West Wales Chess League

General

Chess in West Wales was slow to develop. Llanelli, Neath and Swansea are the only towns known to have had clubs before 1900 and the club at Neath was very short lived. There is no further mention of chess outside Swansea until 1927 when the Llanelli Y.M.C.A. club was revived and a new club established at Port Talbot, again in the Y.M.C.A..

It is surprising that, with the parent body (the South Wales Chess Association) on its last legs and a general money shortage due to The Depression, a new league should be founded. It was formed in part to replace the S.W.C.A. Challenge Cup which had ceased to be held after 1930 and in any case involved long distances and high travelling expenses; and in part to give voice to the new clubs which were springing up in the town.

The founder members of the new league were clubs within the Swansea town boundary representing Swansea, Upper Forrest Welfare, the YMCA (Rooks), St. Joseph’s and Cwmfelin, plus Gorseinon. Their first meeting was held at Swansea Y.M.C.A. on 12th October, 1932, and Mr. Stan Cole, from the chair, proposed that a new chess league be formed to be called ‘The Swansea Chess League’. Affiliation was fixed at 2 shillings and 6 pence per club, and apart from basic rules, all other matters, including the election of officials, were put off until the next annual meeting. Play was to be according to, “The rules of play as contained in Mason’s Principles of Chess.”

The league title was altered to ‘The Swansea and District Chess League’ in 1933, when Llanelli and Port Talbot were admitted to membership. A year later, with the inclusion of Cwmamman, the association took on its present name, ‘The West Wales Chess League’.

A feature of the league was the end of season rally held in June each year. Usually a match between the League Champions and ‘The Best of the League’ was arranged on this occasion, but later lightning chess tournaments were preferred. The reporting of these rallies was one of the few items to escape the pen of T.C.Hughes in his annual reports, but they were most enjoyable affairs with little value being placed on individual results. In the early years the President would entertain as many as 36 players to a ‘knife and fork tea’, during which trophies would be presented and speeches made.

Several times the league promoted matches between ‘Teenagers’ and ‘Old Stagers’ in connection with the National Chess Week. This was a one-week period set aside each year by the British Chess Federation in which every effort was made to give the game as much publicity as possible on a national scale. The ‘Teenagers’ versus ‘Old Stagers’ match was one such promotion and every major club in the country would be urged to put on its own section of the event. In 1957 for example, 1479 games were played up and down the country. Considering the lack of junior activity in the area, Swansea did well to raise teams in 1956, 1957 and 1961. The 1956 ‘Teenagers’ team comprised of youngsters from Llanelli, Neath, Port Talbot, Swansea, Ammanford and the University, but only the two representatives of Ammanford, both pupils of Welsh Champion B. P. Bourne, won their games. All three encounters were one-sided in the Swansea area, although on a national scale the juniors did much better.

1956 Teenagers 2.5 Old Stagers 10.5
1957 Teenagers 5.5 Old Stagers l6.5
1961 Teenagers 8.5 Old Stagers 29.5

Events after I960 were given excellent publicity in the local ‘Evening Post’ newspaper where a column ‘Chess Jottings’ was run by ‘Checkmate’ alias Dr. G. Ll. Lewis of the Swansea club. His articles kept the league members informed not just of local events, but also of the wider Welsh and British chess scene.

League Organisers

Claude Hybart aged about 24

Stan Cole (1884-1968) Founder of the West Wales Chess League

During the first season of the newly formed League, Stan Cole acted as Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Committee! Thereafter things settled down and the Association was fortunate to have the services of Mr. T. C. Hughes, a tireless worker in the interests of chess. He was secretary of the league for over thirty years and, together with his duties as Secretary of the South Wales Association, succeeded in perfecting his art and providing a model of efficiency for future secretaries.

