Commentary on the records
The League's records go back over 100 years and are spread over more than 30 web pages. There is a great deal of information here, mainly on competition winners and League officers. How can we make sense of all this detail?
Three main themes emerge. The first is the tremendous amount of chess activity over the past century. Teams and players from the different Civil Service departments have competed in up to nine divisions and up to three cups, as well as a range of other team and individual competitions. Since 1905 the League has offered no fewer than 34 different competitions and awards – obviously not all at the same time (the record stands at 20, in 1977 and 1985). At the height of the League's popularity in the early 1960s, 36 clubs fielded 90 teams across all competitions (in 1961 and 1963). A total of 1,050 players took part in all League activities in 1962. And this was before the explosion of chess interest caused by the Fischer–Spassky World Championship Match in 1972.
The second theme is the growth and decline of chess activities over the past 100 years. League and cup chess for teams, arguably the League's core activity, really took off in the 1950s and 1960s but has been on the decline ever since. 50 years later, the League has only three divisions and two cup competitions, and its membership is down to 200. Why did this happen? There is no obvious explanation. Playing chess must have gradually become a lower priority for an increasing number of people. Also, the Civil Service itself has reduced in size. There are fewer civil servants than there used to be, and fewer of them work in London than before.
Against that, there was growing interest in other kinds of chess activity. Blitz competitions have been on the scene since the late 1960s; correspondence chess was popular in the 1970s and 1980s; the Civil Service National Championships have been going since the 1990s; and the League has introduced divisional awards and a shield for the most improved player. So despite the declining numbers, the League remains in reasonable health. The number of players has stabilised and the remaining competitions are keenly contested.
The following charts illustrate these points.
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No organisation can survive without a sufficient number of people willing to offer their services to keep everything going. The third theme to emerge is the sheer level of commitment to the League by so many individuals – a total of 166 – down the years. Some of them served in office for an incredibly long time. Pride of place goes to FJ Dadd, who was the League's auditor for 50 years from 1928 to 1977. Close behind was WO Woodfield, League Vice-President for 47 years from 1922 to 1968 (and, according to the available information, the only vice-president from 1922 to 1948). Ray Pomeroy has been Correspondence Match Captain for 38 years, since 1973, and is still going. WH Kirk was Secretary for 34 years from 1905 to 1938. Ron Fleming was Treasurer for 31 years from 1954 to 1984.
Some people have served for many years in more than one post. It is interesting to calculate the total length of service (i.e. assuming their posts were consecutive rather than concurrent). For example, X serves as both Secretary and Grader for the period 2001 to 2010. His real-time service is 10 years, but his total service is 20 years. From this perspective, the current leader is Ian Pheby with a total service of 121 years up to 2010. This includes 28 years as Senior Recorder, 21 years as League Chairman, 15 years as Bulletin Editor and 15 years as Chairman of the Civil Service Chess Association, among others. He is followed by Ray Pomeroy (108), Kevin Thurlow (87) and Ron Fleming (75). One can only stand and marvel.
Information about League officers for the period 1905 to 1948 is very scarce. The AGM Minute Books for that period have not survived. If individual clubs can fill in any of the gaps from their own records, we would be very grateful.
Turning to competition winners:
• Revenue & Customs (formerly two clubs – Inland Revenue, and Customs & Excise) are by far the most successful club, with 35 Division 1 titles and 24 Bonar Law Trophy victories to their name.
• GLCC (formerly GLC) are the most successful blitz team, having won the Barford Trophy 10 times (just ahead of Inland Revenue with 9 titles).
• The most successful individual player in the history of the League is Tony Ashby, with 13 titles (from the Bond Trophy, the Barstow Cup, the Division 1 Award and the Civil Service National Championships).
• The award for individual longevity goes to GPS Coy, who followed up his Barstow Cup victories of 1936 and 1937 with further victories in 1957 and 1970. He was born in May 1917 and is (we understand) still alive. At the age of 93, he is the oldest living person to have played in the Civil Service Chess League.
For completeness, the records also list the officers of the Civil Service Chess Association in its short existence from 1995 to 2009. These are largely, but not completely, the same as the officers of the Civil Service Chess League. The CSCA was created in order to comply with the requirements of the Civil Service Sports Council regarding the promotion of civil service chess nationally. This function lay with the Civil Service Chess League before 1995.