BritBase.Info - British Chess Game Archive
Varsity Chess Matches 1873-present: Oxford University versus Cambridge University
List compiled by John Saunders - please report any errors spotted to me. Last edited: Friday July 5, 2024 2:27 PM
The first Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Chess Match, 1873 (image from the Illustrated London News, 5 April 1873, p325)
1. Biographies of Varsity Chess match competitors
2. Alphabetical list of Oxford players
3. Alphabetical list of Cambridge players
4. Origins of the Varsity Chess Match
This part of BritBase is dedicated to Timothy Whitworth (1932-2019) who, knowing my interest in the Varsity chess match, sent me a copy of Jeremy Gaige's booklet Oxford-Cambridge Chess Matches (1873-1987) out of the blue some years ago. This slim volume, to which Timothy himself contributed a great deal of research, has been of inestimable value in compiling information about this annual chess fixture, which is effectively a continuation of Gaige and Whitworth's original work.
Varsity Chess Match: Games Viewer and PGN Download
Download a PGN file of all available Varsity Match games (804 game entries - some are stubs or positions from games - updated 5 July 2024)
Varsity Chess Match Results
Click on the year in column 2 below for games viewer/PGN, match reports and biographical information
[note - this is a work in progress and will take some time to complete]
No. | Year | Score | Winners | Oxf Wins | Camb Wins | Draws | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
136 | 2018 | 5-3 | Oxford | 55 | 59 | 22 | London, RAC | |
137 | 2019 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 56 | 59 | 22 | London, RAC | Participation of women's world champion Hou Yifan |
138 | 2020 | 2½-5½ | Cambridge | 56 | 60 | 22 | London, RAC | |
139 | 2021 | 5½-2½ | Oxford | 57 | 60 | 22 | London, RAC | Held in October for the first time due to pandemic |
140 | 2022 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 58 | 60 | 22 | London, RAC | |
141 | 2023 | 4-4 | Drawn | 58 | 60 | 23 | London, RAC | |
142 | 2024 | 5-3 | Oxford | 59 | 60 | 23 | London, RAC | Tom O'Gorman wins his 4th successive game, all on top board with White. |
No. | Year | Score | Winners | Oxf Wins | Camb Wins | Draws | Venue | Notes |
1 | 1873 | 10-3 | Oxford | 1 | 0 | 0 | City of London CC | 6pm - 11pm, two games if poss, adjudicator Steinitz |
2 | 1874 | 6-14 | Cambridge | 1 | 1 | 0 | City of London CC | Staunton attended. Some doubt as to the final score - either 6-14 or 5-15. |
3 | 1875 | 6-11 | Cambridge | 1 | 2 | 0 | City of London CC | |
4 | 1876 | 12-5 | Oxford | 2 | 2 | 0 | West End CC | 1pm start time, smaller attendance |
5 | 1877 | 9-3 | Oxford | 3 | 2 | 0 | St George's CC | King's Street, St James's. |
6 | 1878 | 2-10 | Cambridge | 3 | 3 | 0 | St George's CC | |
7 | 1879 | 5½-6½ | Cambridge | 3 | 4 | 0 | St George's CC | |
8 | 1880 | 1-12 | Cambridge | 3 | 5 | 0 | St George's CC | |
9 | 1881 | 5½-6½ | Cambridge | 3 | 6 | 0 | St George's CC | |
10 | 1882 | 5½-7½ | Cambridge | 3 | 7 | 0 | St George's CC | |
11 | 1883 | 5½-5½ | Drawn | 3 | 7 | 1 | St George's CC | |
12 | 1884 | 4½-5½ | Cambridge | 3 | 8 | 1 | St George's CC | |
13 | 1885 | 5½-6½ | Cambridge | 3 | 9 | 1 | St George's CC | |
14 | 1886 | 6½-3½ | Oxford | 4 | 9 | 1 | St George's CC | |
15 | 1887 | 5-7 | Cambridge | 4 | 10 | 1 | St George's CC | |
16 | 1888 | 7½-2½ | Oxford | 5 | 10 | 1 | British CC | Clocks used for 1st time (previously hourglasses optional) |
17 | 1889 | 7-3 | Oxford | 6 | 10 | 1 | British CC | First Oxford Past vs Cambridge Past match held. |
18 | 1890 | 3½-4½ | Cambridge | 6 | 11 | 1 | British CC | |
19 | 1891 | 4-5 | Cambridge | 6 | 12 | 1 | British CC | First appearance of HE Atkins. |
