Westminster Chess Club, 1874

Thirty sets were received, two of which were withdrawn by their authors. Eighteen sets passed a preliminary examination and were published under their mottos, together with selected problems (faulty as well as correct) from faulty sets, between November 1874 and April 1875. The judges noted that they did not disqualify sets containing problems with duals, only degrade it in proportion to the measure of importance we attached to the deviation from strict accuracy, after careful consideration of each case.

The set Perhaps a Name was found deserving of special commendation: this has been translated into a 'honorary mention'. The editor stated, following the report, that this set would be given an award by the Westminster Papers.

A third set (Nuvul Kurninnook) was disqualified as the name of its author was not included; this did not affect the awards.

The preliminary awards were to become final on 28 June 1875, unless any legitimate complaint was discovered. Although not stated, any such complaint would reasonably be expected to be published in one of the following issue of Westminster Papers.

The immediately following issue reports that the Westminster Chess Club ceased to exist on 1 July 1875. Although this might have affected any communication related to the final awards, it is considered unlikely. As no relevant information has been found in subsequent issues, the preliminary awards are assumed to also be final. A dedication problem from J. Berger to the judges was published in the August issue, which suggests that at least the first prize was confirmed.