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2007/8
Officers
Executive
Committee Members
Affiliated
Clubs History
of the Association
HDCA OFFICERS (2007/2008) President
Mike Butt | Vice President John Thompson | General Secretary and
Congress Organiser Mark Ieronimo | Treasurer Steve Thrower |
League Secretary and Cup Controller Steve Donoghue | Summer
League Controller Andrew Bettley | Publicity Officer Vacant | Junior
Officer John Andrews | Auditor Graeme Reid EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Derek Sheppard | Keith Jones | Chris Matthews | Ian Major
| David Mills | Tim Barwood | Scott McKay
HONORARY LIFE
MEMBERS DH Milton | KM Milton | ES Starkey
| RD Westra | J
P Lawson
AFFILIATED CLUBS
Hull
Chess Club | St Andrews Chess Club | Beverley Chess Club | Bridlington Chess Club
| Victoria Dock Chess Club |
Walkington Chess Club | Willows Chess
Club | Withernsea Chess Club
HISTORY
OF THE ASSOCIATION
The Hull & District Chess Association was formed
in 1951, though there have been other Chess Associations within the area around
the 1900-1930 period.
The Association promotes the game of chess at all levels by providing League and
Cup tournaments for both teams and individuals. It also aims to provide links
between local chess clubs.
For the last 42 years, the Association have staged an annual weekend Chess
Congress which is very popular with players from all parts of the country.
In the early days, the Association had only about eight clubs playing in one
division and this continued until around 1962.
It was about this time that the late Tom Atkinson was President of the
Association and under his leadership, the Association progressed until there
were approximately 36 - 40 league teams. Many of these teams, particularly those
from local works and offices, have long been disbanded. Readers of a similar age
to the Editor, will recall such names as, Hull Corporation Transport, Fenners,
Hull Grammar Schools, John Goods, Needlers, Northern Dairies, Hull Daily Mail and
many more.
The first Secretary was John Devine and he was followed by the late Alec
Farquharson. John Lawson took over in 1962 and in 1964 the Association organised
the very first Hull Chess Congress, which attracted 36 players at Carron House
on Beverley Road.
The Congress then rapidly increased in size and therefore had to move from
Carron House. Venues after this included Hull University, Clifton Street School,
where a teenager named Murray Chandler played his first British Congress after
leaving New Zealand, Hull City Hall, Riley High School, Hull Polytechnic, Hull
Guildhall and Hymers College, Comfort Inn and since 2004 has been held at the
Quality Royal Hotel in Ferensway. The 2006 Congress is to be staged on the
weekend of 17-19th November at the Student Union, University of Hull. It
promises to be one of the best Congresses promoted by HDCA, thanks to the hard
work put in by the new Secretary, Mark Ieronimo. It had been thought that
following the death of President, Ted Johnson, who had organised the Congress
for the last 13 years, the 2005 Hull Congress might have been the last.
In 1972, the Fisher v Spassky World Championship in Reykjavik caused a big
increase in chess interest which was reflected in the number of local teams
being greatly increased. At its peak popularity, the Hull Congress attracted
some of the top names in British chess, notably Tony & Jana Miles, the
British No.1's of the day. Other prominent players over the years have been
Plaskett, Hebden, Eley, Dunnington, as well as Hull's own Richard Britton, who
at 18 was World Junior Champion.
In the late 1970's - 1980's Dave Milton and his wife Kath, were responsible for
a lot of work for the Association and they also instituted a Congress at
Bridlington which ran at the Three B's Bar until it was converted to a Leisure
Centre. This Congress also was very well supported by national players.
Over the years, the Association has had excellent service from many people, and
some pen portraits are given elsewhere on this site. If anyone feels I should
include someone whose name is not there, just let me know - my memory is not as
good as it was.
The following is a list of Presidents of the Association and over the next few
weeks I will try to add an item concerning each of them.