At the end of each league programme, Mr. Hughes would produce a comprehensive bulletin covering all the season’s activities in West Wales, and mentioning briefly other events in which members of the league had taken part, such as the Welsh Championships. League match details, inter-zone matches, the individual championships, finances, obituaries, all were included to provide an information service second to none. This bulletin continued for many years to be a feature of the West Wales organisation and it was not unusual in the busier modern league to find it running in excess of 30 pages.

The duties of Secretary and Treasurer were combined for long periods under the effective control of Mr. T. C. Hughes. When he retired, the work-load was soon found to be too great for his successors and the roles were again divided up. The league was fortunate to find able successors at the University. That same body provided much more for the league in way of accommodation and equipment.

The captaincy of the West Wales team was originally a job undertaken for one match only. The representatives of each club would meet to select the county team and would choose a captain from amongst them. Mr. Claude Hybart of Port Talbot was the team captain for many of the early matches. He was the son of Francis Hybart who led the first Barry Chess Club (1899).

Simultaneous Displays

Jacques Mieses about to play against J. Robinson

On the occasion of Sir George Thomas’ visit on the 1st October, 1935, his fee was two guineas which he donated to the Nottingham International Tournament, plus £2.10.0d. expenses.

Most of the displays were part of much wider tours made by the masters, and there were usually similar exhibitions at Newport and Cardiff.

Miss Menchik was a particular friend of the Association and she carried out adjudications on behalf of the league. Her exhibition in 1938 took over 51/4 hours and again cost only two guineas. P. J. Dauber of Swansea and Idwal John of Morriston won their games against her.

Wade’s tour of 1954 included a rare display outside Swansea. This and Mieses’ visit to Llanelli in 1946 are the only known displays in West Wales outside Swansea since Lasker’s tour in 1908.

The League

Llanelli League Champions 1933-4 Back: (L-R) R.R.Morris, J.Williams, Duncan Auld, Harold Williams, James Little, H.Evans. Front: Robinson, D.R.Jones, H.Samuel, J..W.Lobbett, H. M. Morton

Dr. Hanson, a founder member of the Swansea Club and later Captain, Secretary and President, presented a fine trophy for competition between the clubs although it was not presented until the second year of the league’s existence.

Swansea was the first league winner in 1932-3 and a year later, Llanelli Y.M.C.A. was unbeaten in their 11 matches to become the first holders of the Dr. Hanson trophy. They finished 8 points clear of their nearest rivals, Gorseinon. This was the oldest team ever to win the competition as the top three boards were all over 70.

Six clubs competed that first year, but The Nomads 1933, Upper Forrest Welfare 1935, The Rooks 1936, and Swansea Y.M.C.A. 1937, withdrew and thereafter the league never had a large number of clubs affiliated until the 1960s. Most of the member clubs were associated with the league for only a short term. For example, Cwmamman 1934-8 and 1948-9, Aberystwyth University 1936-9, Morriston 1938-9, and Pontyates 1946-7. Only Swansea, Port Talbot and later, Neath and Mond remained members in excess of 20 years.

The number of boards played in league matches varied enormously and was initially left to the discretion of the away team. In 1955-6 two matches were played over eleven boards, one over eight boards, four over seven boards and five over six boards! One match played in Llanelli saw 15 boards in action!

Each team played each of the other teams twice when the league was first formed, but there were complaints of too many matches and the full league programme was rarely completed. Some clubs got around the problem by switching fixtures to Saturday dates, thereby enabling two matches to be played against the same opponents on the same day. The league minute book records constant delays in fixtures with the comment, “The season continued far beyond what could normally be called chess weather.”

In 1935 Mr. N. L. Tomlinson of Port Talbot revived the South Wales Chess Association and most of the leading West Wales clubs joined. The extra competitions available led to the local league being reduced to single round all-play-all.

After the war the continued existence of West Wales as a separate league was very much in doubt. Only Swansea and Port Talbot competed regularly and even Gorseinon had such difficulty raising a team that they were forced to combine with the neighbouring club at Cwmamman. In 1946, when the league run by the S.W.C.A. became double round, there was a call for a suspension of the Dr. Hanson Trophy. This was rejected, but the state of the league was obvious. In the next two years a total of 12 matches were played!

