All of us at the Hamilton Chess Club would like to thank Erik Malmsten for the following notes on Hamilton's Chess History.

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Hamilton Chess History:

1800s
Hamilton had a chess club as early as 1861 when the Ontario Chess Club was formed. In one of the first games played by telegraph they defeated Toronto with the Two Knight’s Defence. The time control for matches was five minutes a move. Hamilton defeated London 2-1, Belleville 3.5-.5, and St. Catharines 3.5-.5.
In 1877 the Hamilton Chess Club met on Thursdays at the Mechanics’ Institute, on James St. across from City Hall. In 1878 they met in the Royal Hotel, 67 James St. N., Mondays and Thursdays.

Dr. Isaac Ryall
Dr. Isaac Ryall was a very active player and organizer. He was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Chess Association at the founding meeting in Hamilton’s City Hall on September 24, 1872 and got the Governor General to be the patron of the C.C.A.. He regularly contributed problems and games to the Toronto’s Globe chess column. He played in the first C.C.A. tourneys in Toronto in 1873 and in Montreal in 1874. He played in the Canada – USA correspondence match in 1876, the ’78 Montreal and ’82 Cincinnati Correspondence tourneys. In 1880 he organized the Hamilton correspondence tourney with 19 players, six from the U.S.. Dr. Ryall’s ruling for a draw by the 50-move rule started a big controversy. He also stirred outrage when he proposed to separate the C.C.A. into regions and only have a national tournament once every three years; He was upset that the C. C. A. was proposing to permanently hold the annual championship far away in Ottawa. Dr. Ryall became the President of the Ontario Chess Association at its first annual meeting in Toronto in 1880, then a Vice-President of the C.C.A. for a couple of years. In 1884 he defeated Zukertort in a simult in Toronto (Zuk +25=3-2, Judd drew), and he, Judd and Kittson won in the blindfold simult (Zuk +6=1-5). Dr. Ryall, born in Ireland in 1828, was Hamilton’s Medical Health Officer by 1884 until his death in 1901.

William Judd
William H. Judd was a long-term member of Hamilton C.C. executives and inter-city teams. He played in the Canadian Chess Association Congress in Montreal in 1874, tied for second in the 1873-4 correspondence tourney, the ‘76 Congress and ‘81 O.C.A. Congress, the latter two played in Hamilton. He was an O.C.A. Vice-President in ‘82. Judd had his own soap making business and yacht, was a Director of the Hamilton Art School, was elected Alderman (unpaid), and became Chairman of the Board of Health and Public Works. But Judd still found time to play in the semi-annual Hamilton – Toronto chess matches into the 1900s, played in Toronto in Easter and in Hamilton on Thanksgiving.

Henry N. Kittson
In 1882 Hamilton C. C. President Henry Kittson won the Cincinnati Gazette’s correspondence tournament. He played on Hamilton’s teams until 1922.

Around 1900 chess players were at the Hamilton Whist and Chess Club. There was increased chess activity during World War I and the Hamilton C. C. reformed in September 1913 in the Lister Building, President J. E. Lister. Membership rose from 16 to 30 by 1919.

James W. Moncur
In 1913 The Secretary-Treasurer James W. Moncur donated a shield for City Champion, then a trophy in 1921 which he sometimes won. He was a regular on the teams that played semi-annual matches with Toronto for the Shenstone Trophy. He was on the committee of the Dominion Chess Association and played in several Canadian Championships.

Hamilton versus Toronto
in Hamilton, November 29, 1919
J. J. Corke 0-1 J. Rosen
C. Ritchie 1-0 H. J. Lane
H. G. Greene .5-.5 N. Alperp
W. W. Cushing 0-1 R. G. Hunter
J. W. Ritchie 1-0 W. Cawkell
H. N. Kittson 0-1 C. E. Freeman
S. W. Moore 1-0 J. J. McKinnon
A. R. Colquhoun 1-0 Rt. Rev Bishop W. D. Reeve
J. W. Moncur 1-0 Dr. Crewes
J. Rueben 1-0 J. Crossley
J. W. Kells 0-1 A. Turner
Dr. Gilirie 1-0 H. Warmack
Hamilton won 7.5-4.5.

Frank J. Marshall gave simults in the Hamilton Y.M.C.A.. Dominion [Canadian] Champion Sydney E. Gale of Toronto briefly lived in Hamilton, 1920-21. Alexander Alekhine gave a simult in Toronto on January 23, 1924, scoring + 31 =4 -1, losing only to Hamilton’s Charles N. Ritchie.

Hamilton hosted the Dominion Championship in August 1924 at the Royal Connaught Hotel. Mayor Jutten gave each player a badge with the coat of arms of the city. Three Hamilton players were among the 16 players: Ritchie, Moncur, and Kittson. Their games are in a database which suggests there is a tournament book. Toronto’s J. S. Morrison won.

