Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

    As we were putting together the list of past champions of Ottawa's RA chess club, with the invaluable assistance of David Cohen, the question arose: What is the oldest continuous chess club championship in Canada? In the case of the Ottawa RA Chess Club, we have a continuous record back to 1954 including such illustrious names as Lawrence Day, Ron Rodgers and Ken Winterton as multiple winners.
    Are there other clubs that can top this?:)

  • #2
    Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

    Originally posted by Gordon Ritchie View Post
    As we were putting together the list of past champions of Ottawa's RA chess club, with the invaluable assistance of David Cohen, the question arose: What is the oldest continuous chess club championship in Canada? In the case of the Ottawa RA Chess Club, we have a continuous record back to 1954 including such illustrious names as Lawrence Day, Ron Rodgers and Ken Winterton as multiple winners.
    Are there other clubs that can top this?:)
    The "continuous" part might be a problem for most clubs. The earliest I can remember going to the Scarborough Club was about 1963 and I had the impression that it had been around for some time when I started going there. The club that was based at the Downtown YMCA in Toronto (I think) may also have been around before 1964 (and that club no longer exists of course).

    I have a feeling that a Winnipeg Club might stretch back quite a while, but I leave that to folks from out there...
    ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

      The Toronto Chess Club had a run of perhaps 100 years or so before it died on or about 1990!

      I myself joined the club as a student in 1969, and there were a number of veterans such as Peter Avery, in his 70s, still around back then.

      Yves Farges tried to compile a history of the club in the 1980s, so he might know more.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

        The Montreal Chess Club (some years known as the "Westmount Chess Club" - depending on where it met in that particular year) was founded in 1844, and had regular championships until the 1960's. Unfortunately - almost all of its records were lost in a fire in January 1924, and I haven't been able to dig through old papers recently to find pre-1900 results.

        Frank Marshall won the club championship a couple of times in the 1890's.

        The club still exists - or at least the name does - on the 4th floor of the CMA building on Montreal.

        The Lakeshore CC (suburban Montreal) has names on its championship trophy going back to 1973. The club itself (under that name) dates back to about 1960, and under various other names back to the late 1940's.

        What is the oldest Canadian chess-related trophy that is still around (and still competed for)? How about oldest Canadian chess-related trophy that still exists (although it may not be competed for anymore - or "retired")?

        Comment


        • #5
          Scarborough CC Champions

          Here is the record David Cohen compiled for Scarborough Chess Club, which was founded in 1960:

          Scarborough Chess Club ( SCC ) Champions
          ( List as at 10/10/22 )

          ( from David Cohen Canadian Chess History Website: http://www.canadianchess.info/canadi...onsON.html#SCC )

          2010 Yuanling Yuan
          2009 John Hall
          2008 Erwin Casareno
          2007 John Hall, Bryan Lamb
          2006 Donal Deiseach
          2005 Bryan Lamb
          2004 Imtiaz Husain, Bryan Lamb
          2003 Bryan Lamb
          2002 Allan Cai
          2001 Allan Cai, Bryan Lamb
          2000 Bryan Lamb
          1999 Joachim Hentschel
          1997-8 Bryan Lamb
          1996-7 Joachim Hentschel
          1995-6 Andrei Moffat
          1994-5 Bob Long
          1991-2 Ron Livshits
          1990-1 Grant Spraggett
          1989-90 Hugh Murphy
          1987-8 Imtiaz Husain
          1986-7 Laszlo Witt
          1985-6 Joachim Hentschel
          1984-5 Mark Leliever, Zbigniew Okolotowicz
          1982-3 Brian Fiedler, Joachim Hentschel
          1981-2 Deen Hergott, Bob Long
          1980-1 Alex Morrison
          1971 John Angermann
          1969-70 David Broughton *, John Kohlfurst
          1968-9 Hans Beck
          1967-8 Hans Beck
          1966-7 William Albin *, Peter Skelton
          1965-6 Alex Strojevs
          1964-5 Helmut Lanziner
          1963-4 Dusan Kustudic
          1962-3 Andrew Pressburger
          (1st) 1961 John Kohlfurst
          ________________________________________
          * Winner or advances to next stage on tie-break
          .
          Note from DC –

          Other years it was not held; or not reported in the CFC magazine.

