Glorney Cup 1952

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Sean Coffey

The Glorney Cup in 1952 was held at the College of Preceptors, Bloomsbury Square, London, from July 23-24, 1952. Once again, four teams competed.

On the opening morning, England started with a 5 – 1 win against Scotland, while Wales beat Ireland 3½ – 2½.

England Scotland
B. Cafferty 1 – 0 G. W. Kerr
M. N. Barker 1 – 0 R. W. Smeeton
P. C. Gibbs 1 – 0 D. G. Weir
P. D. Sanderson 0 – 1 G. Sachs
R. E. Borland 1 – 0 M. Fallone
D. F. Griffiths 1 – 0 D. S. Brotherton
5 – 1
Wales Ireland
P. K. Marshall 1 – 0 A. Montwill
B. F. Burrows 1 – 0 F. Doyle
M. J. Williams ½ – ½ O. Ó Siochrú
B. E. Foan 0 – 1 D. Conlon
B. Foster ½ – ½ B. Neville
P. V. Williams ½ – ½ B. Hussey
3½ – 2½

In the afternoon, England beat Wales 5 – 1 and Ireland beat Scotland 3½ – 2½:

Wales England
P. K. Marshall ½ – ½ P. C. Gibbs
B. F. Burrows ½ – ½ M. N. Barker
M. J. Williams 0 – 1 P. D. Sanderson
B. E. Foan 0 – 1 B. Cafferty
B. Foster 0 – 1 M. Davis
P. V. Williams 0 – 1 D. F. Griffiths
1 – 5
Ireland Scotland
O. Ó Siochrú 1 – 0 R. W. Smeeton
F. Doyle 0 – 1 G. W. Kerr
A. Montwill 0 – 1 D. G. Weir
D. Conlon ½ – ½ G. Sachs
B. Neville 1 – 0 M. Fallone
D. McArdle 1 – 0 D. S. Brotherton
3½ – 2½

On the second day, England beat Ireland 4½ – 1½, while Scotland drew with Wales:

England Ireland
P. D. Sanderson 1 – 0 F. Doyle
M. N. Barker ½ – ½ O. Ó Siochrú
B. Cafferty 1 – 0 A. Montwill
P. C. Gibbs 1 – 0 D. Conlon
M. Davis 0 – 1 B. Neville
R. E. Borland 1 – 0 D. McArdle
4½ – 1½

(See note in the Conlon – Gibbs game: these players also met, with the same colours and result, in the Glorney Cup 1951. There is some uncertainty about whether the game shown here was played in 1951 or 1952.)

Scotland Wales
G. W. Kerr 1 – 0 P. K. Marshall
D. G. Weir ½ – ½ B. F. Burrows
R. W. Smeeton 0 – 1 M. J. Williams
G. Sachs 0 – 1 B. E. Foan
M. Fallone ½ – ½ B. Foster
D. S. Brotherton 1 – 0 M. Parsons
3 – 3

The six games available (pgn) are from BritBase and the Glorney Cup Chess web site; the latter at least appear in no database.

So England won easily once again, with results very similar—indeed near-duplicates of—those from the previous year. Only Ireland – Scotland had a result more than ½ point different to the corresponding match from the previous year (3½ – 2 ½ instead of 5 – 1), and only Wales – Ireland produced a more lopsided result (3½ – 2½ compared to 3 – 3). The event was slightly more competitive: this time England lost two games rather than one, and Scotland greatly closed the gap with the other two.

eng wls irl sco mp gp
England . 5 4½ 5 6 14½
Wales 1 . 3½ 3 3 7½
Ireland 1½ 2½ . 3½ 2 7½
Scotland 1 3 2½ . 1 6½

Prizes for highest scores on each team went to Bernard Cafferty of England) (3/3), Brendan Neville of Ireland (2½/3), Brian F. Burrows of Wales (2/3), and G. W. Kerr of Scotland (2/3).

The Irish team was Alex Montwill (Westland Row C.B.S., Dublin), 1935-2013, Irish and Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1952, and later Irish correspondence champion (1963), Fintan Doyle (Terenure College, Dublin) (see previous posts), Oisín Ó Siochrú (Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin), David Conlon (O’Connell’s School, Dublin), Brendan Neville (O’Connell’s School, Dublin), Brian Hussey (St. Mary’s, Rathmines, Dublin), and Denis McArdle (St. Mary’s, Rathmines, Dublin). Of these, Montwill, O’Siochru, Neville, and McArdle made their débuts.

The English team was Bernard Cafferty (Birmingham University), b. Blackburn, 1934, later British U-21 champion (1954), British correspondence champion (1960), and FM (1984), Malcolm Neil Barker (King Edward’s School, Edgbaston), b. Birmingham, 1934 (see previous posts), Peter Campbell Gibbs (Bradford Grammar School, Birmingham), b. 1934, Peter Darrell Sanderson (Ashby-de-la-Zouch Grammar School), Robert Edmond Borland 1934-2017 (Plympton Grammar School, Devon; Plymouth), British Boys’ Southern champion 1952, Michael Davis, 1935-1998 (Bexhill Grammar School) (biography), and Derek F. Griffiths (King’s Norton School, Birmingham), British Boys’ Midlands champion 1952 and later joint British U21 Champion (1953). Cafferty, Gibbs, and Sanderson were joint British Boys’ Champions in 1952. Cafferty, Sanderson, and Griffiths made their débuts.