H.D.C.A. PRESIDENTS
1951-1959 :::: R. Bainbridge
1959-1969 :::: T. Atkinson
1969-1975 :::: R. P. Ross
1975-1979 :::: J. H. Milner
1979-1983 :::: E. Starkey
1983-1987 :::: J. P. Lawson
1987-1990 :::: J. A. Porter
1990-1992 :::: K. Kent
1992-1993 :::: D. Scammells
1993-2006 :::: E. F.Johnson
2006- ---- :::::: M. A. Butt
____________________________________________________________
TOM ATKINSON (1959-1969)
Tom Atkinson was President of both Hull Chess Club and The Hull & District
Chess Association in the 1960's.
Tom was instrumental in promoting the Association when I became Secretary in
1962 and takes much of the credit for the organisation of our first Hull Chess
Congress which was a modest affair attracting only 36 players in the first year.
It was held in several rooms at Carron House on Beverley Road, the home of the
Hull Chess Club. However, in the mid-1960's the Congress increased dramatically
in numbers which necessitated moving to larger premises.
It was during Tom's term that the Association started to build on the original
half dozen teams and by the end of his Presidency, when he moved to London, to
be nearer his family, there were three divisions of about 6 teams.
Tom was the Proprietor of the Beverley High Road Filling station, one of the
first in the country to install automatic pumps. He also made boards for the
Hull Club to replace the large heavy wooden boards used previously.
BOB ROSS (1969-1975)
The late R. P. (Bob) Ross was an outstanding personality in Hull chess for very
many years.
He was several times Champion of Hull Chess Club and the Hull Y.P.I. Chess Club.
In his younger days he was also a 2 handicap golfer who represented Yorkshire.
In fact, he had the distinction of being a Yorkshire County player at both golf
and chess at the same time.
Bob was very keen on encouraging Junior players and was always ready to help
with their transport to Congresses in various parts of the country. He also took
part in the BCF Championships and the Hastings tournaments over many years.
It was during his Presidency that the Fisher-Spassky World Championship took
place in Rekjavik in 1972. This match with all its' verbal brawling really
brought chess into world wide prominence and was responsible for a huge increase
in players entering the game for the first time. HDCA saw the number of teams in
the league increase dramatically and over the next few years there were six
divisions of 8 teams. Also, during this time the Hull Congress regularly
attracted 150 - 200 players at the Hull City Hall.
It was around this time that John Lawson ran the weekly "Chess Pieces"
column in the Hull Daily Mail which seemed to attract players to local clubs.
The column featured competitions and articles of general interest as well as
results and tables for HDCA competitions. John eventually handed over the column
to his successor as Secretary, Dave Milton, and when he moved to Halifax, John
Bycroft took up the baton. However, the Mails' interest declined significantly
during later years, and in 2005 they stated that they would no longer support a
regular chess column.
Bob was connected with the Ross Fish Group and was also a Director of
Carmichaels, the Hull Jewellers.
His name will be remembered in Hull chess circles, particularly since in his
will, he bequeathed legacies to local clubs, the HDCA and many individuals. The
R.P.Ross Four board League is an example of how keen he was to get more people
playing chess.
BERT MILNER (1975-1979)
Bert Milner was a retired Schoolteacher whose enthusiasm for the game manifested
itself with the birth of St Andrews Chess Club. This was originally just half a
dozen members of the St Andrews Church at the corner of Baker Street in Hull.
Within a couple of years, Bob had increased the membership to over 100. It was
in the first couple of years that Bert approached John Lawson, Secretary of the
Association, who conveniently worked next door to the Church at the Gas Board offices
in Baker Street. As a result, St Andrews were able to form several teams for the
local League and Cup tournaments.
TED STARKEY (1979-1983)
Ted Starkey was a stalwart of the Hull Chess Club for very many years. In
particular, he captained the Woodhouse Cup team for many years after the war and
steered them to many Trophy wins.
During the war, Ted served as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer and in 1942 as part
of an attacked Russian convoy, he had to abandon ship which was on fire. His
time in the water and his injuries caused him to have to spend some considerable
time in a Russian hospital in Murmansk, where he was apparently far too strong a
chess player for his Russian opponents.
Ted captained the very strong Hull "C" team in Division 1 of the local
league which ran up a series of Championship wins in the 60's and 70's.
(Written by John Lawson, 13/08/06)
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