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History Officials Division Trophy Lightning Individual   From 1897-1951  Joint Secretaries Officers CHAIRMAN OF SUB COMMITTEES Communication   Bohemian 12 West Bromwich 9 Solihull 8 South Birmingham 7 South Birmingham 8 South Birmingham 5   Team Division Played Season  
KNOCKOUT TROPHIES,
The Frank H. Terrill Memorial Trophy, a magnificent ornate rose bowl of sterling silver was introduced in 1938 and its knockout handicap format has always ensured a keenly contested competition. Mutual Circle were the first winners and have won (6) times since, their victories have been achieved by teams drawn from Divisions 1 to 4 whereas South Birmingham's (10) Successes have been achieved with 8 from their division 1 team and one win each from their Division 5 and 3 teams. Sutton Coldfield's 9 successes have been achieved with 6 from their division 1 team and 1 win each by their division’s 4 and 2 teams. The success of the Terrill led naturally on to the introduction in 1963 of the Dudley M. Townshend Trophy for teams in division 4 and below. South Birmingham with 6 victories and
St James, & Sutton Coldfield with 5 have been the most successful to date, with each club also winning three years in succession. Two plate competitions, for first round losers, have also proved popular. The Gerald Homer Memorial Trophy (1989 onwards) has South Birmingham at the top with 7 victories followed closely by Warley Quinborne with 6. The Jim Barrington Memorial Trophy (1986 onwards) has been won 4 times by South Birmingham, and 3 by Redditch, Kingstanding & Sutton Coldfield.
  THE LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT,          
The tabs above will jump to the desired section. The Triangles (▲) will return to Here Season  General Secretary Records Secretary President Treasurer Grading  Rules  Match Individual Lightning Rapidplay Summer Lge Bulletin / Records Web Master Season Sutton Coldfield 10 University Birmingham 8 University Birmingham 8 University Birmingham 7 Sutton Coldfield 6 Sutton Coldfield 4 1 Assay Office ❸ 12 1924 ~ 1925              
1897-1898 W.Renwick J.H.Latham Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1897-1898 Dudley 2 3 4 5 6 2 Erdington ❶ 8 1936 ~ 1937     ❶ ❷   ❸ ❹   ❺ ❻   ❼ ❽   ❾ ❿  
IN THE BEGINNING 1898-1899 W.Renwick F.W.Lowe Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1898-1899 St George's Bohemian 3 4 5 6 3 Wolverhampton Kipping ❹ 9 1946 ~ 1947              
  Contemporary chess players may imagine that there were no organised chess activities in Birmingham prior to the formation of The League in 1897. This is far from the truth however. Alan Brookes in his publication ' The First 75 Years ' discovered an obituary to Philidor in the Birmingham Gazette of the 7th of September 1795 where it stated that this famous player had been a member of the celebrated Chess Club since 1765, suggesting that the club, whose name was not given had been in existence for some time already, even at this early date! The Birmingham (Midland Institute) Chess Club was formed in 1851 and apparently in the period leading up to the turn of the century the number of clubs rose to 40! Whilst during this period there were no league activities chess enthusiasts took part in internal club competitions, informal inter-club matches and matches between cities. Matches were played by Birmingham against for example Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, and London. Organised county matches were being run and there were also a number of regular congresses and national tournaments in existence. There were many visits by international masters and lesser players, who provided simultaneous displays, talks etc. The local press gave far more space to chess than it does today. The Birmingham Daily Post had a column every day of the week and there was also coverage in The Birmingham Daily Gazette, The Birmingham Daily Mail and the Weekly Mercury. From The Birmingham Daily Post Aug 23 1858 we learn of the visit to England by Paul Morphy and his attempts to stage a match with Staunton. Whilst he was attempting this he was playing matches against others, including a 26 game match against a Mr. Barnes of The St. George's Club, which resulted in 19 wins to Morphy and 7 to Barnes, indicating that the local talent was considerable, even then. The issue of the following day reported the start of the Annual Congress of The British Chess Association in the library and board room of Queen's College. The Championship appeared to be a 16 player knockout and seemed to over run the time allotted. (Did this pre-date the use of clocks?)   Reference is made to The 1st Cambridge v Oxford Chess Match in The Birmingham Daily Mail of Saturday 23rd March 1873 apparently won by Oxford by 9 games to 3. The Weekly Mercury of October 2nd 1897 is of particular interest. The following quote gives a hint of events leading up to the formation of The League, "Following the successful visit of Herr Lasker to Birmingham in March last, and, we understand, as the direct outcome of that visit, a Midland Counties Chess Association has been called into existence, which numbers already some 2000 members; and now a Birmingham and District Chess League has been formed, to which all important clubs in the neighbourhood have attached themselves. The senior clubs in Birmingham are busy with their preparations for the ensuing season, and the Birmingham Central Chess Club, to whom the initiative of Herr. Lasker's visit was entirely due, are holding their annual meeting on Monday next October 4 ". W.H.Dry in his Fifty Years of The League, pin-points a meeting on August 31st 1897, at the Central Chess Club, at the London Restaurant in Corporation Street, where five pioneers set the League in motion. These five were, Mr. A.J. Mackenzie (St. George's Club), Mr J.P. Derrington (Y.M.C.A. Club), Mr. A.H. Davies and Mr. W.G. Renwick (Central Club) and Mr Ridgers (Bohemians Club). 1899-1900 R.A.Benoy J.Hilton Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1899-1900 St George's Erdington 3 4 5 6 4 City ❷ 11 1947 ~ 1948              
1900-1901 F.H.Guest J.Hilton Treasurer Grading
Rules
Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1900-1901 St George's Redditch 3 4 5 6 5 Solihull ❷ 11 1949 ~ 1950              
1901-1902 F.H.Guest J.Hilton Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1901-1902 St George's Bohemian Oratory 4 5 6 6 Sutton Coldfield ❷ 11 1951 ~ 1952              
1902-1903 F.H.Guest A.J.Mackenzie Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1902-1903 Bohemian Bohemian Westminster 4 5 6 7 Hodge Hill ❷ 13 1963 ~ 1964              
1903-1904 J.W.Wilder-F.H.Guest H.T.Per Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1903-1904 Wolverhampton Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) Westminster 4 5 6 8 Handsworth Wood ❺ 12 1964 ~ 1965              
1904-1905 J.W.Wilder-F.H.Guest D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1904-1905 City Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) Bohemian 4 5 6 9 Sutton Coldfield ❺ 13 1965 ~ 1966              
1905-1906 J.W.Wilder-F.H.Guest D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1905-1906 City St George's Bohemian 4 5 6 10 Midlands Projects Group ❻ 11 1966 ~ 1967              
1906-1907 J.W.Wilder-F.H.Guest D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1906-1907 Bohemian Bohemian Westminster 4 5 6 11 St James ❼ 13 1975 ~ 1976              
1907-1908 J.W.Wilder-F.H.Guest D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1907-1908 City Walsall Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) 4   6 12 Redditch ❷ 12 1976 ~ 1977              
1908-1909 J.W.Wilder-P.Allender D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1908-1909 Sparkhill Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) 4 5 6 13 St James ❹ 13 1976 ~ 1977              
1909-1910 J.W.Wilder-P.Allender D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1909-1910 Bohemian Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) Sparkhill 4 5 6 14 Bushbury ❺ 12 1976 ~ 1977              
1910-1911 J.W.Wilder-P.Allender D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1910-1911 Bohemian Dudley Acocks Green 4 5 6 15 Bromsgrove ❻ 13 1977 ~ 1978              
1911-1912 J.W.Wilder-P.Allender D.Russell Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1911-1912 City Acock's Green Cosmopolitan 4 5 6 16 St James ❷ 12 1978 ~ 1979              
1912-1913 J.W.Wilder-P.Allender J.A.Hanbury Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1912-1913 Bohemian Acock's Green P.O.Stores Dept. 4 5 6 17 St James ❻ 12 1980 ~ 1981              
1913-1914 J.W.Wilder-P.Allender A.Mason Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1913-1914 Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) Acock's Green Walsall 4 5 6 18 Halesowen-A ❼ 12 1981 ~ 1982     BDCL Individual Winners & Runners up ♘ BDCL Individual Winners & Runners up ♘ BDCL Individual Winners & Runners up ♘ ♘ BDCL Individual Winners & Runners up ♘ BDCL Individual Winners & Runners up ♘
1914-1915 J.W.Wilder-H.W.Clark A.Mason Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1914-1915 Bohemian Walsall Not-enough-entries  4 5 6 19 University of Birmingham ❿ 9 1981 ~ 1982  
LEAGUE COMPETITIONS, 1919-1920 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry J.H.Latham Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1919-1920 Bohemian Walsall Not-enough-entries  4 5 6 20 Olton ❸ 12 1983 ~ 1984   By Division Individual Division ❶ Open Individual Division ❷ By Division Individual Division ❸ Individual Division ❹ By Division Individual Division ❺ Individual Division ❻ By Division Player Individual Division ❼ Individual Division ❽ Player Individual  Division ❾  Individual Division ❿ Player
  The first League Championship was won by Dudley in 1898 currently out of our competitions. By 1902 the League had grown to one operating three divisions and having survived a stoppage of four years during the 1914-18 war prospered to such an extent that a fourth division was added in 1925. The League grew in strength through the 1950s and in 1959 Divisions 5, 6 and 7 were added to rationalise the Division 4 North and Division 4 South and to cope with additional teams. A further surge in the number of registered players occurred in the mid 1970s in the wake of the 1972 Fischer Spassky World Title Match. Division 8 (1973), Division 9 (1974) and Division 10 (1976) were added coupled with the introduction of 8 board rather than 6 board teams for Division 1 to 5. Since 1990, however, the number of registered players has fallen and the League has reverted to 6 board matches for all divisions except the bottom Division which has 4 board matches. In the lower divisions it is now impossible for teams to achieve back to back wins in a particular division since promotion has been automatic since 1962. Following a run of four victories by St George's 1899-1902 the dominant club over the next 26 years, was Bohemians, who won the title 12 times. They folded up in 1931 and Birmingham and Erdington became the major forces either side of World War 2, Erdington in 1936-37 achieved 100% in Div 1, Kynoch (1954-2005) have the most consecutive appearances in the first division 51 Years. Kynoch (1981-85) & South Birmingham (2006-10) have established the most consecutive victories 5. Birmingham University (1953-56) & Wolverhampton Kipping (1969-72) have 4 consecutive victories. Walsall Kipping (2003-05) has 3 consecutive victories. Since the Millennium South Birmingham has been the dominant force with 8 titles in 16 years also achieving 100% (2014-15). South Birmingham is the only clubs to have fielded four teams in the first division (2016-17). No one has yet matched Bohemians 12 League Championships; the chasing clubs are Birmingham 10, Kynoch & Sutton Coldfield 9, South Birmingham 8, Mutual Circle, Bushbury & Walsall Kipping 5 League Championships. 1920-1921 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry G.Pinson Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1920-1921 Birmingham University of Birmingham Harborne 4 5 6 21 South Birmingham ❺ 12 1985 ~ 1986   Player 9 : J.Edge ( Halesowen ) 5 : J.Mildenhall ( Various ) & K.R.Ingram ( Various ) Player 3 :  H.W.Brockbank ( Various ) & A.Cottom ( Olton ) 11 : L.Collier ( Various ) Player 5½ : K.A.J.Francis ( Various )  2 Wins 1 Runners up : P.G.Partridge ( South Birmingham ) Player Club 2 : K.J.Langston ( Various ) & D.W.Pugh ( Various ) 1 Win 1 Runners Up : W.Peck ( Halesowen ) & D.W.Pugh ( St. James ) Club 1 Win 1 Runners Up : R.Scott ( Warley Quinborne ) 1 Win :16 Players Club
1921-1922 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry E.Harris Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1921-1922 Bohemian Soho Hill Birmingham 4 5 6 22 Stourbridge ❿ 10 1986 ~ 1987   Club Warley Quinborne 14½  Sutton Coldfield 9  Club Mutual Circle  13 West Midlands Municipal 8½ Club Sutton Coldfield 11 Olton 7 Club Season Halesowen 5 Olton & South Birmingham 4 Season St. James & Warley Quinborne 3 St. James 3 Season
1922-1923 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry P.H.Vaughton Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1922-1923 Bohemian Birmingham Harborne Red Triangle 4 5 6 23 Bushbury ❻ 9 1987 ~ 1988   Season Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Season Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Season Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Season By Division Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up By Division Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up Winners           Shared = ½           Runners Up By Division
1923-1924 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry F.J.Burgoyne Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1923-1924 Kings Norton West Bromwich  University of Birmingham 4 5 6 24 South Staffordshire ❾ 11 1989 ~ 1990   1923-1924 R.H.Bridgewater ( YMCA ) L.D.S.Hudson ( YMCA ) O.T.Bailey ( Erdington ) W.E.Evans ( Erdington ) 1923-1924 W.Smith ( Harborne ) P.H.Vaughan ( City ) 4 4 1923-1924 5 5 6 6 1923-1924 1958-1959 N.E.Parry ( Lozells ) R.G.Parsons ( Handsworth Wood ) 8 8 1958-1959 9 9 10 10 1958-1959
1924-1925 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry F.Tillyard Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1924-1925 Bohemian Wolverhampton Assay Office Wolverhampton Y.M.C.A. 5 6 25 Sutton Coldfield ❾ 11 1990 ~ 1991   1924-1925 No contest No contest 1924-1925 A.H.McGregor ( Mutual Circle ) P.E.Holden ( Mutual Circle ) 4 4 1924-1925 5 5 6 6 1924-1925 1959-1960 B.N.Winchurch ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.G.Parsons ( Handsworth Wood ) 8 8 1959-1960 9 9 10 10 1959-1960
1925-1926 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry G.P.Smith Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1925-1926 Birmingham P.O.Stores Dept. Y.M.C.A. (Dale End) Mutual Circle-A 5 6 26 University of Birmingham ❹ 11 1991 ~ 1992   1925-1926 No contest R.Blow ( Birmingham ) Not Known 1925-1926 P.E.Holden ( Mutual Circle) T.E.Reeve ( Mutual Circle ) 4 4 1925-1926 5 5 6 6 1925-1926 1960-1961 R.Sly ( Midland Electricity Board ) R.H.Burton ( Hodge Hill ) 8 8 1960-1961 9 9 10 10 1960-1961
1926-1927 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry W.Harrison Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1926-1927 Bohemian Stourbridge Mutual Circle University of Birmingham 5 6 27 West Midlands Municipal ❹ 11 1992 ~ 1993   1926-1927 E.B.Conway ( Bohemians ) Not Known R.Abraham ( City ) Not Known 1926-1927 T.E.Reeve ( Mutual Circle ) Not Known 4 4 1926-1927 5 5 6 6 1926-1927 1961-1962 R.T.Shenton ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.Arnold ( Sutton Coldfield ) 8 8 1961-1962 9 9 10 10 1961-1962
1927-1928 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry W.J.Stych Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1927-1928 Wolverhampton Erdington Erdington Wolverhampton 5 6 28 West Warwickshire Solihull ❾ 11 1993 ~ 1994   1927-1928 No contest No contest 1927-1928 No contest 4 4 1927-1928 5 5 6 6 1927-1928 1962-1963 M.Kilgallen ( Weslyan & General ) E.Turton ( Birmingham ) 8 8 1962-1963 9 9 10 10 1962-1963
1928-1929 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry F.J.Roden Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1928-1929 Bohemian Mutual Circle Erdington Erdington 5 6 29 Solihull Youth ❽ 10 1995 ~ 1996   1928-1929 No contest W.R.Morry ( Bohemians ) W.H.Teale ( Assay ) 1928-1929 A.G.Burbidge ( Dunlop ) R.H.Sparks ( Mutual ) 4 4 1928-1929 5 5 6 6 1928-1929 1963-1964 J.A.Crump ( Lucas ) P.Poole ( Quinborne ) 8 8 1963-1964 9 9 10 10 1963-1964
1929-1930 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry E.B.Conway Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1929-1930 Wolverhampton Birmingham Mutual Circle Mutual Circle 5 6 30 Halesowen-A ❼ 8 2001 ~ 2002   1929-1930 W.R.Morry ( Erdington ) Not Known J.W.Martin ( Erdington ) A.H.McGregor ( Mutual Circle ) 1929-1930 R.F.Bateson ( Mutual Circle ) S.J.Thompson ( Bournville ) 4 4 1929-1930 5 5 6 6 1929-1930 1964-1965 J.R.Clark ( Midland Project Group ) K.Brown ( Sutton Coldfield ) 8 8 1964-1965 9 9 10 10 1964-1965
