12-02-2012, 06:02 PM
A few comments on the West, which may be expanded in due course.
The West of Scotland Championship was begun in 1872 under the auspices of the Glasgow Chess Club which provided the trophy and organised the event for over 100 years until it passed on the task to the Scottish Chess Association some time around 1980 (given time I may be able to be more precise). Over most of this period the event was held at the club over an extended period of weekday evenings. In my experience this was usually in the form of seeded preliminary sections and a final all-play-all. In the 1970s the club arranged the event over a weekend; this was then a small Swiss (say 10-12 players) for players who had qualified from other events (eg as county champions) and there were no additional events.
This put a financial strain on the club (which ultimately became inactive in 1992) and the SCA took over the event, increasing the number of sections as an aid to financial viability. For most of the following years it took place at Clarkston Hall, organised for quite a period by Walter Munn. When he retired I took over responsibility (as SCA Director of Tournaments); I usually then did the preliminary organisation and Alistair Maxwell ran the event ‘on the days’.
Eventually I no longer had responsibility and the Clarkston Halls became unavailable. The event was then usually arranged on an ad hoc basis with changes from year to year, which brings us close to the present.
The West of Scotland Championship was begun in 1872 under the auspices of the Glasgow Chess Club which provided the trophy and organised the event for over 100 years until it passed on the task to the Scottish Chess Association some time around 1980 (given time I may be able to be more precise). Over most of this period the event was held at the club over an extended period of weekday evenings. In my experience this was usually in the form of seeded preliminary sections and a final all-play-all. In the 1970s the club arranged the event over a weekend; this was then a small Swiss (say 10-12 players) for players who had qualified from other events (eg as county champions) and there were no additional events.
This put a financial strain on the club (which ultimately became inactive in 1992) and the SCA took over the event, increasing the number of sections as an aid to financial viability. For most of the following years it took place at Clarkston Hall, organised for quite a period by Walter Munn. When he retired I took over responsibility (as SCA Director of Tournaments); I usually then did the preliminary organisation and Alistair Maxwell ran the event ‘on the days’.
Eventually I no longer had responsibility and the Clarkston Halls became unavailable. The event was then usually arranged on an ad hoc basis with changes from year to year, which brings us close to the present.