Borough News March 23, 1973

Photo: Time is the enemy as these players concentrate

[Kingston is playing on the right hand side. Chris Clegg, front right, in a familar chess pose; Peter Roche on 4th board wearing spectacles with dark temples; the boy at the far end, marked with an arrow, is Graham Keane]

EYES DOWN — and thinking — is the way members of the Kingston and Thames Valley Chess Club spend Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Unknown to many, Kingston has a chess club well respected over a wide area, winner of many inter-club matches and proud of its long history.

Formed in 1875, the club has just two years before notching up a century “in play”.

I found out details of the club through a request for help in recording the historic details of the borough. The more I learned, the more I feel far too few people appreciate the pleasure to be gained through playing chess — a game for all ages.

Kingston club’s youngest member is eight years old. Their oldest playing member is 80. Club nights are Tuesday and Thursday from 7.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. at Kingston Workmen’s Club and Institute, London-rd. The club used to meet at Bonner Hill Schools  and earlier at Richmond – rd school.

Now they have a conveniently central home. Members come from a wide area as the club covers the Thames Valley. There are numerous inter-club matches as well as the usual friendly games.

In this year’s winter season, the club is playing 84 matches. Players are divided into four teams, having 42 home matches and 42 away matches. Practically every club night there is a match.

A normal club night consists of one home match of six or eight players against a like number from the visiting team and up to one dozen (24 players) enjoying internal club games, either friendly matches or club awards.

This year Kingston has four teams playing in the Thames Valley League and three teams playing in the Surrey County competitions.

All the teams are pretty high up in their respective divisions.

The club’s internal trophies include the Championship Cup, the Rosebowl, the Hutchings Trophy (recalling a past member), the Silver Queen, also donated by a member and the Vizagapatam Cup, donated by Mr. William E. Waterton, club treasurer. He originally received the cup as runner-up in a boxing match at Vizagapatam, India, when in the Merchant Navy in 1948.

A spirit of friendship permeates the club.

“Our more experienced players are willing to help the weaker players,” emphasised Mr. Edward Stevenson of Cleaveland-rd., Surbiton, vice-president and a life member. He joined in 1936 and is renowned for setting chess problems. Over 300 of these have been published in various journals.

“My father taught me chess as a boy,” Mr. Stevenson told me.  “I began composing problems whilst playing correspondence games with a man who was already a ‘problemist. It’s like paining a picture, You need a pattern or theme running through your mind before you compose any kind of chess problem.

“The opening moves in chess bear many names. These include Ruy Lopez and Bird’s opening, Dutch defence and Alekhine’s defence to name a few.

“The terms in a problem include a Grimshaw, Mutate and a Wurzburg – Plachutta,” said Mr. Stevenson, explaining his art. “One of the greatest satisfactions of the game is that the players meet as equals — only their chess skill counting,” he stressed.

How can a beginner start, I wanted to know. Here I was reassured.

“The basic moves of play can be learned from a book,”  I was told by Mr. William E. Waterton. “Thereafter, chess is merely a combination of memory, calculation and time — because a given number of moves has to be made by each player in a set time.”

Mr. Waterton, donator of the Vizagapatam Cup, is Kingston club’s delegate to the Surrey County Chess Association and a member of their executive committee. Some four years ago, he organised the first Surrey County Junior Chess Tournament. It was held at Beverley School. Malden.

Yes, it’s a race with time in the sport of kings and clocks and castles

“A chess clock is an essential for every serious game,” he said. “This is in fact virtually two clocks in one. As each move is made the player presses a button which stops his own clock and starts his opponents. Thus accurate time keeping is ensured. The two clocks are mounted together to form one piece of apparatus.

“The normal club game is 24 moves in the first hour, and six moves every quarter of an hour thereafter.

“All the games played in matches in this area are sent to the Southern Counties Chess Union. From these results, every member is given a grading.”

This year, the Kingston club’s president is Mr. George Roberts, The club’s secretary is Mr. Philip Clenow, of the The Fairway, Malden.

Among early members was Mr. Richard Doddgridge Blackmore (1825-1900), author of the classic “Lorna Doone,” a romance of Exmoor in the late 17^th century.

“Many of our stronger players began as schoolboys and have returned sometime later in life while others have gone on to international fame, said Mr. Waterton.

“Playing in the club today we have Ken Inwood. He began while a boy at Tiffin School. He won the London u-18 championship and is now a county player — and a crack motor-cyclist, riding in the annual T.T. races.

“Another of our players is John Nunn who at 15 went to Oxford University as the youngest undergraduate since Cardinal Wolsey.  He is now just on 18. His successes include playing in the Young England team. His father is also a member of Kingston chess club.

“Going back to the pre-war days, in 1936 the club’s players included Mr. R.P. Mitchell, a British Master, and his wife, Mr.  J.H. Blake, a British championship player and Elaine Saunders (now Mrs. Pritchard), a girl prodigy.

“The man who was for over 25 years the leading light in Kingston chess,” added Mr. Waterton, “was Mr. James M. Ellam. His name is perpetuated by a cup in the Surrey County Chess Association competitions and also by a trophy in the annual North of the Thames versus South of the Thames contest.”

 

At present, the captain of Kingston Club’s first team is Mr. Mike Sheehan. The second team is led by Mr. Bill Booth. The club’s secretary, Mr. Philip Clemow leads the third team. The fourth team is captained by Mr. John Fennessey.

Although over the years there have been a number of women members of the club, today there is only one — Mrs. Primrose Westcombe of Knights Park, Kingston. She is a player of ability and a member of Mr. Fennessey’s team.

In two years’ time the club will be 100 years old. By then perhaps more women chess players will have joined in time for the “centenary” games.

MARGARET BELLARS