1937 (3rd) Margate Premier, 31 March - 9 April

1937 Margate Premier		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Reuben Fine	USA	&;	½	1	1	1	½	1	½	1	1	7½
2	Paul Keres	Estonia	½	&;	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	7½
3	Alexander Alekhine	France	0	0	&;	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	6
4	Jan Foltys	Czechoslovakia	0	½	0	&;	1	½	1	1	1	½	5½
5	(Philip) Stuart Milner-Barry	Cambridge	0	½	0	0	&;	1	½	1	1	1	5
6	C Hugh O'D Alexander	Winchester	½	0	0	½	0	&;	½	½	1	1	4
7	Vera Menchik	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	0	½	½	&;	1	1	1	4
8	Sir George Alan Thomas	London	½	0	0	0	0	½	0	&;	1	1	3
9	Victor Buerger	London	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	&;	1	2
10	Theodore Henry Tylor	Oxford	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	&;	½

BCM, May 1937, ppn 233-250

CHESS CONGRESS AT MARGATE.

The third of the annual Easter meetings at Margate was held from Wednesday, March 31 to Friday, April 9, and was again under the direction of that Prince of Congress Controllers, H G T Matchett, who showed by his skilful and tactful management that however large and ambitious the programme he is able to attend to all details, great and small, and ensure efficiency in arrangements and enjoyment and comfort for everyone.

He was able supported by W Minter, the veteran treasurer, and E D Makepeace, the hon. secretary.

All English records for congress attendance were broken, and the 179 competitors gathered at the board at once, and in one room, made an impressive and imposing spectacle. The ballroom of the Grand Hotel, liberally bedecked with flowers for the occasion, was admirably suited to so large a gathering. It was fitting that this record-breaking and memorable congress should be opened by no less a person than the Home Secretary, Sir John Simon.

The original list of acceptances for the Premier contest included Senor Capablanca, but later he had to withdraw, having returned to Cuba and being unable to leave his diplomatic duties. But the committee was successful in getting Dr. Alekhine to pay his first visit to a Margate tournament. There was also Reuben Fine, fresh from further laurels just gained in Russian tournaments, and the expectation was that the tournament would result in another duel for chief honours between Alekhine and Fine, as recently at the Hastings Christmas congress. Two newcomers were Paul Keres (Estonia), prominent in high chess in the last two or three years, and J Foltys (Czechoslovakia), who gained a remarkable success in the tournament at Podebrady last July. Both players established themselves in English players’ favour. Miss V Menchik, the woman world-champion, was regarded as a Czechoslovakian to make the half-section of foreign visitors.

The Britishers were Sir George Thomas, T H Tylor, C H O'D Alexander, V Buerger and P S Milner-Barry.

The number of strong entries from the Continent was so large that a division of the Premier Reserves into three sections instead of two as formerly was necessitated. It was gratifying to find quite a number of British players coming into the prize lists in spite of the foreign strength arrayed against them. The remaining tournaments maintained a good average of strength.

The time-limit in force was 34 moves in the first two hours and 17 per hour thereafter in the six top sections, including the Major, and in all other tournaments 20 moves per hour. In addition to the prizes shown in the score table, Mrs. A M S Shannon as usual awarded three prizes of one guinea each to women players for (1) most brilliant game, (2) shortest won game, (3) best endgame, won respectively by Mrs Holloway, Miss Goodacre, and Miss Menchik.

The opening meeting was presided over by the Mayor of Margate, Alderman W R Noble, and was favoured by the presence of Sir John Simon, the Home Secretary, Capt H H Balfour, M.C. (M.P. for Thanet), Sir Ernest Graham Little (M.P. for London University, and a member of the B.C.F. executive), the Mayoress, the Deputy-Mayor (Alderman Linington) and many members of the Town Council.

The Mayor welcomed the competitors and the visitors. He was pleased to see America and so many nations of Europe represented. Introducing Sir John Simon, he said that he hoped the invigorating air of Margate would not be without its effect on their play, and would send the Home Secretary back to his labours feeling all the better for spending a few hours in the town. (After the meeting Sir John Simon watched the Alekhine—Tylor game for a couple of hours or so.)

