Minor Pieces

I’d just returned (on the eve of the first publication of this article) from a concert in which the distinguished baritone Roderick Williams performed a song composed by Sally Beamish. A few weeks previously I’d been at a gig where one of the musicians talked about drinking Beamish at the Cork Jazz Festival.

If you’re in Dublin you drink Guinness: if you’re in Cork you drink Beamish. Whether Sally drinks Beamish I don’t know, but she comes from the same family.

William Beamish and William Crawford founded the Cork Porter Brewery in 1791, beginning brewing the following year. William Beamish came from a distinguished family of English settlers.

Several of their family were competitive chess players in the first half of the last century. The unfortunately initialled FU Beamish was active in the Bristol area in the years leading up to the First World War, and A (or sometimes AE) Beamish was playing in London at the same time. Then there was Captain EA Beamish, who was a tournament regular for a decade or so either side of 1940.

There is some confusion about AB/AEB and EAB which I hope this article will resolve.

One of William’s many children was a son named Charles, born in 1801 (Sally is descended from his brother Richard): it’s his branch of the family who were chess players. Charles and his first wife, Louisa Howard, had four children: Ferdinand, Albert, Victoria and Alfred. He had another four children by his second wife, but, apart from noting that one of his daughters was named, with a distinct lack of political correctness, Darkey Delacour Beamish, they needn’t concern us.

Ferdinand was born in France in 1838, married Frances Anne Strickland at St John the Evangelist, Ladbroke Grove, London in 1876, then moved back to Cork where their children were born: Ferdinand Uniacke (1877), Walter Strickland, Francis Bernard, Gerald Cholmley and finally their only daughter, Agnes Olive.

It was Ferdinand Uniacke Beamish, unfortunately initialled, yes, but also splendidly named, who was our first chess playing Beamish. But it’s also worth looking at his sister, usually known as Olive, suffragette, communist and Cambridge graduate; and not the only unexpectedly radical woman you’ll meet in this article.

By 1901 the family had moved to Westbury on Trym, near Bristol, at which point FUB was working as a mechanical engineer, although the family would later run a farm.

Our first sighting of him at a chessboard is in November 1901, losing his game on a low board in a match in which Bristol and Clifton fielded a ‘very weak team’.

At the age of 24, then, he was very much a novice, taking his first steps in the world of competitive chess. He was soon elected club secretary, and won a game in a simul against Francis Lee. In October 1902 he was one of a group of organisers instrumental in founding a Bristol Chess League. Here was an ambitious young man, very active as both a player and an organiser.

He was improving fast as well, and by 1903 was playing on board 5 for his county team, drawing his game in a match against Surrey.

There seems to have been some internal politics going on at the time: it was reported that FUB had resigned from Bristol and Clifton, because he had left the area, but, as well as continuing to play in county matches he was playing for Bristol Chess Club: I don’t know exactly what the relationship was between the two clubs, or indeed between the Bristol Chess League and the Gloucestershire and Bath Chess League, in which this 1906 match took place.

The short game published below was this one, against Bath veteran Alfred Rumboll. Black’s opening repertoire seems to have been sadly deficient. FUB preferred 6. d4 to the Fried Liver Attack, and won quickly against his opponent’s poor defence. Copy the pgn and paste here if you’d like to play through any game in this article.

[Event “Bristol v Bath”]
[Date “1906.03.14”]
[White “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Black “Rumboll, Alfred”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. d4 Be6 7. O-O Qd7 8. Re1 O-O-O 9. dxe5 Qe7 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Qg4 Rd7 12. Nc3 h5 13. Qh3 Ncb4 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. e6 Rd6 16. Bg5 1-0

In 1906 he decided to take part in the 3rd British Chess Championships, which took place that year in Shrewsbury. He was placed in Section A of the Second Class Section, scoring a highly respectable 6 points from 10 games.

Confusingly,  FUB was also playing for Clifton Chess Club, winning their club championship, and was also taking a high board for his county in correspondence matches, such as this one against Norfolk, where he defended the Evans Gambit against a Norfolk clergyman.

