1956 British Chess Championship, Blackpool, 20-31 August • 1955« »1957

1956 British Chess Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	C Hugh O'D Alexander	London	♦ 1/32	◊ 1/3	♦ ½/19	◊ 1/22	♦ 1/4	◊ 1/10	♦ 1/9	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/5	◊ 1/14	♦ 1/12	9½
2	Frank Parr	Sutton	♦ 0/3	◊ ½/25	♦ 1/24	◊ 1/20	♦ 1/8	◊ 1/26	♦ 1/15	◊ 1/1	♦ 1/9	♦ 1/4	◊ ½/5	9
3	Baruch Harold Wood	Sutton Coldfield	◊ 1/2	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/16	♦ ½/9	◊ 1/25	♦ 1/6	◊ 1/22	♦ 0/5	◊ 0/4	♦ 1/20	♦ 1/10	7½
4	Michael J Haygarth	Leeds	♦ 1/26	◊ 1/28	♦ 1/27	♦ ½/5	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/9	◊ 1/6	◊ 1/10	♦ 1/3	◊ 0/2	♦ 1/14	7½
5	Leonard William Barden	London	♦ 1/13	◊ ½/19	♦ 1/18	◊ ½/4	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/15	♦ ½/8	◊ 1/3	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/9	♦ ½/2	7
6	James Macrae Aitken	Cheltenham	♦ 1/14	♦ ½/9	◊ 1/11	♦ ½/15	◊ ½/22	◊ 0/3	♦ 0/4	◊ ½/28	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/18	♦ 1/19	6½
7	Andrew Rowland B Thomas	Tiverton	♦ 1/21	◊ ½/10	♦ 0/22	◊ 0/18	◊ ½/12	♦ 0/17	◊ 1/13	♦ 1/27	◊ ½/6	♦ 1/25	◊ 1/20	6½
8	Peter Campbell Gibbs	Bradford	◊ 0/19	♦ 1/14	◊ ½/23	♦ 1/11	◊ 0/2	♦ 1/13	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/15	♦ 0/20	◊ 1/16	♦ 1/22	6½
9	William Ritson Morry	Solihull	♦ 1/20	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/3	♦ 1/18	◊ 1/4	◊ 0/1	♦ 1/19	◊ 0/2	♦ 0/5	◊ ½/11	6
10	Brian J Moore	Birmingham	◊ 1/23	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/9	♦ 1/27	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/25	♦ 0/4	◊ ½/15	♦ 1/22	◊ 0/3	6
11	Derek Geoffrey Horseman	Coventry	♦ 1/17	◊ ½/18	♦ 0/6	◊ 0/8	◊ 1/30	♦ 0/25	◊ 1/21	♦ 0/12	♦ 1/29	◊ 1/26	♦ ½/9	6
12	Michael J Franklin	London	♦ 0/18	◊ 0/29	♦ ½/32	◊ 1/24	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/21	♦ 0/20	◊ 1/11	♦ 1/28	◊ 1/15	◊ 0/1	6
13	Dr Stefan Fazekas	Buckhurst Hill	◊ 0/5	♦ 1/17	◊ 0/15	♦ 1/14	◊ 0/19	◊ 0/8	♦ 0/7	◊ 1/30	♦ 1/31	◊ 1/29	♦ 1/26	6
14	Gerald Abrahams	Liverpool	◊ 0/6	◊ 0/8	♦ 1/31	◊ 0/13	♦ 1/32	♦ 1/23	◊ 1/18	♦ 1/16	◊ 1/22	♦ 0/1	◊ 0/4	6
15	Geoffrey J Martin	Ilford	♦ ½/22	◊ 1/24	♦ 1/13	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/26	♦ ½/5	◊ 0/2	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/10	♦ 0/12	◊ ½/17	5½
16	Herbert Gibson Rhodes	Southport	♦ 1/29	◊ 0/27	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/28	♦ 1/21	◊ ½/20	♦ ½/26	◊ 0/14	♦ ½/17	♦ 0/8	◊ 1/25	5½
17	Richard Hilary Newman	London	◊ 0/11	◊ 0/13	♦ 0/21	◊ 1/31	♦ ½/28	◊ 1/7	♦ 1/29	♦ 0/18	◊ ½/16	♦ 1/30	♦ ½/15	5½
18	Wolfgang Heidenfeld	South Africa	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/11	◊ 0/5	♦ 1/7	◊ 0/9	♦ ½/27	♦ 0/14	◊ 1/17	◊ ½/19	♦ 0/6	◊ 1/24	5½
19	Dr Otto Friedman	London	♦ 1/8	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/1	◊ 0/26	♦ 1/13	♦ 0/22	◊ 1/27	◊ 0/9	♦ ½/18	◊ 1/28	◊ 0/6	5½
20	Malcolm Frank Collins	Crewe	◊ 0/9	◊ 1/32	♦ 1/28	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/27	♦ ½/16	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/25	◊ 1/8	◊ 0/3	♦ 0/7	5½
21	Percy B Cook	London	◊ 0/7	♦ 0/23	◊ 1/17	♦ 1/29	◊ 0/16	♦ 0/12	♦ 0/11	◊ 1/31	♦ 1/32	◊ 0/24	♦ 1/28	5
22	Arnold Yorwarth Green	London	◊ ½/15	♦ 1/30	◊ 1/7	♦ 0/1	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/19	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/26	♦ 0/14	◊ 0/10	◊ 0/8	5
23	George A Dickson	Edinburgh	♦ 0/10	◊ 1/21	♦ ½/8	◊ 0/25	♦ ½/29	◊ 0/14	♦ 0/28	◊ 1/32	♦ 0/24	◊ 1/31	◊ 1/30	5
24	Bernard Landon Wilkinson	Chorley	◊ ½/30	♦ 0/15	◊ 0/2	♦ 0/12	♦ 1/31	◊ 0/28	♦ 1/32	◊ 0/29	◊ 1/23	♦ 1/21	♦ 0/18	4½
25	Edward Guthlac Sergeant	Kingston Hill	◊ 0/27	♦ ½/2	◊ 1/30	♦ 1/23	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/11	♦ 0/10	◊ ½/20	♦ ½/26	◊ 0/7	♦ 0/16	4½
26	Slade Milan	Stockport	◊ 0/4	♦ 1/31	◊ 1/29	♦ 1/19	◊ ½/15	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/16	♦ 0/22	◊ ½/25	♦ 0/11	◊ 0/13	4½
27	Thomas (jr) Russell	Glasgow	♦ 1/25	♦ 1/16	◊ 0/4	◊ 0/10	♦ ½/20	◊ ½/18	♦ 0/19	◊ 0/7	♦ 0/30	◊ 1/32	♦ 0/31	4
28	William Broome	Barrow-in-Furness	◊ 1/31	♦ 0/4	◊ 0/20	♦ 0/16	◊ ½/17	♦ 1/24	◊ 1/23	♦ ½/6	◊ 0/12	♦ 0/19	◊ 0/21	4
29	Kenneth Hilton	Liverpool	◊ 0/16	♦ 1/12	♦ 0/26	◊ 0/21	◊ ½/23	♦ 1/30	◊ 0/17	♦ 1/24	◊ 0/11	♦ 0/13	♦ 0/32	3½
30	Kenneth Whyld	Nottingham	♦ ½/24	◊ 0/22	♦ 0/25	◊ 1/32	♦ 0/11	◊ 0/29	◊ 1/31	♦ 0/13	◊ 1/27	◊ 0/17	♦ 0/23	3½
31	John Alexander Charles Borland	Fareham	♦ 0/28	◊ 0/26	◊ 0/14	♦ 0/17	◊ 0/24	◊ 1/32	♦ 0/30	♦ 0/21	◊ 0/13	♦ 0/23	◊ 1/27	2
32	Briant Peter Bourne	Ammanford	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/20	◊ ½/12	♦ 0/30	◊ 0/14	♦ 0/31	◊ 0/24	♦ 0/23	◊ 0/21	♦ 0/27	◊ 1/29	1½