          Bob

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

            Originally posted by Hugh Brodie View Post
            What is the oldest Canadian chess-related trophy that is still around (and still competed for)? How about oldest Canadian chess-related trophy that still exists (although it may not be competed for anymore - or "retired")?
            The Drewry Cup, first awarded to the winner of the Canadian Championship in 1904, has since been retired but still exists in Winnipeg - photo. In the May/June 1997 issue of En Passant there is a photo of the DeSoyres Cup (1888), which at the time was in the possession of Jonathan MacDonald. There has been a succession of trophies for the B.C. Championship since its inception in 1916 - the current trophy dates from 1956.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

              The Victoria Chess club has two trophies for the Victoria and/or Victoria club championship - the Gonnason Cup which dates 1921-1930 (currently in Stephen Wright's possession) and the Victoria Cup with winners on it 1936-1968 (and was recently restored / refurbished by the club). There have not been recent championships although I was thinking of something for later this year.

              photos and other info at: http://victoriachessclub.pbworks.com...5/Club-History (including a link to the BCCF bulletin with an article by Stephen on the cup). There are also a few other club trophies listed which go back a quite a few years.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

                ps. How about a list of club presidents? probably also a good list to have. Unfortunately for Victoria, past presidents are long forgotten.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

                  The Kingston Chess Club has run a Club Championship / City Championship consecutively for a similar length of time to the RA Club in Ottawa, roughly since the mid-1950s.

                  Some distinguished past Kingston winners include the following talented Masters: NM Andrew Kalotay, NM Bill Doubleday, NM Martin Devenport, NM Maher Saleh, IMC Mario Adriano, GMC/FM Martin Kreuzer, NM Brian Profit, IM Raja Panjwani. :) :)

                  I think I lead in all-time runner-up finishes!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

                    How long has the U of T's Hart House had the words "chess" printed on its doors for? Looking at the trophy cases between rounds on that floor shows a chess-related trophy, & one wonders whether it is or had been continually awarded for a period of time (not too many names on the plaque, but one assumes that the University club might've existed back to 1924: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012317 - if this is where that event took place) or had been retired for another cup.

                    How long have the universities hosted clubs for, even if not continually? A couple of photos of members of the Queen's chess club are occasionally found. It might also make for an interesting discussion of competition history of various Canadian university championship cups.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

                      Brantford goes back a long ways too. The trophy has no winner listed for 1997 but that was a merger year for the two clubs; an event may have been run and just not "counted" ?
                      Christopher Mallon
                      FIDE Arbiter

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Ottawa RA Chess Club Champions

                        Here is the list of cmapnions of Ottawa's RA Chess Club since 1954:
                        RA Chess Club Champions
                        2010 Zi Yi Qin
                        2009 David Gordon
                        2008 Karoly Szalay
                        2007 Valdizon/Cliff
                        2006 David Gordon
                        2005 Alex Davies
                        2004 Ozren Nezirovic
                        2003 Miladin Derkovic
                        2002 Kevin Pacey
                        2001 Hum/De Kerpel
                        2000 Devenport/Derkovic
                        1999 Deen Hergott
                        1998 Peter Hum
                        1997 Deen Hergott
                        1996 Miladin Derkovic
                        1995 Miladin Derkovic
                        1994 Bunning/Devenport/Pacey/Saleh
                        1993 ---
                        1992 Kevin Pacey
                        1991 Peter Ferguson
                        1990 Martin Devenport
                        1989 Saleh/Hergott
                        1988 Hergott/Sexton/Winterton
                        1987 Philip Northover
                        1986 Prosanto Sarkar
                        1985 Ken Winterton
                        1984 Dougherty/Gilmore/Sexton/Veltmann
                        1983 Bob Zuk
                        1982 Ed Marlowe
                        1981 Dougherty/Winterton
                        1980 Ken Winterton
                        1979 Wayne Barclay
                        1978 Dave ross
                        1977 Fred Howey
                        1976 Robert South
                        1975 Fred South
                        1974 Ken Winterton
                        1973 Jan Krotki
                        1972 Charles Jeanneret
                        1971 Alex Downham
                        1970 Doug Dougherty
                        1969 Byrne/Pedersen
                        1968 Lawrence Day
                        1967 Lawrence Day
                        1966 Lawrence Day
                        1965 Vernon Pedersen
                        1964 Vernon Pedersen
                        1963 Ron Rodgers
                        1962 Ken Winterton
                        1961 W. Oldemeir
                        1960 Ron Rodgers
                        1959 Ron Rodgers
                        1958 Ron Rodgers
                        1957 Ron Rodgers
                        1956 Ron Rodgers
                        1955 S. Kiltces
                        1954 Ron Rodgers