[Event “Norfolk v Gloucestershire Correspondence”]
[Date “1908.??.??”]
[White “Kinder, Edward Hering”]
[Black “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Nxc3 Nge7 11. Ba3 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 b6 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Rfe1 O-O-O 15. Bd3 Qh6 16. Be4 Ng6 17. Rc1 Nf4 18. Be7 Ne6 19. Bxd8 Rxd8 20. Red1 f6 21. Nd4 Ncxd4 22. Rxd4 fxe5 23. Rc4 Nc5 24. Rxc5 bxc5 25. Qxc5 Qb6 26. Qxe5 Bxe4 27. Qxe4 Rf8 28. Qa8+ Qb8 29. Qe4 Qb2 30. Qa8+ Qb8 1/2-1/2

By this time, he was also playing a lot of correspondence chess, not only for Gloucestershire, but also for Ireland and in their national correspondence championship. In this game from a county match Ferdinand gains control of the centre against his opponent’s rather feeble opening and launches a rapid kingside attack.

[Event “Gloucestershire v Essex Correspondence”]
[Date “1911.??.??”]
[White “Hawkins, George Frederick”]
[Black “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. Nf3 c5 2. d4 d5 3. dxc5 e6 4. e3 Bxc5 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. O-O Nf6 7. Nc3 e5 8. Bb5 Qd6 9. h3 g5 10. Na4 Bb4 11. Bd2 g4 12. Bxb4 Qxb4 13. Bxc6+ bxc6 14. c3 Qe7 15. Nh2 gxh3 16. g3 h5 17. b4 h4 18. Kh1 hxg3 19. fxg3 Rg8 20. Rg1 Ne4 21. Qe1 Qf6 22. Nf1 h2 23. Rg2 Bh3 24. Kxh2 Qh6 0-1

In 1911 he reached the finals of the county championship, losing the play-off against the ill-fated Samuel Walter Billings.

The 1913 British Championships took place in nearby Cheltenham, and FUB returned to the fray, again taking part in the 2nd Class A section, finishing 3rd with 6½/10.

The Cork Weekly News published several of his games: perhaps he submitted them himself so that his friends and relations in his family’s home city would see them.

In this game he quickly gained an advantage against his opponent’s unimpressive opening play.

[Event “BCF Ch 2nd Class A Cheltenham”]
[Date “1913.08.??”]
[White “Lock, George Herbert”]
[Black “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. f4 d5 5. Qe2 Bb4 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2 O-O 8. Nxd5 Bxd2+ 9. Kxd2 Qxd5 10. Qf3 Qa5+ 11. c3 Be6 12. Ne2 Rad8 13. Nc1 Rd6 14. Kc2 Rfd8 15. Be2 exf4 16. Qxf4 Bf5 17. Rd1 Qc5 18. b4 Qd5 19. Bf3 Qe6 20. Be2 Qf6 21. Qg3 Nxb4+ 22. Kb3 Nd5 23. d4 Rb6+ 24. Ka3 Qe7+ 25. Ka4 Bd7+ 26. Ka5 Qa3# 0-1

Superior opening play in this game again gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his attacking skills.

[Event “BCF Ch 2nd Class A Cheltenham”]
[Date “1913.08.??”]
[White “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Black “Hardcastle, Henry John Charles”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Bb4 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. e4 a5 12. Be3 Nd7 13. a4 Re8 14. Rab1 Nf6 15. Bd3 g6 16. Ne5 Nd7 17. f4 f6 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. f5 exf5 20. exf5 g5 21. Bxg5 fxg5 22. f6 Bxf6 23. Rxf6 Qe7 24. Rbf1 g4 25. Bc4+ Kh8 26. Rf7 Qe3+ 27. Kh1 Qh6 28. Bd3 Qg5 29. Rxh7+ Kg8 30. Bc4+ Be6 31. Rxb7 Qh6 32. Qb3 Bxc4 33. Qxc4+ Qe6 34. Qd3 Qh6 35. Qf5 Rf8 36. Rf7 g3 37. Rxf8+ Rxf8 38. Qxf8+ Qxf8 39. Rxf8+ Kxf8 40. hxg3 Kf7 41. Kg1 Kf6 42. Kf2 Ke6 43. Ke3 Kf5 44. Kd3 Kg4 45. Kc4 1-0

His opponent in this game was, I believe, the first cousin of the similarly named Alfred Willie Martyn  amongst other things, one of the founders of the Gloster Aircraft Company. There’s more about the family firm here.