20 | 1892 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 6 | 13 | 1 | British CC | 1 game per board played (this rule enforced from 1893) |
21 | 1893 | 1-6 | Cambridge | 6 | 14 | 1 | British CC | One game only - clocks made compulsory. |
22 | 1894 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 6 | 15 | 1 | British CC | |
23 | 1895 | 4-3 | Oxford | 7 | 15 | 1 | British CC | no clocks used |
24 | 1896 | 4-3 | Oxford | 8 | 15 | 1 | British CC | |
25 | 1897 | 4-3 | Oxford | 9 | 15 | 1 | British CC | |
26 | 1898 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 9 | 16 | 1 | British CC | |
27 | 1899 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 9 | 17 | 1 | British CC | |
28 | 1900 | 2-5 | Cambridge | 9 | 18 | 1 | British CC | |
29 | 1901 | 2-5 | Cambridge | 9 | 19 | 1 | British CC | |
30 | 1902 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 9 | 19 | 2 | British CC | |
31 | 1903 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 9 | 20 | 2 | St George's CC | Pillsbury acted as adjudicator. |
32 | 1904 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 9 | 21 | 2 | St George's CC | Cambridge lead in the series by 12 matches - the greatest extent to date |
33 | 1905 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 10 | 21 | 2 | St George's CC | |
34 | 1906 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 11 | 21 | 2 | St George's CC | |
35 | 1907 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 11 | 21 | 3 | St George's CC | |
36 | 1908 | 4-3 | Oxford | 12 | 21 | 3 | St George's CC | |
37 | 1909 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 13 | 21 | 3 | St George's CC | |
38 | 1910 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 13 | 22 | 3 | St George's CC | |
39 | 1911 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 14 | 22 | 3 | City of London CC | |
40 | 1912 | 4-3 | Oxford | 15 | 22 | 3 | City of London CC | |
41 | 1913 | 6½-½ | Oxford | 16 | 22 | 3 | City of London CC | |
42 | 1914 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 17 | 22 | 3 | City of London CC | |
1915 | No contest | |||||||
1916 | No contest | |||||||
1917 | No contest | |||||||
1918 | No contest | |||||||
43 | 1919 | 0-7 | Cambridge | 17 | 23 | 3 | Oxford | First time held outside London |
44 | 1920 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 17 | 23 | 4 | City of London CC | |
45 | 1921 | 5-2 | Oxford | 18 | 23 | 4 | City of London CC | |
46 | 1922 | 4-3 | Oxford | 19 | 23 | 4 | City of London CC | |
47 | 1923 | 5-2 | Oxford | 20 | 23 | 4 | City of London CC | |
48 | 1924 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 21 | 23 | 4 | City of London CC | |
49 | 1925 | 4-3 | Oxford | 22 | 23 | 4 | City of London CC | |
50 | 1926 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 22 | 24 | 4 | City of London CC | |
51 | 1927 | 4-3 | Oxford | 23 | 24 | 4 | City of London CC | |
52 | 1928 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 23 | 25 | 4 | City of London CC | |
53 | 1929 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 23 | 25 | 5 | City of London CC | |
54 | 1930 | 4-3 | Oxford | 24 | 25 | 5 | City of London CC | |
55 | 1931 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 24 | 25 | 6 | City of London CC | |
56 | 1932 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 24 | 26 | 6 | City of London CC | |
57 | 1933 | 5-2 | Oxford | 25 | 26 | 6 | City of London CC | |
58 | 1934 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 25 | 26 | 7 | City of London CC | |
59 | 1935 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 25 | 26 | 8 | City of London CC | |
60 | 1936 | 1-6 | Cambridge | 25 | 27 | 8 | City of London CC | |
61 | 1937 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 25 | 28 | 8 | City of London CC | |
62 | 1938 | 4-3 | Oxford | 26 | 28 | 8 | City of London CC | |