Sir John Simon referred to chess as the most ancient and most universal game in the world. He was at Buenos Aires in 1927, when that great capital was all agog with the excitement of the world-championship match between Senor Capablanca and Dr. Alekhine. On a visit to Delhi as chairman of the Indian Commission he was invited to the home of a Punjab notable, and found an All-Indian chess tournament in progress there, with Mir Sultan Khan among the competitors. At the ancient monuments of the Moguls one saw laid out on the ground large black and white squares on which the Emperors played open-air chess with living pieces in an atmosphere second only to that of Margate (laughter). At chess congresses all paid their subscriptions and accepted the conclusions, which was not the case at most international conferences he had attended. Sir John thought it wonderful that this world-wide game existing through the centuries could be carried on by common understanding even between people who could not speak each other’s language. He referred also to the high standard of morality and honesty among chessplayers, though he made a jesting exception of the player who tossed for the move with two black pawns in his hands. He hoped that something new in chess in the shape of a “ Margate variation ” might arise from this congress.

Captain Balfour proposed a vote of thanks to Sir John and spoke of the difficulties which the Whips had in connection with the House of Commons chess room. Alderman Linington seconded, and Sir John Simon in replying reminded his hearers of the saying of the late Mr. Bonar Law, an expert player, that “ chess was a cold bath for the mind."

The Premier Tournament.

The anticipated duel between Alekhine and Fine gave way to a struggle for first place between Fine and Keres. The ex-champion spoilt his chance in Round 2 by a mistake after getting a good game against Buerger, the game being rendered still more remarkable by Alekhine making a weak capture which left his Queen to be won by a Knight check ! and this Buerger missed. Two subsequent losses by Alekhine to Fine (very well played by the American) and Keres (a poor game on the doctor’s part) put him quite out of the running. Some of Alekhine’s six wins were excellent games, but it was his most unfortunate tournament to date. Keres led near the end, but was only able to draw (a little fortunately) in the eighth round against Foltys, when Fine won and caught him up. The game between Fine and Keres in the last round showed Keres to advantage, and Fine instead of winning, as at one stage he expected, had hard work to draw. Only Keres and Fine went through the tournament unbeaten.

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1937 Margate Premier Reserves A

In Section A Klein and Appel went through without a loss, but the Polish player got no less than six drawn games. Apparently he let slip a win against List in the second round. Wheatcroft led the section for several rounds and won a couple of brilliant games, but he fell away at the finish. Sergeant and Winser also made good scores, and Winser possibly ought to have beaten Prins. Appel and Anglares were making their first appearance in England ; List played at Nottingham. Appel was the official nominee of the Polish Chess Federation.

1937 Margate Premier Reserves A		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Ernst Ludwig Klein	Austria	&;	1	½	½	1	½	1	1	1	1	7½
2	Dr. Paul M List	Germany	0	&;	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	6½
3	Izaak Appel	Poland	½	½	&;	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	6
4	Edward Guthlac Sergeant	London	½	1	½	&;	0	0	1	1	½	1	5½
5	George Shorrock Ashcombe Wheatcroft	Rickmansworth	0	0	½	1	&;	½	1	1	1	½	5½
6	(William) Arthur Winser	Hastings	½	0	0	1	½	&;	½	1	1	1	5½
7	Lodewijk Prins	Netherlands	0	0	½	0	0	½	&;	1	1	1	4
8	Edouard Anglares	France	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	&;	½	1	2
9	Baruch H Wood	Sutton Coldfield	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	½	&;	½	1½
10	Leslie Charles Gwyn Dewing	London	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	½	&;	1

1937 Margate Premier Reserves B

Golombek showed his mettle by coming out level with Dr. Landau, and was a little disappointed at letting some advantage against Conde slip away. Landau did not get his usual unbeaten record. Koltanowski was a little worked out with his recent ten weeks' tour and did not do quite so well as usual, though he did not lose a game. Norman Hansen did well considering his lack of practice.

