History of
Merseyside in the NCCU
Merseyside Chess Association
(By Jim Moran )
Merseyside is the 'New kid on the
block' as far as the Northern Counties of England are concerned and that fact
is used here as a reason for such a short narrative.
The Merseyside Chess Association was
formed in 1977 with the agreement of all counties of the NCCU, a few years
after the Boundary Commision changes of 1974/5. Paradoxically, although
Merseyside is the youngest County it boasts the oldest continuous Chess Club in
the WORLD, and has passed its 160th birthday. That club of course is the Liverpool Chess Club. During the last century many world
class players visited the club and there exists much literature on their
performances there. Sadly it is
quite a while since they have had anyone of such standard visiting them but I
assure you nowadays they have some very good players of their own.
The original idea of a Northern
Chess Association had been put forward in 1883 during a Liverpool v. Manchester
chess match. Board one for Lancashire in the first ever NCCU County match in
1901 was Dr. J. H. Shaw of Liverpool, the then Lancashire champion. Early
century Lancashire teams were made up exclusively of Liverpool and Manchester
players. Statistically, because of the youth of the Merseyside Chess
Association, there is not a great deal of success to offer since 1977 so anyone
wishing to bathe in the glory of any Liverpool history must turn to the records
of Lancashire where the seeker will find many many references to the part
Liverpool played during the last hundred years of chess playing.
However three high points do stand
out: Merseyside have remained competitive in the U125 and U100 sections,
winning the 1989 U125 NCCU title and the 1999 U100 final. And Merseyside showed
that it must only be regarded as a sleeping giant by taking the U175 title for
the one and only time in their history in 1998. With just a few more
enthusiastic volunteers to promote their county at NCCU level, the county could
stake its rightful place at the forefront of the NCCU.
Another such enthusiast upon
Merseyside has been Joe Dilworth. For congress players Merseyside threw open
the doors of the famous Grand National premises at Aintree which Joe has hosted
very successfully for several years.
This was at a time when many Congresses were declining so it was a
welcome change to see a new one on Merseyside.