KNOCKOUT TROPHIES, 1930-1931 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry P.Allender Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1930-1931 Erdington P.O.Stores Dept. West Bromwich  Hoskins & Sewell 5 6 31 Westminster ❹ 11 2010 ~ 2011   1930-1931 W.R.Morry ( Erdington ) Not Known C.A.James ( Post Office ) W.H.Teale ( Assay ) 1930-1931 J.K.Ault ( University of Birmingham ) J.H.McLaughlin ( Erdington ) 4 4 1930-1931 5 5 6 6 1930-1931 1965-1966 H.Horsman ( South Birmingham ) A.Leether ( Kynoch ) 8 8 1965-1966 9 9 10 10 1965-1966
  The Frank H. Terrill Memorial Trophy, a magnificent ornate rose bowl of sterling silver was introduced in 1938 and its knockout handicap format has always ensured a keenly contested competition. Mutual Circle were the first winners and have won (6) times since, their victories have been achieved by teams drawn from Divisions 1 to 4 whereas South Birmingham's (10) Successes have been achieved with 8 from their division 1 team and one win each from their division 5 and 3 teams. Sutton Coldfield's 9 successes have been achieved with 6 from their division 1 team and 1 win each by their division’s 4 and 2 teams. The success of the Terrill led naturally on to the introduction in 1963 of the Dudley M. Townshend Trophy for teams in division 4 and below. South Birmingham with 6 victories and t James, & Sutton Coldfield with 5 have been the most successful to date, with each club also winning three years in succession. Two plate competitions, for first round losers, have also proved popular. The Gerald Homer Memorial Trophy (1989 onwards) has South Birmingham at the top with 7 victories followed closely by Warley Quinborne with 6. The Jim Barrington Memorial Trophy (1986 onwards) has been won 4 times by South Birmingham, and 3 by Redditch, Kingstanding & Sutton Coldfield. 1931-1932 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry D.W.Wooldridge Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1931-1932 Coventry West Bromwich  Dunlop Not-enough-entries  5 6 32 South Birmingham ❻ 11 2012 ~ 2013   BDCL Trophy Winners 1931-1932 A.Reynolds ( Erdington ) Not Known J.Trevaskis ( West Bromwich ) W.H.Teale ( Assay ) 1931-1932 J.K.Ault ( University of Birmingham ) G.H.Hunter ( West Bromwich ) 4 4 1931-1932 5 5 6 6 1931-1932 1966-1967 K.I.Speakman ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.Wasserburg ( Aston University ) 8 8 1966-1967 9 9 10 10 1966-1967
1932-1933 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry W.S.Smith Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1932-1933 Birmingham West Bromwich  Dunlop Dunlop 5 6 33 South Birmingham-A ❶ 12 2014 ~ 2015   1932-1933 W.R.Morry ( Erdington ) A.H.McGregor ( Mutual Circle ) A.G.Burbidge ( Dunlop ) J.B.Round ( West Bromwich ) 1932-1933 R.D.Smith ( North Birmingham ) R.S.Hodgetts ( Erdington ) L.V.Green ( Dunlop ) A.C.Priest ( Dunlop ) 1932-1933 5 5 6 6 1932-1933 1967-1968 S.H.Lloyd ( Midlands Project Group ) J.R.Moseley ( Kynoch ) 8 8 1967-1968 9 9 10 10 1967-1968
1933-1934 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry T.W.Bladon Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1933-1934 Birmingham City Bearwood Baptist Magnet Works 5 6 34 South Birmingham-A ❻ 11 2014 ~ 2015   Frank H. Terrill Trophy Gerald Homer Plate Dudley M. Townshend  Jim Barrington Plate 1933-1934 A.Reynolds ( Erdington ) G.Farrell ( Walsall ) O.T.Bailey ( Erdington ) G.Farrell ( Walsall ) 1933-1934 A.C.Priest ( Dunlop ) R.S.Hodgetts ( Erdington ) T.E.Keay ( City ) H.Webb ( Dunlop ) 1933-1934 5 5 6 6 1933-1934 1968-1969 M.Reynolds ( Sutton C,field Corporation ) V.Turner ( Olton ) 8 8 1968-1969 9 9 10 10 1968-1969
1934-1935 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry H.L.Hobbs Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1934-1935 Erdington Birmingham Wolverhampton Harrison Works 5 6 35 Rushall ❻ 11 2015 ~ 2016 Most Won South Birmingham 10 South Birmingham 7 South Birmingham 6 South Birmingham 4 1934-1935 W.H.Teale ( Assay )      Shared     A.H.McGregor ( Mutual Circle )  J.C.Devonshire ( City ) G.Farrell ( Walsall ) 1934-1935 T.E.Keay ( City  ) J.W.Owen ( Harborne ) C.W.Bullows ( Erdington ) W.T.Selvey  1934-1935 5 5 6 6 1934-1935 1969-1970 A.F.Brookes ( Sutton C,field Corporation ) S.Cawser ( Kynoch ) 8 8 1969-1970 9 9 10 10 1969-1970
1935-1936 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry D.S.Marriott Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1935-1936 Mutual Circle Birmingham City Dunlop 5 6 36 University of Birmingham ❻ 11 2017 ~ 2018 ► Sutton Coldfield 9 Warley Quinborne 6 Sutton Coldfield 5   St James 5  SC'field 3  Red 3  K'stdg 3 1935-1936 R.Blow ( Birmingham ) W.R.Morry ( Erdington ) T.W.Bladon ( Mutual  Circle ) A.T.Harden ( Birmingham ) 1935-1936 T.J.Hindley ( Mutual  Circle ) A.Cook ( City of Birmingham ) A.Rose ( Mutual Circle ) R.Roe ( West Birmingham ) 1935-1936 5 5 6 6 1935-1936 1970-1971 P.L.Arnold ( Kynoch ) W.White ( Bakerlite ) 8 8 1970-1971 9 9 10 10 1970-1971
1936-1937 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry W.E.Evans Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1936-1937 Erdington Birmingham Mutual Circle Mutual Circle 5 6 37 Redditch ❹ 10 2018 ~ 2019 Season Winners Winners Winners Winners 1936-1937 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.Blow ( Birmingham ) J.C.Devonshire ( City ) H.E.Weston ( Erdington ) 1936-1937 B.S.Walker ( Mutual  Circle)  R.J.Sandoz ( Perrystanding ) E.C.Tranter ( Harrisons ) J.W.Ryder ( Mutual Circle ) 1936-1937 5 5 6 6 1936-1937 1971-1972 D.Pickering ( Lucas ) P.Manders ( Lucas ) 8 8 1971-1972 9 9 10 10 1971-1972
1937-1938 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry C.A.James Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1937-1938 Erdington Mutual Circle City Insurance Institute 5 6 38 Sutton Coldfield ❺ 13 2024 ~ 2025 1937-1938 Mutual Circle-2 Homer Townshend Barrington 1937-1938 No contest No contest 1937-1938 No contest No contest 1937-1938 5 5 6 6 1937-1938 1972-1973 C.Brunna ( Wolseley ) L.Satterthwaite ( Olton ) 8 8 1972-1973 9 9 10 10 1972-1973
THE LEAGUE INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT, 1938-1939 H.W.Clark-W.H.Dry W.H.Parsons Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1938-1939 Wolverhampton Smethwick Perrystanding University of Birmingham 5 6 1938-1939 Perrystanding-3 Homer Townshend Barrington 1938-1939 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.Reynolds ( Erdington ) E.G.Luck ( Mutual  Circle ) E.H.Williams ( Mutual Circle ) 1938-1939 E.G.Knight ( Birmingham ) K.J.Hickin ( Smethwick ) F.W.Wynne ( Morris Cars ) W.L.Cole ( Mutual Circle ) 1938-1939 5 5 6 6 1938-1939 1973-1974 W.Edwards ( Wolseley ) B.Hitchin ( South Birmingham ) C.B.Jones ( Birmingham ) D.W.Pugh ( St. James ) 1973-1974 9 9 10 10 1973-1974
To anyone who has been around in the Birmingham League for any length of time, it is impossible to think of the Individual Competition, without thinking of Jack Nurcombe.  It was his domain for 35 years! In the Annual Report for the 1987-88 seasons, the General Secretary, David Thomas, said amongst other things, "One of the first warnings of the impending arrival of Christmas would be the telephone call reminding a scatter-brained secretary that his club's entries for the individual were due." By this means Jack maximised the entries. When all was complete, there would be his masterly report on its outcome. Crisp, clear, full of facts and to the point. Even when he was fighting his terminal illness, he ran the competition as efficiently as ever. At the end of the 1982-83 seasons he would have reported that John Hawthorne and Baruch H Wood had shared the Division 1 Individual Title, and that this was John's first success, and that Baruch ( Sutton Coldfield ) had won a record number of 9 times. John Edge (Halesowen) 7 times then Andy Southall (Warley Quinborne)5½ wins five in a row, W.R.Morry has won 4 times having appeared in his first final in 1929-30 and his last in 1969-70, also 4 times P.J.Oakley and K.R.Ingram who also has 3 Division 2 Titles. In the lower divisions, one name stands out above all, L.E.Collier with no fewer than 14 titles to his name, two gained in Division 3 and a full dozen in Division 4. K.A.J.Francis has 7 successes, six in division 5 and one in Division 4. H.W.Brockbank has 6, across a number of divisions, including Division 1.  Clicking the following link will take you to the Seasons tab where a full list of BDCL club Honours can be found as well as other historical data. BDCL Seasons Past (birminghamchess.org.uk) 1945-1946 B.H.Wood-W.H.Dry J.W.Owen Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1945-1946 Mutual Circle Smethwick Wolverhampton Mutual Circle 5 6 1945-1946 Mutual Circle-4 Homer Townshend Barrington 1945-1946 D.N.Simmons ( Dunlop ) N.M.Bouckley ( Mutual Circle ) J.Graham ( Birmingham Small Arms ) F.A.Evers ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1945-1946 E.Lowe ( Lucas ) A.Watson ( Smethwick ) F.L.Jobb ( Pheasey ) C.R.Cull ( Mutual  Circle ) 1945-1946 5 5 6 6 1945-1946 1974-1975 M.Hoare ( Lichfield ) D.W.Love ( West Midlands Police ) D.W.Pugh ( St. James ) M.Robinson ( Solihull Lodge ) 1974-1975 J.F.Williams ( Birmingham Deaf ) S.R.Laight ( Birmingham Deaf ) 10 10 1974-1975
1946-1947 B.H.Wood-W.H.Dry C.E.Lea Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1946-1947 Sutton Coldfield Lucas West Bromwich  Wolverhampton Kipping 5 6 1946-1947  City-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1946-1947 R.Blow ( City ) N.M.Bouckley ( Mutual Circle ) F.A.Evers ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.Watson ( Smethwick ) 1946-1947 G.Argyle ( City of Birmingham ) W.H.Cook ( Lucas ) A.Anthony ( City ) G.Beetham ( Pheasey ) 1946-1947 5 5 6 6 1946-1947 1975-1976 D.W.Pugh ( St. James ) B.D.Pedley ( Birlec ) P.Nightingale ( Tamworth ) F.A.Burcher ( Golden Hillock ) 1975-1976 I.Truscott ( St. James ) R.G.Parkes ( Lucas ) 10 10 1975-1976
1947-1948 T.W.Bladon-W.H.Dry R.Blow Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1947-1948 Mutual Circle City Wolverhampton Kipping Lozells 5 6 1947-1948 Mutual Circle-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1947-1948 W.R.Morry ( Erdington ) C.R.Cull ( Mutual Circle ) A.E.Thompson ( City ) H.E.Burbidge ( Perrystanding ) 1947-1948 J.Alexander ( Erdington ) A.J.Whitehouse ( Erdington ) W.A.Clarke ( Mutual Circle ) H.Cattell ( Olton ) 1947-1948 5 5 6 6 1947-1948 1976-1977 J.Fennell ( Warley ) S.Smith ( Warley ) E.Maciel ( Wolseley ) L.Truscott ( St. James ) 1976-1977 J.Burke ( Tucker Fastener ) M.J.Rothery (Birm.Telephone Area) J.Lakin ( Tucker Faseners ) B.Steeles ( East Birmingham ) 1976-1977
1948-1949 T.W.Bladon-W.H.Dry B.H.Wood From 1897-1951 the League was run by Joint Secretaries Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1948-1949 Wolverhampton West Bromwich  Solihull Solihull 5 6 1948-1949 Sutton Coldfield-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1948-1949 N.M.Bouckley ( Mutual Circle ) F.A.Evers ( Sutton Coldfield ) D.J.Youston ( Kynoch ) L.Coton ( University of Birmingham ) 1948-1949 R.S.Sweeney ( Solihull ) P.Manders ( General Electric Company ) K.D.Barbour ( Wilmot Breeden ) F.R.Bunch ( Walsall ) 1948-1949 5 5 6 6 1948-1949 1977-1978 D.W.Pugh ( Queen Elizabeth Centre ) P.D.Middleton ( Quinborne ) S.R.Laight ( Birmingham Deaf ) W.Compton ( Beetle ) 1977-1978 M.Maher ( Lichfield ) G.L.Johnson ( North Birmingham ) R.T.Farley ( Birmingham Telephone Area ) P.Gavin ( Osram ) 1977-1978
1949-1950 T.W.Bladon-H.L.Hobbs C.W.Bullows Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1949-1950 West Bromwich-B Solihull University of Birmingham Bournville 5 6 1949-1950 West Bromwich-1B Homer Townshend Barrington 1949-1950 A.Pickering ( West Bromwich ) B.S.Walker ( Mutual Circle ) P.J.Oakley ( University of Birmingham ) J.Eggington ( University of Birmingham ) 1949-1950 G.Parkes ( Mutual  Circle ) J.B.Phipps ( Mutual  Circle ) J.Homburg ( West Bromwich ) N.Sparks ( Mutual  Circle ) 1949-1950 5 5 6 6 1949-1950 1978-1979 G.B.Dawson ( 610 ) B.P.West ( Birmingham Poly. ) W.Peck ( Halesowen ) D.W.Nugent ( St. James ) 1978-1979 T.C.Bowsor ( Old Veseyans ) J.F.Barrington ( W Mids County C ) D.Hodkinson ( St. James ) R.Gill ( Kynoch ) 1978-1979
1950-1951 T.W.Bladon-H.L.Hobbs W.L.Williams Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1950-1951 Mutual Circle Bournville Mutual Circle Old Nortonians 5 6 1950-1951 Mutual Circle-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1950-1951 P.J.Oakley ( University of Birmingham ) J.H.Baines ( Walsall ) T.Jones ( Northfield ) L.E.Whitehouse ( Tame & Rea ) 1950-1951 H.Hollingshead ( Mutual Circle ) F.E.Banford ( Smethwick ) C.F.Hind ( Old Nortonians ) K.D.Barbour ( Wilmot Breeden ) 1950-1951 5 5 6 6 1950-1951 1979-1980 K.Dickens ( Warley Quinborne ) G.King ( Handsworth Wood ) R.Olley ( Dunlop ) G.Hale ( Birm. Telephone Area ) 1979-1980 P.Stevens ( Lichfield ) J.F.Barrington ( W Mids County C ) P.Briggs ( Tamworth ) K.M.Brown ( Olton ) 1979-1980
1951-1952 E.Harper B.H.Wood I.Boodson R.F.Bateson Grading I.Boodson A.L.Albini J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1951-1952 Mutual Circle Sutton Coldfield Old Nortonians Lozells 5 6 1951-1952 University Birmingham-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1951-1952 P.J.Oakley ( University of Birmingham ) J.B.Phipps ( Mutual Circle ) B.Cafferty ( University of Birmingham ) E.G.Luck ( Mutual  Circle ) 1951-1952 D.F.Griffiths ( Old Nortonians ) R.S.Hodgetts ( Walsall Kipping ) J.Turks ( Bournville )            Shared           B.A.Handy ( Mutual  Circle ) 1951-1952 5 5 6 6 1951-1952 1980-1981 D.Mason ( Solihull Lodge ) M.Connor ( Handsworth Wood ) L.Priest ( Drayton Bassett ) W.Peck ( Halesowen ) 1980-1981 C.Billinge ( Halesowen ) R.A.Hall ( Lichfield ) A.Raeburn ( Warley Quinborne ) J.Pakenham ( Warley Quinborne ) 1980-1981
1952-1953 E.Harper B.H.Wood E.H.Williams R.F.Bateson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1952-1953 University of Birmingham University of Birmingham Wolverhampton Kipping Austin 5 6 1952-1953 University Birmingham-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1952-1953 B.Cafferty ( University of Birmingham ) J.H.Baines ( Walsall ) R.A.Smith ( University of Birmingham ) R.A.Wilson ( Mutual Circle ) 1952-1953 J.H.Watts ( University of Birmingham ) M.Gregory ( University of Birmingham ) B.Lovett ( University of Birmingham ) A.Bates ( Austin Motor ) 1952-1953 5 5 6 6 1952-1953 1981-1982 W.Peck ( Halesowen ) M.Connor ( R.A.O.B.) M.Hemming ( Solihull Lodge ) C.Oseman ( Solihull Lodge ) 1981-1982 F.Morton ( St. James ) J.Priest ( Drayton Bassett ) B.McLoughlin ( University of Birmingham ) J.W.Higgs ( Chelmsley Wood ) 1981-1982
1953-1954 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood E.Harper I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1953-1954 University of Birmingham Kingstanding City New Road-A 5 6 1953-1954 Mutual Circle-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1953-1954 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) L.G.Green ( City ) H.H.Nash ( Birmingham ) E.Rasmussen ( Northfield ) 1953-1954 C.Hammersley ( City ) R.Peek ( University of Birmingham ) M.Margetts ( New Road ) M.Alcock ( Walsall Kipping ) 1953-1954 5 5 6 6 1953-1954 1982-1983 A.Callaghan ( Mutual Circle ) M.Hollis ( Drayton Bassett ) P.Whately ( West Midlands County C. ) B.J.Edgdell ( University of Birmingham ) 1982-1983 D.Bertram ( University of Birmingham ) D.A.Yeomans ( Ellisons ) M.A.Drugan ( Golden Hillock ) D.Potter ( Shard End ) 1982-1983
ORGANISATION, 1954-1955 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood R.J.Potter I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1954-1955 University of Birmingham Bournville Tame & Rea Walsall Kipping 5 6         1954-1955 University Birmingham-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1954-1955 P.C.Gibbs ( University of Birmingham ) D.J.Youston ( Kynoch ) No contest 1954-1955 J.M.Cudworth ( University of Birmingham ) T.E.Arnold ( Lozells ) W.J.Gordon ( Smethwick ) W.Wiater ( West Bromwich ) 1954-1955 5 5 6 6 1954-1955 1983-1984 J.Pollard ( Halesowen ) M.Clark ( Warley Quinborne ) T.Huxtable ( Solihull Lodge ) R.Millward ( Solihull Lodge ) 1983-1984 D.Potter ( Chelmsley Wood ) S.R.Wilcox ( Rushall ) S.M.Harris ( Rushall ) R.Murdock ( South Birmingham ) 1983-1984
