1954 (4th) Paignton Premier, 13-18 September, Oldway Mansion, Paignton

1954 Paignton Premier		Nat'y	Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Baruch Harold Wood	ENG	Sutton Coldfield	&;	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	6½
2	Theodore Henry Tylor	ENG	Oxford	½	&;	0	1	0	1	1	1	4½
3	Francis Ernest A Kitto	ENG	Exminster	0	1	&;	0	1	½	1	1	4½
4	Richard Hilary Newman	ENG	London	0	0	1	&;	1	0	1	1	4
5	Reginald Walter Bonham	ENG	Worcester	0	1	0	0	&;	1	½	1	3½
6	Alan Edgar Nield	NZL	St Leonards	0	0	½	1	0	&;	0	1	2½
7	Dennis Morton Horne	ENG	Tunbridge Wells	0	0	0	0	½	1	&;	1	2½
8	John Bertram Goodman	ENG	Plymouth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

Women's International Match, 13-18 September, Paignton

1954 Paignton Match	Nat'y	Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
Rowena Mary Bruce	ENG	Plymouth	1	1	1	0	0	1	4
Fenny Heemskerk	NED	Netherlands	0	0	0	1	1	0	2

BCM, November 1954, ppn 359-361 (report by Julius du Mont)

PAIGNTON CONGRESS

September 13th to 18th, 1954

This most successful congress was held at the famous Oldway Mansion and attracted eighty-eight entries. There were eleven sections of eight of varying strength. Pride of place belongs to the strong premier section.

B. H. Wood’s performance was remarkable and his success fully deserved. On two occasions, when he drifted into inferior positions, he was able to draw on reserves of strength and determination to redress the balance.

Tylor showed lack of first-class practice when he missed some opportunities. The same applies to Kitto. His style was most aggressive. Attacking at all costs always spells taking risks. Nield at one time seemed likely to attain a much higher score. He needs more practice in high company. Horne was obviously out of form. Goodman played much better chess than his place at the bottom of the list would indicate. Nearly all his games lasted well over 50 moves and in only one of them was there an early debacle.

Arrangements for the congress were admirable, the only criticism being that, unavoidably, the contest was much too strenuous. Seven rounds in six days with many adjournments is too much. As a result, some players, in particular Goodman played from six to ten hours each and every day!

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CHESS/20/230, October 1954, ppn 47-49

Devon County Chess Association, with R. C. Fogwill the man on the spot, R. M. Bruce no doubt the man behind the scenes and the Paignton Urban District Council financial backers, in holding its fourth successful annual Congress in the marbled Oldway Mansion, Paignton, promises as permanent a place for this pleasant event in the chess calendar as Hastings.

Ninety competed this year in all. The hoped-for clash of leading British with Russian ladies was substituted by a match
between Mrs. Bruce and Dutch lady champion Fenny Heemskerk. Mrs. Bruce, who had lost three, drawn three of her previous encounters with Miss Heemskerk, electrified everybody by winning the first three games, to even her personal score and lead 3-0 in the match. Then she eased a little, Fenny won two, and something still hung on the last game; but by now Mrs. Bruce had had enough of this frippery and tucked up her rival nicely for a 4-2 win.

B. H. Wood ran amok in the Premier, finishing two points ahead of the field for his third first prize in five months (others were at Wallasey and Scunthorpe).

Premier “A” produced the most amusing result of the other sections, half a point separating third player from last.

The usual amenities (free putting, tennis, musical entertainments, etc.) contributed as usual to making Paignton’s an extremely pleasant wind-up to the succession of summer chess congresses.

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Illustrated London News - Saturday 02 October 1954 (by B H Wood)

The success of Paignton's fourth successive annual congress in the lovely marbled Oldway Mansion justifies the belief that this September festival may be with us to adorn the English chess picture for years to come. The Devon Chess Association are the sponsors; R. C. Fogwill the "man on the spot."

This year they kindly invited me into a Premier Tournament somewhat weaker than usual. The schedule gave me the definite, if slight, advantage of four Whites in seven games. My adversaries adopted just the openings I know and like; one left on a mate in two, another overlooked a simple queen fork, another, with a completely won game, frittered away all his advantage, declined the offer of a draw, then handed me a piece for nothing. I sat there, pushing pieces about whilst they companionably hoisted me to a slightly absurd 6½ points out of seven, two whole points ahead of T. H. Tylor and F. E. A. Kitto who tied for second place. Never can I expect so much good fortune in one tournament again.

