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 Jubilee Handbook 1948

Souvenir Handbook for the Golden Jubilee of the Essex County Chess Association* 1948

* At the time of the Jubilee, this was the title of the Association. The "County" was dropped about 1965, following the advent of the GLC.

As part of the Jubilee Year activities of the Association in 1948, a special "Jubilee Handbook" was published. This included a history of the first 50 years of the Association, as well as the most recent County match records and a snapshot of the Association in 1948. It is a fascinating record, 40 pp, packed full of interesting and important historical information (see Contents listing below).

The foresight of our predecessors in providing such fullness of detail is of such value and interest that publication on our website is a 'must' and fulfils a long-known need. Of particular interest to Clubs, as well as others, will be the listing of all Essex League Clubs in 1948, showing not only when and where they met and who their Officers were, but lists of their members, too!

This volume has now been scanned to pdf and is yours to read by following the link below:

Download: Jubilee Handbook (pdf 2.7MB)
(See Webmaster's: Note)

If you encounter any problems with this download, email: Webmaster

The original booklet has a single page size of 12 cm x 18.2 cm. The scanned document shows each double page opening, i.e. 24 cm x 18.2 cm (starting with the cover). When you open the Handbook, your pdf reader may show you the document zoomed out to fit one double page opening into your screen window. The document should be readable on screen if you adjust the zoom to 100% or even 125%. Alternatively, the text will be even clearer on printout.

The Games

In addition to the Handbook document, for your convenience I have created a pgn file of the seven games included in the booklet, together with an added extra*, so that you can play them through in the DGT Chess Theatre games viewer, via this link:

Open: Jubilee Handbook Games plus in DGT Chess Theatre

* A few words about the extra game included in the above file, T.H. George v J. Mason: among the details included in the Handbook is a listing of the winners of the Essex Wartime Championship, 1942-43 to 1944-45. The winner of the last of these, Mr. J. Mason, was my maternal grandfather and I have all his scorebooks, hence access to the game score. This game was the Final, but apart from that, it has a very particular claim to fame the explanation of which I will leave to Roy Wagstaff who wrote "An Appreciation" to a selection of Mr. Mason's games published in the Wanstead & Woodford CC magazine "First Rank", in March 1980:

"Mr. Mason achieved one record, which hopefully will never be repeated. Lest I sound churlish I hasten to explain the circumstances. During the latter stages of the 1939-45 war, chess activity was revived for those able to take part, although the County Organisations did not function again until the 1945-46 season. Essex had a County Wartime Championship in 1944-45 and he reached the Final of the knockout tournament in which he played Tom George of Ilford Club and "Ilford Recorder" fame. The first session of play was on Saturday 5th May 1945 and the game was adjourned. VE day on 8th May 1945 intervened, this being a Tuesday but no body bothered about Club night. The game was resumed and won by Mr. Mason on the following Sunday [13th May 1945], it having been started in wartime and finished in peace."

I have also scanned for you Mr. Mason's original score of this game, complete with juvenile scribbling, most probably me as a small child: 'this is a nice book to scribble in' oblivious of the historical importance of the page chosen (the only one in the book to be so defaced!).

While on the topic of family connections, readers will find among the County results and in the Minor Championship results, the name J.C. Hunnable, my father; the copy of the Jubilee Handbook from which this scan has been taken was his.

Ian Hunnable

Jubilee Handbook Contents
Page numbers refer to booklet page numbering not the page number of the scanned document

  1 - Fixtures 1948-49
  2 - Officers
  3 - A message from the President, E.R. Nickol
  4 - Fifty Years of Essex Chess
  6 - Obituary - F.W. Markwick
  7 - Constitution and Rules 1945
  8 - Affiliated Clubs - Listing with Officers, etc.
16 - 1947-48 Accounts
17 - Hon Secretary's Report
18 - Match Captain's Report
21 - SCCU County Match Results (board by board detail) and tables
26 - Essex v Norfolk, Suffolk Cambridge and the University, with pictures
28 - Essex v B.C.C.A.
29 - Games by Essex players
32 - Record of individual County Champions 1908-1948 and Essex Minor Champions 1926-1948
35 - Correspondence Chess results
36 - Essex County Chess League Rules
38 - League Secretary's report
39 - League Tables
40 - Essex Grammar Schools' Chess League

Essex Chess Association

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