|
Yorkshire
Chess Association |
Last update: |
|
|
|
History
of YCA Team Competitions and Trophies |
|
For a list
of winners of these competitions click here.
The Edwin
Woodhouse Challenge Cup
In the season 1884-85 the
first of a series of competitions between teams representing member clubs of
the West Yorkshire Chess Association (WYCA) was held. Alderman Edwin Woodhouse JP had offered to put forward a silver
cup to be held for one year by the winners.
Five clubs entered: Bradford, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Leeds and
Wakefield. In the event both Dewsbury
and Huddersfield withdrew, perhaps because they felt too weak compared with the
others. Bradford beat both Leeds and
Wakefield and so became first holders of the Edwin Woodhouse Cup Challenge Cup,
the competition for which is still held today.
To
remedy the low volume of participating teams in the first year, with the
permission of the donor, the 1885 annual meeting of WYCA decided to open up the
competition for the Woodhouse Cup to all clubs in Yorkshire, thus providing a
practical focus for a later single countywide organisation. However, that didn't address the discomfort
of weaker towns when confronted by the prospect of playing Leeds, Bradford or
the like.
Yorkshire Daily Observer Challenge Trophy
The
"minor" clubs were serve well when the Yorkshire Daily Observer
offered another cup for competition among Yorkshire clubs, this being
specifically for clubs deemed too weak to compete for the Woodhouse Cup. Leeds Blenheim and Dewsbury dominated this
minor competition from its start in 1885-86, and Dewsbury won the trophy
outright when in 1890 they won it for the third time. Such provision for trophies being won outright was common in
those days.
Fortunately,
the Bradford Observer offered a replacement trophy for the minor
competition. The list of winners
suggests the terms were that it could not be won outright. In time the competition was opened up to
second teams of club in the Woodhouse Cup competition.
In
1913 the fate of the Yorkshire Daily Observer trophy befell the Woodhouse Cup when
Leeds won it for the third time in succession, which was the more stringent
provision regarding this trophy. The
Yorkshire Chess Association, which had acquired control of the above
competition when it was formed by the merger of WYCA and the Yorkshire County
Chess Club, was exceedingly fortunate that Alderman Woodhouse, twenty-nine
years after donating the first trophy, donated a second one which was of
comparable size, though admittedly not as ornate.
In
the minor Bradford Observer Trophy competition, trouble was brewing as from
1909 to 1914 the winners were all second teams of Woodhouse clubs, so that the
"minor" clubs were denied a fair crack at the trophy originally
designed for them! This was remedied by
the introduction in the season 1913-1914 of a competition specifically for
second teams of Woodhouse Cup clubs. As
a trophy for this competition, a shield was provided by Isaac McIntyre Brown, a
prominent figure one way or another in chess organisation in Yorkshire, the
North and the country.
The
First World War
It
is a sad comment on the human condition that for the seasons 1915-16 to 1918-19
we have to record the words "no contest" in the table of
winners. Chess was still played, of
course, but as with most national and regional sporting activity, Yorkshire
Chess Association competitions were suspended "for the duration".
The First Woodhouse Cup Re-Instated
The
season 1925-26 saw Sheffield win the Woodhouse Cup competition for the third
year in succession, and thereby win the trophy outright. Replacing a solid silver trophy of such size
is not of course easily done, so Leeds Chess Club did its definitive
"bit" for Yorkshire chess by donating back the original Woodhouse Cup
they'd won outright in 1913. The
stipulation was made that it could not be won outright but should be contested
in perpetuity.
A
Peak Then a Trough
The
1920s saw three competitions running in parallel. The Woodhouse Cup for the "major" clubs, the Woodhouse
Cup clubs' second teams, and the Bradford Observer Trophy for "minor"
clubs. Then a low level of entries led
to the Bradford Observer Trophy Competition ceasing to be run. The whereabouts of the trophy is unknown. Wakefield was the last winner, in
1928-29. Clubs not in the Woodhouse
club were admitted to the IM Brown Shield competition, but there was as yet no
promotion and relegation between Woodhouse and IM Brown competitions.
The
Second World War
Competitions
were suspended for 1939-40 to 1944-45.
The
Woodhouse Cup and IM Brown Shield continued to be the only team competitions
contested until 1959-60 when a third competition was introduced, for the Silver
Rook. The teams participating were
third teams of clubs in the Woodhouse Cup, second teams of club with a first
team in the IM Brown, and other club represented in neither Woodhouse nor IM
Brown. After 1965-66 reduced entries
led to the Silver Rook competition not being conducted for seven consecutive
seasons.
Silver
Rook Revived
For
whatever reason 1973-74 saw the reintroduction of competition for the Silver
Rook. A significant change was also
made in that promotion and relegation were introduced. Hitherto the only way of a new club getting
into the Woodhouse Cup competition was following a withdrawal, which was
virtually unheard of. The last club to
achieve this was the IM Brown club Rotherham which was elected to the Woodhouse
Cup when Brighouse withdrew.
Five
seasons after the revival of the Silver Rook, starting in 1978-79, a fourth
"division" was introduced and the then YCA Honorary Secretary and
Competitions controller, Geoff Sunderland, donated the cup which bears his
name. Whist this competition is still conducted,
due to reduced entries, it was found necessary starting 2000-01 to organise the
competition as an all-play-all twice competition, whereas all-play-all once is
the normal format for all divisions.
The
Future
Looking
back over the whole lifetime of the YCA so far, things are looking healthy
enough, and much better than 50 years ago, when there were only the Woodhouse
Cup and IM Brown, with now sign of growth.
Looking back over only the recent past it has to be said the volume of
league activity has declined, with the AG Sunderland Cup competition teetering
on suspension. The decision of the 2002
AGM to reduce the number of boards in Woodhouse Cup teams from ten to eight, as
in the other divisions, is a more worrying sign of long term loss of vigour.
Steve Mann, 07/08/02
|
|