Paignton Premier Reserves A

1954 Paignton Premier Reserves A		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Henry Vickers White Trevenen	Penzance	&;	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	6½
2	D M Andrew	Sheffield	0	&;	1	1	1	1	½	½	5
3	William James Fry	Southampton	½	0	&;	0	1	1	½	0	3
4	Harry Gethin Thorp Matchett	Birmingham	0	0	1	&;	1	0	½	½	3
5	John H Beaty	Doncaster	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	1	3
6	Ivan Robert Napier	Lelant	0	0	0	1	0	&;	1	½	2½
7	Isaac Taylor Sifton	Bampton	0	½	½	½	0	0	&;	1	2½
8	Peter A Harris	Oldbury	0	½	1	½	0	½	0	&;	2½

Paignton Premier Reserves B

1954 Paignton Premier Reserves B		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	James B Howson	London	&;	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	6½
2	Joseph M Soesan	Ilford	0	&;	½	1	1	1	1	½	5
3	Jack Dennis Rosse	London	0	½	&;	0	1	1	1	1	4½
4	Bertram Goulding Brown	Cambridge	½	0	1	&;	0	½	1	½	3½
5	Reginald Boucher Copleston	Sidmouth	0	0	0	1	&;	1	½	1	3½
6	Alfred Eva	Wilmslow	0	0	0	½	0	&;	½	1	2
7	John G Brogden	Wakefield	0	0	0	0	½	½	&;	1	2
8	Alexander Schofield	Castleford	0	½	0	½	0	0	0	&;	1

Paignton Premier Reserves C

1954 Paignton Premier Reserves C		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Peter Campbell Gibbs	Bradford	&;	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	6½
2	David A Toms	London	0	&;	½	1	1	1	1	1	5½
3	George Powell Moore	Cardiff	0	½	&;	½	1	½	1	1	4½
4	Lt. Col. Francis Pakenham Goldney	Faeroes	0	0	½	&;	½	1	½	1	3½
5	Reginald J Potter	Birmingham	½	0	0	½	&;	½	1	1	3½
6	Keith Edward Charles Budge	Plymouth	0	0	½	0	½	&;	½	1	2½
7	Daniel Castello	London	0	0	0	½	0	½	&;	1	2
8	S A Gill	Swindon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

Major A: (1) G Booth (Westcliff) 5/7; (2) A E Walsh (Hull) 4½; (3) William H Hammett (Leeds) 4; (4-5) F Oppenheimer (London), (Edward) Douglas Fawcett (London) 3½; (6) R M Morgan (Weston super Mare) 3; (7) Stanley Thomas Harvey (Teignmouth) 2½; (8) A S Allen (Cranleigh) 2.

Major B: (1) Edwin Breckon Chapman (Leicester) 5/7; (2-3) W J Haase (Enfield), Lionel Willie Kemnitzer (London) 4½; (4-5) G C Walker (Teignmouth), Richard J G Bird (Malvern) 4; (6) E Fairbrother (London) 3½; (7) Lewis James Worsell (Chesterfield) 1½; (8) E H Milner (Bedford) 1.

Major C: (1-2) John Crowle Cock (Falmouth), John Dudley Taylor (RAF) 5½/7; (3) Steadman Louis Russell (Broughton) 4½; (4-6) H E Baxter (Manchester), Anthony J Doherty (York), R J Nash (Woodford Green) 3; (7) E Mann (London) 2; (8) W Dunphy London) 1½.

First Class A: (1) Herbert Arthur Melvin (Southend) 6½/7; (2) John Edward Hodgson Creed (Reigate) 5½; (3-4) Gregory Owen John Melitus (London), R W Shaw (Leicester) 4; (5-6) W G Lambert (Torquay), G A Thompson (Paignton) 2½; (7-8) R Williams (Torquay), George Robert Cottew (Exeter) 1½.

First Class B: (1) William John Clare Hart Burges (Blockley) 6/7; (2) A C Lewis (Gravesend) 5½; (3) H C Percy (Teignmouth) 4; (4-5) Colin Sidney Collen-Smith (Pulborough), Capt. K Suszczynski (Ferndown) 3½; (6) E W Wood (Teignmouth) 2½; (7) Henry James Mapleton (Torquay) 2; (8) W S Jones (Newport) 1.

Second Class: (1) J W Hart (London) 6½/7; (2) Geoffrey George Homan (Rochester) 5; (3-4) A Szyjko (Teignmouth), J D Llewelyn (Devonport) 4; (5) Miss Cicely Grace Snead (Wallington) 3½; (6) Mrs. Laura Ethel Amelia Start (née Whitehouse, London) 3; (7-8) M Amos (Herne Bay), Miss Elsie Grace Coulson (London) 1.

Third Class: (1) M A Way (Southsea) 7/7; (2) Harold Edgar Druce (Richmond) 5; (3-4) A Marshall (Leicester), Mrs. D M Frost (Torquay) 4; (5) K Hughes (Torquay) 3½; (6) P Holgate (Newton Abbot) 2½; (7) Mrs. E C Molyneux (Torquay) 2; (8) Ernest Henry Ladbury (Paignton) 0.

Mrs. Rowena Mary Bruce, Ronald Mackay Bruce, David A Toms and Paul Fairbairn Copping all tied for first place in a lightning tournament.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
18 February 2023	First upload. Two games from the Premier plus one from the Bruce vs Heemskerk match and one from a lower section.
25 September 2024	Added the game E.D.Fawcett 1-0 S.T.Thomas (Major A).