The Welsh team was P. K. Marshall, Brian F. Burrows (County Grammar School, Bridgend), M. J. Williams (Newport), B. E. Foan, Brian Foster (Newport), P. V. Williams, and Michael G. Parsons (Newport). Marshall, Burrows, and P. V. Williams had played before.

The Scottish team was G. W. Kerr, Roy W. Smeeton, D. G. Weir, George Sachs (Edinburgh), 1935-2019 (obituary), Michael Fallone, b. Bellshill, Lanarkshire, 1938, later Scottish champion (1963), Olympiad team member in 1956, 1964, and 1966 (biographical sketch and reminiscences), and D. S. Brotherton. Of these, only Kerr and Weir had played before.

A photo (of excellent resolution) of many (all?) of the competitors appears in the Scottish Teams in the Glorney Cup page in the Chess Scotland history archives; Malcolm Barker, Bernard Cafferty, and Michael Fallone are identified; can any of the other players be identified?. Photos (of decent resolution) of Alex Montwill and of Brendan Neville appeared in the Irish Independent, January 5, 1952 p. 8. A photo (of excellent newspaper quality) of Brendan Neville, Alex Montwill, Denis McArdle, Brian Hussey, and Oisín Ó Siochrú is given by the Irish Press, July 5, 1952 p. 7. A photo (of moderate quality) of Alex Montwill being presented with the Leinster Schoolboy’s Championship trophy is given in the Sunday Independent, April 27, 1952 p. 7. A photo of Fintan Doyle is given in the Sunday Independent, April 1, 1951 p. 8. A photo from 1957 that includes Bernard Cafferty and Peter C. Gibbs is available on the British Championship 1957 page at BritBase.

  • Sources:
  • BCM 1952 pp. 242-43, “The Glorney Cup Junior International” by W. Ritson Morry (report, match scorecards)
  • Cork Examiner, July 24, 1952 p. 7 (first names and school affiliations of all Irish players)
  • Irish Independent, January 5, 1952 p. 8 (photos of Montwill, Neville)
  • Irish Press, July 5, 1952 p. 7 (photo of Neville, Montwill, McArdle, Hussey, and Ó Siochrú)
  • Sunday Independent, April 1, 1951 p. 8 (photo of Doyle), April 27, 1952 p. 7 (photo of Montwill; Montwill Leinster Schoolboys’ champion), July 6, 1952 p. 8 (Montwill Irish Schoolboys’ champion)
  • Neil Blackburn, The Short but Extraordinary Chess Career Of Malcolm Barker. Part Three., Chess.com, June 15, 2020 (clipping from Birmingham Daily Gazette, July 14, 1952, with school affiliations of Malcolm Barker and Derek Griffiths)
  • Scottish Teams in the Glorney Cup (ed. Alan McGowan), Chess Scotland history archive web pages
  • Bridgend Chess Club History, 1889-1972, Welsh Chess Union web pages (re Burrows)
  • Newport and County Chess Club History, Welsh Chess Union web pages (re M. J. Williams, Brian Foster, and Michael G. Parsons, including first names for the last two)
  • 39th British Chess Championship, BritBase (ed. John Saunders) (leading scores in 1952 British Boys’ [Under 18] championship (Cafferty, Gibbs, Sanderson 1st-3rd and joint champions; Davis 4th; Griffiths joint 5th-6th; Borland equal 7th))
  • 44th British Chess Championship, BritBase (ed. John Saunders) (photo including Bernard Cafferty and Peter C. Gibbs)
  • Games Collection of FM Bernard Cafferty (born 1934), BritBase (ed. John Saunders) (Cafferty’s three games, from scoresheets)
  • Marshall – Gibbs, Gibbs – Weir, and Conlon – Gibbs, Glorney Gilbert International web site (from Peter Gibbs’ scoresheets, input by David Clayton)

[Update, August 4, 2022: added schools for Borland, Burrow, Davis, Gibbs, and Sanderson and full middle name for Sanderson based on references below.]

[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.]

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Irish Championship 1994, Re-revisited

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Herbert Scarry has contributed yet more information on the 1994 Irish championship, for which many thanks. The new material includes the tournament brochure, the flyer, and a supplemental report in the October 1994 issue of the Irish Chess Journal.

As chief arbiter, Herbert clarifies that Ray Devenney and John Nicholson definitely both withdrew before the final round.

The supplemental ICJ report had annotations of three games, all involving Colm Daly. Richard O’Donovan’s annotation of his very interesting game against Colm was previously available in the ICU games archive and was included in the previous version of the tournament report, but Colm’s annotations of his games against Conor O’Shaughnessy and Tom Clarke were new to me, and have been included in the revised report.

Colm remarks that “not winning this game was a big blow; it felt more like a loss than a draw”.