[Event “BCF Ch 2nd Class A Cheltenham”]
[Date “1913.08.??”]
[White “Martyn, Alfred William”]
[Black “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. c3 Bd7 6. Nbd2 g6 7. Nf1 Bg7 8. Ng3 O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Be3 Kh7 11. h3 Ne8 12. Nh2 f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Nxf5 Rxf5 15. Ba4 d5 16. d4 Qd6 17. Bc2 Rf7 18. O-O Nf6 19. f4 exd4 20. cxd4 Re8 21. f5 g5 22. Rf3 Ne4 23. a3 Ref8 24. g4 Qf6 25. Bxe4 dxe4 26. Rf2 Nxd4 27. Rb1 Qd6 28. Kg2 c5 29. Qa4 b6 30. Rd1 Qc7 31. Qa6 Rd8 32. Rfd2 Rd6 33. Qf1 Be5 34. Qh1 Rfd7 35. Nf1 Nf3 36. Rxd6 Rxd6 37. Nd2 Qd7 38. Nxf3 exf3+ 39. Kxf3 Rxd1 40. Qg2 Qd5+ 41. Kf2 Qxg2+ 42. Kxg2 Bxb2 43. a4 Bd4 44. Kf3 Rd3 0-1

The dangerous Albin Counter-Gambit was just becoming popular at this time, but Ferdinand knew how to deal with it.

[Event “BCF Ch 2nd Class A Cheltenham”]
[Date “1913.08.13”]
[White “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Black “Jones, Philip Leslie”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. a3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Bf4 Nge7 7. g3 Ng6 8. Bg2 Bc5 9. O-O Nxf4 10. gxf4 Qd7 11. b4 Be7 12. Kh1 O-O-O 13. Qa4 a6 14. b5 Nb8 15. Rd1 Bc5 16. Nc3 c6 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. e3 Qc7 19. exd4 Be6 20. bxa6 Nxa6 21. Ne4 Qe7 22. Nd6+ Kb8 23. Rab1 Rxd6 24. exd6 Qxd6 25. Qxa6 1-0

From these games you get the impression of a player much better than his second class status would suggest, with a good knowledge of the latest theory along with a fluent attacking style and tactical ability.  But quite often things went wrong, and when they went wrong they went very wrong.

He was on the wrong end of a Best Game Prize winner here against a Danish opponent. As soon as he ran out of theory he blundered into a stock checkmating tactic.

[Event “BCF Ch 2nd Class A Cheltenham”]
[Date “1913.08.16”]
[Round “6”]
[White “Loye, Christian Vilhelm”]
[Black “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 O-O 11. Rxe4 Ne7 12. d6 cxd6 13. Qxd6 Nf5 14. Qd5 d6 15. Ng5 Bxg5 16. Bxg5 Qxg5 17. Qxf7+ 1-0

The 1914 British Championships took place in Chester, and this time Ferdinand Uniacke Beamish was promoted to the 1st Class section, but with the UK having declared war against Germany a few days earlier, the players’ minds would have been on other battlefields.

Three games are available: losses to Moses and Stevenson, and this perhaps rather lucky win against George Marshall Norman, who had an impressively long and successful chess career.

[Event “BCF Ch 1st Class Chester”]
[Date “1914.08.18”]
[Round “8”]
[White “Norman, George Marshall”]
[Black “Beamish, Ferdinand Uniacke”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Qe2 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Bc5 8. Bf4 c6 9. O-O-O Qa5 10. Kb1 O-O 11. Qe1 Na6 12. Qg3 Bf5 13. Bd3 Bxd3 14. Rxd3 f5 15. Ng5 Be7 16. Qh4 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 Qc7 18. Rh3 g6 19. e6 h5 20. Bh6 Rfe8 21. Qf6 Kh7 22. Rg3 Rg8 23. Be3 Qg7 24. Qg5 Nc7 25. Rh3 Rh8 26. Rf1 Nxe6 27. Rxh5+ gxh5 28. Qxh5+ Kg8 29. Qxf5 Re8 30. Rf3 Rxh2 31. a3 Rxg2 32. Qh3 Qg6 33. Rf6 Qxc2+ 0-1

He continued playing for Bristol, now with George Tregaskis as a teammate, through 1915, and the last record we have of him is a correspondence game from 1917.

