Games of Victor John Anthony Russ (2 January 1905 - 6 May 1985)

Born in Brentford, London, and lived in the London area, working in banking, until at least 1939. His younger brother was the novelist Patrick O'Brian, 1914-2000, whose birth name was Richard Patrick A (Anthony?) Russ.

In 1928 Victor Russ won the Mocatta Cup, which was the second division of the City of London Club Championship. In 1929 at the British Championship Congress in Ramsgate he scored a perfect 10/10 to win the Second Class A section, with Harry Golombek amongst his defeated opponents. In the 1930s he was a member of Battersea Chess Club but seems not to have played in any BCF Congresses. Shortly after the war he was based in Birstall, Yorkshire, and whilst there scored 10/11 to win the 1948 BCF Major Open B section which would have qualified him for the 1949 Championship proper. Later Victor Russ lived in Leicester where he won the county championship in 1948/49 and 1949/50 before eventually moving to Lancashire in the 1960s where he also became county champion and represented the county, sometimes on top board, from the 1960/61 season. Later he moved to Harrogate in Yorkshire where he lived for the rest of his life. Took part in four British Championships: 1949 (3/11), 1951 (5½/11), 1952 (6/11) and 1953 (3/11). Other appearances documented on BritBase: 1957 BCF Major Open A (6/11)... work in progress...

Victor Russ playing for Leicester against Lud Eagle in the National Club Final on 29 September 1951. He lost to Dr. James M Aitken (and the game is already on BritBase in the Aitken file). Note, the scorebook at his side, in which he is recording the moves, is one of those from which I am compiling this file of games - JS.
Photo & article: Leicester Mercury, 1 October 1951.

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1947/48 Leicestershire Championship (Waterhouse-Reynolds Cup)

1947/48 Leicestershire Championship (britbase.info)		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Total
1	Alfred Lenton	&;	1	0	½	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	13
2	Philip Edward Collier	0	&;	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	12½
3	Victor John Anthony Russ	1	0	&;	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	12
4	Donald Gould	½	½	0	&;	0	1	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	10
5	Dr. Kurt August Hirsch	0	0	0	1	&;	1	1	½	0	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	10
6	John Hunter	½	0	0	0	0	&;	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	½	½	1	8½
7	Oswald Weiss	0	0	1	1	0	0	&;	0	1	0	½	1	½	1	1	½	7½
8	Edwin Breckon Chapman	0	0	1	0	½	½	1	&;	½	1		1	½	0	0	1	7
9	George Edwin James	0	0	0	½	1	0	0	½	&;	0	½	½	1	1	½	1	6½
10	George Allen Rowley	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	&;	0	0	1	½	1	½	5
11	Donald Smith	0	0	0	0	0	½	½		½	1	&;	½	½	1		½	5
12	Walter Edwin Osborne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	1	½	&;	0	½	1	1	4½
13	Allan Albert Castle	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	0	0	½	1	&;	0	1	0	4
14	C S Geary	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	0	½	0	½	1	&;		½	4
15	Orson Neville Hector Stevens	0	1	0	½	0	½	0	1	½	0		0	0		&;	½	4
16	C H Thornton	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	½	0	1	½	½	&;	3½

Three games left blank in the original crosstable (published in the 1947/48 British Chess Federation Yearbook, page 180

BCM, September 1948, p310: "The Secretary of Leicestershire sends us the result of the tournament for the County Championship, for which there were sixteen competitors. A. Lenton, for the second year in succession, was the winner with 13—2 draws and a loss to V. J. A. Russ, who was third with 12; P. E. Collier, being second with 12½). Russ led at the start but contracted mumps and was unable to maintain his earlier form."

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1948/49 Leicestershire Championship (Waterhouse-Reynolds Cup)

1948/49 Leicestershire Championship (britbase.info)		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Victor John Anthony Russ	&;	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10½
2	Alfred Lenton	0	&;	1	1	½	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	9
3	John Hunter	0	0	&;	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
4	Oswald Weiss	0	0	1	&;	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	1	6½
5	Donald Gould	½	½	0	½	&;	½	0	1	1	½	1	½	6
6	Philip Edward Collier	0	0	1	½	½	&;	½	1	0	0	1	1	5½
7	George Edwin James	0	0	0	1	1	½	&;	½	0	½	1	1	5½
8	Allan Albert Castle	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	&;	½	1	1	1	4½
9	Edwin Breckon Chapman	0	½	0	0	0	1	1	½	&;	1	0	½	4½
10	Walter Edwin Osborne	0	0	0	0	½	1	½	0	0	&;	½	½	3
11	George Allen Rowley	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	&;	1	2½
12	Charles Cordel	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	½	½	0	&;	1½