Daly - O'Shaughnessy, Irish Championship 1994 (7)

Daly – O’Shaughnessy, Irish Championship 1994 (7)
101. ?

Colm’s notes give his next move 101. Kf3 a “??”, with the remark “Move 101 turns out to be the decisive blunder! The way to win was 101. Nxh5 Kg4 102. Ng7 Kxh4 103. f5 Kg5 104. Kd4 Kf4 (104… f6 105. e6) 105. f6 Bb3 (only move) 106. e6 fxe6 107. Kc3! (107. f7 e5+) 107… Ba2 108. f7. After the move played it is just a draw.”

Actually, though, it’s a draw anyway. I’ll leave this as an exercise: where can Black improve on this analysis and save the game?

[Click to replay the full game.]

The full report has been updated. Many thanks again to Herbert for all the additional information.

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Barnett – Whitmarsh, Imperial v Lensbury Match 1925

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Sean Coffey
Sir Richard Whieldon Barnett, 1929

by Lafayette (Lafayette Ltd), whole-plate film negative, 18 October 1929
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40802266

Richard Whieldon Barnett, 1863-1930, the 1886 Irish champion, was described by Gerald Abrahams in Not Only Chess (London, 1974) as follows:

“[T]he late Sir Richard Barnett, who had an external appearance that could have been used by any caricaturist as a specimen of the huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ species—he was indeed a great Bisley marksman—played a polished and clever game of chess, when at his best.”

(via A Chessplaying Statesman, Edward Winter, Chess Notes, 2002, with additions).

He does not seem to have played much in Ireland after his win in the 1886 championship; he appears to have moved to London sometime in the 1880’s, and played only in the first Ulster championship in 1892, where he did badly. However, he remained active in London in the House of Commons and elsewhere. One of his later games, played almost forty years after his victory on the Irish championship, appeared in the December 1925 issue of BCM:

Barnett - Whitmarsh, Imperial C.C. v Lensbury match 1925

Barnett – Whitmarsh
Imperial C.C. v Lensbury match 1925 (1)
32. ?

White has an overwhelming advantage. Barnett pointed out after the game that he could have won here via 32. Ng6+ hxg6 33. fxg6 Rff8 34. Nf5 Bxf5 35. gxf5. Indeed, he went on to miss several more chances, and the game was eventually adjudicated as a draw by Amos Burn.

[Click to replay the full game (which is not available in the ICU games archive as of the date of this post).]

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Irish Championship 1994, Revisited

Posted on May 2, 2021 by Sean Coffey

For the Irish Championship 1994, David McAlister has provided an avalanche of new information, for which many thanks. All tournament reports here are updated from time to time, to correct errors, incorporate new information, and add analysis, but I cannot recall any previous occasion in which so many changes were made in each of these categories so soon after the initial post.

The initial version of the report showed one game as missing: a Devenney – Nicholson game from round 9. David points out that they had already played in round 7, and almost certainly did not play in the last round. The Pairings & results and Crosstable pages have been adjusted accordingly, including changing their scores.

ICJ 1994 Aug-Sep cover

David has also supplied the extensive tournament report that appeared in the Irish Chess Journal shortly after the event, the ICU rating list from that issue, club affiliations for four more players, names of the arbiters, and a new suggestion for the finish of Orr – A. Gillen, round 9, that improves on the analysis given (see previous post and the playable game).

Some notes have been added to games based on the ICJ report, and in some cases new analysis has been added, not necessarily agreeing with the ICJ (see here for one example).

Many thanks again to David for all this information.

[See the revised report.]

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Irish Championship 1994

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Sean Coffey

A report has been added here on the Irish Championship 1994.

The championship was held for the first and only time in the town of Armagh. The field of 20 players included the defending champion Niall Carton, along with a group of players who at that time had never won, but who shared the next five championships between them (Brian Kelly, Richard O’Donovan, Joe Ryan, and Colm Daly), as well as IM Mark Orr, Conor O’Shaughnessy, and Mel Ó Cinnéide.

Carton started with three straight wins, but then hit a disastrous streak of four straight losses. (Has this ever happened a defending champion before or since?)

Daly’s loss to O’Donovan in round 5 was the most spectacular game of the tournament.

Heading into the last round, Kelly and Orr led by half a point over Clarke and Ó Cinnéide. Clarke lost to Daly, and Kelly agreed an early draw against Ó Cinnéide.

The championship thus came down to Orr’s game on board 1 against Adrian Gillen, which had a dramatic conclusion.

Orr - A. Gillen, Irish Championship 1994, 36B

Orr – A. Gillen
Irish Championship 1994 (9)
37. ?

The finish was 37. Kb6 bxa3+ 38. Kxc6 axb2 39. Ne8 Qf3 40. Qxf3 b1=Q 41. Nd6 1-0.

So Mark Orr became champion for the second time, after sharing the title with Eugene Curtin in 1985. Brian Kelly, still several months short of his sixteenth birthday, was second, and Mel Ó Cinnéide was third.

The short passage of play above includes some significant twists of fortune and missed opportunities, and the outcome of the championship could have been different. Where could play have been improved, and what should be the outcome with best play from the diagrammed position?

[Click to play through the full game.]