It seems like he gave up chess at this point to concentrate on running the family farm. The 1921 Census found him, living with his elderly mother and a servant, at Dennisworth Farm, Pucklechurch, a village to the east of Bristol. He married in 1924, but it ended in divorce a few years later. In the 1939 Register he was still there, giving his occupation as Dairy Farmer.  In 1941 he emigrated to New Zealand, where, according to the 1949 Electoral Roll, he was again working as a Dairy Farmer. He died there in 1957, four decades after his last competitive game of chess.

To resolve the question over the identity of Ferdinand’s London contemporary A/AE Beamish, we need to consider Charles’s youngest son, Alfred, who was born in Cork in 1845 or thereabouts.

We first pick him up in England in 1878, where he married Selina Taylor Prichard in Hastings. Selina had previously been married to the much older Surgeon General William White, who had left her with a daughter named Jessie Mabel.

Mabel (she preferred to use her middle name) is worth a detour. Despite her military background she was a committed pacifist. Her husband’s name was very familiar to me, given my background in Anglican church music, but may not be to you. Percy Dearmer was a socialist priest best remembered, at least by me, for editing The English Hymnal along with one of my musical heroes, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Their elder son, Geoffrey, was a poet who lived to the age of 103.

Alfred was a barrister and solicitor, and after his marriage he and Selina settled in Richmond, where their two sons, Alfred Ernest (1879) and Edmund Arthur (1880) were born. We can pick them up in the 1881 census at 13 Spring Terrace, Marsh Gate Road, Richmond. Spring Terrace, now in Paradise Road, is an impressive row of Georgian houses. The family were clearly very well off, employing four servants,  a housemaid, a nurse, an under nurse and a cook.

By 1891 they’d moved to 115 Church Road, a large house near the top of Richmond Hill, just as you approach St Matthias Church. Alfred senior, Selina, Mabel and their older son were there. It’s not clear where the younger boy was: perhaps away at school.

Alfred and Selina had decided that their sons should be educated at Harrow as day boys, and so, a few years later, they moved up to North West London, although it would seem that they also retained possession of their Richmond house. Alfred senior died in Harrow in 1898, and the 1901 census found Selina and her sons there, along with two servants. Neither of their sons had a job: the family was so well off that they had no need of paid employment.

We first spot A Beamish as a Harrow chess player in 1903.

Much more recently, Victoria Hall, in the town centre and very close to where they were living, was, for many years, the home of the current Harrow Chess Club. I played several Thames Valley League games there myself.

At this point we need to look at the controversy concerning the identity of this A (or sometimes AE) Beamish. It seems, on the surface, not unreasonable to assume this was Alfred Ernest, but there were other pointers suggesting it was really Edmund Arthur. There has also been a suggestion that it might have been an Arthur Edmund Beamish, perhaps a distant cousin, who was living in Islington at the time. Given that our brothers were round the corner from this sighting, though, this seems unlikely.

The older brother, Alfred Ernest Beamish, took up the game of tennis, later becoming one of the leading English players of his day, an opponent and occasional doubles partner of none other than Sir George Thomas, an author and administrator. His career was interrupted by the First World War, in which he served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps, so he would have been involved in administrative work. Some secondary sources refer to him as a Captain. Here, you can see his wife offering some tennis tips.

The younger brother, Edmund Arthur Beamish, by contrast, was a soldier. Although he was without employment in 1901, he had previously signed up to fight in the Second Boer War, serving as a Lieutenant in the 28th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, and would rejoin, also serving, like his brother, in the First World War, where he reached the rank of Captain in the 1/18th Battalion  London Regiment.