63 | 1939 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 26 | 29 | 8 | City of London CC | |
Unofficial | 1940 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | Cambridge, St Johns | Unofficial match | |||
Unofficial | 1941 | 4-3 | Oxford | Oxford, Balliol | Unofficial match | |||
Unofficial | 1942 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | not known | Unofficial match | |||
1943 | No contest | |||||||
Unofficial | 1944 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | Oxford | Unofficial match | |||
Unofficial | 1945 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | Cambridge | Unofficial match | |||
64 | 1946 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 27 | 29 | 8 | London, St Bride's | |
65 | 1947 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 27 | 29 | 9 | London, St Bride's | Acc. D Jones, West London CC acc. BCM |
66 | 1948 | 5½-1½ | Oxford | 28 | 29 | 9 | London, West London CC | |
67 | 1949 | 6-1 | Oxford | 29 | 29 | 9 | London Wall | Oxford level in the series for the first time since 1878 |
68 | 1950 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 29 | 30 | 9 | London, West London CC | |
69 | 1951 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 29 | 30 | 10 | London, West London CC | |
70 | 1952 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 30 | 30 | 10 | London West London CC | |
71 | 1953 | 5-2 | Oxford | 31 | 30 | 10 | London, National CC | Margaret Pugh Trophy introduced. Oxford ahead for 1st time since 1877 |
72 | 1954 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 31 | 30 | 11 | London, West London CC | |
73 | 1955 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 31 | 31 | 11 | London, St Brides | |
74 | 1956 | 4-3 | Oxford | 32 | 31 | 11 | London, St Brides | |
75 | 1957 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 32 | 31 | 12 | London, Hampstead | |
76 | 1958 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 32 | 32 | 12 | London, RAC | |
77 | 1959 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 32 | 32 | 13 | London, RAC | |
78 | 1960 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 32 | 32 | 14 | London, RAC | |
79 | 1961 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 32 | 32 | 15 | London, University of London Union | |
80 | 1962 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 33 | 32 | 15 | London, ULU | |
81 | 1963 | 4-3 | Oxford | 34 | 32 | 15 | London, ULU | Oxford lead the series by two match wins for the first time ever. |
82 | 1964 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 34 | 32 | 16 | London, ULU | |
83 | 1965 | 5½-1½ | Oxford | 35 | 32 | 16 | London, ULU | Oxford lead the series by 3 matches - their greatest lead to date |
84 | 1966 | 3½-3½ | Drawn | 35 | 32 | 17 | London, Atlantic House | |
85 | 1967 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 35 | 33 | 17 | London, ULU | |
86 | 1968 | 2-5 | Cambridge | 35 | 34 | 17 | London, ULU | |
87 | 1969 | 4½-2½ | Oxford | 36 | 34 | 17 | London, ULU | |
88 | 1970 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 36 | 35 | 17 | Cambridge, Downing | |
89 | 1971 | 2-5 | Cambridge | 36 | 36 | 17 | Oxford, Christ Church | |
90 | 1972 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 36 | 37 | 17 | Cambridge, Jesus | Cambridge lead the series for first time since 1951 |
91 | 1973 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 36 | 38 | 17 | London, RAC | Centenary match |
92 | 1974 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 36 | 39 | 17 | Oxford, Corpus | |
93 | 1975 | 1-6 | Cambridge | 36 | 40 | 17 | Cambridge, Christ's | |
94 | 1976 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 36 | 41 | 17 | Oxford, Corpus | |