The fifties should have spelt salvation, as new clubs were established at the University 1951, Neath and Magnet 1952, and Mond 1953, but these clubs spluttered like their predecessors so that by 1956 just three clubs contested the league - Swansea, Neath and Mond. The league again became double-round in 1954 when the South Wales League ceased to operate.

The formation of a club at Neath was a real bonus. It was formed by five members of the Neath Corporation staff and their friends and early meetings were held in a private house. Frank Cann, an architect and former member of Ilfracombe Chess Club was made captain and the ‘Father’ of the club was 85 year old Hugh James who had drawn with both former World Champion Emmanuel Lasker and the British Master Blackburne, in simultaneous displays.

In 1961 there were still only three clubs entering teams for the league. Eight teams competed in 1962, the highest number since 1935, and the following year a record 11 teams took part. Division Two was started in 1964 and Division Three in 1967. A fine trophy for the Second Division was presented by Mr. S. Cole.

There have been two play-offs for the Championship after a tie. In 1963 Llanelli were victorious over the University but the following year the students came out on top after beating Swansea in the play-off.

The late sixties were dominated by the University club who were not only responsible for most of the league organisation, but also won most of the trophies. Apart from their successes in the Dr. Hanson Trophy they also won Division Two in 1965, 1967, 1968 and 1969. From 1966 to 1970 the club reeled off 42 matches without defeat and just one draw!

Not only did the University dominate the league, but they also claimed a world record. During Rag Week 1965, their captain, Roger Mylward beat the record for non-stop chess, playing from 9.10 a.m. on Thursday 18th February to 9.10 p.m. on Saturday 20th February, a total of 60 hours. Play was in a shop window in the Kingsway.

Clubs that have taken part in the league are as follows (taken from records available and may not be complete):

Aberystwyth University (1936-9), Bishop Gore School (1969-70), Bishop Vaughan School (1967-70), Training College (1961-7), Cwmamman (1934-8 and 1948-9), Cwmamman-Gorseinon (1949-52). Gorseinon (1932-46, 1947-9), Llanelli (1933-7, 1938-9, 1945-8 and 1963-70) Magnet (1952-4, 1963-70), Neath (1952-70), Pontyates (1946-7), Port Talbot (1937, 1948-56), S.C.O.W. (1966-70), Swansea (1932-70), Swansea University (1951-3, 1961-70), Swansea YMCA (1932-7), Tom Smith & Clarke (1961-3), Upper Forrest Welfare (1932-5).

The winners of this league advanced to the Final of the S.W.C.A. Challenge Cup competition. Port Talbot, the most successful Western club, won the final twice, in 1947 and 1954, each time on a tie-break, against Cardiff and Barry respectively. The other successful team, the combined Gorseinon-Cwmamman club, defeated Cardiff by 31/2-21/2 in the 1950 final when led by A. O. Jones.

By today’s standards the Port Talbot team would not be regarded as very strong, but it possessed strength in depth. Its strongest players were Claude Hybart, the former Barry, Bridgend and Porthcawl member (his father was Francis W. Hybart the leader of the Barry team in the early 20th century), E. R. Thomas, N. L. Tomlinson and A. G. Llewellyn. They all remained for the life of the club, but there was a lack of new blood which was much needed in the fifties as these four players suffered increasingly from ill-health. The passing of the Port Talbot club may be compared with that of Barry in East Glamorgan and of Blaina in Gwent, as they all suffered from a chronic lack of youth.

Individual Championships

Llanelli winners of the Dr.Hanson Silver Knight Trophy 1964-5 and the E.J.Clarke Trophy (centre) won by Dilwyn Jones. (Rear) R.Mahoney, I.P.Eustis, P.B.Scott, G.Pugh-Jones, D.W.Rees, M.G.Jones. (Seated) A member of the Deaf Institute where the club played, …Wright, D.Jones, W.V.Davies.