To identify the chess player for certain, we need to spin forward to the year 1912. AEB took part in the Australasian Open Tennis Championship in December that year, reaching the finals of both the singles and doubles, leaving London on the Themistocles on 12 September, and arriving back home on board the Omrah on 14 March 1913.

Meanwhile, the chess playing AB was competing in the City of London Chess Championship at the same time, which tells us that the tennis player couldn’t possibly have been the chess player.

There’s corroborative evidence as well: both brothers, like their half-sister, preferred to use their middle names. When EAB joined the army in 1899 he gave his name as plain Arthur, and when AEB returned from his tennis tournament, his name on the register of passengers was A Ernest Beamish.

So we’ll assume from now on that EAB (not AEB) was the 1903-1914 chess player referred to in the press as A Beamish or AE Beamish.

Returning to 1904, in February that year Emanuel Lasker gave a simultaneous display against members of the Metropolitan Chess Club at the Criterion Restaurant in London, allowing consultation. He won 19 games and drew 1, playing black against Messrs Beamish and Lowenthal in consultation. This must have been our Mr Beamish: his consultation partner was probably Frederick Kimberley Loewenthal.

It seems Lasker missed a few chances for an advantage here.

[Event “Simultaneous Display: London”]
[Date “1904.02.06”]
[White “Beamish, Edmund Arthur & Loewenthal, Frederick Kimberley”]
[Black “Lasker, Emanuel”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Be3 Bb6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Qd2 Ba5 8. a3 Be6 9. Bb5 O-O 10. b4 Bb6 11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Ng4 14. Be2 Qh4 15. Bxg4 Qxg4 16. O-O f5 17. f3 Qg6 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Nd5 Qf7 20. g3 Rfe8 21. Qd3 Bxd5 22. exd5 f4 23. Rae1 fxg3 24. hxg3 Qf6 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. f4 Qe7 27. Kf2 h5 28. Qd2 Qf6 29. Re1 Rxe1 30. Kxe1 Qa1+ 31. Kf2 Qh1 32. Qd3 h4 33. gxh4 Qxh4+ 34. Kf3 Qh3+ 35. Ke4 Qxd3+ 36. Kxd3 Kf7 37. b5 Kf6 38. Ke4 Kg6 39. Ke3 Kf5 40. Kf3 g5 41. fxg5 Kxg5 42. c3 Kf5 43. c4 1/2-1/2

In 1905 he took part in the Second Class Open section of the Kent County Chess Association tournament at Crystal Palace, scoring 5 points for a share of 4th place. Our friend Wilfred Hugh Miller Kirk tied for first place.

Here is is, third from the right in the top row, playing for Hampstead in 1905-06.

In 1906 he competed, along with his cousin Ferdinand, in the British Chess Championships in Shrewsbury. He was unable to stay for the full fortnight, so was placed in the One-Week First Class section.

A pretty good performance: drawing with the very strong Herbert Levi Jacobs was no mean feat.

This ‘short and sweet’ game, against an opponent who understandably preferred to remain anonymous, was published later the same year. At this time he seemed closely involved with four chess clubs: Harrow, Hampstead, Metropolitan and City of London.

[Event “Hampstead Chess Club”]
[Date “1906.??.??”]
[White “Beamish, Edmund Arthur”]
[Black “NN”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 g5 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. d4 d6 7. Nf3 Qh6 8. h4 g4 9. Ng5 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Bxf4 e5 12. Qxg4 exf4 13. Qc8+ Ke7 14. Nd5# 1-0

Edmund Arthur Beamish took part in the prestigious City of London Club Championship on four occasions, but without conspicuous success. In 1907-08, 1909-10 and 1910-11 he finished down the field, but with occasional good results against master opponents. In the 1912-13 Diamond Jubilee Tournament, which had four preliminary sections, he again struggled.

In this game from the 1910-11 event he scored a notable scalp, although it must  be said that Wainwright was playing well below his usual strength in the tournament.