95 | 1977 | 1½-5½ | Cambridge | 36 | 42 | 17 | Cambridge, Caius | Last year in which unfinished games were adjudicated by match referee. |
96 | 1978 | 2½-4½ | Cambridge | 36 | 43 | 17 | London, RAC | Women's board added - but only counts for tie-breaks |
97 | 1979 | 3½-4½ | Cambridge | 36 | 44 | 17 | London, RAC | Women's board result counted as tie-breaker |
98 | 1980 | 3-4 | Cambridge | 36 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | Cambridge's 11th consecutive win put them ahead by 9 wins |
99 | 1981 | 6-2* | Oxford | 37 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | * the 'ladies' board' did not count as part of the match, yet BCM, Times & Guardian record the match score as 6-2 and not 5½-1½ - JS |
100 | 1982 | 5-3 | Oxford | 38 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | 100th match. Women's board result counts as of right. |
101 | 1983 | 6-2 | Oxford | 39 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | |
102 | 1984 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 40 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | |
103 | 1985 | 5-3 | Oxford | 41 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | |
104 | 1986 | 5½-2½ | Oxford | 42 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | |
105 | 1987 | 5-3 | Oxford | 43 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | |
106 | 1988 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 44 | 45 | 17 | London, RAC | Oxford's best run of wins - 8 in a row |
107 | 1989 | 2½-5½ | Cambridge | 44 | 46 | 17 | London, RAC | |
108 | 1990 | 5-3 | Oxford | 45 | 46 | 17 | London, RAC | |
109 | 1991 | 5½-2½ | Oxford | 46 | 46 | 17 | London, RAC | |
110 | 1992 | 6-2 | Oxford | 47 | 46 | 17 | London, RAC | Oxford's first lead in the series since 1970. Female player on board 7 |
111 | 1993 | 5½-2½ | Oxford | 48 | 46 | 17 | London, RAC | |
112 | 1994 | 3½-4½ | Cambridge | 48 | 47 | 17 | London, RAC | |
113 | 1995 | 2-6 | Cambridge | 48 | 48 | 17 | London, RAC | |
114 | 1996 | 3-5 | Cambridge | 48 | 49 | 17 | London, RAC | Cambridge regain match lead |
115 | 1997 | 2½-5½ | Cambridge | 48 | 50 | 17 | London, RAC | |
116 | 1998 | 5-3 | Oxford | 49 | 50 | 17 | London, RAC | |
117 | 1999 | 2½-5½ | Cambridge | 49 | 51 | 17 | London, RAC | |
118 | 2000 | 3½-4½ | Cambridge | 49 | 52 | 17 | London, RAC | Two women contest board one. Live coverage & commentary. |
119 | 2001 | 2½-5½ | Cambridge | 49 | 53 | 17 | London, RAC | |
120 | 2002 | 4-4 | Drawn | 49 | 53 | 18 | London, RAC | First drawn match since 1966. Cambridge leave trophy on the train! |
121 | 2003 | 1½-6½ | Cambridge | 49 | 54 | 18 | London, RAC | |
122 | 2004 | 6-2 | Oxford | 50 | 54 | 18 | London, RAC | |
123 | 2005 | 3-5 | Cambridge | 50 | 55 | 18 | London, RAC | |
124 | 2006 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 51 | 55 | 18 | London, RAC | |
125 | 2007 | 3-5 | Cambridge | 51 | 56 | 18 | London, RAC | |
126 | 2008 | 4-4 | Drawn | 51 | 56 | 19 | London, RAC | |
127 | 2009 | 5-3 | Oxford | 52 | 56 | 19 | London, RAC | |
128 | 2010 | 4-4 | Drawn | 52 | 56 | 20 | London, RAC | |
129 | 2011 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 53 | 56 | 20 | London, RAC | |
130 | 2012 | 3½-4½ | Cambridge | 53 | 57 | 20 | London, RAC | |
131 | 2013 | 3½-4½ | Cambridge | 53 | 58 | 20 | London, RAC | |
132 | 2014 | 4-4 | Drawn | 53 | 58 | 21 | London, RAC | |
133 | 2015 | 4-4 | Drawn | 53 | 58 | 22 | London, RAC | Electronic boards used. |
134 | 2016 | 2-6 | Cambridge | 53 | 59 | 22 | London, RAC | |
135 | 2017 | 4½-3½ | Oxford | 54 | 59 | 22 | London, RAC | chess24.com live coverage |
Varsity Match Records (after 2024 match & a review of results)
Teams | |
Oxford wins | 59 |
Cambridge wins | 60 |
Drawn | 23 |
Oxford - total game points | 558.5 (but see note against 1981 match) |
Cambridge - total game points | 580.5 |