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Richard Whieldon Barnett and the Irish Championship 1886

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Sean Coffey

The build-up for the 100th Irish championship is underway, and the ICU has had the nice idea of extending the now-usual profiles of the contestants to include all previous champions, over 100 days. As I write, the build-up includes the first three champions, Porterfield Rynd (1846-1917, who won in 1865 and 1892), Richard Whieldon Barnett (1863-1930, who won in 1886), and George Daniel Soffe (c. 1859-1898, who won in 1889).

Barnett won his championship by finishing as the top Irish competitor in the 2nd Irish Chess Association Congress in Belfast in 1886:

2nd ICA Masters 1886 crosstable

Barnett thus defeated all of the other Irish competitors, and drew against John D. Chambers (Scotland), but lost, as did all of his rivals for the title, against the top three finishers. This leads to the question of how competitive these games were. Barnett’s games against Pollock, Blackburne, and future Ulster champion Ernest L. Harvey survive. He was clearly outclassed by Blackburne, and won nicely against Harvey. The game against Pollock is a much more complicated story.

Barnett and Pollock played in the last round, when Barnett had already secured the title of Irish champion, and indeed clear fourth place overall, while Pollock was assured of finishing at least equal first.

The game was more competitive than might have been expected from the crosstable. Part of this was due to some very poor play in the opening and early middlegame by both players: chess understanding has come a long way since 1886! Pollock managed to get a losing position out of the opening, but Barnett returned the favour, and could have lost a miniature. Pollock missed an easy win on move 17, and was no better than equal by move 21.

Thereafter the play improved markedly. Pollock declined a draw, and the players reached the following position:

Barnett - Pollock, 2nd ICA Masters 1886

Barnett – Pollock
2nd ICA Masters / Irish Championship 1886 (9)
39… ?

Pollock now erred with 39… c5? (instead, after 39… Rg4, neither player has anything better than 39. Kf5 Rg3 40. Kf6, with a draw by repetition), when Barnett could have won via 40. g6! fxg6 41. e6 Re3 42. e7 Kc6 43. Kf7 Kd7 44. Nd5 Re1 45. Nf6+ Kd6 46. e8=Q Rxe8 47. Nxe8+! or 45… Kc6 46. e8=Q+ Rxe8 47. Kxe8!. It is far from obvious that this wins, admittedly, but it was a more promising line than the game’s 40. Kxf7? Rxg5, when Black was winning.

After another slip from Pollock, the game was heading for a draw. The following position is left as an exercise for the reader: how can White split the point? Barnett failed to find the right way and lost.

Barnett - Pollock, 2nd ICA Masters 1886, finish

Same game
53. ?

[Click to play through the full game.]

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Glorney Cup 1951

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Sean Coffey

The Glorney Cup in 1951 was held at the Dublin C.C. clubrooms, at 20 Lincoln Place, from July 25-27, 1951. For the first time, Scotland sent a team.

On the opening day, England, with Malcolm Barker back after taking the previous year off, beat Ireland 5 – 1, with only 13-year-old Sam Ferris, who beat Peter H. Clarke on board 2, preventing a whitewash. Wales beat Scotland 3½ – 2½.

England Ireland
M. N. Barker 1 – 0 F. Doyle
P. H. Clarke 0 – 1 S. Ferris
N. Littlewood 1 – 0 J. A. Norris
R. E. Borland 1 – 0 B. Gallagher
M. Davis 1 – 0 B. Hussey
P. C. Gibbs 1 – 0 D. Conlon
5 – 1
Wales Scotland
J. G. T. Jones 0 – 1 F. G. H. Nicholson
P. K. Marshall 1 – 0 D. G. Weir
J. A. Cohen ½ – ½ R. W. M. Baxter
B. F. Burrows 1 – 0 L. G. Hepburn
A. C. Thomas 0 – 1 D. Kinsler
P. V. Williams 1 – 0 G. W. Kerr
3½ – 2½

On the second day, England beat Wales 5 – 1 and Ireland beat Scotland by the same score:

Wales England
J. G. T. Jones 0 – 1 M N. Barker
P. K. Marshall 0 – 1 P. H. Clarke
J. A. Cohen 0 – 1 N. Littlewood
B. F. Burrows ½ – ½ R. E. Borland
P. V. Williams 0 – 1 M. Davis
D. R. Jones ½ – ½ P. C. Gibbs
1 – 5
Ireland Scotland
F. Doyle 1 – 0 F. G. H. Nicholson
S. Ferris 1 – 0 D. G. Weir
J. A. Norris 1 – 0 R. W. M. Baxter
B. Gallagher 0 – 1 D. Kinsler
N. O’Brien 1 – 0 L. W. Hepburn
D. Conlon 1 – 0 G. W. Kerr
5 – 1

On the final day, England recorded an even more convincing win against Scotland, while Ireland drew with Wales:

Scotland England
F. G. H. Nicholson 0 – 1 M. N. Barker
D. G. Weir 0 – 1 P. H. Clarke
R. W. M. Baxter 0 – 1 N. Littlewood
D. Kinsler 0 – 1 R. E. Borland
L. G. Hepburn 0 – 1 M. Davis
G. W. Kerr ½ – ½ P. C. Gibbs
½ – 5½
Ireland Wales
F. Doyle 1 – 0 J. G. T. Jones
S. Ferris ½ – ½ P. K. Marshall
J. A. Norris ½ – ½ J. A. Cohen
N. O’Brien 0 – 1 B. F. Burrows
D. Conlon 1 – 0 D. R. Jones
B. Hussey 0 – 1 A. C. Thomas
3 – 3

(Note: board orders are not all certain.)

