Histories rather than history because there are many ways of looking at things from many perspectives. Also, times change. A hundred years ago, you would have had difficulty breathing at the club never mind playing chess because a pall of pipe and cigar smoke would have hung over the playing room. What was normal then can seem bizarre today.

Similarly, in the old days we played at places like the Grand Café on Boar Lane and the Gambit Café on Park Lane, we laid on lavish dinners for visiting teams, magnificent silver trophies were commissioned from the likes of Fattorini in Harrogate, and many a famous grandmaster visited the club to demonstrate their skills. To pay for it all, however, annual subscriptions cost about the same as keeping a horse or a servant for a year. Today, we are a more modest and unassuming outfit. Chess is now accessible to all.

If you are knowledgeable about a particular period in the club's history, or if you are a fan of one of the club's illustrious members, past or present, or if you have any other story to tell, then please contribute your knowledge and insight to the club's online history archive.

Contributions to:
bthare@hotmail.co.uk