Longest run of wins - Oxford | 8 (1981-88) |
Longest run of wins - Cambridge | 11 (1970-80) |
Longest unbeaten run - Oxford | 8 (1981-88) as above plus 1959-66 |
Longest unbeaten - run Cambridge | 11 (1970-80) as above |
Biggest Margin - Oxford (multi-game matches in brackets) | 6½-½ in 1913 (10-3 in 1873, 12-5 in 1876) |
Biggest Margin - Cambridge (multi-game matches in brackets) | 7-0 in 1919 (16-4 in 1874) |
Oxford - leaders in the series in terms of most matches won | 1873, 1877, 1953-54, 1956-57, 1962-70, 1992-94 |
Cambridge - leaders in the series (ditto) | 1875, 1879-1948, 1950-51, 1972-90, 1996-present (2023) |
(n.b. Cambridge's game points have been greater than Oxford's since 1878) | |
No of Players | (up to date to 2024) |
Total number of participants | 944 (n.b. 5 players have represented both teams) |
Total number of players - Oxford | 466 (plus 27 in unofficial wartime matches, of whom 9 also played in official matches) |
Total number of players - Cambridge | 483 (plus 30 in unofficial wartime matches, of whom 5 also played in official matches) |
Most appearances - Oxford | 6 - Kieran Smallbone |
Most appearances - Cambridge | 6 - John Neville Keynes, James Vigus, David Hodge, Rafe Martyn |
Most games played | 13 - John Neville Keynes (Cambridge, 1873-78), 12 - Campbell Tracey (Oxford, 1874-77) |
Most wins | 7 - John Neville Keynes (Cambridge, 1873-78), 6 - Samuel Redhead Meredith (Oxford, 1873-76) |
Most losses | 6 - Campbell Tracey (Oxford, 1874-77), Walter William Rouse Ball (Cambridge, 1873-77), (Sir) Richard Whieldon Barnett (Oxford, 1884-88) |
Most draws | 4 - Edward Lancelot Raymond (Cambridge, 1881-84); 14 players have drawn 3 games, most recently Gordon Scott (Oxford, 2014-19) |
100% scores (3 or more games) | 4/4 - Tom O'Gorman (Oxford, 2021-24 - all on board one, playing White), Tom Brown (Oxford, 1988-93); John Dean (Cambridge, 1936-39); Cecil Tattersall (Cambridge 1897-1900); Edward Mackenzie Jackson (Oxford, 1888-90); Frederick Mortimer Young (Cambridge 1882-86); 18 players have scored 3/3, most recently Daniel Fernandez (Cambridge, 2015-17), Howard Chiu (Oxford, 2013-15), Luke McShane (Oxford, 2004-07), Joel Eklund (Oxford, 2000-02), Nathan Alfred (Cambridge, 1999-2001), Matthew Piper (Oxford, 1991-93), Jonathan Levitt (Oxford, 1983-85), John Cox (Oxford, 1982-84), Jane Anson (Cambridge, 1978-80 - but see notes below), Michael Stean (Cambridge, 1973-75), John B Sykes (Oxford, 1949-51) and Dennis M Horne (Oxford, 1947-49) |
0% scores (3 or more games) | 0/4 - Andrew Hon (Cambridge, 1992-95), Arthur Hereford Wykeham George (Oxford, 1897-1900), Cecil Warburton (Cambridge, 1886-88). 11 players have scored 0/3: Nicholas Jakubovics (Cambridge, 1992-94), Jonathan Wilson (Cambridge, 1990-92), David Watts (Cambridge, 1986-88), David Lawson (Cambridge, 1985-87 - but scored 2/3 for Oxford, 1988-90), Allan Beardsworth (Cambridge, 1982-84), M Paul Townsend (Cambridge, 1980-82) and four others. |
Played for both universities | Ronald Johannes (Oxford 1970, 1972 > Cambridge 1973); David Lawson (Cambridge 1985, 1986, 1987 > Oxford 1988, 1989, 1990); Eddie Dearing (Cambridge 2001, 2002, 2003 > Oxford 2004); Imogen Camp (Cambridge 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 > Oxford 2024); Daniel Gallagher (Cambridge 2021, 2023 > Oxford 2024) |
Colleges | |
Most players from single college - Oxford (official matches only) | (1) Balliol College 43; (2) New College 36; (3) Christ Church 31; (4) Wadham College 24. |
Most players from single college - Cambridge (official matches only) | (1) Trinity College 95; (2) St John's College 39; (3) Queens' College 33; (4) Pembroke College 30. |
Format | |
1873-91 | 7 boards, multiple games played per board |
1892-1977 | 7 boards, single game per board |
