1923
1922-1923 BELFAST INTER-CLUB TOURNAMENT
After the post-war revival of the clubs' competition in the 1919-20 season, curfew restrictions prevented competitive inter-club play in the following season. The Curfew Order was still in force when arrangements were being considered for the 1921-1922 club season, though a subsequent relaxation of the curfew did allow a number of friendly matches (some of them being over 20 players per side) to be played.
The Belfast News-Letter for Thursday 26th October 1922 reported on the imminent return of the Inter-Club competition which had been sorted out a few day earlier at a meeting of club representatives:
It was decided to run two competitions, one for senior clubs and one for junior clubs. The club which wins the junior competition will have the right to play the least successful of the senior clubs, and if it wins against that club will take its place in the senior competition in the succeeding year, the senior club being relegated to the junior competition. The senior clubs this year are - Belfast, Strandtown, Victoria, CIYMS and North Belfast. Senior clubs may enter a No. 2 team in the junior competition.
1922-1923 ULSTER TROPHY
Final Crosstable
RANK CLUB Be St NB Vi CI Total 1. BELFAST xx 11 11 1= 11 7.5 2. STRANDTOWN 00 xx 01 10 11 4.0 3. N. BELFAST 00 01 xx 11 =0 3.5 4. VICTORIA =0 10 00 xx 01 2.5 5. CIYMS 00 00 1= 01 xx 2.5
1922-1923 JUNIOR LEAGUE
Final standings
CLUB P W D L Total ST PAUL'S 5 4 1 O 4.5 N. BELFAST 5 3 1 1 3.5 STRANDTOWN 5 3 0 2 3.0 BELFAST 5 2 2 1 3.0 9th OLD BOYS 4 0 0 4 0.0 YMCA 4 0 0 4 0.0
1923 WILLIAMSON SHIELD
At a meeting in the Shaftesbury Restaurant on 9th October 1922, representatives of the Belfast clubs considered the Williamson Shield, last played for in 1914, and recommended that it should be revived. This could only be a recommendation as the custodian of the Shield was the Strandtown Chess Club and on 19th October 1922 at a meeting of the Committee of the Strandtown Club the recommendation was accepted. One of the rules for the tournament was that it should be played between 1st February and 1st May.
On the 26th April the Belfast News-Letter reported:
A.S. Roper, being unable to complete the games within the time, has retired, but it is hoped that the Strandtown Committee will extend the time.
A report in the Belfast News-Letter a week later on the 3rd May disclosed the fact that the date for completing all games had passed and that Roper had not been alone in being unable to finish all his games within the prescribed period.
The date fixed for closing the competition for the Williamson Shield and Belfast City Championship has been passed without any of the competitors having completed their games. It is a matter of regret that the time was limited in this way without any dates having been fixed for the various rounds as the tendency is for some of the competitors to wait and see how the others get on before commencing their own games. Out of 30 games only 12 have been played - a very poor result of two month's play, and one directly due to the players being left to make their own arrangements about meeting their opponents. The present score is as follows:
Player Club Pl Won Lost Dwn Points W.J. Allen CIYMS 7 6 1 0 6.0 L.E. Deens Belfast 3 2 1 0 2.0 J.W. Carey Strandtown 4 1 2 1 1.5 R.A. Heaney Victoria 5 1 3 1 1.5 B. McCann St Paul's 4 0 2 2 1.0 A.S. Roper N. Belfast 1 0 1 0 0.0
The Strandtown Chess Club Committee met the same night as the report/criticism appeared in the Belfast News-Letter and decided that W.J. Allen should be adjudged the winner of the Williamson Shield. Two weeks later, on the 17th May the Shield was formally presented to the new champion.
