HISTORY OF THE COMPETITION
The Leeds Evening League started life in the 1969/70 season, initially as a works league. North Eastern Gas won the first two tournaments, while Copperworks and Rose Forgrove also began as works teams. Lots more works teams appear in the list as winners of the lower division e.g. the Royal Ordnance Factory Barnbow. Division 1 overall winners list: 16 - Rose Forgrove 12 - Leeds (1 as Leeds & YTV) 6 - Leeds University 4 - Alwoodley 3 - Yorkshire Copperworks 2 - Moortown, NEGAS 1 - Harrogate, Pudsey |
MERGERS & SCHISMS
ROF Barnbow/WI Rangers/Time Off
Rupert Garnes, an inveterate organiser of smaller, independent clubs, ran works team ROF Barnbow which won Div 2 in 1977. He also ran West Indian Rangers (Mini League champs 1981) which aimed to foster chess in Chapeltown. (Bernie Hare made his league debut for them as a 17 year old.) West Indian Rangers broadened its base to become Time Off, playing out of the Trades Club, this time aiming to foster chess among the unemployed. Time Off then merged with Leeds CC in 1989. Yorkshire Television (YTV) Leeds CC merged with YTV in 1984. Things went well at first - Leeds & YTV CC won the Div 1 title in 1986 - but the marriage was unhappy and didn't last. Divorce followed in 1988. YTV had to start again in the third division. They topped Div 3 in 1989 and Div 2 in 1990 to re-establish themselves in the top flight. |
Inner Circle CC
Having captained Leeds A to Div 1 titles in 1992 & 93, Karl Swainston was mortally offended when Brian Foster accused him of cliquishness, cronyism and running a veritable "inner circle" within Leeds CC. Karl resigned and set up his own club, which had to start out in Div 3. They then won Divisions 3, 2 and 1 in conscecutive years! - a unique achievement. Having proved his point, everyone laughed, shook hands, and the two clubs reunited. Suitably bolstered, Leeds CC won the Div 1 championship three times on the trot from 1998 to 2000. Leeds CCCC (City Centre Chess Club) Leeds CC caught the millennium bug, moved out of the city centre - a blunder! - and fell into terminal decline after 2000. Leeds A winning Div 2 in 2009 and Div 3 in 2015 carries its own special humiliation, of course, which tells you how bad it was. Leeds CCCC meanwhile, were going from strength to strength, winning the Div 1 title four times on the trot from 2014-17. The original club would have died in 2017 were it not for Leeds CCCC taking on the name and the burden of history, as it were. Combine Leeds CC and Leeds CCCC and you get Leeds CCCCCC, which was a bit too much, so it stayed Leeds CC and the club was saved. Find out more on the RECENT HISTORY page. |