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Event: 74th Varsity Match • Venue: St Bride's Institute, near Fleet Street, London • Date: 24 March 1956
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The 74th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University was held at St Bride's Institute, near Fleet Street, London, on 24 March 1956. All game scores from this match are available.
| 1955« 1956 Varsity Chess Match »1957 | ||||
| Bd | Oxford University | 1956 | Cambridge University | Opening, No. of Moves |
| 1w | Raaphi Persitz (Balliol) | 1-0 | David Edward Lloyd (Caius) | French |
| 2b | Kenneth Leslie Gardner (St John's) | ½-½ | Leon Rosselson (Fitzwilliam) | QGD Exchange |
| 3w | Henry Gerald Mutkin (Wadham) | 1-0 | Malcolm Frank Collins (Selwyn) | Dutch |
| 4b | Kenneth Stern (Corpus Christi) | 0-1 | Denis John Pereira Gray (St John's) | Sicilian |
| 5w | David John Richards (Magdalen) | ½-½ | Peter Walker (Pembroke) | Dutch |
| 6b | Robert James Ball (Queen's) | ½-½ | John Dudley Taylor (Caius) | Bird's Opening |
| 7w | Michael Philip Furmston (Exeter) | ½-½ | John Crowle Cock (Jesus) | Sicilian |
| 4-3 |
Sources: Oxford-Cambridge Chess Matches (1873-1987), compiled by Jeremy Gaige, Philadelphia 1987; The Times, 26 Mar 1956; The Guardian, 22 & 26 March 1956; BCM, May 1956, p140; CHESS, Vol.21, no.264, 31 March 1956, p202.
Notes:
(1)
Gaige gives 'David John Pereira Gray' but it is definitely 'Denis John Pereira Gray' (English & Wales BMD, Wikipedia, etc).
[BCM, May 1956, p140] "The seventy-second annual match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities was played at St. Bride's Institute, London, on March 24th, and resulted in a 4-3 victory for Oxford, as follows [results] By their victory, which was well deserved, Oxford levelled the scores in the series at 36 matches each. The outstanding game of the match was played on Board 1, where Persitz took the utmost advantage of minor opening lapses by Lloyd to force through a mating attack."
[The Times, 26 March 1956, p16] "UNIVERSITY MATCH - OXFORD’S NARROW WIN - FROM OUR CHESS CORRESPONDENT - Oxford University scored a narrow victory over Cambridge University by four points to three in London on Saturday. On the whole, the run of play justified this result. The Cambridge first and third boards were well and truly beaten; the draws on the last three boards were the outcome of levelly contested struggles and the Oxford fourth board’s loss was due to an unfortunate blunder in what was probably a winning position. The outstanding game was played on board one, where Persitz once again revealed what a fine attacking player he is by taking the utmost advantage of minor opening lapses by Lloyd to force through a mating attack. UNLUCKY CONTESTANTS - Both contestants on the second board might be regarded as having been unlucky. For Cambridge Rosselson played vigorously and well for almost all the game and had what looked like a winning advantage until just before the end of the day’s play, when, afflicted by time pressure, he left a pawn en prise. Then it was Gardner’s turn to be unlucky; for the adjudicator felt that the position did not quite warrant his awarding a win to the Oxford player and so gave it a draw—which no doubt it would have been had the game been played out to a finish."
[The Guardian, 22 March 1956 - Leonard Barden] "Oxford v. Cambridge - The annual Oxford and Cambridge match will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St Bride's Institute, Ludgate Circus. Cambridge, who last year won 4-3, again seem to have the more reliable team, including four players, Lloyd, Gray, Collins, and Taylor, who have had good results in junior tournaments. Taylor is the present British under-21 champion. Oxford have a post-war tradition of producing outstanding top board players and this year they have the Israeli master Persitz, who recently won the International events at Southend and Paignton. Gardner and Richards are two other Oxford players with tournament successes and on the top boards, at any rate, Oxford should at least hold their own."