The three games available (pgn) appear in no database.

So England won easily once again, this time only losing one game (Ferris’ win over Clarke). Ireland and Wales tied on match points for the second consecutive year, and once again this seems to mean they tied for second and third places: Ireland’s better game total did not count. Scotland had a rough introduction to the Glorney Cup, losing all three matches and scoring only 4 game points.

eng irl wls sco mp gp
England . 5 5 5½ 6 15½
Ireland 1 . 3 5 3 9
Wales 1 3 . 3½ 3 7½
Scotland ½ 1 2½ . 0 4

Prizes for highest scores on each team went to Malcolm Barker, Norman Littlewood, and Michael Davis of England (all 3/3), Sam Ferris (2½/3), Brian F. Burrows of Wales (2½/3) and David Kinsler of Scotland (2/3).

The Irish team was Fintan Doyle (Terenure College, Dublin), Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1951, Sam Ferris (Grosvenor High School, Belfast), ca. 1937-2018, Irish Schoolboys’ champion 1951, J. A. Norris (Synge St. C.B.S., Dublin & Rathmines C.C.), B. Gallagher (St. Mary’s, Rathmines, Dublin), Noel O’Brien (O’Connell’s School, Dublin), David Conlon (O’Connell’s School, Dublin), and Brian Hussey (St. Mary’s, Rathmines, Dublin). Of these, all but Doyle and Ferris made their débuts.

The English team was Malcolm Neil Barker, b. Birmingham, 1934 (see previous posts), Peter Hugh Clarke, b. London, 1933, FM 1984, correspondence chess GM 1980, who played for England in all Olympiads from 1954 to 1968, Norman Littlewood, 1933-1989 (Sheffield), who finished runner-up or joint runner-up in four British championships, and played for England in the Olympiads of 1964 and 1966, Robert Edmond Borland 1934-2017 (Plymouth), Michael Davis, 1935-1998 (biography), and Peter Campbell Gibbs (Bradford), later joint British Boys’ champion (1952). All except Barker made their débuts.

The Welsh team was J. Graham T. Jones (Port Talbot), P. K. Marshall, J. A. Cohen, Brian F. Burrows (Bridgend), A. C. Thomas, P. V. Williams, and D. Rowe Jones (Port Talbot). J. G. T. Jones, Marshall, Burrows, and probably Cohen had played before (“A. Cohen” played the previous year).

The Scottish team was Fergus George H. M. Nicholson, b. Dumfries, 1935, Scottish Boys’ champion 1951, later a leading light in the Communist Party of Great Britain, D. G. Weir, Raymond Wallace Martin Baxter, 1933?–2018 (biographical sketch), who played for Scotland in the 1964 Olympiad, David Kinsler (biographical sketch), and for the remaining players, L. G. Hepburn, and G. W. Kerr, I have no information beyond the scorecards.

A photo (of low resolution) of Barker – Doyle and Borland – Gallagher, round 1, appears in the Evening Herald, July 26, 1951 p. 3. A photo (of decent resolution) of Doyle – Jones, round 3, appears in the Irish Press, July 28, 1951 p. 9. A photo (of lowish resolution) of Malcolm Barker receiving the Cup from the Lord Mayor of Dublin, with the other team captains present, appears in the Evening Herald, July 28, 1951 p. 7. A photo of Fintan Doyle is given in the Sunday Independent, April 1, 1951 p. 8. A photo of the O’Connell School team, including Noel O’Brien and David Conlon, that won the Leinster Senior Schools’ League in 1950-51 is given in the Sunday Independent, January 22, 1951 p. 8. Photos including Fergus Nicholson (from 1950) and Malcolm Barker (from 1952) are shown on the Scottish Teams in the Glorney Cup page on the Chess Scotland web site.