The first Individual Championship of West Wales was held during the 1935-6 season, when 26 players paid one shilling each to participate in a knock-out tournament. First prize was a book (7s. 6d.), subscription (2s.) and a pocket set (6s. 6d.). Second prize was the subscription, the pocket set, and a set of extra pieces! Representatives of Swansea, Llanelli, Port Talbot and Gorseinon reached the semi-finals. In the final R. A. Johnston of Swansea beat E.R.Thomas of Port Talbot.

The popularity of the tournament continued unabated as can be seen from the number of participants who came from all the clubs in the area. Arthur Jones, a fast improving young player with the Gorseinon club, made a name for himself by trampling over all opposition to win the remaining pre-war championships, although there is no record of the 1939 final ever being played.

A novelty for the times was a Championship for boys under 16 years of age, held during the 1937-8 season. It was organised by Mr. S. Cole and all 31 entries came from his school at Waun Wen. The winner, Gwynne Price, played 29 games without defeat!

In 1946 the South Wales Association had every intention of resurrecting their own Individual Championship and, as a result, the West Wales League decided that they would hold their own tournament in abeyance.

Championships resumed in 1955 with much diminished support. The new Welsh Chess Union called for each zone to hold its own qualifying tournament in order that the winner and runner-up could then proceed to the Welsh Championships at Easter. Just 8 players took part in this first West Wales all-play-all tournament. Pairings were drawn up by the league secretary and games were to be played by a given date. They were played in homes, as well as at clubs, in a very leisurely atmosphere and this set the pattern for future West Wales Championships. After 1961 the event attracted larger numbers necessitating division into groups, the winner of each group qualifying for a knock-out semi-final.

A fine trophy was presented in I960 by Mr. E. J. Clarke, one of the League’s Vice-Presidents, and this has remained the trophy for the West Wales Championship despite the incursion of congresses.

A record number of players, 27, entered in 1966, but these tournaments had a habit of dragging on and on. First there was the problem of agreeing suitable dates with your opponents and then there was the problem of draws in the subsequent knock-out. The 1966 semi-final is a marked example. Mr. P. B. Scott of Llanelli had already qualified through one semi-final and had to wait for months whilst Dilwyn Jones and Vivian Davies, both also from Llanelli, fought out draw after draw.

Congresses

When chess activities began to increase at the end of the sixties, Swansea was quick to establish an annual Chess Congress.

This was first held in January of 1967, though not at that time an Open Event, and it attracted a strong field of 16 local players to compete for the Tom Hughes Trophy. The strong favourite was Graham Chesters, but he drew in the first round with the strong Neath player, G. G. Rollings, and the early leader was F. Clough, a lecturer at the University. Chesters beat Clough in round four to take over the lead, but in the last round could only draw with W. V. Davies of Llanelli and had to be content to share first place with. Clough. In joint third place on 3½ points were I. P. Eustis of Llanelli and .P. Vasil of Neath.

The excellent conditions available at the University helped to make the event a great success and the following year l6 players again met in a five round Swiss tournament. This time, with no Graham Chesters to contend with, Mr. Clough swept to victory scoring 4 points, ahead of three more University players, M. Lexton, R. Mylward and M. Young all on 3½ points.

The tournament was thrown Open in 1969 and increased in size to six rounds. Chesters returned and proved unstoppable. R. Gardner (Brighouse) joined him in the lead temporarily but could only draw in the last round and tied for second place with M. Young, half a point behind the winner who scored 4½ /5.

Success breeds success. Excellent playing conditions, able management, good accommodation, all helped to swell the 1970 congress total to 46 players, with prizes totalling £90. There was a keen fight for the prize money and again Chesters was well in the hunt. However, the two Cwmbran players, M. Gavrilovic and C. Gilbert tied for first place together with Dr. R. Laver of Bristol, all with 5 points, with Chesters in another tie half a point behind.