CHO'D Alexander was a late entry to the Championship, replacing W Tabakiernik who withdrew because of illness (The Times, 20 Aug 1956)

1956 British Ladies' Chess Championship, Blackpool • 1955« »1957

1956 British Ladies' Chess Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
1	Mrs Elaine Pritchard	Bridgwater	+13	+5	=9	+4	+3	=2	+7	+6	+8	8
2	Miss Eileen Betsy Tranmer	London	=7	+11	+6	=3	+9	=1	=4	+5	+10	7
3	Mrs Rowena Mary Bruce	Plymouth	+4	=9	+7	=2	–1	+5	=6	+10	+11	6½
4	Miss Cicely Mary Murphy	Manchester	–3	+12	+14	–1	=7	+8	=2	+11	+13	6
5	Miss Joan Frances Doulton	London	+14	–1	=10	+8	+6	–3	+9	–2	+7	5½
6	Miss Mary Araluen E A Henniker-Heaton	London	=11	+8	–2	+14	–5	+9	=3	–1	+12	5
7	Miss Deirdre Colmer	London	=2	=10	–3	+12	=4	+13	–1	+14	–5	4½
8	Mrs Sarah Margaret Steedman	Glasgow	=10	–6	+11	–5	+13	–4	+14	+12	–1	4½
9	Miss Jean P M Craker	London	+12	=3	=1	+10	–2	–6	–5	–13	+14	4
10	Mrs Dody Denise Alma Bourdillon	London	=8	=7	=5	–9	+11	–12	+13	–3	–2	3½
11	Miss Hilda Florence Chater	Belfast	=6	–2	–8	+13	–10	+14	+12	–4	–3	3½
12	Miss Leah Margaret Hogarth	Glasgow	–9	–4	=13	–7	+14	+10	–11	–8	–6	2½
13	Mrs H A Waterworth	Glasgow	–1	–14	=12	–11	–8	–7	–10	+9	–4	1½
14	Dr Maria Maclean	Abertillery	–5	+13	–4	–6	–12	–11	–8	–7	–9	1