 When one looks back over the years it strikes you how extremely efficient the League has been run. The long stints in office by numerous officials have ensured stability and continuity. Of course a glance at the record of Officers of the League draws ones attention, to the massive double act of H.W.Clark and W.H.Dry, each of whom served as Joint Secretaries for 30 years, embracing the period just before World War 1 and just after World War 2.  It is clear also however, that there had been a number of significant contributions before this, notable amongst which was, J.W.Wilder's contribution of 12 years. Following the 1950-51 seasons the practice of appointing Joint Secretaries was changed to cope with the ever increasing administrative burden to a General Secretary, Treasurer and a Records Secretary. In the years since this time we have only had four Treasurers and such is the commitment that no less than Nine officers, I.Boodson, A.E.Utton, K.J.Langston, H.W.Stanley, B.H.Wood, D.Rowe, D.R.Thomas, D.Brelsforth, and A.T.Woollaston, have served for ten years or more. D.R.Thomas who was General Secretary for 16 years (1987-2003)  has then been the BDCL Grading officer for the last 17 years. Clearly the officers need support and this is provided by a number of sub-committees namely Finance & General Purpose, Match, Rules, Tournament, Grading, Lightning Again chairmen have served for long stints and apart from Jack Nurcombe's previously mentioned 37 years, very significant contributions have also been made by H.K. Bailey, J.B. Jones, W.G. Powell, J.H. Baines, W.R. Morry, J.A. Crump, M.B.A. Walker, R. Tuckey, M. Biddle, T.W. Walker and K.G. Humphreys. 1955-1956 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood A.R.Chamberlain I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Bulletin Web Master 1955-1956 University of Birmingham Lozells Wolverhampton Kipping Sutton Coldfield 5 6 Minor Division Division ❼ Division ❽ Division ❾  Division ❿ 1955-1956 University Birmingham-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1955-1956 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.C.Gibbs ( University of Birmingham ) G.N.Stokes ( Solihull ) N.Packwood ( South Birmingham ) 1955-1956 J.A.Lawrence ( Kynoch ) J.Homer ( Osler ) B.Lewis ( Kynoch ) G.Hall ( Cliffords ) 1955-1956 5 5 6 6 1955-1956 1984-1985 A.Priest ( Halesowen ) P.Cross ( Warley Quinborne ) B.Homewood ( Lichfield ) K.J.Booth ( Rushall ) 1984-1985 R.Grimes ( Halesowen ) S.Singh ( W.Mids County Council ) P.N.Davis ( Lickey Banker ) P.J.Connel ( Wythall )  1984-1985
1956-1957 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood P.McRobbie I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1956-1957 Sutton Coldfield The Circle Hodge Hill A Hodge Hill 5 6 Solihull 3 St James 5 South Birmingham 4 St James 2 St James 4 1956-1957 Bournville-2 Homer Townshend Barrington 1956-1957 G.Parkes ( Mutual  Circle ) C.Hammersley ( City ) E.Rasmussen ( Mutual Circle   F.Clough ( Circle ) 1956-1957 D.J.Strude ( Smethwick ) H.Taylor ( Quinbourne ) A.J.Coley ( Smethwick ) K.G.Quicke ( City ) 1956-1957 5 5 6 6 1956-1957 1985-1986 R.Bettam ( Chelmsley Wood ) G.Henson ( West Mids. County C.) K.J.Langston ( St. James ) A.Cope ( South Birmingham ) 1985-1986 R.N.Robey ( Ellisons ) P.N.Davis ( Wythall ) S.Laight ( Birmingham Deaf ) D.Watson ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1985-1986
1957-1958 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood S.G.Temple  I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1957-1958 Erdington Smethwick Walsall Kipping Handsworth 5 6 Coleshill 2 Halesowen 4 Walsall Kipping 3 North Birmingham 2   1957-1958 Walsall Kipping-2 Homer Townshend Barrington 1957-1958 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.J.Oakley ( Sutton Coldfield ) G.Homer ( West Bromwich ) R.Whateley ( Birmingham ) 1957-1958 R.N.Lewis ( Handsworth ) R.Daniels ( Birmingham ) A.J.Whitehouse ( Erdington ) C.Barker ( General Electric Company ) 1957-1958 5 5 6 6 1957-1958 1986-1987 J.Lane ( St. James ) S.Briscoe ( East Birmingham ) R.Crawford ( West Warwickshire ) M.P.Duffy ( South Yardley ) 1986-1987 T.Sowerby ( St. James ) N.Booth ( West Warwickshire ) R.Mihaylon ( St. James ) A.Maddock ( Tamworth ) 1986-1987
1958-1959 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood K.S.Rock I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1958-1959 Sutton Coldfield University of Birmingham Walsall Kipping-A Lozells Sutton Coldfield Mutual Circle Minor Hodge Hill-B 8 9 10 1958-1959 Hodge Hill-2 Homer Townshend Barrington 1958-1959 P.J.Oakley ( Sutton Coldfield ) E.G.Ansell ( City ) P.J.Hamblet ( West Bromwich ) J.D.Wincer ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1958-1959 R.N.Lewis ( Handsworth ) P.Manders ( General Electric Company ) E.V.Wileman ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.Hardy ( Lozells ) 1958-1959 C.N.Jeffries ( Sutton Coldfield ) B.Homer ( Smethwick ) D.I.Pinches ( Wesleyan & General ) A.Hatfield ( Mutual Circle ) 1958-1959 1987-1988 K.J.Langston ( St. James ) A.M.Friday ( South Yardley ) G.Morris ( Stourbridge ) P.Tomkins ( Wythall ) 1987-1988 T.Russell ( Olton ) B.Dawson ( Kynoch ) A.Ireland ( St. James ) J.Francis ( Warley Quinborne ) 1987-1988
1959-1960 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood A.L.Albini I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1959-1960 Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield Lucas Sutton Coldfield Hodge Hill Lozells Minor Handsworth 8 9 10 1959-1960 Lozells-6 Homer Townshend Barrington 1959-1960 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.J.Oakley ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.J.Clunie ( West Bromwich )    Shared    E.V.Wileman ( Sutton Coldfield )  1959-1960 J.Brookes ( Smethwick ) B.P.Wall ( General Electric Company ) R.Whateley ( Birmingham ) J.B.Ryder ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1959-1960  J.A.Wyatt ( South Birmingham )   Shared   J.H.Whatley ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.J.Tyler ( Erdington ) A.Leese ( Kynoch ) 1959-1960 1988-1989 R.Collett ( St. James ) P.Tinald ( St. James ) A.Russell ( Olton )    Shared    J Tonkiss ( Chelmsley Wood ) 1988-1989 A.Cottom ( East Birmingham ) T.Merritt ( South Birmingham ) A.Golden ( Ellisons )      Shared       R.N.Robey ( Ellisons ) 1988-1989
1960-1961 H.W.Stanley B.H.Wood J.A.Nurcombe I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1960-1961 Birmingham Kingstanding Mutual Circle Kingstanding Tubes Hodge Hill Minor Golden Hillock-A 8 9 10 1960-1961 Sutton Coldfield-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1960-1961 D.W.Anderton ( Wolverhampton Kipping ) W.R.Morry ( Erdington ) E.V.Wileman ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.J.Jones  (Lucas ) 1960-1961 J.D.L.Ball ( Mutual Circle ) W.G.Powell ( Wesleyan & General ) B.H.Turner ( Austin Motor ) C.A.Evans ( Midland Electricity Board ) 1960-1961 H.Clark ( Kynoch ) J.Carley ( South Birmingham ) M.McMullen ( Hodge Hill ) E.Parr ( Aston Chain & Hook ) 1960-1961 1989-1990 B.Cunningham ( Tamworth ) N.Parker ( Rushall ) P.Finglass ( Olton ) C.Weaver ( Chelmsley Wood ) 1989-1990 J.B.Lewis ( Warley Quinborne ) R.Scott ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Parker ( Warley Quinborne ) T.Fox ( Warley Quinborne ) 1989-1990
1961-1962 P.McRobbie B.H.Wood F.A.Baxter I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1961-1962 Birmingham Walsall Kipping Walsall Kipping Smethwick Mutual Circle Golden Hillock Minor Sutton Coldfield 8 9 10 1961-1962 Sutton Coldfield-1 Homer Townshend Barrington 1961-1962 O.M.Hindle ( Sutton Coldfield ) J.A.Lawrence ( Kynoch ) G.W.Botteley ( South Birmingham ) N.E.Parry ( Lozells ) 1961-1962 J.Dominay ( Wesleyan & General ) J.Brookes ( Smethwick ) R.J.M.Farley ( Lozells ) G.Johnstone ( Smethwick ) 1961-1962 F.M.Peters ( Sutton Coldfield ) K.G.Durnell ( Quinborne ) D.L.Johnson ( University of Birmingham ) P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) 1961-1962 1990-1991 G.Smye ( Olton ) E.Candelent ( North Birmingham ) A.Golden ( Ellisons )    Shared    K.Wakefield ( Ellisons ) 1990-1991 N.Clarke ( Sutton Coldfield ) D.Wingrove ( Lichfield ) No contest   1990-1991
1962-1963 P.McRobbie B.H.Wood H.W.Stanley I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones H.K.Bailey S.J.Thompson Lightning Rapidplay Summer League B.H.Wood Web Master 1962-1963 Sutton Coldfield Walsall Kipping Birmingham Hodge Hill Golden Hillock Hopes Minor Chapel Street 8 9 10 1962-1963 City & Erdington-1 Homer Golden Hillock-5 Barrington 1962-1963 M.A.Stevenson ( Wolverhampton Kipping ) J.A.Lawrence ( Kynoch ) B.Whitehouse ( Smethwick ) G.Jeffs ( Handsworth Wood ) 1962-1963 R.J.M.Farley ( Lozells ) B.Hunter ( Smethwick ) P.Sutton ( South Birmingham ) J.Dean ( Handsworth Wood ) 1962-1963 P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) I.Bradley ( South Birmingham ) C.Pitt ( Handsworth Wood ) P.Newman ( Golden Hillock ) 1962-1963 1991-1992 S.Edwards ( Handsworth Wood ) G.Finglass ( Olton ) R.Carr ( South Birmingham ) S.Hotchkiss (Chelmsley Wood ) 1991-1992 R.Jones ( Warley Quinborne ) W.Walter ( Lichfield ) No contest   1991-1992
COMMUNICATION,  1963-1964 P.McRobbie W.A.Hurst W.R.Morry I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell S.J.Thompson Lightning Rapidplay Summer League W.R.Morry Web Master 1963-1964 Kynoch Hodge Hill Quinborne City & Erdington Birmingham Sutton Coldfield Minor Hodge Hill 8 9 10 1963-1964 Birmingham-1A Homer Handworth Wood-6  Barrington 1963-1964 C.Hammersley ( City & Erdington ) J.H.Baines ( West Bromwich ) T.E.Waite ( City & Erdington ) P.Sutton ( South Birmingham ) 1963-1964 R.E.Barnett Hodge Hill ) R.W.Hodgson (Bakelite ) W.M.Mitchell ( Mutual Circle ) P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) 1963-1964 E.J.Greenham ( B.I.P.) V.Hunt ( South Birmingham ) B.Lloyd ( Hodge Hill ) R.Mooney ( Hockley ) 1963-1964 1992-1993 G.Evans ( West Warkwickshire Solihull ) R.Jones ( Warley Quinborne ) S.Listwon ( Weslyan & General ) R.Bull ( Warley Quinborne ) 1992-1993 A.Simpson ( Tamworth ) D.Coleman ( Handsworth Wood ) No contest   1992-1993
 The League Bulletin was started in 1956 with B.H.Wood as editor. Recollections of it 1959-1963 suggest a well printed bulletin, similar in format to the old format of his magazine "Chess" and that it was always late. Ritson-Morry took over for three years and a cluttered foolscap format appeared. Initially a vast improvement on speed of service, 14 issues instead of 6 and coverage of other events such as County Matches and Congresses were featured. The bulletin evolved and improved slowly through the Hurst, Brown, Brookes, I.MacGillivray and Latham era but there were periods when there was a serious lag in the information and ones team position had to be guessed at through the bush telegraph. When Maureen Clark took over as Bulletin Editor, a quantum leap in quality of presentation, speed and reliability occurred and was maintained over seven years. Maureen was followed by Tony Szatanik, Philip Nightingale and Roy Tuckey and finally Chris Evans, all maintained a very high standard news sheet however it was very time consuming to source, edit and publish. With the internet now the popular choice with the members for information and communication, the Printed bulletin ceased to exist in 2010. In the 2002-03 BDCL Handbook the name of M.J.Rees appears as Webmaster, a club league player for 50+ years. For some time Mike had been running a Midland Chess Web site where information could be found regarding News Results and events concerning Wolverhampton, Dudley, & Birmingham Chess Leagues, there were also links to all the clubs which had Internet sites. In 2009-10 the League took the advice from the Webmaster to purchase its own site as he could not guarantee to be around forever, Mike retired at the end of 2010-11. The current Webmaster maintains front page and other domains where you will find news reports, forums, obituaries, archives maps to club venues and more. The online Results Bulletin on the BDCL site is currently maintained by Records Secretary A.T. Woollaston and can be found at  BDCL Records (birminghamchess.org.uk). Results were originally uploaded using specially designated attachment Ecards received by Email, from the match Captains, you will also find fixtures, tables, and history which you are reading. Since the 2017-18 season a delegated Match reporter can now upload results straight to the ECF-LMS web site as soon as they are known. The speed of results service is now down to you. 1964-1965 P.McRobbie C.G.Burton J.B.Jones I.Boodson Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell S.J.Thompson Lightning Rapidplay Summer League W.R.Morry Web Master 1964-1965 Wolverhampton Kipping Walsall Kipping Hodge Hill College Advanced Tech Handsworth Wood St Peters College Minor Dockers 8 9 10 1964-1965 Birmingham-1 Homer Bushbury-5  Barrington 1964-1965 J.F.Green ( Hodge Hill ) T.E.Waite ( Lozells ) B.Steeles ( Handsworth ) L.J.Wheatley ( Lucas ) 1964-1965 P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) B.Homer ( Smethwick ) G.E.P.Swatridge ( South Birmingham ) R.Mooney ( Hockley ) 1964-1965 R.A.Humphries ( Sutton Coldfield ) M.A.Mahon ( Hockley ) M.Curtis ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.J.Cole ( City & Erdington ) 1964-1965 1993-1994 P.Clarke ( Tamworth ) C.Chadaway ( West Warks Solihull ) R.Glass ( South Birmingham ) W.Walters ( Lichfield ) 1993-1994 R.Scott ( Warley Quinborne ) T.Fox ( Warley Quinborne ) J.Bingham ( Halesowen ) T.Gazee ( West Warks Solihull ) 1993-1994
1965-1966 H.W.Stanley J.R.Crampton H.K.Bailey R.F.Bateson Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League W.R.Morry Web Master 1965-1966 Birmingham Birmingham University of Birmingham Solihull Sutton Coldfield Stewart & Lloyds Minor Kynoch 8 9 10 1965-1966 City & Erdington-1 Homer Sutton Coldfield-4  Barrington 1965-1966 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) J.J.Carleton ( Sutton Coldfield ) W.J.Gordon ( Smethwick ) C.Woodford ( Hodge Hill ) 1965-1966 P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) H.E.Hall ( Kingstanding ) L.Andrew ( Solihull ) C.L.Hadgkiss ( Mutual Circle ) 1965-1966 J.Grant ( Sutton Coldfield ) H.Johnson ( Kynoch ) J.R.Clark ( Midlands Project Group ) G.Wyle ( Dockers ) 1965-1966 1994-1995 G.Tilstone ( South Birmingham ) B.Dixon ( North Birmingham ) A.W.McKeown ( West Midlands Municipal ) J.Bingham ( Halesowen ) 1994-1995 J.Iqbal ( Mutual Circle ) M.Preston ( Solihull Youth ) P.Trevis ( Stourbridge ) C.Tibbetts ( Stourbridge ) 1994-1995
1966-1967 H.W.Stanley W.A.Hurst W.G.Powell R.F.Bateson Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League W.A.Hurst Web Master 1966-1967 Birmingham-A Walsall Kipping Golden Hillock John Thompson Stewart & Lloyds Midlands Project Minor South Birmingham 8 9 10 1966-1967 Birmingham-1A Homer Sutton Coldfield-4  Barrington 1966-1967 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield )   Shared   J.E.Jones ( Wolverhampton Kipping ) P.L.Morris ( Sutton Coldfield ) D.W.Hadley ( Warley ) 1966-1967 M.Edwards ( Handsworth Wood ) J.S.Hart ( Golden Hillock ) I.C.R.MacGillivray ( Sutton Coldfield ) H.C.Johnson ( Kynoch ) 1966-1967 D.Rowe ( Warley ) M.Pearshouse ( Hodge Hill ) J.R.Clark ( Midlands Project Group ) D.L.A.Nicolle ( Golden Hillock ) 1966-1967 1995-1996 B.Dixon ( North Birmingham ) J.Lakin ( North Birmingham ) S.Tidman ( Solihull Youth ) C.Charman ( Solihull Youth ) 1995-1996 D.Brelsforth ( Kingstanding ) P.Savage ( Kingstanding ) C.Howard ( Solihull Youth ) R.Anderton ( Solihull Youth ) 1995-1996
1967-1968 H.W.Stanley W.A.Hurst J.W.Leedham R.F.Bateson Grading A.E.Utton W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League W.A.Hurst Web Master 1967-1968 Kynoch Mutual Circle Olton Sutton Coldfield East Birmingham University Birmingham Minor Olton 8 9 10 1967-1968 Birmingham-1A Homer East Birmingham-5  Barrington 1967-1968 J.A.Lawrence ( Kynoch ) B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.K.Jackson ( Sutton Coldfield ) J.S.Hart ( Golden Hillock ) 1967-1968 J.Brightman ( Aston University ) S.S.Zimnowodski ( Mutual  Circle ) R.A.Humphries ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.Leigh ( Aston University ) 1967-1968 P.Maddocks ( South Birmingham ) R.J.Williams ( Warley ) G.Wyle ( Dockers ) K.I.Speakman ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1967-1968 1996-1997 J.Llewelyn ( Olton ) J.B.Lewis ( Warley Quinborne ) S.Williams ( South Birmingham ) A.Williams ( South Birmingham ) 1996-1997 9 9 10 10 1996-1997
1968-1969 H.W.Stanley D.R.Brown T.Peters A.E.Utton Grading A.E.Utton W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League D.Brown-A.F.Brookes Web Master 1968-1969 Wolverhampton Kipping Dudley Kynoch South Birmingham Midlands Project Hodge Hill Minor Golden Hillock 8 9 10 1968-1969 Sutton Coldfield-1 Homer G.E.C.-6 Barrington 1968-1969 R.F.T.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.V.M.Hall ( Birmingham ) W.J.Stirling ( Kingstanding ) S.Johnson ( Walsall Kipping ) 1968-1969 P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) C.F.Pitt ( East Birmingham ) T.W.Walker ( South Birmingham ) P.Partridge ( South Birmingham ) 1968-1969 T.E.Farley ( Birmingham Telephone Area ) Shared J.Mildenhall ( Handsworth Wood ) G.Trueman ( Aston University ) G.R.Kirr ( Aston University ) 1968-1969 1997-1998 R.Lisezewski ( Olton ) D.Whitehouse ( Halesowen ) F.Bacon ( Olton ) N.McCormack ( Kingstanding ) 1997-1998 9 9 10 10 1997-1998
1969-1970 W.A.Hurst D.R.Brown J.A.Crump A.E.Utton Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League D.Brown Web Master 1969-1970 Wolverhampton Kipping Stourbridge Birmingham University of Birmingham B,ham Telephone Area Golden Hillock Minor Rootes 8 9 10 1969-1970 Stourbridge-2 Homer Rootes Motors-7 Barrington 1969-1970 A.J.Miles ( Birmingham ) W.R.Morry ( Mutual Circle ) W.J.Stirling ( Kingstanding ) J.S.Hart ( Golden Hillock ) 1969-1970 A.Birch ( Mutual Circle ) E.Weeks ( South Birmingham ) C.P.Stirling ( Kingstanding ) D.Rowe ( Warley ) 1969-1970 A.Burnet ( Handsworth Wood ) G.Worrall ( Quinborne ) D.R.Brown ( Olton ) T.O'Sullivan ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1969-1970 1998-1999 N.Haywood ( Halesowen ) D.Curry ( Halesowen ) L.Ball ( South Birmingham ) P.Hunt ( South Birmingham ) 1998-1999 9 9 10 10 1998-1999
