1939/40 Hastings Premier, 28 December – 4 January

1939/40 Hastings Premier		Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	Frank Parr	8	&;	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	6
2	(William) Ritson Morry	5	0	&;	1	½	1	1	1	1	5½
3	Harry Golombek	7	½	0	&;	1	½	1	1	1	5
4	Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk	3	½	½	0	&;	½	0	1	½	3
5	Andrew Rowland Benedick Thomas	6	0	0	½	½	&;	1	½	½	3
6	(William) Arthur Winser	1	0	0	0	1	0	&;	0	1	2
7	Dr. Hans Georg Schenk	4	0	0	0	0	½	1	&;	½	2
8	Arthur John Mackenzie	2	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	&;	1½

1939/40 Hastings Premier Reserves

1939/40 Hastings Premier Reserves		Draw No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
1	H C Lewis	1	&;	½	1	1	1	1	½	1	6
2	Maurice Ellinger	7	½	&;	1	1	½	1	1	½	5½
3	Edward Willingham Brocklesby	5	0	0	&;	1	½	½	1	1	4
4	Sydney Hugh Brocklesby	6	0	0	0	&;	½	1	1	1	3½
5	Richard Coman	8	0	½	½	½	&;	½	0	1	3
6	Laurence Alfred John Glyde	4	0	0	½	0	½	&;	1	½	2½
7	Cecil Perfect Hammond	3	½	0	0	0	1	0	&;	1	2½
8	H Ransom	2	0	½	0	0	0	½	0	&;	1

Major: (1-3) Emil Bauch (Czechoslovakia), Mrs Edith Mary Ann Michell (née Tapsell), P[aul] M Foster 5/7; (4) R E Webb 3½; (5) Frederick William Flear 3; (6-7) Capt. Hugh Windsor Fiesch Heneage, Thomas M Warburton 2½; (8) Col. William Ernest McKechnie 1½.

First Class: (1) H N S Heath 5½/7; (2-3) W H Jones, F Silk (Liverpool) 5; (4-6) J Francis, A S Gray, Julian Mayne Ilott 3; (7) Miss Kate Harris Passmore 2½; (8) Capt. J Mackenzie 1.

Second Class: (1) Thomas Medley 6/7; (2-3) Mrs Helen Muriel Cobbold, A E B Hunter 5; (4) Edwin Arthur Herringshaw 4; (5) Miss Emily Eliza Abraham 3; (6-7) W M Batten, Miss I M Shaw 2½; (8) H O France 0.

Third Class: (1) S Griffiths 7½/10; (2) W H Moore 6; (3-4) W F Freeman, S L Williams 5½; (5-6) Miss A Champ, Mrs D Farnham 5; (7) T C Turk 4½; (8-9) Mrs M A Fletcher, Walter Howgrave 3; (10) Commander Robert Francis Lee-Dillon 0.

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[BCM, February 1940, p40ff]

HASTINGS CHRISTMAS CONGRESS DECEMBER 28th, 1939—JANUARY 4th, 1940

We had assumed that owing to the war the continuity of the Hastings series of Christmas Congresses would be broken this year; but the Hastings Chess Club (and in especial Messrs. Rider and Mackenzie) thought otherwise and with magnificent enterprise embarked on their Twentieth Annual Congress. Naturally circumstances made for a diminution in quality and quantity in the entry, but the Congress was none the less a most enjoyable event.

Some fifty players assembled on the opening day, a surprisingly large number considering the times. The Congress was felicitously opened by Councillor Ford, the Mayor of Hastings, and the tournaments ran with the ease one has learnt to expect when Mr. Rider is organising secretary. It was a sad blow to hear that Sir George Thomas was too unwell to play, but he came down later to watch the tournament, and we hope he is recovered in health by now. His absence robbed the Premier section of its best player; but after frantic but unavailing attempts were made to obtain such players as P. S. Milner-Barry, G. M. Norman and E. M. Jackson, A. J. Mackenzie gallantly volunteered to fill the breach. He was, of course, handicapped by increasing years and organising occupations connected with the Congress, but he gave many a competitor a very hard fight indeed.

A pleasant note was struck during the Congress by the receipt of a telegram from Landau and Keres giving New Year’s greetings to the Hastings Chess Club.

Here are the results of all the tournaments [see above - JS]. There were three prizes in each section.

The Premier was won by the youngest competitor in the tournament, Frank Parr, whose leave from the Army (he is in the London Irish) was fortunately just long enough to allow him to play. His success was well deserved, his play being remarkably sound and accurate. In the second round he won the following bright game.

W. Ritson Morry obtained the second prize, thereby demonstrating that his form at the preceding Hampstead Invitation Tournament was too bad to be true. He is a player of considerable theoretical knowledge who is, however, not afraid of mixing things. He was unlucky in losing to Parr in the first round by a blunder when he had rather the better game. In the next round he played very incisive chess against A. R. B. Thomas.

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[The Times, 8 January 1940]

HASTINGS CHESS CONGRESS
SUCCESS IN SPITE OF NOMINAL PRIZES
FROM A CHESS CORRESPONDENT [probably Golombek - JS]
HASTINGS, Jan. 7 [1940]

The Hastings Chess Congress has proved a most gratifying success to the organizers, who have shown that nominal prizes and less elaborate arrangements are no deterrent to a comparatively good entry.

Two players, F. Parr and P. M. Foster, took advantage of army leave, and both obtained first prizes, Foster, however, sharing his with two others in a triple tie. Sir George Thomas’s withdrawal was a matter for general regret, but it was pleasant to see him a constant spectator, and later, when he had recovered somewhat from his indisposition, taking part in some off-hand games.
In the premier event, Golombek played the most convincing chess, but once again showed his weakness in profiting from his building up of a positionally won game. A lamentable failure was his missed win against Parr, and another his inability to find the right defence against the tricky attack set up by Ritson-Morry; at least three chances were missed. Parr played soundly, and again showed himself a fine opportunist, which is possibly his reason for not taking more trouble to master the theory of the openings. Why worry when the gods are kind?

Bold play is marked by variable results, but this time Ritson-Morry reaped a deserved reward for his imaginative conduct of the game. Certainly he might well have lost to Golombck, and he should have been beaten by Mackenzie, but his games were vigorous and bright—chess, not woodshifting. The others were either playing below the strength of the prize-winners, or were, admittedly, not quite in the same class. Mackenzie lost more points than he may care to recall, but the strain of tournament play is great, and strange lapses of the brain may be not untruthfully attributed to anno domini.

In the results given in The Times on Friday W. H. Jones’s score should have been shown as 5, not 5½, thus making H. N. S. Heath outright winner of the First Class section.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
(previously)	Previously part of the bulk Hastings file.
9 March 2022	Added dates, crosstables and results. One new game, W.Ritson Morry v Parr, Rd 1, sent by 'Tabanus' (Chessgames.com) - many thanks.
4 May 2022	Added one game: C.Hammond 1-0 R Coman (rd 4, Premier Reserves), submitted by Brian Denman, for which many thanks. Note, I have the game van Seters-Perlmutter which was previously misfiled here, to the 1938/39 Hastings file. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.