  • Sources:
  • BCM 1951 p. 234, “Junior International Team Tournament, 1951” by W. Ritson Morry (report, match results, score of Butler – Littlewood, round 3; but no individual match scorecards)
  • Cork Examiner, July 24, 1952 p. 7 (first names of Conlon, Hussey)
  • Evening Herald, July 26, 1951 p. 3 (photo of Barker – Doyle and Borland – Gallagher, round 1) and p. 8 (round 1 partial scorecards), July 27, 1951 p. 10 (round 3 scorecard), July 28, 1951 p. 7 (photo of lowish resolution of trophy being presented to Barker by Lord Mayor of Dublin (Senator Andrew Clarkin), with the other captains present)
  • Irish Independent, March 28, 1951 p. 9 (school affiliations of Gallagher, Norris, O’Brien), March 29, 1951 p. 9 (school affiliations of Conlon, Hussey), March 30, 1951 p. 10 (Doyle Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1951), July 24, 1951 p. 7 (Irish and Scottish teams), July 26, 1951 p. 10 (round 1 scorecards), July 27, 1951 p. 9 (round 2 scorecards, Kinsler first name)
  • Irish Press, July 24, 1951 p. 7 (Irish and Scottish teams), July 26, 1951 p. 8 (round 1 scorecards), July 27, 1951 p. 7 (round 2 scorecards), July 28, 1951 p. 9 (round 3 scorecards, photo of decent resolution of Doyle – Jones, round 3)
  • Irish Times, July 26, 1951 p. 5 (round 1 scorecards), July 27, 1951 p. 5 (round 2 scorecards)
  • Sunday Independent, January 22, 1951 p. 8 (first names of Conlon, O’Brien), April 1, 1951 p. 8 (photo of Doyle), April 8, 1951 p. 8 (venue uncertain; probably Scotland if they entered)
  • Neil Blackburn, The Short but Extraordinary Chess Career Of Malcolm Barker. Part Three., Chess.com, June 15, 2020 (Barker scoresheets for games against Jones, Nicholson)
  • Bridgend Chess Club History, 1889-1972, Welsh Chess Union web pages (re Burrows)
  • Port Talbot Chess Club History, Welsh Chess Union web pages (re J. G. T. Jones, D. R. Jones, including first names)
  • Irish Junior Championship, Irish Chess History web pages, ed. David McAlister (Ferris Irish Schoolboys’ champion 1951)
  • British Chess Champions 1904-present page, BritBase, ed. John Saunders (Gibbs joint British Boys’ champion 1952)
  • 39th British Chess Championship, BritBase, ed. John Saunders (re Borland)

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Glorney Cup 1950

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Sean Coffey

The Glorney Cup for 1950 was held at St. Illtyd’s College, Cardiff, on July 27-28, 1950. Three teams again competed. The controller was W. Ritson Morry.

In the opening match, England had a lopsided win against Wales, though the BCM report (by Welsh board 1 Walter Marshall) notes that Perry and Burrows both threw away slight advantages to lose, which Marshall attributed to inexperience.

England Wales
N. T. Honan 1 – 0 W. Marshall
D. V. Lofts 1 – 0 J. G. T. Jones
A. J. Willson ½ – ½ P. K. Marshall
R. L. Sweeney 1 – 0 C. R. Perry
I. R. Bradley ½ – ½ A. Cohen
T. R. D. Grove 1 – 0 B. F. Burrows
5 – 1

Honan’s win against Marshall on board 1 was awarded the best game prize for the tournament. The game (pgn) does not seem to be in databases; for example, it is missing from Chessbase’s Big Database 2017. (No other games from the event are available.)

Later the same day, Ireland and Wales battled it out to a drawn match. Marshall’s win against Conlon won second prize in the best game contest. The BCM report notes that Cohen and O’Riordan were both in bad time trouble, “ten moves in less than two minutes” (how times change; this would be a leisurely pace for modern juniors), and Cohen gave away a rook and queen in successive moves. The game on board 6 took three sessions and 7½ hours, and finally Cantwell secured the win and saved the match for Ireland.

Wales Ireland
W. Marshall ½ – ½ E. Courtney
J. G. T. Jones ½ – ½ M. Fagan
P. K. Marshall 1 – 0 T. Conlon
C. R. Perry 1 – 0 F. Doyle
A. Cohen 0 – 1 K. O’Riordan
B. F. Burrows 0 – 1 C. Cantwell
3 – 3

On Thurday morning, “the English steamroller again went to work”, and Ireland were defeated 4½ – 1½.

England Ireland
N. T. Honan ½ – ½ E. Courtney
D. V. Lofts ½ – ½ M. Fagan
A. J. Willson 1 – 0 T. Conlon
R. L. Sweeney ½ – ½ F. Doyle
R. Bradley 1 – 0 K. O’Riordan
T. R. D. Grove 1 – 0 S. Ferris
4½ – 1½

So England once again finished first, with full match points. Ireland and Wales tied for second and third places on match points. Some newspaper reports listed Ireland second on game points, but it is not at all clear whether this tie-break applied in the early years. (The Glorney Cups of 1957 and 1963 finished in ties that would have been resolved by game points.)

Theo R. D. Grove (2/2), P. K. Marshall (1½/2), and Charles Cantwell (1/1) received the prizes for top scores for their respective teams. In Ireland’s case, Courtney, Fagan (rounding out an outstanding Glorney career) and O’Riordan also scored 1 point.

The Irish team was Eugene Courtney (Royal Belfast Academical Institution), Irish Schoolboys’ champion 1950, Michael Fagan (Westland Row C.B.S., Dublin), 1932?-2015, Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1950, Tom Conlon (O’Connell Schools, Dublin), 1932?-2019, Irish runner-up 1950, Fintan Doyle (Terenure College, Dublin), Ken O’Riordan (Rockwell College, Co. Tipperary), Charles Cantwell (Rockwell College, Co. Tipperary), and 12-year-old Sam Ferris (Grosvenor High School, Belfast), ca. 1937-2018, Ulster Schoolboys’ champion 1950. Of these, Courtney, Cantwell, and Ferris made their débuts. The manager was P. W. Whelan.