1970-1971 W.A.Hurst D.R.Brown P.C.Gibbs A.E.Utton Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League D.Brown-A.F.Brookes Web Master 1970-1971 Wolverhampton Kipping Olton Wesleyan & General Mutual Circle Solihull Lucas South Minor Mid's Electricity Bd 8 9 10 1970-1971 Sutton Coldfield-1 Homer South Birmingham-6  Barrington 1970-1971 J.F.Green ( Hodge Hill ) S.Johnson ( Walsall Kipping ) P.C.Robertson ( Golden Hillock ) N.E.Parry ( Lozells ) 1970-1971 P.Maddocks ( Lucas ) R.T.Kirkwood (Warley ) J.Hinsley ( Great Barr ) W.Clayton ( Walsall Kipping ) 1970-1971 D.L.A.Nicolle ( Golden Hillock ) C.A.Southall ( Warley ) P.G.Partridge ( South Birmingham ) M.Smyth ( South Birmingham ) 1970-1971 1999-2000 P.Hunt ( South Birmingham ) K.Moore ( Walsall Kipping ) B.Steeles ( Lady Westminster ) W.Elliot ( Lady Westminster ) 1999-2000 9 9 10 10 1999-2000
1971-1972 W.A.Hurst H.W.Stanley J.H.Baines A.E.Utton Grading J.B.Jones W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League A.F.Brookes Web Master 1971-1972 Wolverhampton Kipping Lichfield B'ham Telephone Area Solihull Lodge Aston University Warley Minor West Mid's Municipal 8 9 10 1971-1972 Handsworth Wood-3 Homer South Birmingham-4 Barrington 1971-1972 R.F.T.Wood ( Sutton Colfield ) K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) M. Pursall ( Great Barr ) B.Whitehouse ( Warley ) 1971-1972 G.W.Lingard ( Mutual Circle ) R.Hardy ( Lozells ) M.D.Smyth ( South Birmingham ) A.S.Pasztor ( Solihull Lodge ) 1971-1972 T.O'Sullivan ( Sutton Coldfield ) G.Stokes-Roberts ( Mercia ) P.G.Partridge ( South Birmingham ) C.Austin ( Quinborne ) 1971-1972 2000-2001 J Fahy ( Warley Quinborne ) K.Moore ( Walsall Kipping ) P.Apostolakopoulas ( Olton ) T.Gazee ( Wolseley ) 2000-2001 9 9 10 10 2000-2001
1972-1973 H.W.Stanley W.P.Taylor W.E.Phipps A.E.Utton Grading J.H.Baines W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League A.F.Brookes Web Master 1972-1973 Birmingham University of Birmingham Quinborne South Birmingham Aston University South Birmingham Minor Birlec 8 9 10 1972-1973 Mutual Circle 3 Homer South Birmingham-7 Barrington 1972-1973 M.J.Corden ( Golden Hillock ) P.C.Gibbs ( Birmingham ) C.E.Packwood ( South Birmingham ) D.W.Daniels (Mutual Circle ) 1972-1973 P.Yavari ( Aston University ) R.Hardy ( Lozells ) K.Thomas ( Great Barr ) D.R.Brown ( Olton ) 1972-1973 B.C.Drury ( Kynoch ) R.Attwood ( Mutual Circle ) D.Marsh ( Olton ) P.G.Partridge ( South Birmingham ) 1972-1973 2001-2002 K.Ryder ( Halesowen ) B.Curry ( Halesowen ) G Bates ( Wolseley ) R.Trevis ( Lady Westminster ) 2001-2002 9 9 10 10 2001-2002
1973-1974 H.W.Stanley W.P.Taylor V.G.Jenson A.E.Utton Grading J.H.Baines W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League A.F.Brookes Web Master 1973-1974 Wolverhampton Kipping Dudley Lichfield University of Birmingham Sutton Coldfield Hodge Hill Minor Wolseley Tamworth Walsall Kipping (8B) 10 1973-1974 Lozells 3 Homer Olton-6 Barrington 1973-1974 P.C.Gibbs ( Birmingham ) S.Berry ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.Yavari ( Aston University ) G.J.Gee ( Birmingham ) 1973-1974 R.Hardy ( Lozells ) T.J.Holt ( Olton ) R.G.Keightley ( University of Birmingham ) B.Homer ( Warley ) 1973-1974 M.Greaves ( Sutton Coldfield ) G.J.Vaughan ( South Birmingham ) B.Kelly ( Wolseley ) A.Lissamore ( Pinchin Johnson ) 1973-1974 2002-2003 P.M.Woodward ( Warley Quinborne ) Shared D.Rowe ( Warley Quinborne ) 8 8 2002-2003 9 9 10 10 2002-2003
1974-1975 H.W.Stanley W.P.Taylor A.E.Utton A.E.Utton Grading J.H.Baines W.G.Powell J.A.Nurcombe Lightning Rapidplay Summer League A.F.Brookes Web Master 1974-1975 Sutton Coldfield Birmingham University of Birmingham University of Birmingham South Birmingham Stourbridge Minor Tamworth  Warley Beetle 10 1974-1975 Sutton Coldfield-1 Homer St James-8 Barrington 1974-1975 K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) G.M.Boyce ( Sutton Coldfield ) D.A.Tarbuck ( Lichfield ) G.N.Stokes ( Solihull ) 1974-1975 R.G.Keightley ( University of Birmingham ) N.Roberts ( West Mids.Municipal ) B.W.Russell ( Warley ) R.W.Hodgson ( Kynoch ) 1974-1975 G.Riley ( Weslyan & General ) W.Holloway ( Hodge Hill ) P.F.Cooper ( Wolseley ) M.Phillips ( Golden Hillock ) 1974-1975 2003-2004 J.Pakenham ( Warley Quinborne )  Shared  P.Bull ( Warley Quinborne ) 8 8 2003-2004 9 9 10 10 2003-2004
NAMES,                                                                                                                                                                 1975-1976 W.P.Taylor I.MacGillivray  G.F.Harris A.E.Utton Grading J.H.Baines J.A.Crump J.A.Nurcombe J.H.Baines Rapidplay Summer League I.C.R.MacGillivray Web Master 1975-1976 Birmingham-A Walsall Kipping University of Birmingham B'ham Telephone Area Stourbridge Walsall Kipping Minor St James Handsworth Wood St James 10 1975-1976 St James-7 Homer St James-7 Barrington 1975-1976 G.J.Willetts ( Mutual Circle ) M.A.Hunt ( South Birmingham ) P.Jeal ( Lichfield ) M.V.Edwards ( Handsworth Wood ) 1975-1976 J.Smith ( West Midlands Municipal )  R.Hardy ( Lozells ) C.Corfield (Olton ) D.R.Brown ( Olton ) 1975-1976 E.Whelan ( Weslyan & General ) G.Trueman ( Warley Quinborne ) T.Medlicott ( Tamworth ) A.F.Brooks ( West Mids.Municipal ) 1975-1976 2004-2005 K.J.Langston ( Birmingham Settlement ) P.Joiner ( Wolseley ) 8 8 2004-2005 9 9 10 10 2004-2005
  Over the years many a chess club name has disappeared, this is usually due to the venue becoming unavailable or the rent to expensive. This often results in clubs having to either change names to suit a new venue, or they merge with another club and adopt their name or create a new name. Quite a lot of clubs were formed as work teams and played from the company canteens but with the industrial decline they have now all gone. To the unknowing record studier, it may seem that many players changed clubs, but most often it was the club that changed not the player. Examples of this are. The New Road club formed in 1952 then became Handsworth in 1957 then East Birmingham in 1967. Solihull amalgamated with West Warwickshire in 1990 to be West Warwickshire Solihull they were later joined in 1992 by East Birmingham. Following no concessions being offered at that venue/time to the juniors Solihull Youth Chess Club was formed. University of Birmingham was only known as University until 1966 when The College of Advanced Technology gained University Status and became Aston University. West Birmingham who existed as a draughts club in 1894 joined the league in 1932 and after one season as Lozells Street Hall became just Lozells 1947; playing in Newtown they merged with Tucker Fasteners 1977, the two club secretaries after a night on the town chose North Birmingham to be their name not realising 40 years earlier a club with the same name had existed. In 1998 North Birmingham amalgamated with Kingstanding and four seasons later 2002 they moved again and became Boldmere (playing from St Michael’s football club). The football club was taken over and a large rent increase has caused the club to move to and become Oscott. Overtime Lucas has had three Chess clubs. The original and longest running Lucas club was associated to the Great King Street works Hockley, and became Lucas North when the Lucas South club associated to the Spring Road works Acocks Green was formed. Some years later another Lucas club emerged at Dog Kennel Lane Shirley, first under the name of Lucas Research Centre then as Lucas Advanced Engineering Centre and finally Lucas Automotive. When the Lucas, (Lucas North) factory closed they moved to play at the Settlement Buildings and became Lucas Birmingham Settlement, while here they were joined by West Midlands Municipal and after moving to the Local Church became Saint Georges, no connection to the 1897 St George’s club. Solihull Lodge moved to the Colebrook Public House and became Colebrook Shirley then after another move just Shirley, later when the Lucas Automotive factory closed they joined to become Shirley & Lucas, after more years passed they moved to Amalgamate with Wythall chess club and are now Shirley Wythall. St James named after the church and original venue in Leach Green lane Rubery, grew in size and moved to the King George V Pub Longbridge, where they were fielding 8 teams in the BDCL, when the pub closed down it was onto the near by Austin Social Club, with the demise of the Austin car plant and the redevelopment of the Longbridge area St James in 2005 moved across the road and became Greenlands. Now 15 years later the Greenland’s Social has been taken over they are back in the Austin Social and become Longbridge. When the Birlec factory closed they became Aldridge, South Staffordshire & Tamworth Joined to be Tamworth & District. Smethwick became Bearwood Baptists then back to Smethwick then Warley then amalgamated with Quinborne, Magnet Works became G.E.C. City (of Birmingham) joined Erdington, Chapel Street playing from the Methodist Church won Div 7 in their first season and moved to Cherry Orchard Hall Hampstead Hill and became Handsworth Wood then after more venue changes became The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, (R.A.O.B), Holly Lane and then back to Handsworth Wood. Nuffield (Metal Products) in Common Lane was the original name before becoming Wolseley, formerly part of Leyland Cars they Joined Westminster in 2010, Westminster started as Lady Westminster named after the pub where they formed, the Building was formerly a Bank...  Clear as Mud 1976-1977 W.P.Taylor D.Rowe B.G.Dudley A.E.Utton Grading J.H.Baines I.C.R.MacGillivray J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League T.A.Latham Web Master 1976-1977 Stourbridge Redditch Dudley St James Bushbury Wolverhampton Minor St James Stourbridge B'ham Telephone Area St James 1976-1977 St James-4 Homer St James-7 Barrington 1976-1977 R.J.M.Farley ( Kynoch ) J.F.Green ( Hodge Hill ) E.J.Weeks ( South Birmingham ) J.E.Crump ( Lucas ) 1976-1977 J.Smith ( West Midlands Municipal )  N.Roberts ( West Mids.Municipal ) G.A.Jelfs ( South Birmingham ) J.MacDonald ( Olton ) 1976-1977 N.D.Arkell ( St. James ) T.A.Wykes ( Solihull Lodge ) A.Pleasants ( Birmingham Telephone Area ) D.Brelsforth ( Lozells ) 1976-1977 2005-2006 W.Elliot ( Westminster ) G.Bates ( Wolseley ) 8 8 2005-2006 9 9 10 10 2005-2006
1977-1978 W.P.Taylor D.Rowe L.Arculus A.E.Utton Grading W.R.Morry I.C.R.MacGillivray J.A.Nurcombe T.A.Latham Rapidplay Summer League T.A.Latham Web Master 1977-1978 Stourbridge University of Birmingham St James Stourbridge Lichfield District Bromsgrove Minor Stourbridge Birmingham North Birmingham North Birmingham 1977-1978 St James-3 Homer Canning-9 Barrington 1977-1978 M. Ardin ( Solihull ) G.M.Boyce ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.Maddocks ( Solihull Lodge ) K.A.Yeomans ( Olton ) 1977-1978 D.M.Evans ( Solihull ) A.Singh ( Lozells ) J.MacDonald ( Olton ) R.F.Viles ( Bakelite ) 1977-1978 P.F.Cooper ( Wolseley ) D.A.Bissell ( Halesowen ) F.Jimenez ( Solihull Lodge ) R.Ellis ( St. James ) 1977-1978 2006-2007 Indy ❼ Indy ❼ Indy ❽ Indy ❽ 2006-2007 Indy ❾ Indy ❾ Indy ❿ Indy ❿ ▲
1978-1979 I.C.R.MacGillivray D.Rowe B.Cafferty A.E.Utton Grading W.R.Morry L.Arculus J.A.Nurcombe T.A.Latham Rapidplay Summer League T.A.Latham Web Master 1978-1979 Sutton Coldfield St James Hodge Hill Bushbury Bromsgrove Stourbridge Minor Tamworth /  610 St James Old Veseyans St James / 610 1978-1979 Bushbury-4 Homer 610-10 Barrington 1978-1979 J.S.Hart ( Redditch ) E.J.Weeks ( South Birmingham ) A.D.Lloyd ( Olton ) D.W.Pugh ( Warley Quinborne ) 1978-1979 P.F.Cooper ( Sutton Coldfield ) J.F.Green ( Hodge Hill ) D.Bissell ( Halesowen ) R.Wallman ( Olton ) 1978-1979 C.R.Dawson ( 610 ) S.H.Wood ( Tamworth ) R.Cumiskey ( East Birmingham ) L.M.Berry ( Kynoch ) 1978-1979 ▲ Individual Winners & Runners up
1979-1980 I.C.R.MacGillivray D.Rowe K.G.Humphreys A.E.Utton Grading W.R.Morry L.Arculus J.A.Nurcombe T.A.Latham Rapidplay Summer League T.A.Latham Web Master 1979-1980 Solihull Bushbury Bromsgrove West Bromwich  Cannock Chase Walsall Kipping Minor St James St James Binks Bullows St James 1979-1980 Cannock Chase-5 Homer Binks Bullows-9 Barrington 1979-1980 K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) D.R.Johnson ( Kynoch ) J.R.Bellinger ( Birmingham )    Shared    P.F.Cooper ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1979-1980 A.Singh ( North Birmingham ) M Hoare ( Lichfield ) R.T.Farley ( Birmingham Telephone Area ) D.W.Gostelow ( Olton ) 1979-1980 G.Gee ( Handsworth Wood ) M.Haywood ( Cannock Chase ) R.Evans ( Tamworth ) B.Dixon ( North Birmingham ) 1979-1980 BDCL 10 Second  Team Lightning Tournament
1980-1981 I.C.R.MacGillivray L.Arculus J.N.Flatley A.E.Utton Grading W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe T.A.Latham Rapidplay Summer League T.A.Latham Web Master 1980-1981 Kynoch University of Birmingham West Bromwich  Olton Wolseley St James Minor Halesowen Drayton Bassett Dudley W.M.County Council 1980-1981 Kynoch-1 Homer Drayton Bassett-8 Barrington 1980-1981 J.S.Hart ( Redditch ) D.R.Johnson ( Kynoch ) J.Mildenhall ( Handsworth Wood ) M.Swystun ( Warley Quinborne ) 1980-1981 L.Gaffney ( North Birmingham ) M Hoare ( Lichfield ) A.West ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Cronshaw ( Kynoch ) 1980-1981 K.A.J.Francis ( Mercia ) B.R.Smith ( Mercia ) R.Gill ( Kynoch ) R.Evans ( St. James ) 1980-1981  
1981-1982 D.Rowe L.Arculus J.F.Ferber A.E.Utton Grading W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M Clark Web Master 1981-1982 Kynoch Olton Halesowen Sutton Coldfield Mercia Wolverhampton Minor Halesowen-A Bromsgrove West Bromwich  University of Birmingham 1981-1982 Kynoch-5 Homer West Bromwich-9 Barrington 1981-1982 P.C.Raines ( Warley Quinborne ) G.Hill ( Warley Quinborne ) G.B.Dawson ( Kynoch ) J.Mildenhall ( R.A.O.B.) 1981-1982 M.A.Saunders ( Olton ) P.Maddocks ( Solihull Lodge ) N.Ardin ( Drayton Bassett ) W.Bradford ( South Birmingham ) 1981-1982 K.A.J.Francis ( Mercia ) K.Kent ( Kynoch ) D.Higgitt ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Grainger ( Birmingham Telephone Area ) 1981-1982   Section A   Section B   Section C  
1982-1983 D.Rowe L.Arculus K.R.Ingram    A.E.Utton15 J.B.Jones W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M.Clark Web Master 1982-1983 Kynoch University of Birmingham Lichfield Wolseley Dudley Bromsgrove Minor Solihull Lodge University of Birmingham North Birmingham Golden Hillock 1982-1983 Bushbury-5 Homer Golden Hillock-10 Barrington 1982-1983 B.H.Wood ( Sutton Coldfield )     Shared    J.Hawthorne ( Warley Quinborne )  G.B.Dawson ( University of Birmingham ) K.Thomas ( Kynoch ) 1982-1983 H.W.Brockbank ( East Birmingham )  S.Tennant ( R.A.O.B.) K.A.J.Francis ( Mercia ) A.P.Goode ( University of Birmingham ) 1982-1983 R.Evans ( St. James ) D.Nugent ( St. James ) A.J.Hickey ( Lucas ) J.Lunn ( West Mids.Municipal ) 1982-1983 1982-1983 Winners  Runners Up 1982-1983 Winners  Runners Up 1982-1983 Winners  Runners Up 1982-1983
1983-1984 D.Rowe L.Arculus D.W.Anderton K.J.Langston J.B.Jones W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M.Clark Web Master 1983-1984 Kynoch Kynoch Olton Bushbury West Mid's Municipal East Birmingham Minor Old Draytonians Walsall Kipping Chelmsley Wood Bushbury 1983-1984 R.A.O.B.-5 Homer Mutual Circle-8 Barrington 1983-1984 R.C.Drury ( Birmingham ) G.J.Willetts ( Mutual Circle ) D.A.Bissell ( Halesowen ) J.Edge ( Halesowen ) 1983-1984 A.Hsu ( Sutton Coldfield ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham ) H.W.Brockbank ( West Wark. Solihull ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal  ) 1983-1984 R.J.Peck ( St. James ) R.J.Garnett (St. James ) A.Wright ( Mutual Circle ) E.Golightly ( Tamworth ) 1983-1984 1983-1984 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1983-1984 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1983-1984 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1983-1984
1984-1985 D.Rowe L.Arculus S.Campbell K.J.Langston J.B.Jones W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M.Clark Web Master 1984-1985 Kynoch West Bromwich  University of Birmingham R.A.O.B. Burton Dis't Hospitals Golden Hillock Minor Halesowen Wolverhampton Bushbury East Birmingham 1984-1985 West Wark's Solihull-5 Homer Chelmsley Wood-7 Barrington 1984-1985 M.D.Burt ( Birmingham ) M.D.Smyth ( South Birmingham ) D.Mason ( Solihull Lodge ) J.S.Hart ( Golden Hillock ) 1984-1985 D.Rowe ( Warley Quinborne) L.J.Wheatley ( St. James ) J.Birch ( Mutual  Circle ) D.J.Cheshire ( West Midlands Municipal ) 1984-1985 D.Reeves ( Warley Quinborne ) K.A.J.Francis ( Lucas ) D.M.Horsley ( Olton ) M.E.Tallis ( Lucas ) 1984-1985 1984-1985 Kynoch A ~ ~ ~ 1984-1985 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1984-1985 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1984-1985
1985-1986 D.Rowe L.Arculus D.L.E.Arthur K.J.Langston J.B.Jones W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M.Clark Web Master 1985-1986 St James Mutual Circle West Mid's Municipal Lichfield South Birmingham Chelmsley Wood Minor Chelmsley Wood South Birmingham West Midlands Police Sutton Coldfield 1985-1986 South Birmingham-5 Homer St James-8 Solihull Lodge-8 1985-1986 D.A.Bissell ( Halesowen ) D.M.Joshi ( St. James ) P.O'Neill ( Kynoch ) J.S.Hart ( Golden Hillock ) 1985-1986 H.W.Brockbank ( West Warks. Solihull ) E.Whelan ( South Birmingham ) M.Maher ( Lichfield ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham ) 1985-1986 S.Evans ( South Birmingham ) K.A.J.Francis ( Lucas ) D.Potter ( Chelmsley Wood ) P.Banks ( Halesowen ) 1985-1986 1985-1986 St James A ~ ~ ~ 1985-1986 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1985-1986 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1985-1986