Above crosstable from the 1948/49 British Chess Federation Yearbook, page 191

The decisive last-round game from the 1948/49 Leicestershire County Championship on 7 May 1949 from Victor Russ's scorebook. Well, probably from the Leicester Ch'ship (the scorebook doesn't actually say so). Alfred Lenton is White against Victor Russ... or maybe he was Black?! (We know that Russ won the game to take the title, he's written 'resigns' in the left-hand white moves column, but the end position is a clear win for White. And from move 17 onwards you'll find that the white moves have switched column to the right) The game opens 1 N-KB3 P-B4, but is that ...c5 or ...f5? Then 2 P-Q5... no, that's illegal, so previous half-moves are missing (one hastily scribbled in by Russ). Move 8 is KKtK2, but that doesn't make sense, does it? (Hmm, I'm beginning to wonder if the very first move was wrong - 1 d4 replacing 1 Nf3 makes more sense in some ways as 8 Nge2 becomes a possibility.) Fancy a game of Scorebook Challenge? Can you make sense of this score? I warn you, it's a tough one. My attempt to do so may be found in the download - I managed to get to the end of the score but it took some free interpretation of moves made in the middle of the game to get there. Can you do better?

Leicester Evening Mail, 27 June 1949: "New Chess Champion - Mr VICTOR RUSS, of Roman Road, Birstall, is the new Leicestershire chess champion and holder of the Waterhouse-Reynolds Cup, his remarkable score of 10½ points from 11 games Including a final round win against Mr. Alfred Lenton, the British international, who finished second, with Mr. John Hunter third. A tutor at the Midland Bank's training branch in Nottingham, Mr. Russ is a native of Ealing, and the son of a London doctor. He took up chess at the age of six and has represented Middlesex and Surrey. Philology, music and literature are among Mr. Russ's other interests, while he admits to a liking for gardening. Asked whether his six-year-old son had shown any signs of taking up chess, Mr Russ ruefully observed that up to the moment his boy preferred "Comic Cuts."

Leicester Daily Mercury, 27 June 1949: "NEW CHESS CHAMPION - Leicestershire has a new chess champion this year in V. J. A. Russ, a comparative newcomer to Leicester, who on Saturday [25 June 1949] secured the title by winning his adjourned game with the holder, A. Lenton. Mr Russ’s score in an 11-round American [all-play-all] tournament, was the remarkably fine one of ten wins and one draw. A. Lenton finished second, and J. Hunter third."

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1949/50 Leicestershire Championship (Waterhouse-Reynolds Cup)

1949/50 Leicestershire Championship (britbase.info)		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Victor John Anthony Russ	&;	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	10
2	John Hunter	0	&;	1d	1	0d	0	1	1	1	½	1	1	7½
3	Philip Norman Wallis	1	0d	&;	1	1	1	0d	0d	1	0d	1	1	7
4	Philip Edward Collier	0	0	0	&;	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	7
5	Donald Gould	0	1d	0	½	&;	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	6½
6	Charles Cordel	0	1	0	0	0	&;	1	1	0	1	1	1	6
7	Allan Albert Castle	0	0	1d	0	½	0	&;	1	1	1	½	½	5½
8	Edwin Breckon Chapman	0	0	1d	0	½	0	0	&;	0	1	1	1	4½
9	George Edwin James	0	0	0	0	½	1	0	1	&;	½	1	½	4½
10	Oswald Weiss	0	½	1d	0	0	0	0	0	½	&;	½	½	3
11	Bertram Thomas Harrison Smith	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	0	½	&;	1	2½
12	Orson Neville Hector Stevens	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	0	½	½	0	&;	2

From the 1949/50 British Chess Federation Yearbook, page 189

BCM, August 1985, p345: "Another former Lancashire Champion V. J. A. Russ died recently at the age of 80. He was associated with the Leicester club in the postwar period when they were so formidable a side in the National Club Championship and had retired to Harrogate."

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File Updated

Date	Notes
10 October 2024	Page initially set up - work in progress.