The Chesterfield Chess Club’s first-team captain, Martin Howard, looks at the highlights of its first 100 years.
ON Monday, September 22, 1924, Chesterfield Chess Club was inaugurated at a meeting chaired by a Chesterfield war hero, Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Robinson. The Mayor of Chesterfield, Alderman William Edmund Wakerly, a local solicitor, was appointed President. The first club night was held on October 6 that year at the Station Hotel (later renamed the Chesterfield Hotel and recently demolished).
Col Robinson had an elder brother, Robert, who was born in Brampton in 1886. Robert was an exceptionally talented chess player. Unlike Victor, Robert did not join the family business but chose an academic career.
At the time the Chess Club was formed, he was Professor of Chemistry at Manchester University. Nevertheless, he continued his ties with Chesterfield and took part in club activities whenever he visited the area. On December 7, 1925, Robert took on 19 members at the same time at the Station Hotel, and won 15 games, drawing one and losing only three, including one against his younger brother Victor. Robert had a stellar academic career, winning the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1947. He became President of the British Chess Federation in 1950. In 1973 he wrote a book on chess with the former North of England Champion, Raymond Edwards, called ‘The Art and Science of Chess”.
However, it was Victor who was the driving force behind the establishment of Chesterfield Chess Club. He served in the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross three times. In 1945 he became chairman of Robinson & Sons Ltd. Although this family business manufactured surgical dressings and cardboard boxes; it also produced ‘Portland’ pocket chess sets which were made from stiff card and were popular with people who played chess by correspondence.
Chess continued in Chesterfield for a short time after World War Two broke out. An AGM was held on December 16, 1940, but had to be abandoned when the air raid sirens sounded. Thereafter there was little chess activity until October 1945 when Victor Robinson was elected President.
Victor was passionate about encouraging youngsters to learn chess. In 1950 he organised a Schools’ Chess league in Chesterfield. The first winners were Chesterfield School and Victor presented them with the ‘Robinson’ trophy.
In its early years, the club played matches only against other Derbyshire clubs. It was the first winner of the High Peak Vase in 1947. That same year the club applied to join the Sheffield Chess Association. It enjoyed immediate success, being quickly promoted to the first division. The club quickly established itself as one of the strongest in the region by winning the Sheffield League in 1952, 1953 and 1954.
The 1960s and 1970s were barren years for the club and in 1977 it was relegated from the first division for the first and only time. The club bounced back the following year. In 1990 the club won both the Sheffield and Derbyshire first divisions.
Following Victor’s death in 1972, Joe Hooton of Old Brampton was elected President. Joe was a member of the club for more than 60 years. He was President of Derbyshire Chess Association and captained the County chess team. He died in 1994. Sadly, he did not live to see the club’s greatest triumph when, in 2012, it broke all records by winning 15 of its 16 matches in the Sheffield League.
The pandemic put a stop to over-the-board chess. During this period, the club lost its President Mike Johnson to Covid-19. Mike had been President from 2003 until his death in 2021 and made a massive contribution to chess locally.
Chess saw a boom in popularity during lockdown, with many people playing chess online. In April 2024, as part of its centenary celebrations, the club organised a chess tournament for local schools. Pupils from Outwood Academy, Brookfield Community School, St. Mary’s Catholic High School and Netherthorpe School competed for a trophy donated by the club in memory of Mike Johnson.
The pupils found that playing over the board much more satisfying than playing online. The standard of play was high with the result in the balance until the very end; with Netherthorpe School the eventual winners. The trophy was presented by club President Andy Mort, with every participant receiving a certificate.
Following Covid-19, the club has slowly revived and is once again flourishing. It has won the Derbyshire first division for the past two years and has attracted new members.
The club meets from 7.30pm every Thursday upstairs at the Red Lion in Brimington. Players of all abilities are welcome.