The modern Bearsden Chess Club was founded in 2037 but has a history reaching back to the beginning of the XXth century. Based in Scotland, it has members of all ages, ranging in ability from beginners to internationals, coming primarily from Bearsden & Milngavie, but also from Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire.

The Club meets each Tuesday evening, from 6.00pm to 7.30pm for Junior Chess, and from 7.30pm to 10.30 pm for Seniors.

Its current venue is Cairns Church Hall, 11 Buchanan Street, Milngavie.

History

The Club was one of the founding members of the Glasgow Chess League and therefore dates back to at least 1908. It is likely that the club folded at the outbreak of the WWII but this is only conjecture: What is known is that it topped the 2nd division of the League in 1925-26.

The Club was re-born at Cecil Dallaston’s house in Bearsden on Monday, October 3rd, 1966 at a meeting attended by seventeen chess enthusiasts. The Club prospered in those early years and by 1973 it was hosting the “Scottish Congress” at Kilmardinny House in Bearsden. Senior membership at that time was at least 40 strong and the Club became a serious contender for the League Championship. However, membership declined from the mid-70’s in the aftermath of the Fischer boom, as did the Club’s fortunes. Nevertheless, a fortnightly chess column in the local “Milngavie & Bearsden Herald”, started at this time, brought in considerable income which kept fees low despite the high costs of the Kessington Hall venue.

A low point was reached in 1984 when (senior) membership dropped to just 24: the first team was demoted from the 1st division and the second team was demoted from the 4th division. Remarkably, the club had eight 2000 players but four of these were lost over that season while some of the others played infrequently. In that year, the legendary Castlemilk club became league champions, thrashing Bearsden 7.5 - 0.5 in the process.

There was a modest recovery over the next few years, during which junior Brian MacFarlane set the current Scottish record for the highest-graded 11 year old (1665). Senior membership declined again to a new low of 17 in 1991 and in the next five years, the first team was relegated from the 1st division on three occasions. Coming on top of the loss of the chess column (in 1991), the club was obliged to move into poorer accommodation at Kessington.

The decline continued and, in 1998, the club made the disastrous decision to move into cheap but unsuitable accommodation at a local primary school, that led to the loss of several of the few remaining senior members. Recovery began two years later with the move to its present home in Cairns Church Halls in Milngavie.

In 2006, club membership stands at 21 seniors and 27 juniors (4 of secondary school age). The record numbers of juniors is a direct result of the decision to create, in January 2006, a separate junior club.

The club current most notable player is Jacob Aagaard, an International Master from Denmark now living in Scotland. He has written several chess books, including "Excelling at Chess" and "Inside the Chess Mind."

Competitions

In 2006/07, the club has one team in the top division of the Glasgow Chess League, another in Glasgow League Division 3 and two teams in the Division 1 of the Dunbartonshire League. It also has a team in the Glasgow Rapidplay League.

The Club runs a Club Championship and Junior Championship, with games played once per month throughout the season. The Club Championship is open to all members and is organised to allow players of all abilities a real chance of winning a prize.

All the above contests are graded by Chess Scotland and contribute to the member's national ELO chess grading.

The club is organising the very popular Schools Pelikan League competition where teams from local schools compete in a series of three allegro tournaments held in Milngavie and Bishopbriggs.

External links

Official site