1986-1987 D.Rowe L.Arculus A.W.Neale K.J.Langston J.B.Jones W.R.Morry J.H.Baines J.A.Nurcombe J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M.Clark Web Master 1986-1987 Bushbury West Bromwich  Stourbridge South Staffordshire East Birmingham Wolverhampton Minor Bushbury South Birmingham St James Stourbridge 1986-1987 East Birmingham-5 Homer Stourbridge-10 Birmingham-7 1986-1987 G.J.Willetts ( Mutual  Circle) K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) H.W.Brockbank ( West Warks. Solihull ) C.C.McConkey ( Birmingham ) 1986-1987 J.Mildenhall ( R.A.O.B.) G.M.P.Riley ( Sutton Coldfield ) M.Harris ( St. James ) J.Asbury ( Solihull Lodge ) 1986-1987 W.J.Hicks ( East Birmingham ) M.Sanderson ( South Birmingham )  R.J.Hancox ( Rushall ) P.Harrison ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1986-1987 1986-1987 St James A ~ ~ ~ 1986-1987 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1986-1987 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1986-1987
1987-1988 D.R.Thomas D.Rowe R.J.Hancox K.J.Langston J.B.Jones W.R.Morry J.H.Baines    J.A.Nurcombe34 J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League Mrs.M.Clark Web Master 1987-1988 Bushbury Sutton Coldfield R.A.O.B. East Birmingham South Birmingham Bushbury Minor St James West Bromwich  Olton St James 1987-1988 Kynoch-1 Homer West Bromwich-8 Sutton Coldfield-8 1987-1988 H.W.Brockbank ( West Warks. Solihull ) M.Horrigan ( Lichfield ) W.Hicks ( East Birmingham ) S.Singhal ( Mutual Circle ) 1987-1988 T.A.Lane ( South Birmingham )  C.Hibbard ( Lichfield ) J.Birch ( Mutual Circle ) D.Beadle ( Warley Quinborne ) 1987-1988 K.A.J.Francis ( Lucas ) P.McConell ( South Staffordshire ) G.R.Cowell ( South Birmingham ) A. McNab ( St. James ) 1987-1988 1987-1988 St James A ~ ~ ~ 1987-1988 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1987-1988 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1987-1988
1988-1989 D.R.Thomas D.Rowe T.W.Walker K.J.Langston J.B.Jones M.B.A.Walker J.H.Baines C.J.Nixon W.R.Morry Rapidplay Summer League A.J.T.Szatanik Web Master 1988-1989 St James South Birmingham Solihull Warley Quinborne West Midlands Police Sutton Coldfield Minor Holly Lane West Midlands Police Lucas Automotive Olton 1988-1989 West Midlands Police-5 East Birmingham-5 Olton-8 Solihull Lodge-6 1988-1989 K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) G.J.Willetts ( South Birmingham ) F.Jimenez ( Solihull Lodge ) R.T.Farley ( Kynoch ) 1988-1989 R.Huq ( South Birmingham ) N.Fallowfield ( Stourbridge ) D.Beadle ( Warley Quinborne ) J.Asbury ( Solihull Lodge ) 1988-1989 P.Tomkins ( Wythall ) T.Sowerby ( St. James ) W.Archibald ( Olton ) G.R.Cowell (South Birmingham ) 1988-1989 1988-1989 St James A ~ ~ Kynoch A 1988-1989 Birmingham ~ ~ StJB & WQB & WMMunicipal 1988-1989 Holly Lane ~ ~ North Birmingham & WsK & WQ 1988-1989
1989-1990 D.R.Thomas D.Rowe D.Rowe K.J.Langston J.B.Jones M.B.A.Walker J.H.Baines C.J.Nixon W.R.Morry Rapidplay Summer League A.J.T.Szatanik Web Master 1989-1990 Bushbury Kynoch Mutual Circle Sutton Coldfield St James Wythall Minor West Midlands Police Chelmsley Wood South Staffordshire Warley Quinborne 1989-1990 East Birmingham-3 South Staffordshire-5 South Staffordshire-9 Lucas-9 1989-1990 M.Horrigan ( Lichfield ) N.A.P.McSheehy ( St. James ) R.George ( Tamworth ) N.Fallowfield ( Stourbridge ) 1989-1990 B.Briscoe ( East Birmingham ) K.Jones ( North Birmingham ) S.O'Sullivan ( Mutual Circle ) C.Leach ( Tamworth ) 1989-1990 K.A.J.Francis ( Lucas ) M.Clark ( Warley Quinborne ) P.Connell ( Wythall ) A.Russell ( Olton ) 1989-1990 1989-1990 Kynoch A ~ ~ Warley Quinborne A 1989-1990 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1989-1990 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1989-1990
1990-1991 D.R.Thomas D.Rowe J.R.Bright K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker C.J.Nixon J.F.Birch Rapidplay Summer League A.J.T.Szatanik Web Master 1990-1991 Bushbury Stourbridge West Warwickhire Solihull West Midlands Police Olton Sutton Coldfield Minor Mercia Lucas Automotive Sutton Coldfield Not-enough-entries  1990-1991 Stourbridge-3 Solihull Lodge-4 Mercia-7 Ellisons-8 1990-1991 J.Edge ( Warley Quinborne ) D.R.Thomas ( Birmingham  J.Mildenhall ( Handsworth Wood ) C.Hibbard ( Lichfield ) 1990-1991 H.W.Brockbank ( West Warks. Solihull ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham ) M.Groombridge ( Walsall Kipping ) K.Hurney ( St. James ) 1990-1991 M.Hoare ( Lichfield ) A.Cottom ( Olton ) P.Wilkinson ( Walsall Kipping ) P.Harper ( St. James ) 1990-1991 1990-1991 Warley Quinborne A ~ ~ Kynoch A 1990-1991 Warley Quinborne B ~ ~ Lucas & Birmingham Settlement 1990-1991 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1990-1991
1991-1992 D.R.Thomas D.Rowe P.F.Staley K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker C.J.Nixon J.F.Birch Rapidplay Summer League A.J.T.Szatanik Web Master 1991-1992 Walsall Kipping Tamworth West Midlands Police University of Birmingham Sutton Coldfield South Birmingham Minor Handsworth Wood South Birmingham Warley Quinborne Not-enough-entries  1991-1992 Lichfield-1 Tamworth-2 Mercia-6 Kynoch-7 1991-1992 R.Millward ( Solihull Lodge ) M.Wildboar ( Warley Quinborne ) K.Jones ( Handsworth Wood ) T.Delaney ( Warley Quinborne ) 1991-1992 W.Harwood ( Olton ) F.Jimenez ( Solihull Lodge ) M.Groombridge ( Walsall Kipping ) J.Llewelyn ( West Warks. Solihull ) 1991-1992 R.Purcell ( Solihull Lodge ) K.Gilbert ( Solihull Lodge ) D.Jukes ( Wesleyan & General ) P.Harper ( South Birmingham ) 1991-1992 1991-1992 Warley Quinborne A ~ ~ St James A 1991-1992 Olton A ~ ~ Warley Quinborne C 1991-1992 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1991-1992
1992-1993 D.R.Thomas D.Rowe-J.Yuill D.Fellows K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker C.J.Nixon J.F.Birch Rapidplay Summer League A.J.T.Szatanik Web Master 1992-1993 Bushbury West Bromwich  University of Birmingham West Mid's Municipal Lichfield Wolverhampton Minor Warley Quinborne Halesowen Tamworth Not-enough-entries  1992-1993 West Bromwich-2  Walsall Kipping-4 St James-6 West Midlands Police-7  1992-1993 C.Hibbard ( Lichfield ) A.Hynes ( St. James ) C.Hibbard ( Lichfield ) R.Hardy ( Warley Quinborne ) 1992-1993 M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham ) N.Byrne ( West Warks. Solihull ) C.Lund-Yates ( Olton ) A.Peace ( Wythall ) 1992-1993 J.R.Bright ( Wythall ) D.Perks ( Mercia ) M.Soszynski ( Handsworth Wood ) T.Imbush ( Handsworth Wood ) 1992-1993 1992-1993 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1992-1993 ~ ~ ~ ~ 1992-1993 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1992-1993
1993-1994 D.R.Thomas 11D.Rowe-J.Yuill J.Mildenhall K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker C.J.Nixon J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League P.Nightingale Web Master 1993-1994 St James University of Birmingham West Warwickhire Solihull Wolseley South Birmingham Kynoch Minor Tamworth Chelmsley Wood West Wark's Solihull Rushall 1993-1994 West Bromwich-4  Lichfield-2A West Wark's Solihull-9 Lucas Bm Settlement-9 1993-1994 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) N.Byrne ( West Warks. Solihull ) J.S.Hart ( Mutual  Circle ) T.A.Lane ( South Birmingham ) 1993-1994 T.Delaney ( Warley Quinborne ) C.Boivin ( South Birmingham ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) L.J.Wheatley ( St. James ) 1993-1994 K.A.J.Francis ( Mercia ) C.Lund-Yates ( Olton ) K.Ryder ( Stourbridge ) G.M.Gee ( Handsworth Wood ) 1993-1994 1993-1994 South Birmingham A ~ ~ Solihull Lodge A & Warley Quinborne A 1993-1994 Olton A ~ ~ Solihull Lodge B 1993-1994 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1993-1994
1994-1995 D.R.Thomas L.E.Collier M.A.Biddle K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League P.Nightingale Web Master 1994-1995 Lichfield Lichfield Solihull Lodge Handsworth Wood Solihull Youth Redditch Minor Sutton Coldfield South Birmingham Solihull Youth Solihull Lodge 1994-1995 Lichfield-1 Solihull Lodge-3 Bushbury-6 Kingstanding-9 1994-1995 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) J.Edge ( Warley Quinborne ) G.Davies ( Solihull ) J.S.Hart ( Mutual Circle ) 1994-1995 R.Walker ( Solihull Lodge ) M.Reilly ( Lichfield ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal )   Shared   C.Beards ( Lucas & Settlement ) 1994-1995 K.A.J.Francis ( Mercia )       Shared      R.Jones ( Solihull Youth ) T.Fox ( Warley Quinborne ) K.Ryder ( Halesowen ) 1994-1995 1994-1995 Kynoch A ~ ~ Solihull Lodge A 1994-1995 Kynoch B ~ ~ Lucas 1994-1995 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1994-1995
PERSONALITIES OF THE LEAGUE  1995-1996 D.R.Thomas L.E.Collier M.B.A.Walker K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League P.Nightingale Web Master 1995-1996 Kynoch Halesowen Wolverhampton Rushall Redditch Chelmsley Town Minor Lucas Automotive Solihull Youth Kingstanding Redditch 1995-1996 Lichfield-1A Solihull Youth-4 Solihull Lodge-9 Kingstanding-10 1995-1996 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Hynes ( St. James ) D.Price ( South Birmingham ) R.Hardy ( South Birmingham ) 1995-1996 W.Archibald ( Olton ) C.Lund-Yates ( Olton ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham )     Shared      M.Phipps ( North Birmingham ) 1995-1996 M.E.Tallis ( West Mids.Municipal ) A.Stokes ( Solihull Lodge ) M.Clark ( Halesowen ) M.Meredith ( South Birmingham ) 1995-1996 1995-1996 Olton A ~ ~ South Birmingham A 1995-1996 Lucas & Birmingham Settlement ~ ~ Solihull Lodge B 1995-1996 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1995-1996
A.J. Mackenzie 1871-1949 1996-1997 D.R.Thomas L.E.Collier-D.Brelsforth L.J.Wheatley K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League P.Nightingale Web Master 1996-1997 Halesowen South Birmingham-A Solihull Youth Redditch Warley Quinborne Solihull Youth Minor Warley Quinborne Mutual Circle Not-enough-entries  Not-enough-entries  1996-1997 Solihull Youth-3 South Birmingham-2A South Birmingham-6 Olton-6 1996-1997 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) D.R.Thomas ( Colebrook Shirley ) D.Cooper ( Warley Quinborne ) L.Hayden ( Sutton Coldfield ) 1996-1997 D.Reeves  ( Warley Quinborne )   Shared    T.Delaney ( Warley Quinborne ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham ) 1996-1997 K.Crutchlow ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.Lund-Yates ( Olton ) A.Cottom ( Olton ) P.Banks ( Halesowen ) 1996-1997 1996-1997 Olton A ~ ~ Warley Quinborne A 1996-1997 South Birmingham B ~ ~ Warley Quinborne B 1996-1997 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1996-1997
Arthur John Mackenzie's connection with local chess began as match secretary to the Birmingham St. George's chess club in the early 1890s. By the end of the decade, he had helped to form the Warwickshire Chess Association, the Birmingham and District Chess League, the Midland Counties Chess Association (1897) and the British Chess Federation in 1904. There is a slight mystery in this last item as, The Birmingham Daily Post of 1858 refers to a meeting of the British Chess Association in the Queen's Building in Paradise Street. One wonders what the difference is between a Federation and an Association. He was the first columnist of Birmingham's Daily Post from 6th October 1896 and it is interesting to note that during the first 100 years of the League there had been only 3 columnists.  B.H.Wood took over some time after 1936 and Peter Gibbs has run the column since February 1967. Three times the Scottish Champion, A.J.Mackenzie was the first Warwickshire Champion in 1931 finishing ahead of W.R.Morry. Mackenzie played on board one for Warwickshire and continued to do so after 1931 when he left Birmingham to live in St Leonards on Sea, near Hastings. He played chess in Birmingham for the Birmingham Chess Club, St George's, Municipal Officers and Handsworth. 1997-1998 D.R.Thomas  D.Brelsforth A.P.Ruffle K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.B.A.Walker T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump Rapidplay Summer League R.Tuckey Web Master 1997-1998 Kynoch St James Tamworth Walsall Kipping West Midlands Police Olton Minor Colebrook Shirley Walsall Kipping Not-enough-entries  Not-enough-entries  1997-1998 Kynoch-1 Warley Quinborne-2 Olton-6 Kingstanding-5 1997-1998 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne )     Shared      S.Dighton ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Russel ( Olton ) M.Doran (  Warley Quinborne )  1997-1998 T.W.Walker ( South Birmingham ) R.Hardy ( South Birmingham ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham ) 1997-1998 J.Asbury ( Colebrook Shirley ) K.Gilbert ( Colebrook Shirley ) C.Lund-Yates ( Olton ) A.McKeon ( West Midlands Municipal ) 1997-1998 1997-1998 Olton A ~ ~ Kynoch 1997-1998 Warley Quinborne A ~ ~ Warley Quinborne B 1997-1998 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  1997-1998
1998-1999 D.R.Thomas  D.Brelsforth G.F.Windows K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump K.G.Humphrey-D.Brelsforth Summer League R.Tuckey Web Master 1998-1999 Lichfield Sutton Coldfield South Birmingham-B Solihull-A University Birmingham Warley Quinborne-A Minor South Birmingham-A Wolseley 9 10 1998-1999 Sutton Coldfield-4 South Birmingham-3B Mercia-7 South Birmingham-7A 1998-1999 S.Dighton ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Cooper ( Warley Quinborne ) M.Wildboar ( Warley Quinborne ) 1998-1999 L.Lewis ( Mutual Circle ) T.Delaney ( Warley Quinborne ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) K.Allen ( Solihull ) 1998-1999 P.Savage ( Kingstanding N'th Birmingham ) J.Llewelyn ( Olton ) C.Evans ( Mutual Circle ) J.Pakenham ( Warley Quinborne ) 1998-1999 1998-1999 Olton A ~ ~ South Birmingham A 1998-1999 Checkmate ~ ~ Solihull B 1998-1999 All Stars ~ ~ Colebrook S C & South B'ham B 1998-1999
1999-2000 D.R.Thomas  D.Brelsforth L.E.Collier K.J.Langston R.Tuckey M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump K.G.Humphrey-D.Brelsforth Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 1999-2000 South Birmingham Tamworth Kynoch South Birmingham Halesowen Birmingham Settlement Minor Redditch Tamworth 9 10 1999-2000 Birmingham-2 South Birmingham-2 West Mid's Municipal-5 South Birmingham-7A 1999-2000 S.Dighton ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Cooper ( Warley Quinborne ) M.Wildboar ( Warley Quinborne ) 1999-2000 A.Ambrose ( Halesowen) F.Jimenez ( Shirley ) M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham )      Shared        A.Pready ( Birmingham ) 1999-2000 T.Cox ( Sutton Coldfield )      Shared      I.Fisher ( Lucas Automotive ) C.Evans ( Mutual Circle ) B.McClory ( South Birmingham ) 1999-2000 1999-2000 South Birmingham A ~ ~ Olton A & Kynoch A 1999-2000 Birmingham ~ ~ Mutual Circle A 1999-2000 South Birmingham C ~ ~ Rushall B & Kynoch B 1999-2000
2000-2001 D.R.Thomas  D.Brelsforth K.J.Langston K.J.Langston  Committee M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump K.G.Humphrey-D.Brelsforth Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 2000-2001 Warley Quinborne Stourbridge Handsworth Wood Olton South Birmingham South Birmingham-B Minor Westminster Wolseley 9 10 2000-2001 Warley Quinborne-2 Solihull-3 South Birmingham-5 Lady Westminster-7 2000-2001 A.Hynes ( St. James ) S.Dighton ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Jackson ( Halesowen )    Shared    A.Russel ( Olton ) 2000-2001 M.A.Biddle ( North Birmingham )    Shared    S.Goray ( Mutual Circle ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) G.Rosser ( Wolverhampton ) 2000-2001 A.Wilson ( Lichfield  )      Shared      I.Fisher ( Lucas Automotive ) G.Hope ( South Birmingham ) P.Hunt ( South Birmingham ) 2000-2001 2000-2001 Shirley A ~ ~ Olton A 2000-2001 Birmingham ~ ~ Solihull 2000-2001 Solihull Youth Shared Kingstanding North B'ham 2000-2001
2001-2002 D.R.Thomas C.Dent-D.Brelsforth R.C.Reynolds K.J.Langston  Committee M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump J.Pakenham Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 2001-2002 Halesowen Sutton Coldfield Solihull-A South Birmingham Lichfield Kingstanding Minor Halesowen-A Redditch 9 10 2001-2002 Sutton Coldfield-2 Olton-1 Lichfield-7 South Birmingham-5A 2001-2002 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) A.Hynes ( St. James ) J.Mildenhall ( Handsworth Wood ) B.Briscoe ( Sutton Coldfield ) 2001-2002 A.Cottom ( Olton ) C.Evans ( Mutual Circle ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) K.A.J.Francis ( Mercia ) 2001-2002 L.Wheatley ( St. James ) L.Ball ( South Birmingham ) C.Wilcox ( Rushall ) B.Dixon ( Kingstanding ) 2001-2002 2001-2002 Olton A ~ ~ South Birmingham A 2001-2002 Rushall ~ ~ Olton B 2001-2002 South Birmingham B ~ ~ Walsall Kipping B 2001-2002