[Event “City of London CC Championship”]
[Date “1911.??.??”]
[White “Beamish, Edmund Arthur”]
[Black “Wainwright, George Edward”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. f4 Be6 6. Bxe6 fxe6 7. fxe5 dxe5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. O-O Bc5+ 10. Kh1 a6 11. Qe2 O-O 12. Be3 Nd4 13. Bxd4 exd4 14. Nd1 Nh5 15. Nf2 Nf4 16. Qd2 Qe8 17. e5 Qh5 18. Ne4 Ba7 19. Nfg5 Ng6 20. Rxf8+ Nxf8 21. Rf1 h6 22. Nf3 Nd7 23. Qb4 b5 24. Qe7 Qe8 25. Qh4 Qf7 26. Rf2 Qe8 27. g4 Nc5 28. g5 Nxe4 29. Qxe4 Rd8 30. gxh6 Qh5 31. hxg7 Rd5 32. Rg2 Bc5 33. Qg4 Qh6 34. Qg6 1-0

In this game from the same event Beamish had rather the worse of the opening, but managed to turn the tables and, although he missed a neat mate in 3, brought home the full point.

[Event “City of London CC Championship”]
[Date “1911.??.??”]
[White “Macdonald, Edmund”]
[Black “Beamish, Edmund Arthur”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Bc5 5. Nge2 d6 6. d3 Be6 7. Na4 Bb6 8. Nxb6 axb6 9. c4 Qd7 10. O-O Bh3 11. f4 h6 12. a3 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Qe6 14. f5 Qd7 15. h3 Nd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Qf3 c5 18. g4 Qc7 19. Qg3 Nd7 20. g5 O-O-O 21. Bd2 hxg5 22. Bxg5 f6 23. Bd2 Ne5 24. b4 Rdg8 25. Kh2 g6 26. Rg1 Qh7 27. Qg2 gxf5 28. Qf1 Ng4+ 29. Rxg4 fxg4 30. Qf5+ Qxf5 31. exf5 Rxh3+ 32. Kg2 Rxd3 33. Bf4 Kd7 34. Rh1 Re8 35. Rh7+ Re7 36. Rh6 Rf3 0-1

His opponent in this quick win, who has been mentioned in previous Minor Pieces, finished in last place.

[Event “City of London CC Championship”]
[Date “1911.02.??”]
[White “Beamish, Edmund Arthur”]
[Black “Gibbs, Percy Rawle”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. f4 Nf6 6. f5 h6 7. a3 Nd4 8. Nf3 c6 9. Nxd4 Bxd4 10. Qf3 d5 11. Bb3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 d4 13. Qg3 Qe7 14. cxd4 exd4 15. O-O Kf8 16. e5 Nh7 17. f6 gxf6 18. Bxh6+ Ke8 19. Qg7 Rf8 20. exf6 1-0

In early 1911 he married Edith Ada Jenner, and, by the time of the census they had set up home at 10 Fairholme Road, West Kensington. He described himself in the census is ‘late Lieutenant Imperial Yeomanry’. They would go on to have two children, Desmond (1915) and Selina (1918), both born in Hastings.

In 1912 the British Championships took place in his home town of Richmond, and he entered the First Class A section.

A pretty good result, even though his loss against Arthur Compton Ellis was awarded a Best Game Prize.

By now he’d transferred his allegiance from Harrow and Hampstead to his local club, West London.

But soon war intervened, and, now with two young children to support, he didn’t return to the chessboard.

By the time of the 1921 census he was visiting his elderly mother, who was living in the family home back in Richmond. He now had a job, working as an accounts clerk for R Seymour Corporate Accountant. There were three servants in residence, a nurse, a cook and a parlourmaid. His wife and children, meanwhile, had moved in with her elderly parents in Hastings. Had their marriage broken up, I wonder.

And then, in 1935, he made an unexpected comeback. Over the next few years he played regularly for Middlesex in county matches, and in congresses in Hastings, London and Margate, often with some success. It seems that a twenty year break and advancing years didn’t affect his chess strength.

Few games from these years are available: here’s a loss against the Dutch Ladies’ Champion Fenny Heemskerk.

