Scottish Championship 1893

The 1893 Championship was played in Dundee, in the rooms of the Dundee Chess Club, April 10-14.

The cross-table is as shown in the BCM for May 1893, page 232. It appears that some games were unplayed (or perhaps unfinished?) as no result is shown in several cases.

Championship 1893		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts
1	W.N. Walker	■	1	½	1	1	1	1	5½
2	D.Y. Mills	0	■	1	1	1	1	1	5
3	Sheriff Spens	½	0	■	1	1	1	1	4½
4	H.T. Baxter	0	0	0	■		1	1	2
5	G.B. Fraser	0	0	0		■			0
6	Rev C.M. Grant	0	0	0			■	1	1
7	P. Sandeman	0	0	0	0		0	■	0

A poor turnout, despite having moved the congress from July to April the previous year in the hope of attracting a greater entry. All participants were from Dundee, except Mills (Edinburgh) and Spens (Glasgow).

Newspaper reports at the time listed C. Martyn and Alexander Mann as participants, but these were pseudonyms for Rev C.M. Grant and Patrick Sandeman, respectively.

Walker won his second championship, his previous victory being in 1890 when the congress was also held in Dundee . His business commitments prevented him from entering the championship except when it was held in his home city.

Walker - Mills
Scottish Championship 1893
Ruy Lopez [C66]

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 d6 4 d4 Bd7 5 0-0 exd4 6 Nxd4 Nf6 7 Nc3 Be7 8 Be3 0-0 9 Qd2 Re8 10 Bd3 Ng4 11 Nxc6 Bxc6 12 Rae1 Nxe3 13 Rxe3 Bf6 14 Re2 Bd4 15 Nd1 Qf6 16 c3 Bb6 17 Kh1 Rad8 18 f4 Qh6 19 Rf3 Bd7 20 Ne3 Bxe3 21 Rexe3 g6 22 f5 Re5 23 Bc4 d5? 24 Bxd5 c6 25 Bb3 g5 26 Rd3 Rxe4 27 h3 Qf6 28 Rxd7 Rxd7 29 Qxd7 Re1+ 30 Kh2 g4 31 Rf4 h5 32 Qd4 Qg5 33 g3 gxh3 34 f6 Re2+ 35 Rf2 h4 36 Qd8+ Kh7 37 Qd3+ 1-0

Minor Tournament

Minor 1893		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts
1	J. McGrouther	■	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
2	T. Tarrant	0	■	1	1	1		1	4
3	John Connor	0	0	■	1	1	1	½	3½
4	R. Macaulay	0	0	0	■	1	1	1	3
5	P.J. Imandt	0	0	0	0	■	0	1	0
6	E. Parker	0		0		1	■		1
7	R. McCann	0	0	½	0	0		■	½

J. McGrouther-R. McCann
Minor Tournament, SCA Congress Dundee 1893

1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nf5 Ne7 6. Nd6 mate.

This game appears in several books, including works by Tartakower and Znosko-Borovsky, to illustrate opening errors and smothered mate. (Kurt Richter's Hohe Schule der Schach-Taktik: 623 Kurzpartien, 1952 and later editions, wrongly shows the players' names as Cranther and Cam, and gives the wrong year.)

 

Compiled by Alan McGowan

updated 5/12/2023