Dublin -v- Belfast 1927
On the 6th February 1926 a team of Dublin chess players had travelled north to take on a team representing Belfast and triumphed by 11.5 points to 7.5. The Belfast players, undaunted by their loss, travelled south on Saturday 19th February 1927 to seek their revenge. The Belfast News-Letter reported on the day's events in some detail the following Monday.
"The visitors, who travelled by the 7.45 train, were received on their arrival in Dublin by Mr. H. N. Boweman, secretary of the Irish Chess Union; Mr T. G. Cranston, secretary of the Leinster Chess Union; and other members of the Dublin chess clubs, who gave their guests a very cordial welcome. After being photographed the visitors were escorted to La Scala Restaurant, the weather being too wet to permit of carrying out the programme of visits which had been arranged. They were subsequently entertained to lunch, and play began about 2 o'clock, and continued until 5.15 when seven games, which were still unfinished, were adjudicated.
The following table gives the order of play and the results of the individual games, those marked with an asterisk being decided by adjudication.
BOARD BELFAST 14.0-12.0 DUBLIN 1 J. J. O'HANLON 1/2 Prof. W. E. THRIFT 2 H. THOMAS 1/2 T. G. CRANSTON 3 W. J. ALLEN 1:0 N. H. WALLACE 4 P. J. McMAHON 1:0 W. MOFFATT WILSON 5 J. O'HAGAN 1:0 T. P. KANE 6 A. ORR 0:1 LORD DUNSANY 7 F. H. PURDY 0:1 A. P. WATKINSON 8 F. DICKINSON 0:1 P. J. LARACY 9 A. L. DAVIES M.Sc 1:0 A. A. McDONAGH 10 H. A. McNEILL 0:1 R. T. VARIAN 11 H. GILL 0:1 P. W. WHELAN 12 "ALPHA" 1:0 J. T. GERRARD 13 H. C. LOVE MBE 1:0 A. SAYERS 14 W. STEEN BL 1/2 R.J. FREESTONE 15 S. E. MANDERSON 1/2 H. McILWAINE 16 H. LEVY 1:0 H. N. BOWESMAN 17 W. LESLIE 0:1 "CU ULADH" 18 B. ALLEN MA 1:0 MAJOR J. P. COTTER 19 H. A. O'CALLAGHAN 1/2 A. SPIRO 20 W. J. McCLENAGHAN 0:1 J. WILSON 21 M. McCARRON 1:0 J. MYERS 22 T. ROBINSON 1/2 W. H. THRIFT 23 L. E. DEENS 1:0 L. P. YOUNGLAO 24 G. C. HAMILTON 0:1 G. B. THRIFT 25 J. M. HARRIS 1:0 T. BRETT 26 R. M. STEELE 0:1 G. H. JACOBS
At the top board the Irish champion, playing the Queen's Gambit, got the better of his opponent, and had a decided advantage at the close of play, but as a win could not be actually demonstrated in the time at the disposal of the adjudicators a draw was agreed to.
At the second board, a Queen's Pawn Opening, steady, correct play was the rule throughout, and in this case the adjudicators had little difficulty in agreeing a draw. At No. 3 a Three Knight's turned into a Guioco Piano. The position was perfectly level at the 26th move when the Dublin man who had black injudiciously forced the exchange of Queens. This left a weak spot with two pawns liable to attack and difficult to defend. They were eventually captured, and as he had to give up a piece to prevent White queening a pawn, Black resigned.
At board no. 4 two championship contenders [this is a reference to the 1926 Irish Championship held December 1926 in Belfast - Ed.] had a fresh encounter. W. Moffatt Wilson with White opened irregularly and pressed his opponent hard for some time, but in the end broke down before the Belfast man's steady defence. J. O'Hagan, by defeating T. P. Kane in a Queen's gambit at No. 5 added to the reputation he gained in the recent championship tournament.