The English team was Neill Thomas Honan (London), 1932-2002, David V. W. Lofts (Leyton, London), Alan J. Willson (Coventry), R. L. Sweeney (Solihull), Ian R. Bradley (Doncaster), and Theo R. D. Grove (Dudley), 1933-2002. None of these players had played in the Glorney Cup before.

Neil Honan later finished second in the British Universities Championship in 1952. In 1984, he wrote an article for BCM, which was prefaced by an introductory editorial biographical note: “The author of this article, born 1932, was prominent in British junior and University chess circles in the decades after the war, but polio and other illnesses meant that he was largely lost to the game for the next two decades.”

The Welsh team was Walter Marshall (St. Illtyd’s College), 1932-1996, J. Graham T. Jones (Port Talbot), P. K. Marshall, C. R. Perry, A. Cohen, and Brian F. Burrows (Bridgend), b. 1936. The last four, at least, had not played previously in a Glorney Cup.

The event venue St. Illtyd’s College (which merged with another school in 1987) was, as noted above, Walter Marshall’s school. At the time of this event, it was located at Courtenay Road.

  • Sources:
  • BCM 1950 pp. 281-82, “The Junior International Team Tournament” by Walter Marshall
  • Irish Independent, August 13, 1949 p. 4 (Cantwell first name), July 8, 1950 p. 8 (Irish team, with school affiliations), July 28, 1950 p. 10 (match results, description of Courtney – Honan and Cantwell – Burrows games, gives Ireland as finishing second on game points)
  • Irish Press, July 8, 1950 p. 9 (Irish team, including school affiliations), November 8, 1950 p. 8 (Courtney Irish Schoolboys’ champion 1950)
  • Sunday Independent, July 2, 1950 p. 8 (location of St. Illtyd’s College, Fagan Leinster Schoolboys’ champion 1950, Ferris Ulster Schoolboys’ champion 1950), July 9, 1950 p. 6 (Irish teams, with school affiliations; P. W. Whelan Irish manager; English team, including home cities; Walter Marshall for Welsh team)
  • BCM 1984 pp. 130-32, “Reflections on British Chess”, by Neil Honan
  • Chess Results 1951-1955, Gino Di Felice (McFarland 2010) p. 119 (see preview), citing CHESS 1952 p. 212 (Honan second in British Universities championship 1952)
  • Walter Charles Marshall, C. B. E., Lord Marshall of Goring. 5 March 1932-20 February 1996, D. Fishlock and L. E. J. Roberts, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, vol. 44 (Nov. 1998) pp. 298-312 (Marshall’s school affiliation)
  • Bridgend Chess Club History, 1889-1972, Welsh Chess Union web pages (re Burrows)
  • Irish Junior Championship, Irish Chess History web pages (Courtney Irish Schoolboys’ champion 1950, Conlon runner-up)

[Update, April 24, 2021: added details on J. G. T. Jones based on reference below; modified format slightly.]

[Update, July 14, 2022: corrected Honan’s first name and added middle name and vital dates based on reference below.]

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Irish championship players, updated

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Sean Coffey

Preparations for the 100th Irish championship are gathering pace, and all looks set for an outstanding event, provided it is permitted to go ahead, of course. The entry form does an excellent job of setting the historical context, with the full list of champions on the last page.

The lists of Irish championship players here have been updated to include the 2020 championship, and to correct various inaccuracies and glitches and to add more information. As before, the (almost) full list is available in alphabetical order and in descending order of number of championships played.

From the 1889 championship, only 13 of the 32 players are included: players who played with a handicap and who also did not qualify for the final are not included. Otherwise, all players from all championships are listed.

Some errors have been corrected. Previously “John Casey” was shown as playing in seven championships, but these championships were due to two players of the same name: John Casey of Dublin (Leinster champion in 1944) played in the championships of 1939, 1940, and 1947, while John Casey of Cork (Irish Inter-University Individual champion in 1950 (joint), 1951, and 1952 (joint)) played in the championships of 1949, 1950, 1951, and 1952 (to be confirmed on these last three).

“Demmond” from 1963 was a typo for “Desmond”, i.e., former ICU President Brian Desmond, who previously was listed as a separate player. Alan MacDonagh’s name was corrected (previously given as ‘Mc’). Capt. Butler from the 1865 championship was previously omitted due to a programming glitch. Formatting glitches were corrected in the names of Mícheál Ó Briain and Pádraig Ó Tuathail. “D. Miley” from the 1889 championship was Daniel O’Connell Miley, who also played in 1892, and these entries have been merged.

First names have been added for Liam Brady, David Colhoun, Brian Desmond, Fintan Doyle, Larry Finlay, David W. Heelan, Frank Maher, Gerry Quinn, William Rea, and Noel Skelton, as well as for most players who made their débuts in 2019. An additional initial was added for S. H. Johnston. Some spurious middle initials added to distinguish siblings have been corrected.