Hamilton hosted the Dominion Championship in 1931, again in the Royal Connaught Hotel. Dr. Langrill donated a brilliancy prize. Local champion J. W. Moncur entered. Moncur also played in the 1934 Championship held at the C.N.E. in Toronto.

A new club started in 1940, Church of the Ascension C. C..

Hamilton Championship 1940
W. McClintlock 8.5-3.5 winning the Moncur Cup
M. Harris 8
C. Scotchburn 7.5
F. Fagerland 6.5
S. L. Heaton 5
A. C. Jarvis 3.5
A. Tipler 3

H. E. Riley
H. E. Riley (of 17X MacNabb St. S. in 1954) was active on the executive, tournament director, and was one of the organizers of the revived Ontario Chess Association in the 1940s. He played in the semi-annual matches with Toronto and regularly composed chess problems which appeared in newspaper chess columns.

Paul Vaitonis
IM Paul (Povilas) Vaitonis was born in Lithuania in 1911. He played for Lithuania's Olympiad team 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939. He moved to Hamilton in 1949 and was Hamilton Champion 1955, ’56, ‘60, ‘61. He won the 1950 Ontario Championship at the C.N.E. in Toronto and in ‘53. He won the Canadian Championship in ’51 and ’57. He represented Canada in the ’52 Interzonal in Stockholm and at the ’54 and ’58 Olympiad. He defeated GM Larry Evans at the ’58 Canadian Open. He wrote the weekly column in the Hamilton Spectator January 1953 to September 1955. He continued to play in the Canadian Championships in ’61, ’63 and ’65 and played in team events (McMaster, and the Lithuanian Chess Club in the Toronto league).

Myer Harris
When IM Frank Anderson of Toronto wrote the weekly chess column in the Hamilton Spectator September 1955 through November 1964, he relied on Myer Harris, Secretary of the Hamilton C. C. for local games and results. Myer Harris took over and continued the chess column for a few more years. Myer Harris, 212 Emerald N., as Secretary of the O.C.A. also produced an O.C.A. Bulletin circa 1961. He was the President of the Southwestern Ontario Chess League in 1963 and the CFC Vice-President in 1964.

Peter Van der Wel
Peter Van der Wel of 144 1/2 James St. N., won the J. W. Moncur trophy as Hamilton City Champion in 1953 ‘54, and ’59 and had many of his games published in the Hamilton Spectator chess column. Anybody interesting in copying them into a database? He was President of the Hamilton C. C. in 1955, Vice-President in 1953 and 1959.

Hamilton Championship 1953
1 Peter Van Der Wel 12-1
2 B. Zambori 10.5
3 M. Harris 10
4 E. Schrantz 9
5 A. Schuschel 8.5
6 E. Zarins 7.5
7 M. Davies 6.5
8 J. Letvsky, V. Swinton, A. Tipler 5
11 G. Spenceburger 4.5
12 S. Tukerman 3.5
13 J. Grodde, G. Karpoff 2

In the 1950s Hamilton had teams in the Niagara District League and in May 1959 won the south western team championship, led by Van der Wel and Harris both with 7-1.

Hamilton C. C. Championship 1956
Paul Vaitonis 10-0
Peter Van der Wel 6.5 (2 forfeits as he withdrew due to wife’s illness), John Plewes 6.5
Conrad Scotchburn 6
G. Ackermann 5.5
Myer Harris, E. Schranz, Irv Steinberg 5
Alex Savellev 4
K. McCrimmon 1.5
J. Lindzmeyer 1
Is nationally rated. During one round Vaitonis got permission from his opponent to watch the fight on T.V..

1959 was the first time all the Hamilton Chess Club’s Championship games were played with clocks. Prize winners:
Peter Van der Wel 9.5-1.5
Paul Vaitonis 9 (losing to Arvay and Bill Zombori due to overconfidence and time pressure)
Paul Arvay 8.5

The first weekend swiss in Hamilton’s history was the Ontario Open in May 1960, held in the new engineering building at McMaster. The players changed the time control to the slower 50 moves in 2 hours. Ivan Theodorovitch from Toronto won the Spectator trophy. Theodorivitch lost to Grimshaw in round 3 but defeated Vranesic in round 5 and Vaitonis, who only needed a draw to win the event, in Round 6. Fuster could have tied for first but lost on time to Vranesic. Hamilton’s Peter van der Wel was sixth rated, lost to Vaitonis, Fuster and Smolij. 28 entries. Also from Hamilton, Steinberg had 4 and Piewes had 3.

The Hamilton Championship in 1964 was held at the Germanian C. C., directed by John Ivy. Ended in a three-way tie between Paul Arvay, Horst Lucke, and Joe Dollack, 5-2. Hamilton C. C. met at the Y.W.C.A. on Ottawa St.. The Ontario Open was held in the Wentworth House, McMaster, and there was a Hamilton Secondary Schools League individual championship.

