British Chess Association, 1885

R:
a:
set of #2+#3+#4 (3 pr.)
b:
#2 (1 pr); #3 (1 pr.); #4 (1 pr.)
 
Open to all. Participation was free to members of the B.C.A.; others paid an entrance fee. Competitors could only compete in one section, however, an unsuccessful competitor in section A could obtain a prize in section B for the individual problems of the set. No competitor could receive more than one prize. Standard motto and envelope requirements applied; problems and competitor's names were sent to separate addresses. Joint compositions were not allowed. Corrections before closing date were permitted. Problems became the property of the B.C.A.
 
J:
P. T. Duffy, J. O. S. Thursby; referee: F. H. Lewis
 
After closing date, problems that passed a brief preliminary examination were published for public scrutiny. Judgement was made after all problems had been published, and was subject to a repeated 30-day period of scrutiny before becoming final.
 
C:
1885-08-31 (U.K.); 1885-09-30 (Europe, Canada. U.S.A.); 1885-10-31 (other)
 
A:
a: sets 1 pr. J. Pospisil (Motto: [Rozmysli si, Marenko, rozmysli])
2 pr. E. Lindquist (Ars longa, vita brevis)
 
b: pr. #4 H. M. Prideaux (A Chequered Existence) (see notes)
pr. #3 J. Scott (Courage mounteth with occasion)
pr. #2 = H. Jacobs (Erato)
pr. #2 = A. W. D. Campbell (Omnes eodem cogimur)
(= indicates a shared prize)
 
S:
Chess-Monthly
v. 6, p. 289-290, 292 (June, 1885): program; detailed rules
v. 7, p. [33] (Oct., 1885): some/all received sets
v. 7, p. 265-266 (June, 1886): summary of results
v. 7, p. 322 (July, 1886): pr. #4 reported to be faulty
 
Sheffield & Rotherham Independent: Weekly Independent Supplement
v. 70, i. 9974 (1886-08-21), p. 5: nr of participating prbs.
 
N:

No clearly official sources have been found. For that reason, the information must be regarded as tentative.

Many of the award reports found are on a similar pattern, and most appear early in August 1886, a few weeks after the 1886 meeting of the British Chess Association. They are presumed to be based on an official news release from the B.C.A. The report in Chess-Monthly also follow the same pattern, but include information about unsuccessful sets (by names and mottos), and is printed already in the June issue, which suggests that the awards may have been decided shortly before the issue was printed.

The number of sets and single contributions is not known definitely; one source reports that about 25 problems were entered. Chess-Monthly lists unsuccessful competitors: Work and Wait and Try, try again by T. Randell, Aloha, by Seargeant-Major McArthur, Nullus tempus occurrit Regi, by A. Townsend, Semper paratus by T. Sexton, Sans souci by S. C. Heywood, Parterre by J. W. Le Comte, Pleasant Hours by J. Sexton, unknown set/sets by R. Frohman, A clumsy foot may treat the right road and Semper Paratus by L. K. Hirschl. This list omits several known sets, such as Erato, Jacta est alea, Patience, passe science!, and Kde domov mûj (ILN 1886 prbs. 2194, 2195) It might be assumed that it identifies sets that were found to be wholly or partially faulty.

The single problem A Chequered Existence was awarded the prize for #4 problems, but was later found to be faulty. In the absence of official reporting, we don't know if this happened before the preliminary awards were made final. Again, Chess-Monthly seems to reports the fault earlier than anyone else, but no statement that tourney management disqualified the problem or revised prizes has been found so far. This suggests that the fault may have been found after the one-month grace period had expired: for this reason, the problem has been retained in the present list of awards.


The motto of the 1 pr. set is reported slightly differently in different sources. In the absense of an official report, the motto reported here is a guess at what it may have been (from Smetana: The Bartered Bride).

The original source of the Campbell problem that shared the B:2 pr. is not known: the cited source is a known reprinting.

Todo:

Examine more source for indications of official B.C.A. communications.

Prizes

Section A: Sets

1st Prize: J. Pospisil

1

#4

2

#3

3

#2

2nd Prize: E. Lindquist

1

#4

2

#3

3

#2

Section B: Single problems

#4 Prize: H. M. Prideaux (see notes!)

#4

[*] = Faulty: Multiple key moves

#3 Prize: J. Scott

#3

#2 Prize (shared): H. Jacobs

#2

#2 Prize (shared): A. W. D. Campbell

#2