1956 BCF Major Open

1956 BCF Major Open		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	John H Beaty	Doncaster	=22	=32	+16	=5	+19	+14	+7	+2	=11	+8	=3	8½
2	Bernard Cafferty	Blackburn	+10	=6	+15	+19	+17	=7	=9	–1	+14	+11	=5	8
3	John H Pollitt	Manchester	+13	=15	=6	+22	–7	=5	=17	+20	+9	=14	=1	7
4	James R Nicolson	Wirral	=5	=22	=25	=10	+16	+13	–8	=17	=7	+19	+14	7
5	Douglas Saunderson	Chesterfield	=4	=11	+10	=1	=14	=3	+25	+13	=8	=18	=2	7
6	James Tennant-Smith	Blackburn	+25	=2	=3	–14	–13	+21	–10	+26	+27	+17	+11	7
7	Stephen Wilkinson	Loughton	=11	=9	+12	+24	+3	=2	–1	–14	=4	+25	+8	7
8	Robert Edmond Borland1	Richmond Sy	+12	+21	+14	–17	=9	=11	+4	+24	=5	–1	–7	6½
9	(Peter) Jeffrey Harrison	Bolton	=30	=7	+23	+15	=8	+17	=2	–11	–3	+24	=10	6½
10	Harry Gethin Thorp Matchett	Birmingham	–2	+29	–5	=4	–15	+27	+6	=19	+22	+23	=9	6½
11	Dr Jakob Adolf Seitz	Argentina	=7	=5	=27	+30	+25	=8	+19	+9	=1	–2	–6	6½
12	Anthony Robert Calder-Smith	London	–8	=28	–7	–29	+bye	+23	+26	+16	–18	=22	+24	6
13	Charles Reuben Gurnhill	Sheffield	–3	–31	+bye	+28	+6	–4	+29	–5	–23	+27	+18	6
14	B Howard	Blackpool	+26	+27	–8	+6	=5	–1	+22	+7	–2	=3	–4	6
15	Raymond B Edwards	Harrogate	+31	=3	–2	–9	+10	–19	–20	–27	+30	+26	+25	5½
16	Kenneth Leslie Gardner	Solihull	–27	+20	–1	+31	–4	+18	–24	–12	+29	+21	=17	5½
17	Leonard William Oliver	South Shields	+bye	+23	=19	+8	–2	–9	=3	=4	=24	–6	=16	5½
18	Dr Leonard B Pawson	Cleethorpes	–24	=26	=30	–23	+28	–16	+31	+29	+12	=5	–13	5½
19	David John Richards	Oxford	+29	+24	=17	–2	–1	+15	–11	=10	=25	–4	+23	5½
20	T Edmundson	Blackburn	–23	–16	=29	+bye	+27	–25	+15	–3	–21	+28	=22	5
21	Arthur Hall2	Grimsby	+28	–8	–24	+26	–22	–6	+30	–23	+20	–16	+31	5
22	Otto Henry Hardy	Batley	=1	=4	+31	–3	+21	=24	–14	=25	–10	=12	=20	5
23	T Harman	Coventry	+20	–17	–9	+18	–24	–12	+28	+21	+13	–10	–19	5
24	David A Tidmarsh	London	+18	–19	+21	–7	+23	=22	+16	–8	=17	–9	–12	5
25	Philip Edward Collier	Leicester	–6	+bye	=4	+27	–11	+20	–5	=22	=19	–7	–15	4½
26	J Johnson	Liverpool	–14	=18	=28	–21	+31	=29	–12	–6	+bye	–15	+30	4½
27	(Derek) George Ellison	Bolton	+16	–14	=11	–25	–20	–10	+bye	+15	–6	–13	=28	4
28	Herbert Francis Gook	Croydon	–21	=12	=26	–13	–18	+bye	–23	=30	+31	–20	=27	4
29	Harold Horace Watts	Southport	–19	–10	=20	+12	+30	=26	–13	–18	–16	–31	+bye	4
30	G H Davies	Wallasey	=9	=1	=18	–11	–29	=31	–21	=28	–15	+bye	–26	3½
31	Arthur T Watson	Worthing	–15	+13	–22	–16	–26	=30	–18	+bye	–28	+29	–21	3½

¹ Robert Edmond Borland (2 July 1934 - 9 April 2017). Born in Egypt, graduate of Imperial College, London. Civil servant at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington. SCCU (Southern Counties) Junior Individual Champion in 1949 and 1952. Imperial College has a Borland Fellowship named after him. Younger brother of John (Jack) Alexander Charles Borland (b 1929) who played in the 1956 British Championship proper.
² I'm assuming this must be Arthur Hall (rather than any other A Hall) though the location of "Grimsby" doesn't seem too likely.