1937 Margate Premier Reserves B		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Harry Golombek	London	&;	½	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	7
2	Dr. Salo Landau	Netherlands	½	&;	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
3	George Koltanowski	Belgium	1	½	&;	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	5½
4	Holger Norman-Hansen	Denmark	0	1	½	&;	1	½	0	1	½	1	5½
5	Adrián García Conde	Mexico	½	0	½	0	&;	0	1	½	1	1	4½
6	William Ritson Morry	Sutton Coldfield	0	0	½	½	1	&;	1	0	0	1	4
7	Sonja Graf	Germany	0	0	0	1	0	0	&;	1	½	1	3½
8	Henry Holwell Cole	London	0	0	½	0	½	1	0	&;	1	0	3
9	Leonard Illingworth	Royston	0	0	½	½	0	1	½	0	&;	½	3
10	Dr. Jurrien Cornelis Scheffer	Netherlands	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	1	½	&;	2

1937 Margate Premier Reserves C

G R D van Doesburgh was the only newcomer in Section C and he justified his inclusion by taking a prize. Mieses made a popular "come-back" and his score was particularly good for a veteran of seventy odd. Count Sacconi improved on his Hastings score, and he and Mieses were the only two unbeaten.

1937 Margate Premier Reserves C		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Jacques Mieses	Germany	&;	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	7½
2	Count Antonio Sacconi	Italy	½	&;	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	7
3	Frits van Seters	Belgium	½	½	&;	0	0	1	1	1	½	1	5½
4	Gerrit Roelof Diederik van Doesburgh	Netherlands	0	½	1	&;	1	0	½	1	0	1	5
5	Willem Andreas Theodorus Schelfhout	Netherlands	0	½	1	0	&;	½	0	½	1	1	4½
6	Christopher Barclay Heath	London	0	0	0	1	½	&;	1	½	1	0	4
7	Brian Patrick Reilly	Ireland	½	0	0	½	1	0	&;	½	0	1	3½
8	Harold John Snowden	London	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	&;	1	1	3½
9	William Skillicorn	London	0	0	½	1	0	0	1	0	&;	0	2½
10	Philip Ashby Ursell	Birmingham	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	&;	2

Major Tournaments

Prizes : £5, £3, £2, in each section.

A notable entry was N Bernstein, from New York, who with Green (Chicago) was including the tournament in an extended tour. P C Hoad (Cambridge) scored well and would appear to be a desirable acquisition to the University team for leading matches. He was not included in the team against Oxford. O'Donovan was another young Cambridge player, who has already gained credit; but he had to be content with second place, Melvin, the Essex player adding another to his tournament successes. Yeeles and Steadman played up to their reputations. The promising young Irishman Cox also gave a good account of himself.

1937 Margate Major A

1937 Margate Major A		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Philip Charles Hoad	Cambridge	&;	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	7½
2	Walter James Eric Yeeles	Chatham	½	&;	1	0	½	1	½	1	½	1	6
3	Anthony Clifford Steadman	Bristol	½	0	&;	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	5½
4	Edward Willingham Brocklesby	Cambridge	½	1	½	&;	0	1	0	½	½	1	5
5	Edward Buddel Puckridge	Bromley	0	½	½	1	&;	0	1	1	0	1	5
6	Austin de Burca	Cork	0	0	½	0	1	&;	½	½	1	1	4½
7	Frederick William Flear	Welwyn Garden City	0	½	½	1	0	½	&;	0	1	1	4½
8	Ronald Lee-Johnson	Welwyn Garden City	0	0	0	½	0	½	1	&;	½	1	3½
9	Edith Martha Holloway	London	0	½	0	½	1	0	0	½	&;	½	3
10	Hugh Windsor Fiesch Heneage	Hove	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	&;	½

