Correspondence Chess in England
History
CC in England has a long and noble history. The first noteworthy event was the inter-city
series of matches between teams from London and Edinburgh which commenced in 1824.
Such inter-city matches were the most common form of CC at this time and other cities
soon joined in such as Leeds, Liverpool, Doncaster and Manchester.
Organised matches between individual players began to be popular in the 1850’s with
tournaments arranged by various newspapers and journals. Examples include the "Home
Circle" tourneys, "Cassell’s" Tourneys and the "Gentlemen’s Journal" tourneys. Some
tournaments were privately organised by individuals such as William Nash (1880’s)
and inter-county matches also began at around his time.
However, it was with the formation of the
British Correspondence Chess Association (BCCA) in 1906 that we really begin
to see properly organised national tournaments with a common set of Rules and formalised
structures. The BCCA is still going strong today having celebrated its 100th birthday
in 2006 and is now generally recognised as the oldest ongoing CC organisation in
the world. (See "The Official History of the BCCA 1906-2006" by DJ Rogers)
In time other organisations sprang up such as the National Correspondence Chess Club (formed 1932), the Social Correspondence Chess Club (formed 1940), the
Postal Chess Club (formed as a sideline by Baruch Wood’s magazine Chess) and the
British Correspondence Chess Society (formed 1962). Such fragmentation is not common
in other countries in the world where CC is popular and has caused some problems
unique to Britain. This eventually led to the formation of the British Postal Chess
Federation (BPCF) in 1962 whose aims were to bring unity to CC in Britain with regard
to the national individual championship and the selection of teams for international
tournaments. However, the individual organisations within the federation maintained
their own identity with regard to domestic CC and this situation still exists today.
The BPCF changed its name to the
British Federation for Correspondence Chess (BFCC) in 1999.
Further complications in the "British" picture arise from Scotland and Wales establishing
their own separate admission to ICCF in 1981. It could be said that the BFCC ought
to be called the "English" federation or EFCC but, with the Welsh CC organisation
having perished and with active CC players in Northern Ireland, the federation has
retained its British title. But the BFCC selects only English teams for ICCF team
tournaments.
The latest member of the BFCC is
SchemingMind.com Internet chess club founded in 2002 and open to members
from all over the world and not just the UK. SchemingMind now play their own friendly
matches against ICCF nations on the ICCF webserver; the modern world has truly arrived!
Finally, mention must be made of the greatest achievement of a British CC team which
was winning the gold medal in ICCF Olympiad IX!
The BFCC currently comprises the following clubs or associations:-
Tournaments
The BFCC organises the following tournaments:
- A National individual championship which is now hosted exclusively on the ICCF webserver.
This consists of a Final, Candidates Sections & Reserves.
- The Veterans Championship for players aged 60 or over. Consisting of a Final and
Candidates sections, this tournament is played by post on an annual basis.
- The British Correspondence Chess Team Championship played between 9-man teams representing
the various clubs and Associations within the Federation and the top teams from
the BCCL (see below). Played annually on a postal basis.
- The British Ladies Chess Championship played annually on a postal basis.
- The BFCC Open. Currently being wound down with the 13th and last Final still ongoing.
Other notable tournaments
- The BCCL (British Correspondence Chess League). Founded in 1951, this consists of
teams of eight players representing their own group, town or chess club. Played
by post on an annual basis there is a Championship section, a Premier section and
two Reserve divisions. This tournament is run and organised by the BCCA.
- The Counties & District Correspondence Chess Championships. Run annually since 1922
and currently consisting of 22-man teams representing their county or area. Played
on an annual basis by post and e-mail: current champions are Yorkshire! (captained
by Andrew Dearnley). This event is run and organised by the ECF (English Chess Federation)
– their only CC event.
British Federation for Correspondence Chess
Standing SIM Ian Pheby and International Secretary Andrew Dearnley. Seated BFCC
Secretary Duncan Chambers, Assistant International Secretary Neil Limbert, Stan
Grayland (BCCA) and BFCC President Keith Escott. Photograph by Austin Lockwood
(SchemingMind.com).
Correspondence chess is a great way for players of all levels to enjoy the game;
all the organisations linked to above welcome new members and membership of any
BFCC member organisation allows you to enter international events organised by ICCF.