1956 BCF First-Class Tournament

1956 First-Class Tournament		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Gordon R Evans	Maghull	–2	+21	=20	=16	+18	+12	+17	+8	+3	=9	+6	8½
2	Robert Crook Greenhalgh	Blackpool	+1	–18	=16	+9	+3	–17	+6	+7	+8	=4	+11	8
3	Robin Humphries Rushton	Luton	=5	=6	+13	+12	–2	+15	+11	=17	–1	+7	+9	7½
4	George H Simmons	Scunthorpe	+20	=8	–6	–11	+9	–5	+19	+14	+17	=2	+12	7
5	A G Ba(r)ker	Caister-on-Sea	=3	=11	+10	=7	–8	+4	+14	–6	–9	+22	+17	6½
6	Fred Clough	Urmston	=10	=3	+4	+18	+17	–8	–2	+5	=7	+16	–1	6½
7	Ronald Ernest Rushbrook	London	+9	+12	–17	=5	+11	+14	=8	–2	=6	–3	+15	6½
8	R Taylor	Blackpool	+14	=4	+18	–17	+5	+6	=7	–1	–2	=10	+20	6½
9	Charles Hatch	Southport	–7	+19	=11	–2	–4	+22	+20	+16	+5	=1	–3	6
10	J(ack) W Thornley	Moston	=6	=16	–5	+13	–14	+19	+15	–11	=21	=8	+22	6
11	J Wearmouth	Preston	=16	=5	=9	+4	–7	+18	–3	+10	=15	+17	–2	6
12	A Archer	Stoke-on-Trent	+22	–7	+15	–3	+20	–1	–16	=21	+13	+14	–4	5½
13	Rev Arthur Percival Lacy-Hulbert	Ludlow	–15	=14	–3	–10	+22	–16	+21	+19	–12	+20	+18	5½
14	Arthur H Kirkman	Liverpool	–8	=13	+21	+20	+10	–7	–5	–4	+22	–12	+19	5½
15	Harry Starbuck Littlechild	Wisbech	+13	–17	–12	+19	+16	–3	–10	+22	=11	+21	–7	5½
16	Alfred Milner	Didsbury	=11	=10	=2	=1	–15	+13	+12	–9	+18	–6	=21	5½
17	P A Saunders	Wallasey	+19	+15	+7	+8	–6	+2	–1	=3	–4	–11	–5	5½
18	W J Matthews	Bristol	+21	+2	–8	–6	–1	–11	+22	+20	–16	–19	–13	4
19	H Taylor	Crumpsall	–17	–9	+22	–15	+21	–10	–4	–13	+20	+18	–14	4
20	Oscar William Serck	Knighton	–4	+22	=1	–14	–12	+21	–9	–18	–19	–13	–8	2½
21	D Stewart	Rochdale	–18	–1	–14	+22	–19	–20	–13	=12	=10	–15	=16	2½
22	Thomas W Crabb	Sheffield	–12	–20	–19	–21	–13	–9	–18	–15	–14	–5	–10	0

1956 BCF Second-Class Tournament

1956 Second-Class Tournament		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	G J Sparkes	&;	1	1	1	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	9½
2	R D Hollands	0	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9
3	Michael A Fox	0	1	&;	1	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	8½
4	L E Lee	0	0	0	&;	½	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	6½
5	R Clough	1	0	1	½	&;	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	6½
6	Leslie Percival Deeth	0	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
7	(Rex) Frank Talbot Wood1	½	0	½	1	1	0	&;	0	1	1	0	1	6
8	J E Mort	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	&;	1	1	1	1	5
9	A E Terrett	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	&;	1	1	1	4
10	J Salt	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	3
11	Philip R C Wood1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	&;	1	2
12	E Slingsby	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

¹ (Rex) Frank T Wood and Philip R C Wood are two of Baruch H Wood's chessplaying sons. His other son Christopher played in the Boys' Under-15 Championship while his daughter Margaret (Peggy) won the Girls' Under-18 Championship.