[Event “Hastings Major A”]
[Date “1939.01.??”]
[White “Heemskerk, Fenny”]
[Black “Beamish, Edmund Arthur”]
[Result “1-0”]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 b6 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. Qe2 e5 8. d5 Be7 9. O-O Nf8 10. Ne1 Ng6 11. g3 Bc8 12. Ng2 Bh3 13. f3 h5 14. Rf2 Nh7 15. f4 Bg4 16. Qf1 h4 17. Ne3 hxg3 18. hxg3 Nf6 19. f5 Nf8 20. Rh2 Rxh2 21. Kxh2 N8h7 22. Kg2 Kd7 23. Nxg4 Nxg4 24. c5 Bg5 25. Bb5+ Ke7 26. Bxg5+ Nxg5 27. Qe2 Nh6 28. Bc6 Rb8 29. cxd6+ Qxd6 30. Qa6 Qb4 31. Qe2 a6 32. a3 Qd6 33. Qxa6 Ng4 34. Qe2 Nf6 35. Rh1 Rg8 36. Qe3 Nfh7 37. Nb5 Qd8 38. Rh4 f6 39. Qd2 g6 40. Qb4+ Kf7 41. d6 gxf5 42. Bd5+ Kg7 43. Bxg8 Qxg8 44. dxc7 Qe6 45. Nd6 1-0

Here’s the crosstable from that event.

The 1939 Register found EAB, his wife and daughter living together in the old family home, 115 Church Road, Richmond. He was described as a retired army captain. They had no domestic staff and some of the rooms had been let out to others, so perhaps they weren’t as well off as they had been.

Although he was living in Richmond and very active again in both county and tournament chess, he doesn’t seem to have joined any of the clubs in our Borough. He did, however, make a guest appearance at Barnes Police Station in 1941, playing in a simul against his brother’s old tennis chum Sir George Thomas (they had played out a draw in the City of London Club Championship 30 years earlier).

In the same year he joined West London Chess Club, which, while most clubs had closed, was flourishing with an impressive range of members and activities. EAB played regularly in matches against a variety of opponents as well as competing in their regular lightning tournaments and other internal competitions.

Here’s a club photograph from 1943. Beamish is second from the right in the front row.

In this game he played on Board 1 against Upminster: his opponent was an undertaker by profession. The West London Chess Club Gazette describes it as ‘an example of the fatal consequences of a premature attack’, but Stockfish points out that White missed a win on move 11.

[Event “West London v Upminster”]
[Date “1944.11.18”]
[White “Fryd, Eric Walter”]
[Black “Beamish, Edmund Arthur”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. Ng5 e6 6. f4 Bg7 7. O-O Nf6 8. f5 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Qe1+ Ne7 11. Bb5+ Kf8 12. fxg6 hxg6 13. Qe5 Bf5 14. d3 Ng4 15. Qe2 Bd4+ 16. Rf2 Bxf2+ 17. Kf1 Rxh2 18. g3 Rh1+ 19. Kg2 Rg1+ 20. Kf3 Rxg3+ 0-1

He returned to tournament play after the war, taking part in the Major A section at Hastings in 1945-46. With the London League returning to action, he played 12 games for West London, scoring 6 wins, 4 draws and only 2 losses.

Shortly afterwards he was taken seriously ill, and died on 13 October 1946, at the age of 66. His club published a fine tribute to one of their strongest and most respected members.

I wonder what happened to his extensive Chess Library. Does anyone at West London Chess Club know?

EdoChess gives his rating before WW1 as just below 2100, which seems reasonable: a strong club player who could score the occasional result against master standard opposition. His cousin Ferdinand was perhaps slightly weaker, although he played some highly entertaining chess.

There’s one more mystery, there was an A Beamish playing for Devon in the years leading up to World War 1, mostly by correspondence but occasionally over the board. I can’t find any Devon connection for him, but his Uncle Albert, about whom very little seems to be known died in Devon in 1920. Was it him? Who knows?

And who knows where my next Minor Piece will take you?

Sources and Acknowledgements:

ancestry.co.uk
findmypast.co.uk
Wikipedia
English Chess Forum (contributions from Gerard Killoran and others)
West London Chess Club Gazette
BritBase (John Saunders)
EdoChess (Rod Edwards)
YouTube