1937 Margate Major B

1937 Margate Major B		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Herbert Arthur Melvin	Southend	&;	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	8
2	John Francis O'Donovan	Cambridge	½	&;	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	1	7
3	Thomas Cox	Dublin	0	½	&;	1	½	1	1	1	½	1	6½
4	Neil A Bernstein	New York	0	½	0	&;	1	½	1	1	0	½	4½
5	Ernest Montgomery Jellie	London	½	0	½	0	&;	1	0	½	1	1	4½
6	James J Doyle	Dublin	0	0	0	½	0	&;	½	1	1	1	4
7	Maurice Ellinger	London	0	0	0	0	1	½	&;	1	1	0	3½
8	Arnold Charles Lynch	London	0	½	0	0	½	0	0	&;	1	1	3
9	Charles William Roberts	Brighouse	0	0	½	1	0	0	0	0	&;	1	2½
10	Agnes Margaret Crum	Edinburgh	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	0	&;	1½

First Class Tournaments

Prizes £4, £2, and £1.

The veteran John Keeble, shortly 82, gained another fine success. Sixty and more years divided his age from Potter, a young London boy, who shared first place with him. Henderson made one of his best tournament scores. In Section B Lupton May (Ludlow) was well away with 8, and Miss Poupard and Schächter, another London youngster, are to be congratulated on well-won successes.

1937 Margate First Class A

1937 Margate First Class A		Residence	Total
1	John Keeble	Norwich	7½
2	Reginald J S Potter	London	7½
3	William Henderson	London	6½
4	W Barker	Wolverhampton	4
5	G Booth	Southend	4
6	(Sydney) Hugh Brocklesby	Hampstead	4
7	Charles Henry Taylor	Wells	4
8	Miss Mary Ann Eliza Andrews	London	3
9	Francis Avery Sisley	London	2½
10	Rev. Howard Cecil James	Coventry	2

1937 Margate First Class B

1937 Margate First Class B		Residence	Total
1	Edward Lupton May	Ludlow	8
2	Miss Audrey Bourne Poupard	Leyton	6½
3	Leo/Leiser Schächter	London	6½
4	Dr. William Ernest McKechnie		6
5	Frank Percival Pounce	Wolverhampton	4½
6	J Mackenzie	Exmouth	4
7	A Green	Chicago	3½
8	George E Hutchinson	Heckmondwike	3
9	S C Powell	Huddersfield	2
10	Miss Emily Eliza Abraham	Deal	1

Second Class Tournaments

Prizes : £3, £2, £1.

Lang and Dixon seem fresh names, or nearly so, so that their success is noteworthy. The Rev. E G Bevan went through without loss, as did also Payne, but with one more draw.

Second Class A: (1-2) A Dixon (Brighton), J Lang (Cardiff) 7/9; (3-4) Frank Miles Argrave (Whitstable), Robert M Fleming (Ramsgate) 5½; (5) Arnold William Gunstone (Canterbury) 4½; (6) Henry Otway Boger (London) 4; (7-9) Mme Grace Alekhine (France), Mrs Helen Muriel Cobbold (Hampstead), William Maurice Batten (Brighton) 3; (10) J Francis (Hastings) 2½.

Second Class B: (1) Rev E G Bevan (Norwich) 7½/9; (2) H H S Payne (Ramsgate) 7; (3) Ronald Desmond Fleming, junr. (Ramsgate) 5½; (4) Arthur Trimnell (London) 5; (5-6) Miss E Neilson (Edinburgh), William Effingham Wilson Sharman (Hove) 4½; (7) John E Coleman (Grays) 4; (8-9) Mrs Clara Margaret MacVean (Bournemouth), Mrs Melita Ida Elizabeth Seyd (née Krohn) (London) 2½; (1) Miss Lillie Eveling (Chichester) 2.

Third Class Tournament

Here the Rev H M Blackett had picked up so much at the recent great event in his city that he was able to make the only clean score in the congress. Mrs. Heath and Mrs. Hutchinson both took prizes, which was more than their husbands could do!

