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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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Thursday November 14, 2024 4:44 PM
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 |
| 1b | Noel James Roughton (New) | ½-½ | Leonard Illingworth (Trinity) | Ruy Lopez |
| 2w | Reuben Lob (Worcester) | 1-0 | Bertram Herbert Russell Stower (Queens') | Vienna Game |
| 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 |
| 4-3 | ||||
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); 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 available in the download (board 2).
Notes:
(1) Play from noon to 6pm with an hour's interval for lunch
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 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 given in BCM]
| Date | Venue | Team | Score | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 March 1908 | Inns of Court Hotel | Combined Universities | 11½-9½ | Mrs Rhoda Bowles's Team |
| 18 March 1908 | City of London CC | Combined Universities | 9½-12½ | City of London |
| 19 March 1908 | St George's CC | Combined Universities | 2½-3½ | St George's |
| 19 March 1908 | Insurance Club | Combined Universities | 12-7 | Insurance |
| 20 March 1908 | Hammersmith | Combined Universities | 12-9 | West London |
| 21 March 1908 | (by cable) | Combined Universities | 2½-3½ | US Universities |
| 23 March 1908 | St George's CC | Oxford University | 4-3 | Cambridge University |
| 24 March 1908 | Hampstead | Combined Universities | 10½-8½ | Hampstead |
| 25 March 1908 | Metropolitan CC | Combined Universities | 11-9 | Metropolitan |
File updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| 17 April 2022 | Original upload. Biographical details and match reports to be added later. |
| 14 November 2024 | Further details of Varsity week matches added. |