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Tournament: 112th Varsity Match • Venue: RAC Club, Pall Mall, London • Date: 5 March 1994
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Saturday March 28, 2026 2:02 AM
The 112th Varsity Chess Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University was held at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, London on 5 March 1994. The match sponsors were Watson, Farley & Williams (sponsors since 1990). Includes two full game scores and two part game scores only.
| 1993« 1994 Varsity Chess Match »1995 | |||||||
| Bd | Oxford University | Fed | Rating | 1994 | Cambridge University | Fed | Rating |
| 1w | Dharshan Kumaran (Keble) | ENG | 2465m | 1-0 | Andrew Hon (Clare) | ENG | 2260 |
| 2b | James Cavendish (Magdalen) | ENG | 2315f | ½-½ | Andrew Ross Jones (Queens') | WLS | 2295 |
| 3w | Michael J Gough (New) | ENG | 2170 | 1-0 | Nicholas Jakubovics (Girton) | ENG | 2250 |
| 4b | Ed Newman (St John's) | 0-1 | Jonathan Hastings (Downing) | ENG | 2215 | ||
| 5w | Tim Dickinson (Wadham) | 0-1 | Edward Holland (Queens') | ENG | 2235 | ||
| 6b | Richard Penn (Hertford) | 0-1 | Andrew Mendelson (Wolfson) | ||||
| 7w | Alex Lewis (Brasenose) | ½-½ | Benjamin Hague (St Catharine's) | ||||
| 8b | Heidi Heron (St John's) | ENG | 2115 | ½-½ | Emilia M Holland (Pembroke) | ||
| 3½-4½ | |||||||
Cambridge's first win in four years brought them up to 47-48 behind, 17 matches drawn (BCF Yearbook 1995, p90)
The Field, 1 May 1994 (Leonard Barden)
Each university in the Oxford v Cambridge series has established long periods of dominance. Before this year's match. Oxford had won 12 matches out of 13. and that followed 11 successive Cambridge wins. Talented schoolboy chessplayers often become friends and decide on the same university.
On paper, this year's teams were evenly matched. The Oxford No 1, Dharshan Kumaran, is an international master and double junior world champion, but Cambridge had the edge on the lower boards. Then Oxford announced that a Czech and a Russian would play for them, who, it was later alleged, "missed the bus" to the event. Seeming remarkably untroubled, Oxford named two substitutes, and the word was that the ex-Soviets were a new gamesmanship ploy. Oxford's ingenuity proved in vain when it came to the match. They spoilt several favourable positions and Cambridge won 4½-3½. In the overall tally since 1874, Oxford leads by just one point.
There was little doubt who would win the best game award. Kumaran already looks a future grandmaster. [score of Kumaran-Hon]
© 2017-2026 John Saunders, all photos and text - not to be used without permission
File Updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| 2017 | First uploaded. |
| 28 March 2026 | Added report from The Field. |