Third Class: (1) Rev. Henry Middleton Blackett (Nottingham) 9/9; (2-3) Mrs. Emily Heath (née Wright), Mrs. Kathleen Hutchinson (née Park) 7; (4) Miss Edith Maud Eleanor John Goodacre (Cheltenham) 5½; (5) J Crisp (Chatham) 5; (6) Rev. (Francis Vivian Friend) Glynn Grylls (Exmouth) 4; (7) Miss Shaw (Hastings) 3½; (8) Edouard [Edward] Carre Suren (Whitstable) 2½; (9) Mrs. F Simpson (Brighton) 1½.

Junior Tournament

Boys under 18 (12 competitors): Prizewinners : (1) Thomas Alfred Cave 10; (2-3) John Alfred Ollis, C Richardson 9½. Prizes: £1, 10/-, 5/-.

Boys under 15. Section A (10 competitors): Prizewinners: (1) Keith M Fleming 7½; (2) D E Harris 6½; (3) M M Cohen 5½.
Section B (11 competitors).—Prizewinners : (1) J Geddes 8½; (2) P Robson 8; (3) C J Millet 7½. Prizes 10/-, 5/-.

Nearly all the boys belonged to Margate and Ramsgate.

Short Major Tournament

Section A was rather the stronger and the full table was:

1937 Margate Short Major A		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	Charles Herbert Stacey	Brighton	&;	½	1	½	1	1	4
2	Alfred Joseph Butcher	Wolverhampton	½	&;	0	1	1	1	3½
3	Dr. Michael Benger	London	0	1	&;	1	0	1	3
4	Francis George Tims Collins	Oxford	½	0	0	&;	½	1	2
5	Francis Noel Jameson	Ilford	0	0	1	½	&;	0	1½
6	Dr (Robert) Lloyd Storr-Best	London	0	0	0	0	1	&;	1

Short Major B: (1) Edmund Arthur Beamish (London) 3½; (2) J Stuart Hodgson (London) 3; (3-4) H C Lewis (Blackburn), Charles George Spicer (Maidstone) 2½; (5) Alfred Herman Reeve (Great Missenden) 2; (6) Russell France Bavington Jones (Dover) 1½. Prizes: £4, £2.

Short First Class Tournament

Section A: (1) Leslie E Vine (Eastleigh) 4/5; (2) E Marchant (Canterbury) 3½; (3) Ronald Stanley Lockwood (Winchester) 2½; (4) R Harland (Newcastle on Tyne) 2; (5) Frederick Winter Markwick (Westcliff) 1½; (6) Alfred J Peck (Broadstairs) ½.

Section B: (1) P E Bowers (Birmingham) 4½/5; (2) Jasper Robertson Greenop (London) 3½; (3) Percy Archibald Turley (Birmingham) 2½; (4-5) Sidney George R Champ (Chatham), Ashley Cyril Vernieux (Welwyn Garden City) 2; (6) Charles Henry Plant (Folkestone) ½. Prizes : £3, £1.

Short Second Class Tournament

Section A: (1) F W Daniel 4½/5; (2) Miss Mary Araluen Henniker-Heaton (London) 3½; (3) Mrs Lucy Storr-Best (London) 3; (4) E Lake (Norwich) 2½; (5) John Edward Holt (Beckenham) 1; (6) Miss K Denne (Canterbury) ½.

Section B: (1) Frederick George Boyce (Margate) 4/5; (2) T E M Olsen (London) 3½; (3) Miss Edith M Lineker (Sutton-in-Ashfield) 3; (4) Miss Storr-Best 2½; (5) Douglas Cockrill Stedman (Broadstairs) 2. Prizes : £2, £1.

