Once again special thanks to The Bedford & County Record for it’s sumptuous reportage of how things once were. A predilection of modernity across the globe is to think we are better off now than we were before -progress they call it. But is it cumulative with all things? I thinketh not. Look at those fine Bedford folk before the outbreak of WW1, and the evenings of games they had in each others’ company. They knew which side their bread was buttered on, that’s for sure. Want to read on?
That’s the way to do it, is it not? But can we learn anything from how things once were before the advent of the Bedfordshire Chess Association formation and the Bedfordshire league? Although they were formed for the purposes of competitive chess locally, regionally, and then nationally, are the chess clubs that formed afterwards any better than the ones beforehand? Clubs created only for chess rather than games evenings, which functioned as chess clubs for chess only. Does it need to be asked why we no longer have games nights in clubs with more than one game on offer and couldn’t we ask whether chess sections could be housed within them if necessary? Is moving with the times always for the best? Must this involve selecting a venue cheap, empty and soulless rather than one accommodating and geared towards entertainment? Draughts and billiards have lost their popularity but chess has not, why is that? It seems to me that the clubs they used to play chess in were, generally speaking, more pleasant than what we have today, and that’s progress is it?
Once again we may offer thanks to The Bedford Record for its reportage and giving us an account of The New Conservative Club, Bedford and what it was like for chess players in our county. Did they have it better back then? Note there was a ‘chess room’.
History can teach us a great deal if we are willing to pay attention and take note. In this post we shall see how our Bedfordshire predecessors had a broader understanding of what an evening of board games should entail than one based on just turning up and playing chess, which has long since become the accepted norm.
In a previous post this week, (https://mccreadyandchess.wordpress.com/2024/05/02/w-ward-plays-for-luton/) I showed how the industrial revolution to some degree shaped chess in Bedfordshire since matches between towns and cities connected by the newly developed national rail service became prominent and were more frequently reported on. We saw how Luton challenged Watford to a match held in St. Albans, a city reachable by train from both Luton and Watford, what with the train being a preferable option over horse and cart. Luton and Bedford also played each other with regularity, being connected by train since the 1860s.
I have uncovered reportage which suggests our board game lovers from the past had a better time of things than what we do in modern times or at least a more wholesome experience. It should be noted that both clubs were classified as Liberal clubs but this should not be mistaken for political persuasion amongst of county fellows. Instead it most likely indicates that superior venues with better facilities were chosen over, say draughty church halls by we chess players wanting a game somewhere. In Bedfordshire during the 20th century there was a shift away from clubs with political affiliations towards working men’s clubs. And although working men’s clubs tended to signify a membership of employees from the designated company, that did not hold true for all members, and similarly, membership at clubs supporting political parties did not necessarily denote political persuasion but rather a liking for clubs with better facilities, frequented by friends and family most likely.
The reportage comes from The Bedford Record and is, of course, pre WW1 -something poet Philip Larkin has something to say about. A games night of billiards—-draughts—-chess. That’s got to be better than turning up just to play chess, surely? If not better than more wholesome. Just imagine it, a few pints as well, conversation and conviviality by the bar too, more games, more fun – a real night of it!
But what do we do if it dawns on us that they knew better in a bygone era? What then? Alternatively you could tell me to shut up!
MCMXIV by Philip Larkin (1964)
Those long uneven lines Standing as patiently As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park, The crowns of hats, the sun On moustached archaic faces Grinning as if it were all An August Bank Holiday lark;
And the shut shops, the bleached Established names on the sunblinds, The farthings and sovereigns, And dark-clothed children at play Called after kings and queens, The tin advertisements For cocoa and twist, and the pubs Wide open all day;
And the countryside not caring: The place-names all hazed over With flowering grasses, and fields Shadowing Domesday lines Under wheat’s restless silence; The differently-dressed servants With tiny rooms in huge houses, The dust behind limousines;
Never such innocence, Never before or since, As changed itself to past Without a word – the men Leaving the gardens tidy, The thousands of marriages, Lasting a little while longer: Never such innocence again.
The reasons why one player is chosen over another to perform a simul are multifarious. On Tuesday December 14th 1926, Luton Chess Club invited former Russian Eugene Znosko-Borovosky to the town to perform a simul but why him in particular? Was it related to his publication mentioned in the reportage? Was he much cheaper? Did it concern availability? Was it about reputation? Who else was available? Was it seen as something of a coup? Most likely we will never know, perhaps it was all of the aforementioned combined.
With the information to hand, we cannot discount this as Znosko-Borovosky’s only visit to Luton.
Should it be the case that E. Znosko-Borovosky did return he would not be alone there. In more recent times (88 & 89) GM Chandler did that in Luton too. When further evidence concerning the aforementioned master is found, I shall post it.
…on what this site initially became…on what this site is now becoming…on what this site cannot become…
On what this site initially became…
…once upon a time, the chess-related musings of an adrift academic were bound playfully and electronically in this online journal of sorts. They grew and grew as the decade did too. I kept on because I love to write whether I had much to say or not; therefore, being read by others was usually of little or no importance, comparatively speaking. Content was based on personal thoughts and experience on various topics with no intended audience borne in mind. With topics broadening, my own take on things always shaped the narrative I constructed: I often thought I was insightful but never that I was right. Sometimes imagination gave rise to originality: and of that I have always remained proud. I often introduced humour, believing that I am funnier than I really am. Sometimes, I found my own style antithetical to the conservatism I believe chess is plagued by -oftentimes that has put a gracious smile on my face… .