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Scarborough CC Champions

                          Originally posted by Bob Armstrong View Post
                          Here is the record David Cohen compiled for Scarborough Chess Club, which was founded in 1960:

                          Scarborough Chess Club ( SCC ) Champions
                          ( List as at 10/10/22 )

                          ( from David Cohen Canadian Chess History Website: http://www.canadianchess.info/canadi...onsON.html#SCC )

                          2010 Yuanling Yuan
                          2009 John Hall
                          2008 Erwin Casareno
                          2007 John Hall, Bryan Lamb
                          2006 Donal Deiseach
                          2005 Bryan Lamb
                          2004 Imtiaz Husain, Bryan Lamb
                          2003 Bryan Lamb
                          2002 Allan Cai
                          2001 Allan Cai, Bryan Lamb
                          2000 Bryan Lamb
                          1999 Joachim Hentschel
                          1997-8 Bryan Lamb
                          1996-7 Joachim Hentschel
                          1995-6 Andrei Moffat
                          1994-5 Bob Long
                          1991-2 Ron Livshits
                          1990-1 Grant Spraggett
                          1989-90 Hugh Murphy
                          1987-8 Imtiaz Husain
                          1986-7 Laszlo Witt
                          1985-6 Joachim Hentschel
                          1984-5 Mark Leliever, Zbigniew Okolotowicz
                          1982-3 Brian Fiedler, Joachim Hentschel
                          1981-2 Deen Hergott, Bob Long
                          1980-1 Alex Morrison
                          1971 John Angermann
                          1969-70 David Broughton *, John Kohlfurst
                          1968-9 Hans Beck
                          1967-8 Hans Beck
                          1966-7 William Albin *, Peter Skelton
                          1965-6 Alex Strojevs
                          1964-5 Helmut Lanziner
                          1963-4 Dusan Kustudic
                          1962-3 Andrew Pressburger
                          (1st) 1961 John Kohlfurst
                          ________________________________________
                          * Winner or advances to next stage on tie-break
                          .
                          Note from DC –

                          Other years it was not held; or not reported in the CFC magazine.

                          Bob
                          I won the club championship one year. It was in the early 1970's. The winner of the Swiss tournament was the club champion at the time. There was a club champion in 1972, 1973 and 1974 for sure. It crossed the year. Like 1971-1972, etc. It was the season starting in September.
                          Gary Ruben
                          CC - IA and SIM

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

                            Originally posted by Kai G. Gauer View Post
                            How long has the U of T's Hart House had the words "chess" printed on its doors for?
                            There are big wooden-box-displays with names of clubs' executives. I think, the chess club appeared on those list around 1947.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Oldest Chess Club Championship in Canada

                              Originally posted by Kai G. Gauer View Post
                              How long has the U of T's Hart House had the words "chess" printed on its doors for?
                              The Cupboard where all the chess club stuff is stored has some really old stuff in it... Alex told me once upon a time that they were going to take an inventory of all the old books and documents in there, but I don't know if that ever happened. I definately recall seeing chess yearbooks in there with dates from the first decade of the 20th century... though they may be year volumes of periodicals aquired at a later date.
                              My understanding is that the club was the Victoria College Chess club before VC federated with U of T in 1890-- how long it was extant before that I don't know.

                              I imagine compiling any lists beyond what is possessed by the Hart House administration would be quite challenging considering the membership changes so rapidly (being a university club).

                              It would be interesting to dig through the cupboard and see what all is there
                              Last edited by Stuart Brammall; Friday, 28th January, 2011, 11:26 PM.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X