Board No. 8 was one of those at which an oversight was made. F. Dickinson moved his Queen one square too far to support an attacked Rook, so that when his Rook was further attacked by a Knight it could not get away, and he lost the exchange. A. L. Davies, a new recruit to the Belfast side, had the advantage in a Rook and Pawn ending at board No. 9, and was awarded a win by the adjudication.
The match was not without some peculiar incidents. At board no. 19 H. A. O'Callaghan was two pawns up and had a won game, but just before time was up he offered a draw, which was promptly accepted, and J. Spiro breathed again. A rather pretty ending occurred at no. 22 where T. Robinson, being a pawn down and in difficulties, very cleverly seized an opportunity of sacrificing his Queen and securing a draw by perpetual check.
W.H. Thrift - T. Robinson Inter-City Match, Dublin, 19th February 1927 [C55]
[Annotations from the Belfast News-Letter 3rd March 1927]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3
Apparently White wishes to turn the game into a Guioco Piano, but something more enterprising might be justified against the Two Knight's Defence.
4...Be7 5.Nc3 d6 6.a3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nd4 9.Qd1 Qd7 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.Bxd5 c6 12.Ba2 0-0-0
An oversight which loses a pawn. 12...Bf6 first was necessary.
13.Bxf7 Rdf8 14.Bh5 Kb8
Avoiding possibility of danger from 15.Bg4.
15.c3 Ne6 16.Bg4 Bf6 17.Be3 Bd8
Black loses time with this Bishop.
18.b4 g6 19.a4 h5 20.Be2 Rh7 21.d4 exd4 22.cxd4 Bg5 23.Qd3 Nf4 24.Bxf4 Bxf4 25.d5 Rhf7 26.0-0 g5
Looks like another oversight. At any rate another pawn is gone.
27.Bxh5 Rh7 28.Bg4
White gives Black an opportunity of drawing by perpetual check, which is promptly seized. 28.Bg6 was best.
28...Qxg4 29.hxg4 Bh2+ 30.Kh1 1/2-1/2
Play through this game in our Game Viewer
St. Paul's club did well for Belfast. They did not lose a game, and their draw was due, as already mentioned, to their player's generosity.
Lord Dunsany, as president of the Leinster Chess Union, said he expressed the feeling of all the Dublin players in saying how heartily they welcomed the Belfast players amongst them. He had been thinking over all the possible reaons for their own defeat, and had come to the conclusion that the reason they had lost was that the Belfast team were the better team (Laughter.) On occasions like that other reasons might be suggested, but the one he had given was the true one. Chess was of all the arts - for it was greater than a mere game - the one that pre-eminently called for collaboration. It took two to produce a beautiful, or indeed any, game of chess. All the beauties, all the interest, and all the excitement of a game of chess were due to collaboration. On that account they were very grateful to the Belfast players for having come down here and collaborating with them in producing a number of games, all of which were far more interesting than he could express. He congratulated the visitors on winning the match.
Mr. B. Allen, MA, on behalf of the visitors, moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Leinster Union and the Dublin players for the very hospitable way in which they had entertained them, and for a most enjoyable day. Every member of the Belfast team had enjoyed himself thoroughly, whether he had won his game or lost it. They were much indebted to the Dublin chess players for the great trouble they had taken in entertaining them so well and playing so well.
Mr. S. E. Manderson, in seconding, said it was a great pleasure to them to come there to meet their old friends in Dublin and to make new ones. They hoped they would have the privilege and pleasure next year of having a Dublin team in Belfast.
The vote was passed by acclamation.
Professor Thrift replying, said it was a still greater pleasure to them to have the Belfast team there. They had enjoyed the afternoon very much. They had done their best and got beaten, and that was the end of that. They did hope, however, to reverse that decision next time.
The visitors then left for the return journey. The arrangements at the Dublin end were in charge of Messrs. Bowesman and Cranston, who are to be congratulated on the success of the fixture, while at the Belfast end Mr. Manderson proved a very capable organiser."