1978-81 | 7 boards plus 1 women's board - tie-break only |
1982-91 | 7 boards, 1 women's board, all boards count |
1992-present | 8 boards (including at least 1 player of each gender per team) |
A note on the above records: they do not include games played in the five unofficial wartime matches (1940-1945 matches). However, I have chosen to include individual results from the so-called 'ladies' board' which was played between 1978 and 1981 and which was stipulated as counting towards the match score in the event of a 3½-3½ draw (as happened in 1979). Cambridge scored +3, =1, -0 in these four games. JS
Oxbridge winners of the British Chess Championship (as at 2023)
There have been 8 Oxford-educated winners of the British Championship with 13 titles between them:
DA Yanofsky, LW Barden, PN Lee, GS Botterill (2), JS Speelman (3), JDM Nunn, WN Watson, J Rowson (3)
There have been 9 Cambridge-educated winners of the British Championship with 22 titles between them:
HE Atkins (9), W Winter (2) CHO'D Alexander (2), A Phillips, RD Keene, WR Hartston (2), AJ Mestel (3), PE Littlewood, HJM Grieve.
In total, this amounts to 34* tournaments of the 104 British Championship tournaments to 2023. (* not 35 as Barden and Phillips shared the title in 1954)
Useful Online Resources for the Varsity Chess Match
Jeremy Gaige Archive: a very useful resource, in particular for checking out players' names.
Chess Archaeology: Library - links to online copies of British Chess Magazine (1881-1922), The Chess Monthly (1879/80 - 1895/96); The Chess Players' Chronicle (1877-1891/92) - n.b. some of these files are only directly accessible from within the USA. The ones linked in the table below are available worldwide.
Title | Volume | Year |
---|---|---|
BCM | Vol.1 | 1881 |
BCM | Vol.2 | 1882 |
BCM | Vol.3 | 1883 |
BCM | Vol.4 | 1884 |
BCM | Vol.5 | 1885 |
BCM | Vol.6 | 1886 |
BCM | Vol.7 | 1887 |
BCM | Vol.8 | 1888 |
BCM | Vol.9 | 1889 |
BCM | Vol.10 | 1890 |
BCM | Vol.11 | 1891 |
BCM | Vol.12 | 1892 |
BCM | Vol.13 | 1893 |
BCM | Vol.14 | 1894 |
BCM | Vol.15 | 1895 |
BCM | Vol.16 | 1896 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.1 | 1879/80 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.2 | 1880/81 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.3 | 1881/82 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.4 | 1882/83 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.5 | 1883/84 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.6 | 1884/85 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.7 | 1885/86 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.8 | 1886/87 |
The Chess-Monthly | Vol.9 | 1887/88 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.25 | 1874 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.1 | 1877 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.2 | 1878 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.3 | 1879 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.4 | 1880 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.5 | 1881 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.6 | 1882 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.7 | 1883/84 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.8 | 1884/85 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.9-10 | 1885/89 |
Chess Players Chronicle | Vol.11-12 | 1889/92 |
Huddersfield College Magazine | Vol.1 | 1872 |
Huddersfield College Magazine | Vol.2 | 1875 |
File Updated - Game Viewer and PGN Download at top of the page
Date | Notes |
---|---|
2018 | Began a historical record of Varsity match results, games and reports, year by year (I had been adding records of 21st century Varsity matches since 2000). |
3 May 2021 | Uploaded a PGN of all extant Varsity match games for the first time. |
