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Ted Fitzjames
Edmund (Ted) Fitzjames, a name he 'adopted' after coming to Scotland from Norway after WWII, was deeply involved in chess organisation at club, league and national levels.
He was on the Glasgow Congress Committee in the 1960s and 1970s, and was President of the Glasgow Chess League for four years. He became Chief Arbiter for the Glasgow tournaments, and at various Scottish championships, including Troon 1984, when an International Tournament was held to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Chess Association.
Ted held a senior position at Howden, the engineering company. Peter Jamieson, who met Ted at a chess match, was later recruited to the Howden CC, and ended up working at Howden. He mentions that Ted became 'manager of the drawing office and later in charge of computing, as the electronic world of Autocad etc. started to displace traditional drawing board techniques.'
Ted's obvious managerial skills were evident also in chess organization. Not only did he carry out his arbiter's duties, but he often took on the responsibility for the publication of tournament bulletins. His wife, Margaret, who pre-deceased Ted, used to help provide the catering at Glasgow congresses and Scottish championships, aided by Margaret Munn, wife of Walter Munn.
Craig Pritchett commented:
"Ted was a first-rate arbiter, whose quiet competence, good humour and knowledge of the rules ensured that any disputes and ruffled feathers were handled with Solomon-like wisdom. He was also an active chess player, whose ability to handle players derived in part from his own understanding of the stresses and strains in the game."
Many readers will be aware that the reputation of Scottish arbiters precedes them. I too [AMcG] have memories of playing as a junior in Glasgow congresses and being reprimanded - gently, but firmly - by arbiters, including Ted, for inappropriate noise levels.
Peter Jamieson relates an anecdote about this involving Ted:
"I recall Tony Miles, whom I had the pleasure of defeating at a particular September weekend congress event [Glasgow International 1974], commenting then that Ted and Gerald Bonner were running such a tight ship that he found the noise from the chess clocks quite distracting!'
Ted was not only involved with Howden CC, but later, after recovering from a serious stroke in the mid-80s, played under the flags of Cathcart and Bearsden.
Ted moved to Gartmore, Stirlingshire, after he retired from Howden and he died in the Stirling area in 2003, aged 79.
Sources:
Glasgow Herald, 1 November 2003 (Craig Pritchett).
The Scotsman, 6 November 2003 (John Henderson).
Personal contributions from Peter Jamieson and Ken Stewart.