In all, 556 players are listed. [Note: but see update below.]

Corrections are welcome, as always.

[Update, April 13, 2021: the lists referred to above had a glitch (caused by the difference between apostrophe and straight quote mark) for all players whose name began with O’ and who played in the 2020 championship, whereby they were treated as entirely new players. Fixing this has removed five spurious players, and has moved Gerard O’Connell from joint 6th to joint 5th in number of championships played. Also, the M. J. O’Donnell listed for 1947 and the M. O’Donnell listed for 1953 and 1957 all referred to four-time Connacht champion Dr. Michael O’Donnell, and these entries have been merged. With those changes, the lists now comprise 550 names.

In addition, the lists previously gave the 1865 runner-up Edward Cronhelm as (Rev.), but this was incorrect. The player I./J. Parnell from 1865 was previously given as John Howard Parnell, i.e., the brother of Charles Stewart Parnell, but since there may be room for debate on this, the entry has been changed to “ Parnell, J./I. (John Howard?)”. A formatting issue previously caused Pádraig Ó Tuathail’s first name to be omitted, and this is now fixed. In addition, first names were added for Conor P. Finnegan, James Finnegan, Robert Noyce, and Brendan Ryan, and an extra initial was added for A. C. Leyn.]

[Update, May 21, 2021: the lists above omitted entries for 1982 for five players who finished joint 11th-15th in that championship: Colm Barry, Pat Carton, Gerard O’Connell, Clifford O’Connor, and Eddie O’Reilly. The lists have now been updated to correct these omissions. As a result, Gerard O’Connell’s rank has moved from joint 5th to joint 4th in number of championships played.

Also, “J. W. Bewley” from the 1950 championship should have been T. H. (Thomas) Bewley. The player listed as E. G. Bewley in contemporary records of the 1865 championship was referred to almost half a century later by the 1865 winner, Porterfield Rynd, as later knighted, so it seems he must have been Edmund Thomas Bewley. In addition, first names have been added for David Kennedy and Denis Mortell.]

[Update, July 7, 2021: the entry for A. J. Evens (1958) was corrected (previously given as “Evans”). First names were added for C. C. (Charles Columba) Copeland (1946), Christy Hanley (1970), Christy Russell (1981) and Joe Stewart (1946), and extra initials were added for P. A. Donagh and M. J. Tierney (both 1946).]

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Barker and Marshall

Posted on April 6, 2021 by David McAlister

In the previous post Malcolm Barker, Sean had queried Barker’s attribution of a photograph of him in play against Walter Marshall (and being watched by Sir George Thomas and W. Ritson Morry) to the 1949 Glorney Cup, because the contemporary newspaper reports had Jonathan Penrose drawing against Marshall, and Barker winning against J. Murphy in the England – Wales match.

I believe I have found the event at which the Barker-Marshall-Thomas-Morry photograph was taken. As a preamble, I should point out that the only time Barker and W. Marshall both played in the Glorney Cup was in the 1949 renewal. So, if the photo was not taken then, the country designations on the nameplates affixed to the table suggested some other international event. So my thoughts turned to the 1950 Birmingham Junior [under 20] International Tournament (something of a forerunner for the first World Junior Championship held the next year, also in Birmingham except for first two rounds in Coventry). [Part 1 of Neil Blackburn’s trio of articles on Barker had provided a crosstable of this event, taken from a modern tournament booklet  – more on that publication below.]

On pages 182-185 of the June 1950 issue of the British Chess Magazine (Volume LXX) there is a report on the Birmingham Junior International by none other than Walter Marshall! His report includes a full swiss crosstable. This one has more detail than the crosstable in Blackburn’s article and shows that Marshall drew with Barker in Round 1. The junior international was the specially arranged centrepiece of a congress celebrating the jubilees of the Warwickshire Chess Association and Erdington Chess Club. Sir George Thomas was present at a dinner held on the first day of the Congress to welcome the foreign competitors. Sir George, who was a keen supporter of junior chess, may well have been present for more than just the first day but for our purposes this is very helpful information. Ritson Morry had suggested the idea of holding a junior international and was the organiser of the whole Jubilee Congress.


Turning now to that modern tournament booklet mentioned above. It is Tony Gillam’s “First International Junior 1950: First World Junior Championship Birmingham 1951,” Number 103 in his Rare and Unpublished Chess Tournaments and Matches Series. Confirmation can be found there that the first round and the afore-mentioned welcome dinner were both held on the 3rd April – so we now seem to have proof positive that the photograph was taken on that date of Sir George, Ritson Morry and two local boys [Barker was a true local and Marshall was at that time studying at Birmingham University], who coincidentally were playing each other in the first round.

Barker had speculated that one of the cups in the photograph was the Glorney Cup but Sean would seem to have debunked that theory. The various events of the Birmingham Jubilee Easter Congress took place alongside the junior international, so the large trophy at Barker’s right elbow might be the “Midland Adult Championship” (as described by Marshall in his BCM report) won that year by R.W. Bonham ahead of B.H. Wood, A. Phillips and P. Swinnerton-Dyer.

Posted in Books, Glorney Cups, Junior events, Players | Leave a comment