Scottish Championship 1936

The 49th annual congress of the Scottish Chess Association opens on Monday morning [Dec 30, 1935] in the rooms of Edinburgh CC, 1 Alva Street, Edinburgh. Four tournaments will be played, for which fairly good entries have been received. The one disappointing section is the boys', with a solitary entry.

The Scottish Championship section is well up to the average with J.M. Aitken (the holder), W.A. Fairhurst (holder on three previous occasions), G. Page (winner in 1925), and strong challengers in A. Goldberg, A.J.D. Lothian, L.N. Ponce, and J.A. Stewart. Aitken and Fairhurst will be the popular fancies for the title, and it will be interesting to see if Aitken's improving play has caught up on the slight advantage held by Fairhurst when last they competed together, which was at the Glasgow Congress in 1934.

The hours of play are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 5.30 to 9.30 p.m. On december 31 a lightning knock-out handicap will be played at 2.30, and on January 1 the annual meeting of the S.C.A. will be held at 2.30.

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pts
1	W.A. Fairhurst	■	0	1	1	1	1	1	5
2	J.M. Aitken	1	■	½	0	1	1	1	4½
3	A.J.D. Lothian	0	½	■	1	1	½	½	3½
4	G. Page	0	1	0	■	½	½	1	3
5	L.N. Ponce	0	0	0	½	■	1	½	2
6	A. Goldberg	0	0	½	½	0	■	½	1½
7	J.A. Stewart	0	0	½	0	½	½	■	1½

Notes: Aitken defeated Fairhurst in round 1, but was unable to maintain this advantage after losing his round 2 game with Page in the evening. Whereas Fairhurst won all his remaining games after his first round loss, Aitken dropped a further ½ point against Lothian.

The annual meeting of the Scottish Chess Association on Wednesday accepted an invitation from Glasgow CC to hold the 50 th congress in their rooms next New Year. Mr J.R. Longwill, Glasgow , was elected president of the association. Mr Nichol, in proposing the election of Mr Longwill, mentioned that he had been playing chess in Scotland before the birth of the S.C.A. 52 years ago, and the meeting agreed that Mr Longwill was a happy choice for the office of jubilee president. Dr R.F. Twort, Aberdeen , was added to the list of vice-presidents, and new directors appointed were:—Mrs Brockett, Mrs Sunter, W.A. Fairhurst, and A.A. Foster.

The Association decided to contribute £10 10s to the fund for sending Scottish representatives to F.I.D.E. meetings, and to subscribe £10 10s to the B.C.F. Nottingham congress fund.

The Scottish Chess Association held their 49 th annual congress at the Edinburgh Chess Club, and W.A. Fairhurst regained the title which he held in 1934; he did not compete in the 1935 contest. Fairhurst won all his games, except the one with J.M. Aitken, the winner of the 1935 event, who was second.

Sources  
Glasgow Herald, Saturday, December 28, 1935 (Abridged)
Glasgow Herald, Saturday, January 4, 1936
British Chess Magazine, February 1936, pp. 71-2. Note that the BCM incorrectly showed the last in the table as I.A. Stewart.

Compiled by Alan McGowan