The southern perspective on the day's play was provided by an article in the Irish Independent, also published on the Monday following the match.
"It could not have been believed beforehand that at this or any other season of the year such a number of men actively engaged on other pressing pursuits could have been found to make the journey from Belfast to Dublin and back for the sake of a few hours of intellectual pastime. The event furnishes the plainest testimony of the extraordinary growth of chess in Ireland during recent years.
Dublin put into the field the strongest members of the leading city clubs....The strength of the closing section alone is sufficient indication of the force brought into play. Dublin never before had mustered at the same time and place so formidable an array.
The course of the contest was full of interest. The earliest games fell to Dublin, but the rally soon began, and at 4.45 the score was 5.5 all. Twenty minutes later it stood 8 all, and when played closed each side had scored 9.5, while 7 games remained for adjudication. Of these 4.5 went to Belfast and 2.5 to Dublin, leaving victory after a most exciting match to the visitors."
The Match in progress: the players nearest the camera are H.C. Love (Belfast) on the left
and A. Sayers (Dublin) on the right (Irish Independent Monday 21st February 1927)
The Irish Independent had indicated how strong a team Dublin had put out. The hosts must have been strong favourites before play began. The News-Letter article already referred to summed up the achievement felt by the Belfast team in reversing the previous year's result.
"It speaks well for the growing interest in chess in Belfast that a team of twenty-six was got together to travel to Dublin on Saturday last in dull and rainy weather for a friendly match with the players of the Southern capital and it may well be inferred that our local players have gained in experience and strength when so large a team, necessarily including some weaker members, was able to reverse the decision of last year, and score a victory by fourteen games to twelve. The Dublin team was very much the same as last year's, the only notable absentee being P. Baker, ex-champion of Ireland, who was unable to be present. As against him, however, it was strengthened by the addition of Professor Thrift at the top board, and two strong recruits in Lord Dunsany at board No.6 and P. J. Laracy at board No. 8, both of whom on this occasion scored for Dublin.
On the other hand the Belfast team was without Professor Williams and R. A. Heaney of Victoria Club; J.W. Carey, of Strandtown; W. H. Lloyd, MA of Belfast Club, and A. S. Roper and J. Montgomery, of North Belfast Club, to mention only six players all in the front rank.
In spite of this play on the whole was of a considerably higher standard than that of last year, steady, well contested games being the rule. In only about five games were oversights made, and in a couple of these cases they did not affect the result as the games were already lost.
The first five players on the Belfast side were the Irish champion and four of the competitors in the recent championship tournament, and it is noteworthy that none of these five lost a game, their score being three wins and two draws. At the other end of the team, where the weaker players may be supposed to be, the Belfast men held their own well, the score of the last eight boards being three wins to each side and two draws. As we admitted on the occasion of the last match that the score of 11.5 for Dublin to Belfast's 7.5 roughly represented the comparative strength of the two teams, we may claim on this occasion that Belfast is not unduly flattered by the score of 14 to 12."
The regular chess column of the Belfast News-Letter for Thursday 24th February returned to the theme of a job well done by the Belfast team, but also revealed how difficult it can be to wind down after a chess game.
"The Belfast chess players who visited Dublin on Saturday last were very well satisfied with the result of the match....They hardly anticipated beating the Dublin men in their own city, where they might be expected to produce a stronger team than which travelled to Belfast twelve months ago. Indeed some of our local players expected to be beaten by a larger margin than in last year's match in view of the fact that the team was much larger. Things turned out differently, and the Belfast men were all the better pleased. Some of them had so much mental energy left that they played blindfold chess on the way home to pass the time. The Dublin players lived up to their reputation for hospitality, and an enjoyable day was spent. The next match is already being talked about, and it is hoped to have it nearer the summer time, so that the Dublin men may see a little more of our city than they did last time."