1956 British Boys' (U18) Championship

1956 British Boys' Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Clive F Girling	Gravesend	+6	=13	+26	–2	+7	+25	=3	+4	=5	+8	+11	8½
2	Michael Macdonald-Ross	London	+28	+27	=4	+1	=3	+14	+11	+7	+10	–5	=6	8½
3	William S Deeth	London	+16	+8	+21	+12	=2	=4	=1	+11	=6	=10	=5	8
4	Terence Goodhill	London	+14	+23	=2	=5	+12	=3	+18	–1	+13	=11	+10	8
5	John C Dore	Birmingham	–19	+15	+27	=4	–18	=12	+16	+14	=1	+2	=3	7
6	Andrew P Nicholas	Birmingham	–1	+29	+16	+26	–14	–18	+8	+17	=3	+12	=2	7
7	Leslie R Kirkcaldy	Wallasey	+bye	+19	–12	=17	–1	+24	+9	–2	–8	+18	+16	6½
8	Allan G Lowe	Bolton	+22	–3	–18	=15	+26	+23	–6	+25	+7	–1	+12	6½
9	J(ohn?) M Davies	Walsall	+29	–12	–25	+27	=19	+20	–7	=23	=16	=17	+14	6
10	Brian R Ewart	Wallasey	=13	–14	+22	+28	+25	–11	+12	+18	–2	=3	–4	6
11	David Sherman	London	=18	–26	+24	+21	+17	+10	–2	–3	+14	=4	–1	6
12	Colin G Burton	Birmingham	+17	+9	+7	–3	–4	=5	–10	+19	+21	–6	–8	5½
13	E Freeman	Wirral	=10	=1	–14	–19	+27	+15	=25	+24	–4	–16	+23	5½
14	S Harding	Ipswich	–4	+10	+13	+18	+6	–2	=17	–5	–11	+23	–9	5½
15	Robert H Northage	Quorn	–23	–5	+29	=8	=21	–13	–27	+bye	+28	+24	=19	5½
16	H[arry?] W Richardson1	Dewsbury	–3	=22	–6	=24	+29	+21	–5	+26	=9	+13	–7	5½
17	Brian P Simister	Hove	–12	+28	+20	=7	–11	+19	=14	–6	=23	=9	=18	5½
18	John F Wheeler	Plympton	=11	=20	+8	–14	+5	+6	–4	–10	+27	–7	=17	5½
19	Frederick Stephen Wusteman2	Cardiff	+5	–7	–23	+13	=9	–17	+20	–12	=25	+29	=15	5½
20	B Sharples	Redcliffe	=21	=18	–17	+22	=23	–9	–19	=29	=26	=25	+bye	5
21	C C Watson	Thurcaston	=21	+24	–3	–11	=15	–16	+28	–27	–12	+bye	+25	5
22	Barrington Beavis	Brighton	–8	=16	–10	–20	+bye	+26	–23	–28	=29	+27	=24	4½
23	Charles A Cowlrick	London	+15	–4	+19	–25	=20	–8	+22	=9	=17	–14	–13	4½
24	Philip J Meade	Croydon	=26	–21	–11	=16	+28	–7	+29	–13	+bye	–15	=22	4½
25	Stewart Reuben	London	–27	+bye	+9	+23	–10	–1	=13	–8	=19	=20	–21	4½
26	Roger J Stockwell	Croydon	=24	+11	–1	–6	–8	–22	+bye	–16	=20	=28	+29	4½
27	William K Osborne	Hinckley	+25	–2	–5	–9	–13	+bye	+15	+21	–18	–22	–28	4
28	Michael J Lavender	London	–2	–17	+bye	–10	–24	–29	–21	+22	–15	=26	+27	3½
29	A Oakes	Doncaster	–9	–6	–15	+bye	–16	+28	–24	=20	=22	–19	–26	3

¹ The BCF Yearbook has W H Richardson but likely to be a typo for H W Richardson - see Bradford Observer, 28 August 1956. First name probably Harry.
² Spelled here and in most chess sources as "Wusterman" but Sean Coffey has researched the name and found it should be "Wusteman". He was 1956 Welsh Boys' Champion and represented Wales in the 1956 Glorney Cup. I am grateful to Sean for the information.

1956 British Girls' (U18) Championship

1956 British Girls' Championship		1	2	3	4	Total
1	Margaret Eileen Elizabeth Wood (later Clarke)	&;	½ 0	1 1	1 1	4½
2	Sheila Corbyn (later Robinson)	½ 1	&;	½ 0	1 1	4
3	Margaret Wood (later Penrose)	0 0	½ 1	&;	1 1	3½
4	Verina Horsnell	0 0	0 0	0 0	&;	0

1956 British Boys' (U15) Championship

1956 British Boys (U15) Championship		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
1	David G Macdonald	&;	0	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	6½
2	P M Thomas	1	&;	0	½	0	1	1	1	1	5½
3	G Wheeler	½	1	&;	½	½	0	1	1	1	5½
4	Arthur S Rooker-Roberts	0	½	½	&;	1	1	0	1	1	5
5	Colin Waring	0	1	½	0	&;	1	1	0	1	4½
6	Christopher Baruch Wood	0	0	1	0	0	&;	½	1	1	3½
7	N M Stephens	0	0	0	1	0	½	&;	½	1	3
8	I L E Hewitt	0	0	0	0	1	0	½	&;	1	2½
9	I W O'Donnell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	0

Championship for the Blind.—(1) Reginald Walter Bonham 6½; (2) Geoffrey Douglas Carlin 5; (3-4) J. Horrocks, H. Booth 4½; (6) E. R. Fisher 2½; (7) V. Nelson 2; (8-9) A. Dale and R. Patterson 1½.

