Welcome to the Ballarat Chess Club History Archive
The Ballarat Chess Club has existed on and off for over 150 years and this is an attempt to record as much information as we know before it's lost to time. Bas van Riel has been actively collecting newspaper articles, searching Trove, and over his time living in Victoria, met many of the 'recent' chess personalities of Ballarat. Bas' research, combined with anecdotal reports from Kevin Perrin, Patrick Cook and others, forms the basis for this ongoing project, edited by Rob Loveband. We would welcome any contributions to this ongoing project.
Explore the history of the club which has been divided into three distinct eras - the Charles Fisher Era - from when the club was founded in 1856 and going till 1880, the Nathan Spielvogel Era from 1881 to 1963, and the current Perrin Era starting in 1964.
This photo was taken in 1860 at A.V. Smith's Bridge Street Studio.
Written on mount below photograph: Stepnâ‚‹ Cess[?]an & Bright / a playing of chess. Printed on verso: A.V. Smith. Photographic Artist, Bridge Strt. Ballarat Studio portrait of two men playing a game of chess, whole-length, both with full beards, wearing loose jackets buttoned at neck, facing each other across a small table. Game is a studio prop and not a serious game.