2002-2003    D.R.Thomas16 C.Dent-D.Brelsforth A.J.T.Szatanik K.J.Langston  Committee M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump J.Pakenham Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 2002-2003 Walsall Kipping Lichfield Wolverhampton South Birmingham St James Sutton Coldfield Minor Sutton Coldfield Not-enough-entries  9 10 2002-2003 South Birmingham-1 Wolverhampton-4 Sutton Coldfield-6 Olton-5 2002-2003 A.Hynes ( St. James ) T.Cox ( Sutton Colfield ) T.A.Lane ( South Birmingham ) F.Jiminez ( Shirley Lucas ) 2002-2003 A.Cottom ( Olton ) A.Wilson ( Boldmere ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) D.Brelsforth ( Boldmere ) 2002-2003 S.Solayan ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.Pitt ( South Birmingham ) C.Dandy ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.East ( Sutton Coldfield ) 2002-2003 2002-2003 South Birmingham A ~ ~ Olton A 2002-2003 Rushall A ~ ~ Halesowen A 2002-2003 Olton C ~ ~ Solihull Youth A 2002-2003
2003-2004 D.Rowe C.Dent-D.Brelsforth P.M.Woodward K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump J.Pakenham Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 2003-2004 Walsall Kipping Solihull West Bromwich  Stourbridge Tamworth Walsall Kipping Minor Bushbury Not-enough-entries  9 10 2003-2004 Boldmere 3 South Birmingham-3 Wolseley-5 Redditch-5 2003-2004 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) M.Wildboar ( Warley Quinborne ) G.Hope ( South Birmingham ) R.Westwood ( Rushall ) 2003-2004 M.A.Biddle ( Boldmere )   Shared    A.Wilson  ( Boldmere ) L.E.Collier ( West Midlands Municipal ) D.Curry ( Halesowen  2003-2004 M.Groombridge ( Walsall Kipping ) D.Prentice ( Tamworth ) S.Gardiner ( Sutton Coldfield ) S.Jones ( Walsall Kipping ) 2003-2004 2003-2004 Olton A ~ ~ Boldmere 2003-2004 Olton C ~ ~ Shirley & Lucas 2003-2004 Redditch ~ ~ University Birmingham B 2003-2004
C.S. Kipping 1891-64 2004-2005 D.Rowe C.Dent-D.Brelsforth J.E.Crump K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump J.Pakenham Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 2004-2005 Walsall Kipping Olton Stourbridge South Birmingham Walsall Kipping-A Solihull Minor St James 8 9 10 2004-2005 Olton-1 Warley Quinborne-1 Sutton Coldfield-5 Walsall Kipping-5A 2004-2005 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) T.Cox ( Sutton Colfield ) L.Hayden ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.Wilson ( Boldmere ) 2004-2005 A.Cottom ( Olton ) M.Groombridge ( Walsall Kipping ) A.Kent ( Sutton Coldfield ) T.Burgess ( Sutton Coldfield ) 2004-2005 D.Gardiner ( Sutton Coldfield ) G.Rosser ( Wolverhampton ) B.Dixon ( Boldmere St Michaels ) A.Walker ( Shirley Lucas ) 2004-2005 2004-2005 South Birmingham A ~ ~ Olton B 2004-2005 Olton C Shared Boldmere A 2004-2005 South Birmingham C ~ ~ Olton D & Redditch 2004-2005
  Cyril Stanley Kipping was the Head Master at Wednesbury High School and was a leading problem composer. Over 6000 of these were published, Most of them being three movers. He was the problemist for "Chess Sutton Coldfield Ltd", "Chess Amateur" and L, Echiquier".  His name has been honoured by being attached to two clubs Wolverhampton Kipping and Walsall Kipping. 2005-2006 G.S.G.Christie J.F.Fahy-D.Brelsforth R.Tuckey K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.A.Crump J.Pakenham Summer League R.Tuckey M.J.Rees 2005-2006 South Birmingham-A Shirley Lucas Tamworth Birmingham Settlement Wolverhampton Northfield Checkmates Minor South Birmingham 8 9 10 2005-2006 South Birmingham-3A Olton-4 Wolseley-5 West Midlands Police-5 2005-2006 M.Wildboar ( Warley Quinborne ) T.Cox ( Sutton Colfield ) K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) R.Walker ( Shirley Lucas ) 2005-2006 M.A.Biddle ( Boldmere )    Shared    P Hodgskin ( South Birmingham )  L.E.Collier ( Birmingham Settlement )   Shared   L.Rawson ( Shirley Lucas ) 2005-2006 P.Staley ( Bushbury ) S.Gardiner ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.Walker ( Shirley Lucas ) S.Black ( Warley Quinborne ) 2005-2006 2005-2006 South Birmingham A ~ ~ Olton A 2005-2006 Olton C Shared South Birmingham C 2005-2006 Northfield Checkmates ~ ~ Shirley & Lucas 2005-2006
2006-2007 G.S.G.Christie J.F.Fahy-D.Brelsforth D.R.Thomas K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys Committee J.Pakenham Summer League R.Tuckey-R.C.Reynolds M.J.Rees 2006-2007 South Birmingham-A Wolverhampton Olton Shirley Lucas Northfield Checkmates Kynoch-A Minor Not-enough-entries  8 9 10 2006-2007 Kynoch-2 South Birmingham-2 Bushbury-4 Walsall Kipping-4 2006-2007 D.W.Anderton ( Walsall Kipping ) D.Gardiner ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.Ambrose ( Halesowen) A.Burnet ( Warley Quinborne ) 2006-2007 M.Groombridge ( Walsall Kipping )    Shared    D.Scriven ( Stourbridge ) P.Staley ( Bushbury ) D.Molineux ( Bushbury ) 2006-2007 K.Moore ( Walsall Kipping  M.B.A.Walker (Mutual Circle ) G Bates ( Wolseley ) G.Harman ( Boldmere ) 2006-2007 2006-2007 South Birmingham A ~ ~ Olton A 2006-2007 South Birmingham C ~ ~ Boldmere 2006-2007 Redditch ~ ~ Olton D 2006-2007
2007-2008 D.Rowe J.F.Fahy-D.Brelsforth D.R.Thomas K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys Committee J.Pakenham Summer League C.J.Evans M.J.Rees 2007-2008 South Birmingham-A Sutton Coldfield Boldmere-A Bushbury Olton Aldridge & District Minor ❼ ❽ ❾ ❿ 2007-2008 South Birmingham-1A Stourbridge-2 Birmingham St Georges-4 Shirley Lucas-5 2007-2008 D.W.Anderton ( Walsall Kipping ) J.Edge ( Halesowen ) R.Glass ( South Birmingham ) G.Hope ( South Birmingham ) 2007-2008 Shared C.East ( Sutton Coldfield )    Shared    S.Harris ( Bushbury ) L.E.Collier ( Birmingham St Georges )   Shared   A.Draper ( Northfield Checkmates ) 2007-2008 M.Phipps ( Boldmere ) A.Webb ( Mutual Circle ) G Bates ( Wolseley )           Shared           B.Dawson ( Kynoch ) 2007-2008 2007-2008 South Birmingham A 16½/20 15/20 Olton A 2007-2008 Mutual Circle B 19/24 17/24 South Birmingham C 2007-2008 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2007-2008
C.H.O'D Alexander 1909-74 2008-2009 M.B.A.Walker J.F.Fahy-A.T.Woollaston B.Whitehouse K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys Committee J.Pakenham Summer League C.J.Evans M.J.Rees 2008-2009 South Birmingham-A Tamworth Greenlands Birmingham St Georges South Birmingham Redditch Minor Birmingham & District Summer League (BDSL) Rapid-play 2008-2009 Warley Quinborne-2A Shirley Lucas-3B Mutual Circle-4 Sutton Coldfield-4 2008-2009 D.W.Anderton ( Walsall Kipping ) K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) S.Smith ( Warley Quinborne ) R.Glass ( South Birmingham ) 2008-2009 R.Lawrence ( Sutton Coldfield ) S.Harris ( Bushbury ) L.E.Collier ( Birmingham St Georges ) S.Goray ( Mutual Circle ) 2008-2009 M.Phipps ( Boldmere ) S.Choudhury ( Mutual Circle ) B.Garner ( Olton ) G.Osborne ( Boldmere ) 2008-2009 2008-2009 South Birmingham A 15 11½ Olton A 2008-2009 South Birmingham C 21 18½ Sutton Coldfield  2008-2009 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2008-2009
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander was a pupil at King Edwards Grammar School in the days when it was in New Street. Whilst there, he won the British Boys Championship in 1926 and later in 1938 and 1956 The British Championship. He became an International Master in 1950 and played a number of times in the International Team Tournaments between 1933 and 1954 and subsequently took on the role of non-playing Captain. It is interesting to note that he was followed by David Anderton who also became The Chief Executive of the BCF. Alexander played some chess for the Erdington Club during his time in Birmingham. Following a successful career over the board he took to correspondence chess and gained an IM title for this as well. During the war, he was one of three men who cracked the German Enigma code.     2009-2010 M.B.A.Walker J.F.Fahy-A.T.Woollaston H.J.Quail K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.Mildenhall J.Pakenham Summer League C.J.Evans M.J.Rees 2009-2010 South Birmingham-A West Bromwich  Sutton Coldfield Mercia Warley Quinborne Tamworth Minor 2009-2010 West Bromwich-2  Warley Quinborne-2 Boldmere-4 Warley Quinborne-5 2009-2010 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) G.Hope ( South Birmingham ) N.Fordham ( Mutual Circle ) J.Fahy ( Warley Quinborne ) 2009-2010 L.E.Collier ( St Georges )    Shared    L.Hayden ( Sutton Coldfield ) M.B.A.Walker ( Mutual Circle ) M.Biernacki ( Sutton Coldfield ) 2009-2010 B.Dixon ( Boldmere )    Shared    A.Taylor ( Halesowen ) P.M.Woodward ( Warley Quinborne ) P.Kearns ( Warley Quinborne ) 2009-2010 2009-2010 Sutton Coldfield A   WATS 12 12 West Bromwich 2009-2010 South Birmingham B 21 18½ Redditch A 2009-2010 Mutual Circle C ~ ~ Sutton Coldfield B 2009-2010
2010-2011 M.B.A.Walker A.T.Woollaston D.Short K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.Mildenhall J.Pakenham Summer League Records-on-line M.J.Rees 2010-2011 Lichfield Solihull Lichfield Westminster Sutton Coldfield Kynoch-A Minor Open 7400 max / 560 6600 max / 480 5800 max / 400 2010-2011 Lichfield-3 Warley Quinborne-1B Westminster-4 Redditch-4 2010-2011 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) T.A.Lane ( South Birmingham ) G.Hope ( South Birmingham ) 2010-2011 R.Mitchell ( Redditch ) J.Dale ( Shirley Lucas ) J.Llewelyn ( Olton ) I.Emery ( Warley Quinborne ) 2010-2011 D.Green ( Sutton Coldfield ) P.Kearns ( Warley Quinborne ) B.Allsop ( Greenlands ) R.Collett ( Greenlands ) 2010-2011 2010-2011 South Birmingham A 19 11 Olton A 2010-2011 South Birmingham C 15½ 12½ Mutual Circle A 2010-2011 Mutual Circle B 12½ 9½ Lichfield 2010-2011
2011-2012 M.B.A.Walker A.T.Woollaston T.A.Lane K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker K.G.Humphreys J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2011-2012 South Birmingham-A Boldmere Solihull Halesowen Solihull Solihull Minor South Birmingham 7400 6600 5800 2011-2012 South Birmingham-1A Boldmere-3 Redditch-4 Sutton Coldfield-4 2011-2012 M.Wildboar ( Warley Quinborne ) A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) J.Turner ( Warley Quinborne ) 2011-2012 L.E.Collier ( St Georges )    Shared    A.Wilson ( Boldmere ) L.Hayden ( Sutton Coldfield ) I.Emery ( Warley Quinborne ) 2011-2012 B.Dixon ( Boldmere )    Shared    A.Holowczak ( Birmingham Checkmates ) R.Collett ( Greenlands ) R.Hillman  ( Boldmere ) 2011-2012 2011-2012 South Birmingham A 15½ 11 Olton A & Warley Quinborne A 2011-2012 South Birmingham C 10 8 Boldmere A & Mutual Circle B  2011-2012 Boldmere B 16½ 15½ Walsall Kipping 2011-2012
2012-2013 M.B.A.Walker-T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston D.Brelsforth K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker J.Mildenhall J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2012-2013 Shirley Wythall Tamworth South Birmingham Olton-A Solihull South Birmingham Minor Shirley Wythall Sutton Coldfield Westminster 5800 2012-2013 South Birmingham-1A Sutton Coldfield-1 Olton-4A University Birmingham-6 2012-2013 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) K.R.Ingram ( Kynoch ) L.Hayden ( Sutton Coldfield ) 2012-2013 D.Wightman ( Wolverhampton ) A.Kent ( Sutton Coldfield ) D.Green ( Sutton Coldfield ) M.Phipps ( Boldmere ) 2012-2013 H.Watkins ( Warley Quinborne ) M.Hathaway ( West Mids Police ) R.Hillman  ( Boldmere ) S.Faye ( Mutual Circle ) 2012-2013 2012-2013 South Birmingham A 18½ 13½ South Birmingham B 2012-2013 South Birmingham D 16½ 15½ Olton B 2012-2013 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2012-2013
2013-2014 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston P.F.Staley K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker J.Mildenhall J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2013-2014 Walsall Kipping Solihull-A Lichfield Solihull-A Solihull Birmingham St Georges Minor Halesowen Redditch South Birmingham 5800 2013-2014 Redditch-3 Sutton Coldfield-2 Sutton Coldfield-4 Solihull-4A 2013-2014 K.R.Ingram ( Shirley Wythall ) A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Gardiner ( Sutton Coldfield ) D.Wightman ( Wolverhampton ) 2013-2014 L.E.Collier ( St Georges )     Shared     M.Paffard ( Mutual Circle ) D.Green ( Sutton Coldfield ) J.Green ( Solihull ) 2013-2014 F.S.Dickson ( South Birmingham ) A.T.Woollaston ( South Birmingham ) S.Crockett ( University of Birmingham ) M.Clark ( Halesowen ) 2013-2014 2013-2014 South Birmingham A 20½ 14 South Birmingham B & Olton A 2013-2014 Sutton Coldfield B 15½ 15½ Boldmere B 2013-2014 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2013-2014
W.A. Fairhurst 1903-82 2014-2015 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston G.S.G.Christie K.J.Langston D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker J.Mildenhall J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2014-2015 South Birmingham-A Warley Quinborne-A Solihull South Birmingham Redditch South Birmingham-A Minor South Birmingham South Birmingham Westminster 5800 2014-2015 South Birmingham-1A South Birmingham-2A University Birmingham-4 Greenlands-4 2014-2015 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) R.Mycroft ( South Birmingham ) I.Emery ( Warley Quinborne ) R.Glass ( South Birmingham ) 2014-2015 M.Phipps ( Boldmere ) A.Kent ( Sutton Coldfield ) L.E.Collier ( Birmingham St Georges )   Shared   M.Ho ( South Birmingham )  2014-2015 R.Marks ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.East ( Sutton Coldfield ) A.Taylor ( Halesowen ) A.Field ( Halesowen ) 2014-2015 2014-2015 Olton A 11½/16 11/16 South Birmingham A 2014-2015 South Birmingham C 15/16 7½/16 Sutton C'field B & Mutual Circle 2014-2015 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2014-2015
  William Albert Fairhurst played for Wolverhampton chess club for a number of seasons prior to 1930 following which he went to live in Scotland where he won the Scottish Championship eleven times. His ability can best be gauged by his drawn 6 game match with Eliskases, his triumph in winning a strong British Championship in 1937 and taking the Commonwealth Championship in 1951. He became an International Master  in 1952 and played in 6 Olympiads for Scotland and one for New Zealand 2015-2016 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston M.A.Hunt R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker J.Mildenhall J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2015-2016 Sutton Coldfield Wolverhampton Mutual Circle Mutual Circle Greenlands Rushall Minor South Birmingham-A Halesowen Warley Quinborne 5800 2015-2016 South Birmingham-1A South Birmingham-3 Mutual Circle-4 Redditch-4 2015-2016 R.Mycroft ( South Birmingham ) J.Edge ( Halesowen ) J.Mildenhall ( Sutton Coldfield ) T.A.Lane ( South Birmingham ) 2015-2016  M.Ho ( South Birmingham ) R.Marks ( Sutton Coldfield ) K.Grzywaczewski ( Olton ) P.Maybury ( Warley Quinborne ) 2015-2016 A.T.Woollaston ( South Birmingham ) R.Wiltshir ( Rushall )  R.Threlfall ( Rushall ) J.Kadar ( South Birmingham ) 2015-2016 2015-2016 Sutton Coldfield A 16/20 15/20 South Birmingham A 2015-2016 South Birmingham C 15½/24 13/24 Sutton Coldfield B 2015-2016 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2015-2016
2016-2017 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston C.J.Evans R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass A.T.Woollaston A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2016-2017 Halesowen West Bromwich  Redditch Birmingham Halesowen Shirley Wythall Minor Sutton Coldfield Warley Quinborne Shirley Wythall Shirley Wythall 2016-2017 South Birmingham-1A Redditch-3 Rushall-4 University Birmingham-6 2016-2017 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) R.Glass ( South Birmingham ) K.R.Ingram ( Shirley Wythall ) J.Fahy ( Warley Quinborne ) 2016-2017 D.Gardiner ( Sutton Coldfield ) C.Pitt ( Shirley Wythall ) N.Papathanasopoulos ( South Birmingham )  A.Hussain ( Warley Quinborne ) 2016-2017  R.Threlfall ( Rushall ) P.Hughes ( Mutual Circle ) P.Barrett ( Coleshill ) J.Kadar ( South Birmingham ) 2016-2017 2016-2017 Halesowen A 16½/20 15½/20 South Birmingham A 2016-2017 Mutual Circle A 13/20 12/20 Solihull A 2016-2017 Warley Quinborne B 15½/24 14/24 Westminster 2016-2017
2017-2018 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston P.J.Hughes R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass A.T.Woollaston A.R.Holowczak A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2017-2018 Sutton Coldfield Redditch Mutual Circle-A Westminster Greenlands University of Birmingham Minor Sutton Coldfield Redditch South Birmingham South Birmingham 2017-2018 Stourbridge-2 Warley Quinborne-1 Westminster-4 Olton-5 2017-2018 A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) I.Emery ( Warley Quinborne ) K.R.Ingram ( Shirley Wythall ) T.A.Lane ( South Birmingham ) 2017-2018 R.Marks ( Sutton Coldfield ) R.Bicknell ( Redditch ) M. Chowdhury ( Westminster ) D.Smith ( Redditch ) 2017-2018 C.East ( Sutton Coldfield ) B.Dixon ( Boldmere ) S.Leadbetter ( University of Birmingham ) J.Kadar ( South Birmingham ) 2017-2018 2017-2018 Sutton Coldfield A 16½/20 14½/20 South Birmingham A 2017-2018 South Birmingham B  WATS 12½/20 12½/20 Boldmere 2017-2018 South Birmingham C 15½/20 15/20 Sutton Coldfield B 2017-2018