Interlude

After the morning session on Saturday (fourth round) the rest of the day was devoted to social functions. The Mayor entertained a party of two or three hundred to tea in the afternoon, followed by further speeches of welcome. Sir Ronald Storrs gave one of his humorous and racy speeches, and said he was glad to know that in this country the Jewish element received a warm welcome. Where there was chess the Jews would be well represented. Sir E Graham Little was the other principal speaker. He devoted some time to the philosophy of chess and its value as a training of character and conduct. In chess you had to rely on yourself, a point which was also emphasised by Alderman J W Derbyshire in his broadcast from the Nottingham Congress. Koltanowski gave an exhibition on six boards. In the evening, as a pleasing innovation, there was a Congress Ball and Cabaret entertainment. This proved a great success, and was well attended by both competitors and townsfolk; we trust to see it repeated in future years. A competition for fancy headdresses representing chess pieces was won by Miss Tylor (White Knight) in the ladies’ section, and by R H S Stevenson (looking very episcopal under a glittering mitre) in the gentlemen’s.

On the previous evening Reuben Fine gave a simultaneous display, distinguished by specially rapid play. He lost 3 games out of 27, his successful opponents being Maurice Ellinger, Frederick William Flear, and A T [H G T?] Matchett.

Lightning Tournaments

There were two of these, both highly successful. Entries were grouped in sections of eight, the top section was so strong each time that the scores are worth giving in full

First Tournament (Monday, April 5): (1) Appel 6½ (out of 7); (2) Buerger 4½; (3-4) Alekhine, Hansen 4; (5) Keres 3½; (6) Prins 3; (7) Golombek 1½; (8) Garcia Conde 1.

Second Tournament (Thursday, April 8) : (1-2) Alekhine, Keres 5½; (2) Appel 4½; (3) List 3½; (4) Hansen 3; (5-6) Miss Menchik, Garcia Conde 2½; (7) Buerger 1.

The prizewinners in the other sections were :—

First Tourney, Section B: Mieses and Sacconi. Section C: O’Donovan and Hoad. Section D: Wanting. Section E: Markwick and Pounce. Section F: Dr. Piaggio (Nottingham) and Mrs. Cobbold.

Second Tourney, Section B : Reilly and Sacconi. Section C : O’Donovan and Collins. Section D: Lohmann (Ramsgate) and Henderson. Section E: Mrs. Holloway and Batten. Section F: Miss Abraham and Mrs. Cobbold.

On Wednesday, April 7 a contract bridge pairs tournament was successfully handled by the expert Mr. Ellinger. Five tables were arranged and the E-W prizes went to Landau and Fine, and the N-S prizes to Morry and Buerger.

Farewell Gathering

Mr. Matchett presided at the closing meeting, when the Mayoress (Mrs. W R Noble) presented the prizes. The Mayor (Alderman Noble) was happy to think that men of 15 nations could meet in Margate in complete happiness and concord. Fine and Keres were warmly applauded, and the assembly did not forget to show their appreciation of Dr. Alekhine’s position in the chess world in spite of his temporary set-back. Another popular hero was the veteran Jacques Mieses. T H Tylor proposed a vote of thanks to the Mayor and Corporation of Margate. No Mayor, he said, had shown such great personal interest in their "strange activities." On behalf of the players souvenirs were presented to Messrs. Matchett and Minter in recognition of their arduous services to the congress.

Appreciation remains to be expressed of the work of E W Osier, the chief steward, Messrs. Makepeace and Lyon at the multiplex scoring board, and of Mr. Rowcliffe and his numerous "shop assistants" at the bookstall. There were many other helpers and all well organised.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
2016	First uploaded with 45 games from the Premier
6 January 2024	Added three games from lower sections: (1) G.Wheatcroft 0-1 P.List (Premier Reserves A, rd 4); (2) G.Wheatcroft 1-0 E.Anglares (Premier Reserves A, rd 9); (3) H.Golombek 1-0 H.Norman-Hansen (Premier Rserves B, rd 9). In addition I've amended the score of the game Fine ½-½ Alexander and provided crosstables.
11 January 2024	Added another 12 games from lower sections, with ten contributed by Ulrich Tamm, for which many thanks. I have also added some more results and contemporary reports.
12 January 2024	Added another game from Ulrich Tamm: A.Sacconi 1-0 P.Ursell (Premier Reserves C, rd 1). Many thanks to Ulrich.
26 September 2024	Added the game G.Booth 0-1 R.J.S.Potter (First Class A).