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THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING COMPETITION, 1955-56

From an original entry of 153 entries the following players qualified to play in the Zonal Competition:—

Zone A—J. H. B. Bennett, G. R. Evans, B. Ewart, K. Hilton, S. Milan, F. Smith, B. L. Wilkinson, J. Wolstenholme.
Zone D—R. W. Bonham, D. G. Horseman, K. Whyld, B. H. Wood, H. G. T. Matchett, B. J. Moore.
Zone E—M. F. Collins, D. J. P. Gray, Leon Rosselson, S. D. Ward.
Zone G—P. H. Clarke, O. Friedman, A. Y. Green, G. J. Martin, Dr. S. P. Schotz, E. G. Sergeant, J. A. Wall, H. I. Woolverton.
Zone H—L. W. Barden, M. J. Franklin, C. F. Girling, J. Hobbs, F. Parr.
Zone I—R. M. Bruce, Dr. I. J. Good, M. E. Poolake, A. R. B. Thomas.

There was no county stage for Zones B, C and F, the winners of which qualified direct to the final.

The following nineteen players qualified from the Zonal Competition to play in the Championship Final at Blackpool:—

Zone A—K. Hilton and S. Milan.
Zone B—M. J. Haygarth.
Zone C—W. Broome.
Zone D—D. G. Horseman, B. J. Moore, K. Whyld, B. H. Wood.
Zone E—M. F. Collins.
Zone F—J. A. C. Borland.
Zone G—O. Friedman, A. Y. Green, G. J. Martin, E. G. Sergeant, J. A. Wall.
Zone H—L. W. Barden, M. J. Franklin, F. Parr.
Zone I—A. R. B. Thomas.

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HON. SECRETARY’S REPORT — 1956 [1956/57 BCF Yearbook]

THE BLACKPOOL CONGRESS

Our 42rd Annual Congress was held at the Grange Park School, Layton, Blackpool by kind permission of the Corporation from the 20th August to 1st September [1956] under the auspices of the Northern Counties Chess Union. All those who participated in what was to become a memorable congress, expressed the view that the facilities provided could not have been excelled. After a week of more or less perpetual rain the Congress had opened in perfect summer weather, which greatly added to the enjoyment of the 162 competitors. Added to this fact the finely ventilated congress room with the excellent facilities provided for refreshments, together with rest rooms and other amenities added to the holiday spirit that all could enjoy. The local secretary—H. T. Goodman—had evidently thought of everything and the provision of special buses which transported the competitors between the school and central parts of the town between sessions of play contributed to the smooth running of the Congress.

Prior to the opening, officials and representatives of the competitors were entertained to a civic Luncheon in the Winter Gardens. In welcoming the Federation to Blackpool, His Worship the Mayor Alderman Herbert Henson, J.P., expressed the hope that the players and officials would make themselves at home and would enjoy their visit, whilst Sir Leonard Dyer on behalf of the Federation thanked the Corporation for the excellent facilities provided for the Congress. The party, then having made its way to the Congress Hall, listened with interest to speeches made by Sir Leonard Dyer, Mr. E. Alton, B.Sc.—Chief Education Officer of Blackpool—and the Mayor, who having declared the Congress open, then made the draw for the first round of the British Championship.

With the unfortunate withdrawal, owing to illness, of the Midland Counties Champion [Tabakiernik], it was decided that his place in the Championship should be taken by former champion and international master C. H. O’D. Alexander, who had not been able to apply for a vacancy. Owing to the Suez crisis, however, which immediately preceded the Congress, Alexander found himself available to play and it had been decided that in the event of any last minute withdrawal he would be permitted to compete. He was naturally immediately installed favourite to win the event, particularly as the entry was considered to be below normal standard. This had been due in the main to the fact that the team to play in the International Team Tournament were not available to play, as they would be journeying to Moscow whilst the Congress was in progress. Alexander started off as if he would win without challenge, but this was eventually to prove to be far from the case. Admittedly he was extremely lucky to escape from defeat at the hands of both Dr. Friedman and Ritson Morry, and indeed by scoring 1½ points from these two games this eventually resulted in his winning the Championship for the first time since 1938. The runner-up Frank Parr on the other hand found heavy going with his first two games and at the commencement of the third round was way down at the foot of the table with only a draw to his credit. However, by excellent play he gradually climbed the table until, in the 8th round, when he scored a win against Alexander, he found himself on equal terms with the leader. There he remained until in his last game he was only able to record a draw against Barden, whilst in the meantime Alexander was able to overcome Franklin and thus go on to win what had been a very exciting tussle between two players.