B.H. Wood 1912-90 and W. Ritson-Morry 1912-93 2018-2019 T.A.Lane T.V.Benson D.J.Green R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker T.A.Lane J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2018-2019 Solihull South Birmingham-A University of Birmingham Redditch Solihull Birmingham St Georges Coleshill South Birmingham Wolverhampton South Birmingham Greenlands 2018-2019 South Birmingham-1A Boldmere-2 Redditch-4 Greenlands-4 Open ► Individual ❶ Open Individual ❷ 1900 Max ◄ Grade ► Individual ❸ 1750 Max Individual ❹ 1600 Max ◄ Grade ► Individual ❺ 1450 Max Individual ❻ 1300 Max ◄ Grade ► 2018-2019 Olton A 14½/24 12½/24 South Birmingham A 2018-2019 South Birmingham C 15½/20 12/20 Mutual Circle A 2018-2019 South Birmingham D 16½/24 14½/24 Coleshill 2018-2019
Baruch H. Wood and William Ritson-Morry were at school together in North Wales and played a lot of chess against each other. B.H. went on to Bangor University to read Chemistry and Ritson joined a legal practice. They then met up again when B.H. came to University Birmingham and was a contemporary of the late Dr. L.K. Ingram the father of K.R. Ingram. Ritson became a Solicitor and had a local government post with Sutton Council. B.H. joined a manufacturing company involved with Chemicals. B.H. found time to organise the seaside congresses and in1935 founded his magazine “Chess”. In addition to the magazine the business sold Chess sets, score sheets, chess clocks and chess books, all this whilst still doing the day job. In 1937 YMCA Sutton Coldfield Chess Club joined the BDCL with B.H. the Club Secretary. Ritson produced chess articles and annotations for games and in 1939 when the company Jaques sued 'Chess' magazine for describing their chess sets as ' Genuine Staunton' it was Ritson who fought the case. Initially lost but won on appeal. When World War 2 came along B.H. was deemed to be in a preserved Chemicals occupation. Ritson had been identified with a weak heart during his childhood. Chess was still going on around the world in such places as USA, Argentina and Germany! Although there was no League some friendly matches still took place in 1942 'Chess' magazine volume 8 for December (page 34) in a section News from Everywhere the following from B.H. Wood. "Excellent work by Mr and Mrs Ritson Morry has brought a Sutton Coldfield Chess Club into being with 30 members after ten days. The club room is in the Masonic Buildings, next door to the "Chess" offices, the whole atmosphere just round there simply reeks of chess” (Ritson was on the BDCL Management committee) the magazine therefore carried on and a good relationship continued. Apart from their considerable contribution to the League from the 1930s onwards, they were an influence in Warwickshire, the Midlands, Nationally and Internationally. Ritson founded the Birmingham Junior League and organised the first World Junior Championship in 1951. He organised the Birmingham Easter Congress for decades, but his real love was the Hastings International Congress of which he was for years Congress Director. Both were F.I.D.E.Arbiters, Ritson being the longest serving Arbiter at the time of his death. As players both represented England (B.H. in the 1939 Olympiad), both were runners-up in the British Championship and were British Postal Champions.  Their styles were different. B.H. played trappy openings and relied on sharp tactics, whilst Ritson played quieter openings, relied on the principles of Nimzovich in the middle game and was especially good at end games. B.H. was the force behind the Sutton Coldfield Division 1 side and Ritson the Erdington Division 1 side before moving on to Mutual Circle after Erdington folded. They would not have liked being remembered together following a rift between the players in 1954 over a slanderous remark, but to the BDCL they were both a credit to our League. 2019-2020 T.A.Lane T.V.Benson-A.T.Woollaston D.J.Green R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston A.T.Woollaston R.Sandhu 2019-2020 South Birmingham-A Mutual Circle Rushall Stourbridge Warley Quinborne Birmingham St Georges Solihull-A Suspended Suspended Suspended Suspended 2019-2020 No Final Sutton Coldfield-2 Coleshill-4 No Final 2018-2019 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) M. Chowdhury ( Westminster ) J.Mildenhall ( Sutton Coldfield ) J.Dale ( Shirley Wythall ) 2018-2019 T.W.Walker ( South Birmingham ) S.A.Killarney ( South Birmingham ) K.J.Spillane ( Boldmere ) P.Barrett ( Coleshill ) 2018-2019 J.Kadar ( South Birmingham ) J.B.Lewis ( Warley Quinborne ) T. Vanes ( Coleshill ) M.Smith ( South Birmingham ) 2018-2019 2019-2020 Sutton Coldfield A   WATS 14/24 14/24 South Birmingham A 2019-2020 Olton A 15/24 13½/24 South Birmingham B 2019-2020 Colshill 19/24 16/24 Solihull-B 2019-2020
2020-2022 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston D.J.Green R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston A.T.Woollaston R.Sandhu 2020-2022 Solihull Lichfield Oscott-A Mutual Circle South Birmingham Not-enough-entries  Solihull-A Sutton Coldfield Warley Quinborne Warley Quinborne South Birmingham 2020-2022 Suspended Suspended Suspended Suspended 2019-2020 J.Edge ( Halesowen ) L.Grinsell ( Bushbury )           N.Byrne ( Solihull )          Shared     N.Clarke ( South Birmingham ) 2019-2020 M.A.Biddle ( Oscott )       Shared        K.Spillane ( Oscott ) B.Dixon ( Boldmere )  D.Green ( South Birmingham ) 2019-2020 J.B.Lewis ( Warley Quinborne ) R.J.Evans ( Ward End ) Bignall, (Spike) Paul ( Longbridge ) Mills, Kieran ( Coleshill ) 2019-2020 2020-2022 Suspended Suspended 2020-2022 Suspended ~ ~ Suspended 2020-2022 Suspended ~ ~ Suspended 2020-2022
2022-2023 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston J.Summerfield R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston A.T.Woollaston R.Sandhu 2022-2023 Solihull-A Redditch Rushall Kynoch South Birmingham Not-enough-entries  Coleshill Sutton Coldfield South Birmingham-B South Birmingham Solihull 2022-2023 Sutton Coldfield-1 Sutton Coldfield-2 South Birmingham-5 South Birmingham-4 2022-2023 M.M.Mesesan ( Sutton Coldfield )   Shared    A.Southall ( Warley Quinborne ) R.Glass ( South Birmingham ) I.Emery ( Warley Quinborne ) 2022-2023 B.A.D.S.Silva, ( South Birmingham ) M.Little ( South Birmingham ) Vanes, Thomas ( Coleshill ) Cox, Chris M ( Mercia ) 2022-2023 S.A.Folkes ( Mutual Circle ) E.Murphy ( Coleshill ) C.Ranasinghe ( South Birmingham ) D.J.Green ( Coleshill ) 2022-2023 2022-2023 South Birmingham A 17/24 14/24 Mutual A 2022-2023 South Birmingham C 15/20 12/20 Mutual Circle B 2022-2023 Olton B 16/24 13½/24 South Birmingham D 2022-2023
2023-2024 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston S.Fishburne R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2023-2024 Sutton Coldfield South Birmingham-A Solihull Redditch Longbridge 6 Solihull-B Central Birmingham South Birmingham-A South Birmingham South Birmingham 2023-2024 Stourbridge-3 Warley Quinborne-2A Redditch-4 Solihull 5A 2023-2024 C.Hazlehurst ( South Birmingham ) J.Edge ( Halesowen ) P.C.Maybury ( Warley Quinborne ) J.Turner ( Warley Quinborne ) 2023-2024 M.A.Drugan ( South Birmingham ) J.Kadar ( South Birmingham ) A.Norton ( Kynoch ) J.A.Gillespie ( Olton ) 2023-2024 M.Mehmood ( Solihull ) I.Kings ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Billows ( Kynoch ) P.Parnell ( Coleshill ) 2023-2024 2023-2024 South Birmingham A 18/24 12½/24 Mutual A 2023-2024 Olton C 13/20 12/20 South Birmingham B 2023-2024 Sutton Coldfield 17/24 13½/24 Solihull-B 2023-2024
2024-2025 T.A.Lane A.T.Woollaston P.B.Sharratt R.F.Collett D.R.Thomas M.A.Biddle T.W.Walker R.Glass J.Mildenhall A.R.Holowczak A.T.Woollaston A.T.Woollaston R.C.Reynolds 2024-2025 Central Birmingham Central Birmingham S University of Birmingham Sutton Coldfield-A 6 Lichfield Not-enough-entries  7400 6600 5800 2024-2025 Central Birmingham-2 South Birmingham-1A Birmingham St Georges-4 Mercia-4 2024-2025 C.Hazlehurst ( South Birmingham ) I.Emery ( Warley Quinborne ) D.Smith ( Redditch ) B.Atwell ( Redditch ) 2024-2025 J.Kadar ( South Birmingham )            Shared            T.Kazemi ( Olton ) R.Lynas (Olton ) D.Jones ( Stourbridge ) 2024-2025 L.Maciel ( South Birmingham ) G.Stepanovic ( Central Birmingham ) W.Durrant-Jones ( Kynoch ) T.Plackowski ( Solihull ) 2024-2025 2024-2025 South Birmingham A 19½/24 16½/24 Solihull A 2024-2025 South Birmingham C 13/20 11/20 Olton B & Central B'ham A 2024-2025 Not-enough-entries  ~ ~ Not-enough-entries  2024-2025
2025-2026 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2025-2026 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2025-2026 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2025-2026 1 1 2 2 2025-2026 3 3 4 4 2025-2026 5 5 6 6 2025-2026 2025-2026 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2025-2026 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2025-2026 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2025-2026
2026-2027 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2026-2027 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2026-2027 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2026-2027 1 1 2 2 2026-2027 3 3 4 4 2026-2027 5 5 6 6 2026-2027 2026-2027 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2026-2027 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2026-2027 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2026-2027
2027-2028 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2027-2028 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2027-2028 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2027-2028 1 1 2 2 2027-2028 3 3 4 4 2027-2028 5 5 6 6 2027-2028 2027-2028 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2027-2028 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2027-2028 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2027-2028
2028-2029 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2028-2029 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2028-2029 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2028-2029 1 1 2 2 2028-2029 3 3 4 4 2028-2029 5 5 6 6 2028-2029 2028-2029 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2028-2029 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2028-2029 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2028-2029
2029-2030 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2029-2030 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2029-2030 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2029-2030 1 1 2 2 2029-2030 3 3 4 4 2029-2030 5 5 6 6 2029-2030 2029-2030 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2029-2030 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2029-2030 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2029-2030
2030-2031 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2030-2031 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2030-2031 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2030-2031 1 1 2 2 2030-2031 3 3 4 4 2030-2031 5 5 6 6 2030-2031 2030-2031 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2030-2031 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2030-2031 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2030-2031
2031-2032 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2031-2032 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2031-2032 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2031-2032 1 1 2 2 2031-2032 3 3 4 4 2031-2032 5 5 6 6 2031-2032 2031-2032 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2031-2032 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2031-2032 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2031-2032
2032-2033 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2032-2033 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2032-2033 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2032-2033 1 1 2 2 2032-2033 3 3 4 4 2032-2033 5 5 6 6 2032-2033 2032-2033 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2032-2033 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2032-2033 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2032-2033
2033-2034 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2033-2034 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2033-2034 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2033-2034 1 1 2 2 2033-2034 3 3 4 4 2033-2034 5 5 6 6 2033-2034 2033-2034 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2033-2034 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2033-2034 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2033-2034
A.J. Miles 1955-2001 2034-2035 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2034-2035 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2034-2035 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2034-2035 1 1 2 2 2034-2035 3 3 4 4 2034-2035 5 5 6 6 2034-2035 2034-2035 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2034-2035 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2034-2035 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2034-2035
One of Birmingham's strongest players Anthony J Miles, like C.H.O'D Alexander, attended King Edward's School. Tony played for Birmingham Chess Club he won the Division 1 Individual Title in 1970 and was in Birmingham's 1973 Division 1 Championship team and represented England on top board at the Olympiads. In 1974, the 18-year-old Miles became the first and only Briton to win the world junior chess championship, a notoriously demanding tournament. Two years later, after further international successes, he won the £5,000 prize offered by Jim Slater, the financier, for the first Briton to become a chess grandmaster. By 1980, he was one of the world's top 10 players. Miles's play became even more formidable, if occasionally eccentric, among the players he defeated were former world champions Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, and Anatoly Karpov, becoming only the second Briton in the century to defeat a reigning world champion. It was a memorable confrontation. Miles opted for a bizarre self-invented opening that Karpov later described as an insult and that Miles later called the "Birmingham defence" after his home city. "It was typical Tony. He had no respect for Karpov. He didn't want to get involved with Karpov's immense technical knowledge of the game. Instead he got him involved in a street brawl and eventually outfought and outplayed him," said Ray Edwards, the chairman of the British Chess Magazine. He believed that the bigger they were, the harder they fell. Miles's ultimate ambition was, of course, the world championship, but he was never able to scale these heights. In 1982 Miles won the British Chess championship - a title that had hitherto eluded him - but the emergence of Garry Kasparov in the 1980s saw the eclipse of Miles's hopes: he never managed to defeat the genius from Baku. At the same time, another brilliant - and younger - British player, Nigel Short, displaced Miles as the number one player in this country. he continued to compete in tournaments. While he never recaptured the brilliance of his early years, Miles had some successes. Tony was found dead at his Harborne home aged 46. A post-mortem examination has revealed that he died from natural causes: a heart attack brought on by his diabetes, from which he had suffered.  2035-2036 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2035-2036 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2035-2036 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2035-2036 1 1 2 2 2035-2036 3 3 4 4 2035-2036 5 5 6 6 2035-2036 2035-2036 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2035-2036 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2035-2036 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2035-2036
2036-2037 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2036-2037 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2036-2037 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2036-2037 1 1 2 2 2036-2037 3 3 4 4 2036-2037 5 5 6 6 2036-2037 2036-2037 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2036-2037 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2036-2037 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2036-2037
2037-2038 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2037-2038 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2037-2038 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2037-2038 1 1 2 2 2037-2038 3 3 4 4 2037-2038 5 5 6 6 2037-2038 2037-2038 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2037-2038 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2037-2038 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2037-2038
2038-2039 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2038-2039 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2038-2039 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2038-2039 1 1 2 2 2038-2039 3 3 4 4 2038-2039 5 5 6 6 2038-2039 2038-2039 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2038-2039 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2038-2039 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2038-2039
2039-2040 General Secretary Records  President Treasurer Grading Rules Match Tourney Lightning Rapidplay Summer League Records Web Master 2039-2040 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minor Open 7400 6600 5800 2039-2040 Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington 2039-2040 1 1 2 2 2039-2040 3 3 4 4 2039-2040 5 5 6 6 2039-2040 2039-2040 Lightning A ~ ~ Lightning A 2039-2040 Lightning B ~ ~ Lightning B 2039-2040 Lightning C ~ ~ Lightning C 2039-2040
