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Tournament: 36th Varsity Match • Venue: St George's Chess Club, Savile Row, London • Date: Monday 23 March 1908
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Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:07 AM
The 36th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University was held at St George's Chess Club, Savile Row, London, on Monday 23 March 1908.
| 1907« 1908 Varsity Chess Match »1909 | |||||
| Bd | Oxford University | vs | Cambridge University | Openings | Moves |
| 1b | Noel James Roughton (New) | ½-½ | Leonard Illingworth (Trinity) | Ruy Lopez | 26 |
| 2w | Reuben Lob (Worcester) | 1-0 | Bertram Herbert Russell Stower (Queens') | Vienna Game | 29 |
| 3b | Robert Petrie (Balliol) | ½-½ | Coventry Ernest Woodhouse (Pembroke) | Ruy Lopez ...f5 | |
| 4w | Herbert Jennings Rose (Balliol) | 1-0 | Hyman Lob (King's) | Vienna Game | |
| 5b | Alexander Percival Waterfield (Christ Church) | 0-1 | John Brown (Sidney Sussex) | QP | |
| 6w | John George Rennie (New) | 1-0 | John Matthias Bee (St Catharine's) | Vienna Game | |
| 7b | Cyril Scriven Norris (Hertford) | 0-1 | William Arthur Cooper (King's) | Petroff | |
| Venue: St George's CC | 4-3 | 23 March 1908 | |||
Main sources: Oxford-Cambridge Chess Matches (1873-1987), (compiled by Jeremy Gaige, Philadelphia 1987); Sergeant, Philip W, A Century of Chess (London 1934, referred to in the text as PWS); BCM, April 1908, ppn 167-171; Ancestry.com; FindMyPast.com; Who Was Who 1897-2007; Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette - Friday 27 March 1908 (openings used - gives the Oxford board 7 as "C. J. Morris"); Wikipedia. One game (board 2), one part-game (board 1) and five stubs available in the download.
Notes:
(1) Play from noon to 6pm with an hour's interval for lunch
(2) B H R Stower was the Cambridge president
BCM, April 1908, p170: "As in former years, this match was contested at St George's Chess Club on March 23rd, where the teams were entertained to lunch. Play was from midday to six, with an hour's interval for lunch, but was not of a high standard, as on several boards clear wins were thrown away. On the first board Roughton got into difficulties in defending the Ruy Lopez against Illingworth; the latter, however, did not make the most of his opportunities, and a draw resulted.
"On the next board Lob played the Vienna against the Cambridge president, and obtained a fine attack, his opponent not knowing the opening. The Oxonian played a brilliant game, and never gave the defender a chance of getting out of his early difficulties - first win for Oxford.
"On the third board Woodhouse soon gained two pieces for a rook and pawn, which should have given him the game. Petrie, however, won a bishop for a pawn, and the game developed into a pawn ending, with a bishop against a rook. The play was prolonged to over 50 moves, and resulted in a draw.
"On the fourth board Lob looked like winning at the adjournment, being a pawn up. His opponent (Rose) after this loss made a good fight, and eventually won the game.
"On the last three boards Oxford lost two games; Browne [sic] beat Waterfield; Rennie played the Vienna against Bee, and won the exchange, from which the Cantab never recovered. Cooper played a strong game against Norris, and won. The final result was a win for Oxford by four games to three. Cambridge won the toss, and took move on the odd-numbered boards."
BCM, April 1908, p167: 'Varsities Chess Week.—Thanks to the invaluable help kindly given us by Mr. C. E. Woodhouse, vice-president Cambridge University Chess Club, we are able to present full results of play in the various matches contested in London from [Tuesday] March 17th to [Wednesday] 25th. As will be seen on reference to the records, the Combined teams of present and and past 'Varsity players were very successful, losing only two matches out of six played—one to St. George's and the other against a very strong team of the City of London Chess Club.
[full board scores of each match given in BCM]
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 17 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 11½-9½ | Mrs Rhoda Bowles's Team | Inns of Court Hotel |
| Wednesday 18 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 9½-12½ | City of London | City of London CC |
| Thursday 19 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 2½-3½ | St George's | St George's CC |
| Thursday 19 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 12-7 | Insurance | Insurance Club |
| Friday 20 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 12-9 | West London | Hammersmith |
| Saturday 21 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 2½-3½ | US Universities | (by cable) |
| Monday 23 March 1908 | Oxford University | 4-3 | Cambridge University | St George's CC |
| Tuesday 24 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 10½-8½ | Hampstead | Hampstead |
| Wednesday 25 March 1908 | Combined Universities | 11-9 | Metropolitan | Metropolitan CC |
Combined Universities vs House of Commons, Tuesday 19 May 1908
| Bd | Combined Universities | vs | House of Commons |
| 1 | Noel James Roughton (New, Oxford) | ½-½ | Sir George Newnes |
| 2 | Bertram Herbert Russell Stower (Queens', Cambridge) | 1-0 | Andrew Bonar Law |
| 3 | Reuben Lob (Worcester, Oxford) | 0-1 | William Watson Rutherford |
| 4 | Robert Petrie (Balliol, Oxford) | 0-1 | Llewellyn Archer Atherley-Jones |
| 5 | John Brown (Sidney Sussex, Cambridge) | 0-1 | Leif Jones |
| 6 | Herbert Jennings Rose (Balliol, Oxford) | 1-0 | Edward Aurelian Ridsdale |
| 7 | John Matthias Bee (St Catharine's, Cambridge) | 0-1 | George Alexander Hardy |
| 8 | Alexander Percival Waterfield (Christ Church, Oxford) | ½-½ | Sir John Randles |
| 9 | Percy St Goar Kelton (Queens', Cambridge) | ½-½ | Dr. Vickerman Henzell Rutherford |
| 10 | Frederick Russell Hoare (Trinity, Cambridge) | 1-0 | Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton |
| Venue: House of Commons | 4½-5½ | 19 May 1908 |
Sources: BCM, June 1908, p254; London Evening Standard, 20 May 1908; Morning Advertiser, 20 May 1908; Daily News (London), 20 May 1908; Daily Express, 20 May 1908; Lancashire Evening Post, 20 May 1908; Oxford Times, 23 May 1908; The People, 31 May 1908
Notes
(1) no game scores found
(2) BCM and some of the newspapers misspelled the names of HJ Rose ("HJ Ross") and JM Bee ("JM Bell")
Daily News (London), 20 May 1908: "The members of the House of Commons accustomed to while away the weary hours of dilatory debate by playing chess in the smoking room [Committee Room no.11, according to BCM] had yesterday their revenge on the University students for their defeat last season in a set match.
"First blood fell to the legislators, Mr. G. A. Hardy defeating his young Cambridge opponent, but results after this came in very evenly, and the issue finally rested on the game between Mr. Leif Jones and Mr. J. Brown. In a long pawn ending the Cantab was gradually worsted, and the match ended in a victory for the M.P.'s by the odd game."
File updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| 17 April 2022 | Original upload. |
| 14 November 2024 | Further details of Varsity week matches added. |
| 21 May 2025 | Details of House of Commons match added |