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Yorkshire Chess History |
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Contents: |
1890: Yorkshire v Lancashire |
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played in Alexandra Hotel, Bradford, on Saturday 08/03/1890, over 21 boards
The Leeds Mercury Weekly Supplement of 08/03/1890 announced details of the match due to take place that day in Bradford.
It billed the match as being over 20 boards, though, in the event, 21 boards were contested, perhaps due to inclusion of travelling reserves who were not called on to make up the 20. The Lancashire players were expected around 2.00 p.m., and play was expected to start around 3.00 p.m. Play was to last for three hours, whereafter unfinished games were to be adjudicated.
After the match the Lancashire players were to be the guests, for dinner, of the Yorkshire County Chess Club.
A detailed board-by-board account of the match appeared in the Leeds Mercury on the following Monday, 10/03/1890, while the chess column of the Leeds Mercury Weekly Supplement of the following Saturday, 15/03/1890, carried a more concise summary of events.
As things turned out, the Lancashire players arrived at about 3.30 p.m., and play started at about 4.00 p.m. In consequence of the late arrival of the Lancashire players, the playing session was cut to 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Once more, as in the 1889 Lancashire-Yorkshire match, the Liverpool players elected not to participate as Liverpool chess club was still insisting on 10-board matches. The matches had been cut from the 50 boards of 1887 to 20 for 1889, but Liverpool still wouldn’t play. This match was thus once again in practice more like Manchester versus Yorkshire, so the result was actually rather impressive for “Lancashire”.
An onlooker and potential referee at the match was Dr. Emanuel Lasker.
When “time” was called at 6.45 p.m., the score stood at 5½-5½, with 10 games unfinished. On five of these boards (numbers 2, 3, 9, 16, 21) the players concerned agreed draws, leaving five games to be decided by the adjudicators, who were D. Y. Mills and N. T. Miniati from the Lancashire team, and J. E. Hall and J. Rayner from the Yorkshire team. These adjudicators pronounced draws on boards 6, 11 and 15, and awarded a win to the Yorkshire player on board 14. (The Leeds Mercury’s table of results showed board 9 as also having been so adjudicated.) That left the score at 10½-9½ to Yorkshire, with the result on board 12 to be determined. At this stage, “Herr Lasker” was called in to adjudicate on board 12, and he decided on a draw, so giving Yorkshire victory.
A number of the players and others were entertained at dinner by the Yorkshire County Chess Club, with H. Muff of the Yorkshire County Chess Club presiding. The Rev E. J. Huntsman proposed the toast of the Lancashire team, to which D. Y. Mills responded. J. B. Reyner of Manchester proposed the toast of the Yorkshire team, to which T. A. Guy responded.
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Created 01/08/2013 |
Copyright © 2013 Stephen John Mann |
Last Updated 01/08/2013 |