Club History
Introduction
Stockport Chess Club has a long history extending back to the late 19th Century. The Club has numerous league titles and cup wins to its name, including: 12 Manchester League top division; 6 Reyner Shield; 30 Stockport League Division 1; and 22 Charnley Cup.
This history is a work in progress, relying on primary sources in the Club's archives.
1st Annual Meeting
The earliest record we have shows that the 1st Annual Meeting was held on 7th October 1890. There were 10 people at that inaugural meeting, recorded as 'Messrs. Fox, Barber, Sharp, Hepple, Davies, Hammond, Morley, Oldham, Redfern & Rathbone'. Mr Thomas Kay was unanimously selected as the first President.
At the meeting it was agreed the Club would meet on Tuesdays and Sundays.
A Committee was already in existence prior to this 1st Annual Meeting as we read in the Minutes that 'Messrs. Barber, Hepple, & Morley [were] reelected on the Committee and that Mr Davies [was] elected in place of Doctor Gordon'. Whether this means that the Club had met before this meeting, or whether the Committee was formed with the purpose of founding the Club, is unknown.
The Early Years
The first record of a matches being played against another Club is a Cup match at home to Bredbury on 23rd November 1891; Stockport lost 2.5 - 4.5. The author presumes this was the Cheshire Cup as that knockout competition had been in existence since 1888.1
A second match in that year was played on 19th December 1891 at home to Hyde, recorded as a 4.5 - 2.5 victory for Stockport.
It's not known under what conditions or time controls these matches were played, but it's possible theywere untimed and played without clocks.
At the 3rd AGM in 1892 it was agreed 'to play home and away matches with Hyde, Bredbury, Macclesfield & Crewe'.