10 May 2021 | PGN file amendments: (1) new game Locock-Morley (Game 2, 1883), replacing the stub with the adjudication position - the complete score is now given; (2) Gunnery-Lester, Board 2, 1890: the list of sources has been updated; (3) Canon A Smith - Black, Board 2, 1930: a note on the final few moves added. My thanks to Brian Denman for all three of these updates. |
9 July 2021 | We now have the complete score of Morley-Locock (Game 1, 1883), thanks to Brian Denman. |
25 October 2021 | 2021 match scores and games added. |
21 December 2021 | Added details of the 1933 match. |
6 January 2022 | Added John Cox's 1982 game vs Stuart Niman and his 1983 game vs Allan Beardsworth. Thanks, John. |
14 March 2022 | Added the games of the 2022 Varsity match and updated stats and records. |
21 March 2022 | Added the game R.Chubb 0-1 G.Carruthers, 1913 (board 3) and also corrected the date of the other 1913 game on file to 17.03.1913. |
22 March 2022 | Added the game H.Mandelbrote 1-0 M.Daniels, 1913 (board 6). Full results for 1912 through to the present now available. |
28 March 2022 | Added four more games and one part-game from the 1884 Varsity match. |
29 March 2022 | I've made some considerable additions and changes to the games for the 1885 Varsity match. Note that the score of Barnett 0-1 Young (rd 4) is completely different. |
29 March 2022 | Five more game scores found for 1886: game total now 768. |
7 April 2022 | Number of games and part-games in the download is now 779. |
14 April 2022 | Added the game N.Kalton 1-0 P.S.N. Kendall, 1967, board 6, kindly contributed by Gerard Killoran. Number of games now 780. |
19 April 2022 | All the games from the 1898 match are now available. (Strictly speaking, one of them, board 7, is cut short at the point where a player gets a hopelessly lost position and a further 20 moves are not given in the source but may be considered complete.) |
2 June 2022 | Added the game D.Mardle 0-1 L.Barden, 1952 Varsity match, found in the May 1952 issue of CHESS. Number of games now 781. |
27 June 2022 | Added the game J.Brown 0-1 A.P.Waterfield, board 2, 1909 Varsity match. Number of games now 782. |
9 July 2022 | Minor amendment made to the score of O'Gorman-Wadsworth, Varsity Match 2022, Board 1. (The DGT board gave 40 Bh1 but White gave 40 Be4 in an annotation he wrote for the May 2022 edition of CHESS. Within a handful of moves the position transposes anyway.) |
1 January 2023 | Added the game score of Eales ½-½ Moles, board 3, Varsity match 1970, found in an issue of Chessman Quarterly. 18 moves but the score may not be complete. |
19 March 2023 | Roger Smith very kindly sent me the scores of his games from the 1970, 1971 and 1974 matches which I have added to the collection. Many thanks, Roger. |
3 September 2023 | Added the game Gunston 0-1 Tracey, kindly supplied by Tim Harding. |
4 September 2023 | My thanks to Jason Radley who drew my attention to four further game scores given in The Chess-Monthly, Vol.4, April 1883, and also to an error in the game Locock-Morley where published game analysis after move 19 had been wrongly shown as game moves. We now have eight complete game scores from the 1883 match plus stubs of the other three games played. |
4 September 2023 | Match records have now been updated to include the 2023 match results. One detail still outstanding - can anyone tell me which Cambridge college Freddie Hand is a member of? (Later: the answer is Trinity) |
7 March 2024 | 2024 match result added. Some records updated and corrected (the team scores shown for 1901-1903 on the above list have been corrected). |
5 July 2024 | Added the game D.Cummings - A.Beardsworth to the 1982 match file and complete Varsity match PGN file. Many thanks to Allan Beardsworth for supplying the score. |