Top CFC Rated Players in Hamilton 1973
1. M. Collins 2119 38th on Top 50 Canadians
2. C. Logan 2102 44th
3. P. Arvaj 2077
4. P. Vaitonis 2071
5. F. Pushkedra 2035
6. J. Chrolavicius 2029
7. J. M. Hentschel 2010
8. H. Arvantis 1994
9. E. Marlowe 1983
10. J. P. Harmon 1979
11. E. Evans 1959
12. V. Mudroch 1957
13. B. Pratt 1897
14. P. Van der Wel 1888
15. G. Price 1883
16. M. Seirke 1877
17. P. Smedley 1859
18. S. Peter 1831
19. V. Peter 1807
20. W. Zombori 1791
(B. Hartman 1466x)

Malcolm Collins was Secretary of the C.F.C. 1974-5 and President in 1976.

In the Ontario Secondary School Chess Championship in 1972 Homer Arvantitis, rated 1863, of Scott Park S.S., tied for first with four others with 5.5-.5. Tied with 5 were V. Murdoch of Hamilton C.I. and J. Banic of Bishop Ryan H.S.. Bishop Ryan H.S. was the second top team. In 1974 a team from Bishop Ryan C.S.S. won the team title. In ‘75 Steve Peter, rated 1962, of Bishop Ryan won the individual championship. In ‘76 Tom Schmidt won the individual championship.

Hamilton City Chess Championship 1976
Frank Pushkedra, Homer Arvantis 8-1
Malcolm Collins 6
Tom Schmidt 5
Joe Ellis 4.5
Robert Costigan 4
Walt Michalsky, Garry Kirsch 3.5
Peter Wrobel 2.5
Bob Silcox 0
TD: Ian de Lieveseley

In 1977 there were 47 players in the Hamilton C. C. Championship, divided into six round-robins. Brian Hartman won the final Group A. In 1978 The Canadian High School Closed Championship was held in Hamilton, directed by Frank Pushkedra.

Frank Szarka
Canadian Chess Chat was published in Hamilton through 1975-86 by Frank J. Szarka, a champion of 1.g4, Grob’s Attack. In 1975 Szarka won the First Canadian Yugoslavian Championship. As the C.F.C. started it’s own national magazine in 1973, most of the content of Canadian Chess Chat was of foreign events. He and Blasko Gabric, President of the Svetozov Gligoric Chess Club of Hamilton, organized the 1978 Canadian Open, held at the Pavilion 3. They had a $10,000 prize fund and 185 entries. Hungarian GM Gyula Sax won, while GMs Bozidar Ivanovic, Leonid Shamkovich, and three Yugoslav IMs also played. Denis Allan and Frank Pushkedra gave simults in support of the event.

The Ontario Open in 1980 was held at McMaster and attracted 164 entries, the highest for a weekend tournament in Hamilton. Lawrence Day won the Open section with 5.5-.5, Richard Sams and Brian Hartman, 5-1.

Brian Hartman
IM Brian Hartman was the most active CFC player in 1983-4, playing 150 games a year. He won the 1984-‘85 Eastern Ontario Grand Prix; ’84, ’87 and ’90 Ontario Open; and tied for first in the ‘85 Canadian Open and ’89 and
’93 Keres Active. He got an IM norm in the ’84 Windy City International in Chicago and won the ’90 and ’92 Continental Opens in Buffalo. He placed second in the ’84, ’87 and '92 Canadian Closeds. He was the chairman of the organizing committee for the 1994 Canadian Closed in Hamilton, won by GM Kevin Spraggett ahead of six IMs. He had a meeting with Kasparov in Hamilton. He played in the ’84 Olympiad and captained the 2004 Olympiad team. He helped organize the annual master actives at Dr. Wentworth’s in Dundas. These days he plays on the Internet and actively promotes chess behind the scenes.

Denis Allan
FM Denis Allan, from Sask., represented Canada at the 1971 World Students' Team Championship; ’68, ’80, ’86 Olympiads; and the ’87 Interzonal. He won the 1970 Ontario Open, tied for first in the ‘84 Canadian Open, and played in the ’72,’75, ’86 and ‘99 Canadian Closeds. He tied for first at the ’99 Hamilton New Year’s Active. He has been involved in supporting chess behind the scenes.

Frank Pushkedra
FM Frank Pushkedra has regularly won tournaments in Hamilton, Guelph, Brantford, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls, winning the 2002 SWOCL Grand Prix. In the 1980s he solved chess problems for the Canadian Chess Chat problem contests. He achieved an IM norm when tying second in the ’02 Guelph Pro-Am International.

Doug Bailey
Doug Bailey won the 1983 Canadian Junior. At the World Junior in France he upset Russia’s Evgeny Bareev, the World Cadet Champion. He was second in the ’88 Ontario Closed, tied for first in the 2004 Ontario Open and was the 2004 Hamilton Champion.

Sources: mainly the chess columns in the Toronto Daily Star, Globe and Mail, Hamilton Spectator (which has many chess photos), also Canadian Chess Chat, the CFC magazine and some info from David Cohen and Jonathan Berry.

Written by Erik Malmsten