♘  General Secretary's Records Secretary President Treasurer Grading Rules    Match   Tournament  Lightning Rapidplay Summer Lge Bulletin / Records Web Master ▲ ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ❻ Minor Open 7400max 6600max 5800max ▲ Terrill Homer Townshend Barrington ▲ Indy ❶ Indy ❶ Indy ❷ Indy ❷ ♘ Indy ❸ Indy ❸ Indy ❹ Indy ❹ ♘ Indy ❺ Indy ❺ Indy ❻ Indy ❻ ▲   Section A   Section B   Section C ♘
 BIRMINGHAM & DISTRICT CHESS LEAGUE OFFICIALS    BIRMINGHAM & DISTRICT CHESS LEAGUE                                Division Champions  Trophy Winners   Individual Winners & Runners up  Individual Winners & Runners up  Individual Winners & Runners up   BDCL 10 Second  Team Lightning Tournament
     
     TEAM LIGHTNING TOURNAMENT  
                                         
    Tuesday 11 March 2025 at Olton Chess Club    
J.A. Crump 1931-2005     Commencing at 7.15pm  
  If Tony was not part of your committee then you really didn't have one. Tony seemed to be on every committee, and once on it he stayed on it. Tony served his National Service "out east" and afterwards he went to Lucas's as a draughtsman and joined their Chess Club somewhere around 1953, his leadership qualities were soon realised and in 1955 he became the Club Secretary which he held continuously 50 years. In 1969/70 Tony was President of the BDCL and was already involved on several different committees. He became Chairman of the Lightning Tournament Committee in 1981/82 and ran it each subsequent year until spring 2005. Mike Biddle writes "I first met Tony in 1961 when he came to my school and recruited me, along with a few other pupils, to the Lucas Chess Club. Tony was my first captain in the BDCL where we played together in Division 6. Although I only stayed at Lucas for 3 seasons the experience that I gained was invaluable. I was able to benefit from his knowledge and experience as well as his good sense of fair play. I often gave him a lift to Rules committee meetings which we were both on, and when reminiscing about the past I found his memory to be wonderfully sharp, indeed far better than mine. Tony was a great servant to the League, I hope space can be found in the Roll of Honour for him; there is no more deserving candidate." Here are some of the roles and committees that Tony served on; Tournament Committee 1961-05; Match Committee 1963-05; Finance & General Purpose Committee 1969-05; Centenary Committee 1991-95; Morry-Wood Committee 1999-05;  Publicity Committee 2000-05; Rapid Play Committee 2002-05; Individual Committee 2004-05; W.C.A. Representative 1970-93; Birmingham Easter Congress Representative 1982-93; Junior League Representative 1985-05; Staffordshire Whitsun Congress Representative 1985-05.  Thank you, Tony.      
    Entry Fee: £6 per team  
    At least 80% of entry fees will be returned in prizes.  
     
    Entry forms will be available from www.birminghamchess.org.uk or from the chairman of the Team Lightning Committee.  
     
     
    ORGANIZATION OF EVENTS  
     
Arthur Utton 1908-2007     1.     All players shall be registered in the BDCL for the current season.  
  Arthur E. Utton has died, at the age of 99. Although a competent player - he once drew a game with a visiting Master, possibly Eliskases - Arthur is best known, not for his chess, but for the great service he rendered the League over four decades. Arthur had not played competitively for many years, but was BDCL Treasurer from 1968 to 1983, and a League auditor from 1984 until the year of his death. Brian Whitehouse, Arthur's co-auditor, describes Arthur as "one of the old school" and reports that he took his BDCL responsibilities very seriously, determined never to "let anything get past him" that might cause harm or risk to the League's finances. Assiduous and risk-averse, Arthur was also good company, with many a story to tell. He continued to work professionally until the age of 94, only finally giving up work because, after a bout of pneumonia, he feared to "let down" his clients! Referring to this, Brian Whitehouse writes: "Typical Arthur and typical Arthur to have given so well and selflessly of his time and expertise to the League for so many years. On behalf of the League and myself; thank you Arthur; it was a privilege to have known you.     2.     Teams shall consist of four or five players, four playing in each match.  
    3.     Teams must play in order of strength in all matches.  
    4.   The committee will group entries into sections of between four and eight teams based on average grades of the four strongest players nominated.   
    5.   In each section each team shall play every other team once, colours being decided by reference to the pairing tables displayed in the playing hall.  
    6.   All captains must report to the controller at least 15 minutes before the start of the event.  
    7.   At the end of each match the captain of the team having the white pieces on top board shall complete a result card which shall be signed by both captains and immediately handed to the controller.  
    8.   Teams shall score one point for each game won and half a point for each drawn game. The team with the greatest number of game points shall win the section.  
D. Rowe, 1948-2012     9.   The Individual prize will go to the player that gives the best performance, decided by the committee.  
Dave Rowe. first appeared in the League Handbook in 1967 as winner of the League Individual for Division Five while playing for Warley Chess Club; he first became an official of any sort in 1974 when, unsurprisingly in view of his profession of accountancy, he became one of the League's auditors. A couple of years later he took over the critical role of Record Secretary, He held the post on that occasion for four seasons, which given the size of the league at the height of the Fischer-inspired boom in chess was an impressive achievement: In 1982 he became General Secretary a post he held for six years, In 1985 Dave still found time to win another Individual title this time in Division 3 then in 1988 it was back to the Record Secretary's job for seven more years. Twice more he was General Secretary when other candidates could not be found; if a job needed doing he would always give it a go. Dave had successfully qualified as a BCF arbiter and was heavily involved in the organisation and running of most of the local congresses, notably the Midland Open which he persuaded his club to take over as a franchise in the 1990s, and the Warwickshire Championships. At Club level Dave moved from Warley Quinborne to become the Secretary of the long running Birmingham Chess Club, a post he held until ill health took is life aged 64.     10. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning Teams of each section and the best Individual performance from all of the sections, not each section. The League Lightning Team Trophy will be awarded to the winners of the highest graded section.  
    11. Tie splitting will be done in the case of teams by the result of the match they played in their section.  If still unresolved, then by Board Count in this match. If still unresolved, by elimination of the bottom board in this match. Should it still be unresolved a tie will be declared.  
    Tie Splitting is based on the result of the Match between the teams, if that was a draw then board count or a Play off occurs, If still unresolved a tie is declared.   WATS = Win after Tie Splitting  
    RULES OF PLAY  
    1.   The FIDE Laws of Chess and the ECF Tournament Rules shall be applied in full except were modified below.  
    2.   The time limit shall be ten seconds per move.  
    3.   Each player in turn shall move when the buzzer sounds and neither before nor after.  
M.B.A. Walker 1938-2015     4.    Any player making an illegal move immediately loses the game.  
  Mike Walker was another who would not let anyone down; many a mile was driven in order to chauffeur players to and from games in order to get a full team out. Many a club night he would brave the snow and frost to open the club room in case someone would turn up and many a wise word was given when the phone rang to ask for advice. My first encounter with Mike was playing at a congress where he had gone to see how a young club player was getting on, I casually mentioned in-between games I may be looking for a new club and before you could blink an eye he had my Name Address and Phone Number and then wished me luck in the next game. On arrival home a letter was through the door with all the facts and figures and club History should I wish to join? He had driven 15 miles out of his way at the drop of an hat to help the club. It was this overriding willingness to turn out even when unwell that perhaps contributed to his death of pneumonia aged 76. Mike had settled in Birmingham in 1968 taking the post of Mathematics lecturer at University Birmingham, after befriending W. Ritson Morry he Joined Mutual Circle and went on to become Chairman of the Rules Committee 1988-98; President 1995-96; Honorary General Secretary 2008-13; Mutual Circle Stalwart 33 years. I'm only Records Secretary because of Mike's enthusiasm rubbing off on me. Set them up Mike we'll all be along shortly... A.T. Woollaston.      5.   Check will be called when checking your opponent. Failure to do so will void your right to claim the game under rule 4.  
    6.   Methods of obtaining a result which imply the existence of a game score (e.g. draw by repetition or 50 move rule) cannot be applied.  
    7.   All games shall be played to a finish unless the controller is satisfied that neither player is attempting to win, when he may declare the game drawn.  
    8.   The controller’s decision shall be final.  
    TEAM PAIRING TABLES  
    FOR AMERICAN OR ALL-PLAY-ALL TOURNAMENTS  
    5 or 6 teams 7 or 8 teams  
    Round Pairings Round Pairings  
David Anderton, CM; O.B.E. 1941-2022     1 1–6 2–5 3–4 1 1–8 2–7 3–6 4–5  
David joined the Walsall Kipping (K.) chess club in 1982, having played previously for the Wolverhampton Kipping chess club, and then the Rock Kipping chess club*. He brought a national reputation with him. He had been honoured in 1977, ‘for services to chess. These had included the (non-playing) Captaincy of the English men’s team at International Chess Olympiads; and also, the provision of much legal advice to the British Chess Federation (BCF). Together these had brought him into contact with the cream of British chess players and this served him well later on. He was also a strong player himself and his presence no doubt assisted in attracting other strong players to the club. He only gradually took to participating in the club’s internal competitions though, but when he did so he regularly became Club Champion. However, after he had won it 7 times in succession, he very generously, and voluntarily, withdrew from entering, so as to give others the opportunity to shine. Nevertheless, he was a very competitive player and prepared for his league fixtures with meticulous care. Since David’s arrival, Walsall K. consistently maintained strong positions in both Divisions 1 of the BDCL and the WDCL; winning the Birmingham League Championship 5 times and the Wolverhampton Championship 3 times. However it was a measure of the man’s willingness to take a back seat, that it was only in 2002 that he finally became Captain of the Div. 1 team in the Birmingham League, and even later, in 2008, that he became Captain of the Div 1 team in the WDCL team. He was always particularly keen though on the club fighting for the title of Staffordshire Champion, via its Hickman Cup tournament; and in this he was very successful, the club winning it no less than 18 times between 1982 and 2019. As a Captain he was determined to make the most of the club’s talents. Consequently, he never failed to ensure, before agreeing fixture dates, that he knew exactly who would be available; and he expected a full commitment from his teams. In return, he consistently provided lifts to team members to matches; although this became an increasingly demanding task for him. David was also a great organizer, and his skills in this area were highlighted when the club decided to celebrate its 1992 Jubilee with a tournament. He willingly took on the task of organizer and managed to attract sufficient sponsorship locally so as to enable a major Chess Tournament to be played, at the Walsall Campus. The WALSALL KIPPING JUBILEE CHESS TOURNAMENT 1992 was played over the three days of the Easter weekend, and attracted entries from more than nine countries. The players included Alexei Suetin of Moscow, a leading Russian grandmaster (GM), six other GMs, and eleven international masters (IM). The winner was GM Murray Chandler from New Zealand. It was regarded as a great success. The national magazine CHESS described it at the time as 'the strongest ever weekend tournament on British soil', and recognized that the 'enticing conditions…' provided by David Anderton, chief organiser from the club, played a major part in this achievement. Bernard Cafferty (Birmingham Post) claimed that it ‘brought a collection of national chess talent to the West Midlands…’. It also attracted the attention of the BCF and it was at their request that David produced a leaflet ‘Note on the Organisation of the Walsall Kipping Jubilee Tournament’ for use by the BCF. David followed this up later by jointly organizing, along with Lawrence Cooper of Stafford, the STAFFORDSHIRE CENTENARY INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 1997. It was hosted by the Walsall Kipping Chess Club at its premises, and was arranged as A Nine-Round Scheveningen Tournament in which the players are divided into two teams; and all the players in Team A play all those in Team B. It was the first International Chess tournament to be held in Staffordshire and recognized for international title purposes. It attracted an entry that included 3 GMs; 1 WGM (Jana Bellin); 6 IMs and 1WM. The two leading scorers were GM Bogdan Lalic and IM Jonathan Rowson. David was further involved in instigating and setting up a training scheme for juniors at The Joseph Leckie Community School in 1993. Professional help, in the shape of Robert Bellin, was provided through sponsorship and it attracted a substantial number of local children. Much progress and enthusiasm was generated, and it ran for three years. In turn this encouraged Ray Dolan, another club member, to eventually set up the currently very successful Bloxwich Junior Chess Academy, to carry on the good work. In the meantime, the Walsall K. club was involved in organizing an annual one-day Rapid play Congress. Again, David became instrumental in attracting sponsorship for it, and this enabled it to offer larger prizes and become a very attractive event. He became the organizer for it in 1999, and ran it till it finished in 2008. It regularly attracted players from all over the Midlands and sometimes further afield. In the meantime, David pursued his personal chess with much commitment. This might be exemplified by the following: -in 1959 he became the WDCL individual Champion by winning its premier individual tournament, the Rock Cup; and in 2009 he successfully repeated this achievement, 50 years later! Also, apart from his club and Staffs County matches he took part annually in National events too. He organized teams in the 4NCL league and participated in British events, achieving regular success- latterly in the Senior Championships. His achievements were too complex to cover in detail here; but they may be elsewhere. Here though is a brief list of some of them: -     2 6–4 5–3 1–2 2 8–5 6–4 7–3 1–2  
    3 2–6 3–1 4–5 3 2–8 3–1 4–7 5–6  
    4 6–5 1–4 2–3 4 8–6 7–5 1–4 2–3  
    5 3–6 4–2 5–1 5 3–8 4–2 5–1 6–7  
    6 8–7 1–6 2–5 3–4  
    7 4–8 5–3 6–2 7–1  
    Teams must draw numbers before the tournament starts.  
    The first number in each pairing gives the team White on top board, and then Black, White, and Black on succeeding boards.  
    When the number of teams is odd, the highest number in each table represents the bye.  
     
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
WDCL Rock Cup winner 1959, 1960, 1962, 2009.    
WDCL President 1967-9 (while at Wolverhampton Kipping)    
Non-playing captain of the English men’s team Skopje Olympiad 1972 until Novi Sad Olympiad 1990 during which time the team won 3 silver and 2 bronze Olympiad medals.    
Midland Champion 1979;    
BCF President 1979-82;    
BCF International Director 1982-1990; 2000-2002    
BDCL President 1983-84    
Administrator of World Championship in London in 1986    
FIDE Executive Board member 1989-93.    
Captain and Organizer of up to 3AD’s teams in 4NCL, from 1999 onwards    
Correspondence IM (2000)    
British Senior Champion 2005 and 2011; Joint British Senior Champion 2003, 2007, 2009    
Former Staffordshire Chess Association President    
He became Chairman of Walsall K. in 2010, and President in 2012, until he retired from OTB chess in 2020.    
David sprinkled stardust on the club, and we shall long remember him. Mike Groombridge (Walsall Kipping)     
   
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