish, and the adjudicators could only find a draw when most of the heavy material was left on the board. Milner-Barry considered himself fortunate to draw his game against Wheatcroft, but the winning line for the latter was not clear. Abrahams had a long-drawn-out bishop against rook ending, to which there was only one end, and Newman drifted into a mating position after having had none the worse of the game. Sergeant was outplayed all through, a queen's side attack deciding the matter in 38 moves. Poynton’s game and also Montgomerie’s were decided by the adjudicators, there not being enough in either to justify a different verdict. Pryer should probably have only drawn against Wyndham, but the latter missed the right line and lost in 31 moves."
File updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Original upload. Not all the biographical info included at this point. |
| 5 March 2020 | Completed biographical info where it had not been posted on the original upload. |
| 18 March 2021 | Biographical info now moved to a separate file. |
| 26 April 2022 | Added details of the December 1934 Oxford Past v Cambridge Past match |