By scoring 9½ points the new Champion equalled the previous best score since the competition was played on the Swiss System, being closely followed by Parr with 9 pts. Third and fourth places were shared by M. J. Haygarth—the young 21 year old Yorkshire player—and B. H. Wood, both of whom scored 7½ points. These four players, together with the winner of the Major Open Tournament—J. H. Beaty—thus automatically qualify to play in next year’s Championship at Plymouth. By scoring 6 points or more Abrahams, Aitken, Barden, Fazekas, Franklin, Gibbs, Horseman, Moore, Morry and Thomas are exempted until the Zonal Stage in the next Qualifying Competition.

Mrs. E. Pritchard won the British Ladies’ Championship for the third time with a score of 8 (9) points. In each of the years in which she has competed Mrs. Pritchard, who as Miss Saunders first won the title in 1939 at the tender age of 13, has not lost a single game. Her performance in the current tournament was particularly noteworthy in view of the fact that the opposition included all the other leading British lady players, with the exception of Miss Anne Sunnucks who is at present serving in the Forces in Hong Kong. Other scores were: Miss E. Tranmer 7 pts., Mrs. R. M. Bruce 6½ pts, Miss M. Murphy 6 pts, Miss J. Doulton 5½ pts.

With the ever increasing interest shown in junior chess the Boys Championship was, for the first time divided into two age groups. In the Under 18 event for which there were 30 entries—M. Macdonald-Ross of London and C. F. Girling of Gravesend shared the title with 8½ points out of a possible 11. It is intended that they shall play off for the title during the coming months. Whilst in the Under 15 event—for which there were 12 entries and from which unfortunately there were two last minute withdrawals—D. G. Macdonald of Hoylake won this inaugural event scoring 6½ points. Unfortunately there were only four entries for the British Girls’ Championship, which was run during the second week of the congress as a double round tournament. This was won by Miss M. E. E. Wood of Sutton Coldfield with 4½ points (6).

By arrangement with the Federation facilities were given to the Braille Chess Association for them to hold an inaugural Championship for blind players during the first week of the Congress. Arrangements were made to accommodate the players in the same hotel and the competition was won by the favourite—R. W. Bonham—who scored 6½ points from his seven games. As a result of discussions which took place at Blackpool between representatives of the Federation and the Braille Chess Association proposals are to come before the Executive Committee whereby the Championship can be officially recognised and it is expected that, subject to arrangement being made to provide a fund to give financial assistance to intending competitors the first British Championship for blind players will be included in the programme for the next congress.

Detailed results of all the championship and other tournaments are given in the Results Section.

The Federation are greatly indebted to the way in which the Congress was controlled not only by the joint B.C.F. Controllers, Messrs. van Meurs and P. Shaw, but also for the help that they received from the NCCU Conductor Mr. R. Shilton and for the work done by the Publicity Officer, Mr. A. D. Biles, who was enrolled in the task of ensuring that the results in the various tournaments were kept up to date on the wall charts. The work of the press was also greatly appreciated and during the course of the Congress several of the players were interviewed by the B.B.C., who in their Northern Regional programmes gave the Federation much valuable publicity.

The closing ceremony, which took place in the Council Chamber on the Saturday morning, was presided over by Mr. G. H. Haines (President of the NCCU). The first speaker to be introduced was Mr. I. Cohen, who expressed a vote of thanks to the Corporation. In his speech, which covered the work of the many departments concerned, the BCF Treasurer made particular comment on the wonderful organisation that had been placed at the disposal of the Congress. The Mayor in reply said how happy he was that Blackpool had attracted such an intellectual event and that the prestige of the Town had been enhanced through it. He hoped that they would be able to do as much again sometime, in the near future.

The Chairman then called upon Mr. van Meurs to express a vote of thanks to the Union and he spoke of the work as being done mainly by the Lancashire Chess Association. He said that the whole organisation was perfect and the best that he had experienced. In reply, Mr. Haines stated that he fully endorsed all that had been said and gave full credit to those responsible for the preliminary arrangements. Mr. Alexander was then called upon to thank the officials and he spoke at length about the very encouraging form shown by the young players at the congress. He advised them not to be too cautious in their play, because after further experience they could always develop their technique. They should be venturesome and play as many different types of games as they could, even though it might mean losing them. This was more desirable than playing with a limited repertoire of openings which seemed to be the current practice. Young players should always remember that all great players have started off by playing attacking and imaginative chess. The Champion concluded by expressing his personal gratification at the way in which the Congress had been controlled and stated that the conditions were the best that he had ever played under. Mr. P. M. Shaw in reply stated that he had derived much pleasure in helping to conduct the congress and expressed appreciation at the organisation which had been placed at their disposal.

