Glorney Cup 1953

The Glorney Cup in 1953 was held at the Glasgow High School on July 22-23, 1953. Once again, four teams participated.

On the opening morning, England beat the hosts 4½-1½, while Wales narrowly beat Ireland 3½-2½.

In the afternoon, England had a resounding 5½-½ win over Wales, while Scotland beat Ireland 4½-1½.

On the second day, England beat Ireland 6-0 and Scotland beat Wales 4-2.

(Note: some sources (for example, BCM) give Evens as “Evans”, but both versions appear in contemporary sources, and David McAlister believes that Evens is correct.)

No games are available.

So England won very easily yet again, losing no games and conceding only four draws. Scotland continued its rise to capture second place, fairly convincingly, with Wales third and Ireland slipping to fourth, for its worst ever result.

The Irish team was Oisín Ó Siochrú (Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin), Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1953, S. H. Johnston (Ulster), Irish Schoolboys’ champion 1953, Alex Montwill (Westland Row C.B.S., Dublin), 1935-2013, Irish and Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1952, and later Irish correspondence champion (1963), Tom O’Neill (Synge St. C.B.S., Dublin & Eoghan Ruadh C.C.), b. 1937, joint first in Irish Schoolboys’ championship 1953 (lost on tie-break), Brendan Neville (O’Connell’s School, Dublin), Conor Heaney (Westland Row C.B.S., Dublin) and A. J. Evens, Ulster Schoolboys’ champion 1953. Of these, Johnston, O’Neill, Heaney and Evens made their débuts.

The English team was K. F. H. (Ken) Inwood (Tiffin School, Greater London), British Boys’ champion 1953, Thomas Anselm Landry (William Ellis School, London), 1935-1996, Gilbert Jessup (William Ellis School, London), b. 1935, Julian Thomas Farrand (Haberdashers’ Aske’s, Hampstead), 1935-2020, W. S. Powell, St. Joseph’s College, Stoke, Brian J. Moore, and Clifford G. Tayar. All of these players made their débuts.

The Scottish team was George McGowan (Holyrood Secondary School), 1935-1990, Olympiad team member in 1956, G. W. Kerr, Iain Morton (biographical sketch), W. McLaughlin (Scottish Boys’ champion 1953), David Kinsler (Holyrood Secondary School) (biographical sketch), Roy W. Smeeton, and Michael Fallone, b. Bellshill, Lanarkshire, 1938, later Scottish champion (1963), Olympiad team member in 1956, 1964, and 1966 (biographical sketch). Of these, McGowan, Morton, and McLaughlin made their débuts.

The Welsh team was Brian F. Burrows (Bridgend), B. E. Foan, W. Sullivan, Michael G. Jones, 1935-2012, Michael G. Parsons (Newport), (David) Keith Peters (later Sir Keith Peters) (Glan Afan Grammar School), b. Neath, South Wales, 1938, and E. Stephens. Of these, Sullivan, Jones, Peters, and Stephens made their débuts.

[Update, June 20, 2022: added first name and year of birth for Jessup, and added school for Powell, based on updated BritBase report on the 40th British Chess Championships (see above); that report also added a contemporary photograph of Inwood.]

[Update, May 7, 2023: changed rendition of Oisín Ó Siochrú’s name to Irish version. Previously, I wasn’t certain if he used this version himself, but John Gibson’s archives have examples of his signature.]