On what this site is now becoming…
…this site is now becoming a collaboration of chess in Bedfordshire: much more so of the past than the present -that has become the dominant trend. I document the history of chess in Bedfordshire as much as I can, and as time has passed I have become more thorough and resourceful. However, I am not a trained historian as my background lies principally in philosophy but yes it is true I did study some modules on history as both an undergraduate and a post-graduate too; furthermore, I have trained myself up, particularly in terms of postmodern history. Since 2015, I have only read history and historiography as well as those philosophers who have been so influential on postmodern history, such as Nietzsche (whom I once wrote a 19,000 word dissertation on, entitled: Can the Will to Power be Found in The Birth of Tragedy?), also Richard Rorty and Foucault and I suppose certain structualists such as Claude Levi-Strauss too. Regarding postmodernism, mostly I keep to Hayden White, Keith Jenkins and Alan Muslow.
Some friends and former playing partners back home describe me as the ‘go to guy’ for the history of chess in Bedfordshire. This compliment says more about the lack of interest in the subject than my own endeavour. As mentioned, I am too adrift from academia to feel chuffed by it. Rather, I tend to lament that my historical research, like my chess, just isn’t what it should be. Even though I may well have a broad understanding of Bedfordshire chess history courtesy of the volume of research put into it, all of which began in 2014, this is not something I am particularly proud of. Nonetheless, out of courtesy compliments are graciously received. If the truth be told, I just see it as my job and only that – after all someone’s got to do it and no one else is that interested!
Amongst the many others, I have created three categories: ‘Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘History of Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘Luton Chess Club’. This website is slowly moving towards a consolidation of those (all of which can be found in one of the toolbars to the right).
On what this site cannot become…
…I like to be both creative and amusing when I can be, factor in that playfulness has been an ever-present factor, the content of this site should be thought of as multifarious. It could be said I continue to enjoy undermining the conservatism I believe chess is underpinned by even after all these years, and often try to use humour to do it still, believing I have got better at it. Consequently, despite the general direction its going in, this site cannot only be about Chess in Bedfordshire and nor will it be. It may become noted for that yes -in fact that’s been the case for years already even by established historians, archivists, and whoever else. External factors aside, this site is titled McCreadyandChess. I cannot, nor will I not, remove my own personal thoughts and experiences of chess from the posts of this site -especially if I think they are funny or original for they constitute my writing at its very, very best. In addition, the number of categories alone tells you that breadth of content is important to me. I am proud of my site, it is identity conferring and that is how it shall stay -end of story. All you really have are: ‘Some thoughts on the beautiful game’, which, incidentally, just happen to be my very own; nothing more, nothing less, take of it whatever you please… .
A side note on how to read old Tom Sweby's columns
Not perhaps, but quintessentially, Old Tom Sweby is best thought of as a passionate devotee to the newspapers he wrote for. He was well read and knowledgeable of the Bedfordshire chess scene and well beyond, given that he was the president of the S.C.C.U. once upon a time. He was generally well-respected and rubbed shoulders with many, if not all, of those eminent within British chess circles. It would, however, be a critical mistake to see his column is primary source material entirely. That it is not. You will also find secondary source material quoted too, and the reliability of that is not quite as Tom hoped. Given that he wrote for decades, this is to some degree inevitable, and after all we are all prone to error whether we realize it or not. Thankfully, with regards to old Tom Sweby, they are infrequent and for the most part old Tom continued to document events and developments in the Bedfordshire league from the get go as best he could but, of course, everything lies open to interpretation. Despite this, and generally speaking. this does indeed make him informative and thus worth reading. Dare I say his columns constitute a narrative describing the latest developments, match reports and changing nature of the Beds league...he knew his audience and wrote according. This manifested itself over decades but brevity was always in play courtesy of the restictions imposed by writing a column. Should you wish to read a in instrumental figure of the Beds' league post WW2, you are quite welcome to peruse what has been posted here... . :-) I should, however, point out that as the decades wore on he gradually moved on away from narratives concerning the Bedfordshire league towards affairs both historical and international. The reasons for this are multifarous, old age was a predominante factor presumably, however, the bottom line is with regards to how the Bedfordshire chess scene developed post WW2: old Tom Sweby is your go to guy. He wrote more about chess in Bedforshire than anyone else did but given he was a Lutonian and writing for a Luton newspaper there is both bias and greater coverage of his hometown than the rest of the county.
Gallery
I’m either 10 or 11 here
1982, myself versus Brian from Sunderland.
At the Thai Junior chess championships. My daughter of course.
Pattaya 2011
2011
Thai Junior Championships
2008
2011
Around 2011
2011
Pattaya 2009
2011
Kuwait 2008
2012
2012
2011 BKK Chess club
2011
2011 Thai Open
2011 Thai Open
2013 approx
Around 2014
2010
2012
Around 2011
2011
2011
2013
Around 2011
Around 2011
2020
2011
2008
2011
2013 or thereabouts
2010
2017
2014?
2010
2024
2024
2024
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