[The Guardian, 26 March 1956 - Leonard Barden] "Oxford beat Cambridge 4-3 in the annual chess match to-day, thus levelling the scores in the series at 36 matches each. As expected. Oxford did well on the top three boards where they scored 2½ points, and their lower boards held their more experienced Cambridge opponents. Oxford had white on the odd-numbered boards... [results] Persitz was soon on the attack against Lloyd who fell into an inferior variation of the French Defence. The Israeli master concentrated his pieces on the king's side and broke through to mate in 25 moves. Mutkin also won in good style for Oxford, taking advantage of his opponent s weak white squares to win a pawn and obtain an overwhelming game in 27 moves. The game on Board Four was a disaster for Oxford for Stern gained control of the centre and by a fine knight sacrifice obtained what should have been a winning attack. However, he then went completely astray, first failing to continue the attack correctly and then blundering away a rook. The four drawn games were all well fought. Both Rosselson and Cock had the initiative all through their games but in each case the Oxford players held the draw by careful defence. Oxford should have won on Board Six, where Ball’s grip on the centre led to the win of a pawn by a neat combination. However, in a situation with excellent winning chances, he unaccountably allowed a draw by repetition of positions."
[CHESS, 31 March 1956, p202] "By beating Cambridge 4-3 in the annual Universities' match, Oxford once again levelled the score in the series. Not for over half a century have they been ahead. [results - game score of Persitz-D.Lloyd given in CHESS, 7 July 1956, p282]
BCM, May 1956, p121: "Insurance C. C... lost rather badly to the Combined Universities by 6-13. Combined Universities were also successful against the Civil Service by 10½-9½."
Oxford Past vs Cambridge Past, 7 April 1956, London
| Bd | Oxford University Past | 1956 | Cambridge University Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1b | Richard Hilary Newman (Worcester) | ½-½ | Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander (King's) |
| 2w | Edward Leslie Stuart (Merton) | 0-1 | (Philip) Stuart Milner-Barry (Trinity) |
| 3b | Alfred William Bowen (Oriel) | ½-½ | Andrew Rowland Benedick Thomas (St John's) |
| 4w | Nicholas Anthony Perkins (St John's) | ½-½ | Roland Hartnett (Downing) |
| 5b | Thomas Ivor Casswell (Pembroke) | 0-1 | Jonas Birnberg (Queens') |
| 6w | William Edward Cole Richards (Hertford) | 1-0 | John Robert Gilbert (St Catharine's) |
| 7b | William Ernest Baker Pryer (Pembroke) | 0-1 | John Matthias Bee (St Catharine's) |
| 8w | Dermot Michael Macgregor Morrah (New) | 1-0 | Eric Augustus Coad-Pryor (Trinity) |
| 9b | John Montgomerie (Corpus Christi) | ½-½ | Richard William Barnes Clarke (Clare) |
| 10w | Napier Baliol Scott (Trinity) | ½-½ | Eugene Ernest Colman (Trinity) |
| 11b | David Le Brun Jones (St John's) | ½-½ | Victor Tarnofsky (Downing) |
| 12w | Ian Ninian Marshall (Merton) | ½-½ | Rev William Rawson Greenhalgh (Pembroke) |
| 5½-6½ |
[The Times, 9 April 1956] "CAMBRIDGE PAST BEAT OXFORD PAST - ONE POINT MARGIN IN ANNUAL MATCH - Past members of Cambridge University beat past members of Oxford University in the annual chess match which was played over the traditional 12 boards in London on Saturday. The final score was 6½ to 5½ but the result might have turned in Oxford's favour if they had not been without Aitken on top board.
"Nevertheless, R. H. Newman, who can be ranked amoug the strongest players in the country at his best, held Alexander to a draw in their game which was the centre of lively interest. As early as the fifteenth move Newman had evolved a counter attack against the fashionable Richter attack in the Sicilian defence at the cost of three pawns but two moves later he missed an intermediate checking move which may well have retained his winning chances. Thereafter the attack changed hands with Alexander showing his tactical skill and Newman demonstrating his mastery of defence to reduce the game to a draw on the 41st move with bishops of opposite colours."