Wimborne Chess Club

The club was formed in 1978 by Tony Buckfield and friends. Early members included Jim Fox, Mike Davidson, George Dodman, Phil Wallace and Dodd Caines. The latter had aspirations for the club. In his enthusiasm he wrote to the House of Lords and challenged them to a match. He also wrote the Russian Embassy challenging them to a match. Neither happened.

The Red Cross hall was our first venue when we joined the league. Subsequent venues included:

The Allenbourne School. Had to leave - the chairs were too small.

The Allendale Centre. Had to leave -they closed too early.

The Kings Head. Had to leave. John Turnbull, the treasurer couldn’t find space for a game in the tiny room allocated. The enterprising duty manager suggested a bedroom. John accepted and the next person to turn up was a woman. John has the unusual claim to have played with a woman in the bedroom at the hotel. Moves of the game were not recorded but frequently recalled, especially by John.

Martyn Adams became a keen member and while teaching at the local Queen Elizabeth School encouraged some excellent young players. He ran an evening club on Fridays. This was called the QE Chess Club, but open to Wimborne members. Later the two clubs united and met at the Dormers Hotel (now the Olive Branch)

This was an ideal venue but we had to leave as they planned to redecorate. 

We moved to the Royal British Legion. The premises were suitable but the noise from the bar didn’t help. Many of us became members. We had to leave the Legion because of the noise from the bar and a particularly loud barmaid who clearly didn’t like us. The stories she told and the juicy gossip resounded round the hall and was far more exciting than the Queens Gambit.  The next venue was the Conservative Club but we had to leave as the Conservative Club closed. At this time the excellent Oakdale Chess club decided to close and we welcomed some of their players including Ian Clark and Steve Culleton. Ian, with Martin Simons of Southbourne, continued to be the inspiration of Dorset Chess. Next we went back to the Dormers. The management were very welcoming but if they got a better booking we were turned out into the restaurant, playing among the diners. The next venue was the Coach and Horses. We played in the bowling Alley. But if they had a booking, we had to play in the pub; a delightful place but without a section for serious chess. The log fire was a delight and some members didn’t bother to play chess. The Con Club had by now become a Weatherspoons pub, named ‘The Man in the Wall’. We were offered the first-floor room and we had a good season there. Then health and safety hit us. Weatherspoons decided we weren’t safe upstairs. We moved to the restaurant below and they saved us a small room. It wasn’t big enough and some of us had to play among the happy eaters and drinkers. Very jolly, but not chess, especially as happy drinkers would give us unwelcome advice . We then tried the White Hart in the Cornmarket. Again, mixing with the happy customers didn’t please serious players. So, we moved to the Coach and Horses again and played in the bowling Alley. A familiar problem arose. If they took a booking we were bowled out and had to play in the bar amongst the pool squad and diners which wasn't ideal. The next venue was the Scout Hut. Did well for a while but not an ideal place. So, we moved to the Football Club. At this time the club was running 6 or 7 teams but we didn’t drink enough and we were gradually elbowed out. In between these wanderings, we had a spell at the Town Hall. However, the large rectangular table in the committee room meant that only those with long arms could administer a back-rank mate so we left.

The next venue was The Merley Social Club. Probably the best venue yet but we had to move at the end of the 2024 season because the room hire charges became too onerous. 

We then had a short period at the Lion Hotel (Formerly the Minster Arms) but while this was good socially it proved far too noisy for match play chess so we have moved again!

We now meet on a Wednesday evening at the King's Head pub.

A feature of the club over the years has been the excellent fund raising, especially by John George. Another highlight has been our annual Christmas dinner. So, we’ve moved a lot, had a visit from the Mayor, raised over £1000 for Naomi’s House and played two simultaneous matches against top national players. But we never played the House of Lords and are still waiting a reply from the Russian Embassy.