Leeds chess club
Established 1834
HISTORY
The History of Leeds Chess Club
THE GLORY YEARS:
Leeds Chess Club dominated the competition from its inauguration until the First World War came along and spoiled everything. FD Yates (British Champion 1913, 14, 21, 26 & 31) played top board for the club as we won the Woodhouse Cup five times in a row from 1911 to 1915.
Mr FD Yates
Joseph Blackburne (who lost to Steinitz 7-1 in a World Championship match) gave simultaneous displays at the club on several occasions, although his five guinea fee was thought excessive by many members. The club met at the Grand Cafe on Park Lane and was so successful that the venue soon changed its name to the Gambit Cafe. The club's magnificent silver trophies mostly date from this period. For example, when Mr CW Jeffrey died unexpectedly at the age of 30 in 1910, subscriptions were raised to 7/6d to pay for a memorial trophy in his honour. It is solid silver, about the size of the FA Cup and is still in the club's possession along with several other beautifully crafted trophies.
Jose Raul Capablanca
The Great War:
After the Great War some of the spirit seems to have gone out of the club. Membership was down - understandable as there were several million less people walking around - and finances were less assured. In 1919, to try to get things going again after the slaughter, the great Capablanca (World Champ 1921-27) was invited to give a simultaneous exhibition. Over 40 boards, remarkably, he won all 40 games! Alekhine (Champ 1927-45) came in 1923 scoring +28 =3 -2; while Maroczy came in 1924 scoring +19 =6 -2.
The Great Depression:
As the Great Depression bit in the 1930s, this was reflected at the club. There is little to report from the minutes. Even the centenary celebrations of 1934 were low key. The most notable event was the first ever telephone match between Leeds and Hampstead in 1935. By the late-30s, the club was in poor shape and there was trouble getting the subs in. This time, the Second World War came as something of a relief. In 1939, the minutes record that the club had to stop playing evening matches due to the blackout.
Modern Times:
In modern times, chess has changed from a game for the few into a game for the many. There was a chess explosion after the Fischer-Spassky match of 1972 and the game has thrived at grass roots level since then. Other clubs grew until there was enough support for an evening league under the auspices of the Leeds Chess Association. Leeds Chess Club remains one of the oldest clubs - not just at chess, but at anything! - in the world and we are very proud of our heritage and tradition.
"The leitmotif of a true strategy should be to overprotect the centre, instead of the all too frequent habit of swerving to the flanks." - Nimzowitsch.
Next season.
The new chess season will start in October and should finish around May 2011. If you would like to play for Leeds Chess Club in the league this season, please click here and fill out the form. We are desperate for 3 teams and I need to know how many interested people we have. Thanks! Oh and you can view the provisional team lineups here.
New discussion area.
Hi members, just to let you know that you can now find a new discussion area on the team news page. Of course, this is a password protected area so you may talk about anything regarding your chess without giving anything away to other clubs! Also, if you forget the password or don't know it, send me an email and I'll let you know what it is. Cheers!
Recent Videos
Book Club.
Click here to view books that are available for loan.
New grades.
Leeds Vs Bradford.
Leeds are to take on Bradford in a pre season graded match, both Leeds and Bradford are hoping to get the best players from their respective leagues to join up. If you play in the Leeds league and would like to play for us in this match, click here for more information and a link to the entry form.
Next chess club night.
We are next meeting at the North Leeds Working Men's Club on Wednesday 01 September from 6.30pm onwards.
Leeds Chess Club Championship 2010.
The Leeds Chess Club Championship is now underway, the 2nd round is almost complete and 5 rounds remain. You can view the official Leeds Chess Club Championship page here, which is being updated on a regular basis.
Join Leeds on chess.com.
I now run a Leeds team on chess.com here and you can join if you fancy playing some team matches with us. We're currently playing matches with France, Kazakhstan, Austria, Australia, Korea and many, many more... It doesn't cost anything to join and play and new matches are started on a regular basis so you always have a chance to get playing some serious chess for us!
Team line ups for next season.
The team line ups for next season have been released, you can find them here.
