Those of you outside of Bedfordshire perhaps know Leighton Buzzard from its connection with the great train robbery of 63. That caper aside, the quiet Bedfordshire town has been known to become chess champions of Bedfordshire on more than one occasion. Below can be found evidence that in Victorian times, it had a thriving chess club too, drawing with Luton on one occasion. Note that the term ‘Arbiter’ is not used by the reporter in Fig. 4, ‘Umpire’ (a cricketing term) is used instead.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2 (Don’t go damaging any chestnut trees now!)
Here, the match is described in more detail locally.
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
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