Mrs. Pritchard then thanked the Press for all their support and interest and Mr. Barden in reply expressed gratification for the amenities that had been put at their disposal. Mr. V. J. Soanes in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Goodman expressed the view of all those present when he commented on the fact that “he was the right man for the job” and after the local secretary, in his reply, expressed himself as being very proud of the fact that the event had proved worthy of the occasion, adding that he considered that such a national function was worthy of more than a coffee house atmosphere which most chess clubs seemed to be satisfied with, Mr. Shaw then presented Mr. Goodman with a book autographed by many of the competitors as a small token of their appreciation for all the work that he had done to make the congress such a success.

The prizes were then presented to the successful competitors by the Mayoress and, after the Chairman had expressed his appreciation to the Mayoress, Miss Peggy Wood, the Girl Champion, presented her with a box of chocolates, thus bringing to a close one of the most successful and memorable congresses in the long history of the Federation.

A. F. Stammwitz
Hon. Secretary 5th September, 1956

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[Sunday Times, 9 September 1956, p2 - by C Hugh O'D Alexander] "The absence of six of the leading players, including the 1955 champion, H. Golombek, at the International Team Tournament in Moscow, inevitably meant that this year's British championship was a weak one; however, making allowance for this, play was of a reasonably good standard, and games were fought out with great determination.

"There was a remarkably small number of draws.

"Parr was perhaps rather unlucky not to win; 9 out of 11 is usually more than enough for victory, and I had two considerable strokes of luck in reaching 9½. The South African champion, Heidenfeld, was completely out of form; I hope he will play again next year and show his true powers.

"Haygarth, the twenty-one-year-old Leeds player, did best and made the best impression of any of the new players; while he does not strike me as having quite the natural ability. of Penrose or Crown, he should improve a good deal more and may well reach the front rank of British players.

"The danger with young players today is that they will be swamped with opening theory and fail to develop their own ideas and imaginative powers; my general impression, confirmed in this championship, is that they play with too mature a style—I would like to see more really dangerous attacking players among them even at the cost of some soundness.

"But perhaps this is just the usual middle-aged grumbling: so to finish on a less carping note—thank you to Blackpool for supplying us with absolutely first-class conditions for play."

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[Glasgow Herald, 24 August 1956, page 10] "124-MOVE MATCH ENDS IN DRAW Blackpool Congress Two London women competing for the British women's championship, Miss J. Doulton and Mrs Bourdillon, yesterday finished playing the longest game so far at the British Chess Federation Congress, which opened at Blackpool four days ago. After 11 hours and 10 minutes they agreed a draw on completing the 124th move. The game started on Wednesday afternoon.

Another long game, which is still undecided, is that between two schoolmasters, O. Hardy (Batley, Yorkshire) and J. Nicolson (Wirrall, Cheshire), in the major open tournament. This match started on Tuesday and was adjourned again yesterday after 12 hours and 106 moves.

A. Dale, champion of the Glasgow Blind Chess Club, beat E. R. Fisher (Coventry) in. the sixth round of the Braille Chess Association Championship.

In the fourth round of the British championship G. Dickson (Edinburgh), the Scottish boys' champion, lost to E. G. Sergeant (Kingston, Surrey) in 43 moves, and T. Russell, Jun. (Glasgow) lost to B. J. Moore (Birmingham) in 42 moves."

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File Updated

Date	Notes
5 April 2018	Uploaded for the first time
2 November 2020	Eight more games and part-games added, from CHESS Magazine: (1) Milan-Haygarth (rd 1 - part-game); (2) Heidenfeld-Franklin (rd 1); (3) Green-Martin (rd 1); (4) Hilton-Rhodes (rd 1 - part-game); (5) Heidenfeld-Barden (rd 3 - full game replacing a part-game); (6) Friedman-Alexander (rd 3 - full game replacing part-game); (7) Fazekas-Martin (rd 3); (8) Bourne-Franklin (rd 3). Current tally: 46 Championship games plus 10 part-games, 11 from the Major Open and one from the U18.
17 February 2021	Standardised the crosstables and added some forenames.
12 May 2021	Added eight Dr Aitken games. Current tally: 54 Championship games, 10 part-games, 11 from the Major Open and one from the U18.
27 April 2022	Added one game from the First Class section: Lacy-Hulbert 1-0 W Matthews. Contributed by Gerard Killoran via the English Chess Forum, for which many thanks.
13 October 2022	Three games added: (1) a game from the Women's Championship: E.Pritchard 1-0 M.Henniker-Heaton (rd 8), contributed by Gerard Killoran via the English Chess Forum; two games from the First-Class section: (2) R.Rushton 1-0 Rev. A.Lacy-Hulbert (rd 3); (3) R.Rushton 1-0 R.Rushbrook (rd 10), also contributed by Gerard Killoran via the English Chess Forum, for which many thanks.
30 September 2023	A major upgrade: more than 100 of the Championship games have now been added, from the booklet published by Eric Fisher. Many thanks to Andy Ansel for sending the file of games. In all there are now 171 scores of the 176 Championship games played, plus 2 part-games and 3 stubs. There are 16 games from other sections.