Once again, we open the back files of KCC, but this time with some trepidation. The Bruce years had been characterised by immaculate record keeping, but what will happen now that Bernard has taken over the secretarial duties? I have my fingers crossed that standards will be maintained...…
May 1988 - its business as usual on the board, as the A team romps to a third successive Division 1 title after an undefeated season - finishing a massive ten points ahead of runners-up Banbury A and Stratford A. The B team finishes a creditable 6th of 9 (also in Division 1) while the C team come joint 3rd (of 6) in Division 2, but only escape relegation on game points, as the bottom four teams all finish with 9 pts! Joe Soesan won the League Individual title; Tony Russell the u125; and Bernard the League Quickplay (presumably actually Lightning or Blitz), to provide even more excuses for an end of season celebration. But lacking a Social Secretary, there was presumably no-one to organise it.
September 1988 - The AGM is held on the 8th of the month at the Working Men's Club. Already things have taken a turn for the worse on the Secretarial front, as Bernard's Luddite tendencies have seen him resort to quill and ink (aright, actually a biro) to record the Minutes. Oh for Bruce's printed versions!
What may be a record turn-out of 15 is in attendance, though 4 people are only present for part of the meeting. Chris is one of them - doubtless summoned to Little Park Street at short notice by a desperate client. There are 3 apologies - Roy, Joe Soesan and Geoff King (the Treasurer). Despite his absence, Geoff is able to present an altogether more acceptable set of accounts than Bernard had managed the previous year. We had made a surplus of £46.50 on an income of only £88.60. Now that's what I call running a tight ship! Our cash balance is now at the heady heights of £61.66, and subs are pegged at £6.50 for adults and £3 for juniors. Despite the turnout of 15 at the AGM, the meeting is told that membership had fallen from 18 to 14. I get easily confused.
The meeting is told that Anthony Kelly had triumphed in the Tilley Trophy, with Matthew Collinson winning the Soesan Trophy - though Bernard's records indicate that an awful lot of games were never played, especially in the Tilley competition, and the offending participants were duly admonished (though possibly not named and shamed) by the Secretary. We had lost to Chelmsley Wood in Rd 1 of the National Club - though it is anyone's guess which section we played in. Imprecision is already apparent in the Minute taking! Congratulations are offered to Adam Collinson for his tournament achievements during the year.
In the wider world, the LDCL beat both the Worcester League and the Coventry League in friendlies - though defaults by the opposition in the latter spoiled the match. Another local club bit the dust, as Alcester went under.
While most of the Committee and officers are re-elected, Roy is replaced as C team captain by Geoff King. Surely not a reflection on his organisational abilities?
April 28th 1989 - An extra-ordinary event requires the club to hold an Extra-ordinary General Meeting! How exciting!! The C team has only gone and won Division 2, so the club has to decide in advance of the League AGM whether to accept promotion and run 3 teams in Division 1 next season. Clearly there is a lot of interest, as the WMC is packed (I exaggerate) with 12 people attending (including Bernard, Chris and Roy), with another 4 apologies. Amongst C team players, Matthew Collinson and Geoff King want promotion, but Bruce and Tony Russell don't.
It seems that everyone has something to say on the subject - except Bruce who isn't present! - and Bernard records the opinions for posterity. But they are rather boring, so they are staying in the file. (For example, note the following entry - "Roy Watson confirmed the team's right to be promoted." Thanks Roy we know that - it's why we're having an EGM!!)
A vote is held - unbelievably this is also tied at 5-5. The Chairman asks Bernard how the absentees might have voted, and Bernard has in fact already canvassed their opinion and puts it at 3 against promotion and 1 for. So the Chairman (Geoff Temple) votes to maintain the status quo, and the C team will not go up to Division 1. Like me, you have probably done the maths and spotted that 12 people present; less the Chairman comes to 11. So who didn't vote at this pivotal moment in the Club's history?? Unless Bernard spills the beans, we will probably never know. In the selfless style he is known for, Bernard ends the meeting by offering to stand down from the A or B teams to become a reserve, so as to enable Geoff King to play in Division 1. The lengths that man will go to for Kenilworth Chess Club makes me want to cry.
August 1989 - its Grading List time and there is no doubt who is top dog in the Club:-
1 Adam Collinson 204
followed somewhere in the distance by
2 Ed Goodwin 167
3 Joe Soesan 166
4 Alistair Dawson 151
5 Bernard Rogers 150
6 Steve Burnell 142
7 Anthony Kelly 141
8 John Skinner 138
9 Matthew Collinson 134
10 Tony Russell 122
Lower down we find:-
Roy Watson 104
Bruce Holland 103
But Chris has been careless and has lost his grade. (There you go, Stuart, you are not the first!)
September 1989 - 14 attend the latest AGM, and 5 more are sorry they can't. Bernard, Chris, Roy and Bruce are all there as are the likes of Ed Goodwin, Steve Burnell and Matthew Collinson.
With no League Tables on file (shame, Mr Secretary!) only now do I learn that the A team had been judged by the League to have defaulted its final match of the season against Rugby, and had only finished 3rd. A 4-timer was not to be. The B team had finished in their usual position of 6th, while as we know the C team had won Division 2 …….. and apparently we also had a D team, though this is the first I have heard about this, too! It finished 3rd in Division 4. For some reason the KO Cup was still in progress.
There were many individual performances of note during the previous year. Adam Collinson had scored 5/11 in the British Championship (played at Plymouth, with Michael Adams winning for the first time), while Joe Soesan had come 2nd in the Veterans and Matthew Collinson had scored 2.5/7 in the u-16 event. (I actually went to spectate at this one afternoon on a visit from Truro,, where I was on holiday!) While we can't boast of anyone in the Championship itself this year, we'll have many more than 3 club participants at Torquay in a few weeks time! Adam had also come 2nd in the Warwickshire Championship (winning the u21 title in the process) and had scored 4/5 for England in the Glorney Cup. Barry Ades had come 2nd in the Police Championships, and Tony Russell had won the LDCL u125 Cup for the second successive year. And it would be churlish of me to omit the fact that Bernard had won the Tilley Trophy. But the Soesan Trophy had still not been completed, so the Secretary's censures of the previous year, had clearly fallen on deaf ears.
The Treasurer had produced another great set of accounts for the club, with a surplus of £68.35, and an overall balance of £130.01. The club is now so awash with cash that Chris proposes we give the WMC £10 for use as a raffle prize, by way of thanks. Subs remain unaltered.
The main officers of the club remained in place, but there was clearly some spirited discussion about the following season's teams as these were only decided "after much debate". But it seems as though interest was much less in the National Club Championships, as no-one wanted to play in it.
Well that brings us up to just 30 years ago. How long is this series going to be?? I seem to have bitten off more than I can chew - but in the words of that great poet Shania Twain, "I ain't no quitter". So I'll see you here again soon, for Part 8. We might even be half way if we're lucky.
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