March 1884: The Smoking-Room Incident

The Ballarat Courier — 21st March 1884

“A very grave act of discourtesy, not to say tyranny, was perpetrated last night at the Mechanics’ Institute chess-room. Mr. Fisher, the well-known intercolonial chess-player, an old Ballarat citizen, now of Melbourne, had come by appointment with the Mechanics’ players, to play all the tables at once, giving each opponent a knight.

Before the play was finished, a member of the committee, Mr. Rawlings, came into the room and put out the gas, saying he would not permit the play to continue beyond the usual hours. The room was full of members of the institute, all of whom took a great interest in the match, and several gentlemen offered to pay for any extra gas that might be consumed, fortifying their word by relighting the gas.

Mr. Rawlings then ordered the gas to be turned off at the meter and the match was thus irretrievably broken up. An appeal was made that the small courtesy of permitting the match to continue ought to be conceded, but the appeal was rejected.

We certainly think that, seeing that billiards, with some not perfectly desirable accompaniments, are permitted by the committee till midnight, the more innocent and more educative game of chess under such exceptional conditions as those of the match last night, should not have been prohibited; and we presume that the members of the Institute will have something further to say upon the matter at the proper time.

What Mr. Fisher’s report will be to the Melbourne Athenaeum and chess players generally in that city, we leave to the evolution of events.”

Editor’s Note — Rob Loveband:

In response to the letter regarding “a very grave act of discourtesy” by Mr Rawlings, who turned off the gas lighting, a Mechanics’ Institute member stood up for “Mr R”, saying:

The Smoking-Room Incident
To the editor of the Courier

SIR, As the committee of the Mechanics’ Institute have delivered their dictum re the late fracas in the chess-room, kindly allow me, Mr Editor, space for a few remarks thereon. It must be patent to every habitual frequenter of the institute that Mr Withers’ complaint against Mr Rawlings for want of courtesy was quite uncalled for.

Even if Mr R. did err slightly on Thursday evening, the members and committee are bound to take into consideration his courtesy and consideration to the officers and members in the past when exercising his varied functions of the house committee, financier, literary adviser, and general factotum.

No doubt his success in these paths has raised him enemies jealous of his fame; but he can console himself with the reflection that he is not the only great man whose works have been unappreciated here below. Let us hope that posterity will appraise at its proper value the energy displayed by this gifted being in conducting the affairs of the Institute, as without his all-seeing and incessant care it must long since have collapsed.

Yours, &c.,
An Admiring Member

17 November 1894 – Bendigo Advertiser

Chess Match of Melbourne versus Country Victoria (held 9 Nov. 1 p.m.)

Town v. Country

A very large number of chess players met in the upper room of the Hotel Metropole, Bourke Street, Melbourne, at 1 p.m. on Friday, 9th November last, to take part in the first chess match between Town and Country players. The limits of Town players were fixed at 10 miles from the G.P.O., while of the Country representatives seven came from Ballarat, nine from Bendigo, and others from Berwick, Echuca, Heathcote, Horsham, Kyneton, Lilydale, Maryborough, Warrnambool, Wedderburn and Willlenabrina.

There were in all 28 players a side. His Honour Sir Hartley Williams, President of the Melbourne Chess Club, opened the proceedings by a short speech, in which he dwelt upon the intellectual character of the game. Play commenced at 1.30 p.m. and continued until 5.15 p.m., when out of 48 games the town won 28.5 games and the country 19.5, the match thus being won by the town players by nine games.

Of this result the country players have every reason to be proud, and in future contests they should give a much better account of themselves. The Bendigo players were particularly successful because out of 12 games played they won 8.5, losing only 3.5. This is most satisfactory and should encourage local players to try their luck against the Melbourne players again.

After the match the country players were entertained at a dinner and social by the town team, the assemblage numbering between fifty and sixty. A very enjoyable evening was spent, terminating about 10 p.m. During the evening several toasts were honoured, and complimentary references were made by Mr. Esling, Mr. Harlen, Mr. Hay, and others to the splendid front shown by the country players. A very strong desire was expressed to make it an annual affair, and this, I have no doubt, will be done.

The principal game of the contest was, of course, that between the two captains, Messrs. Hodgson and Stanley, and it was honoured with the close attention of Sir Hartley Williams from start to finish. The game is published in this issue, reprinted with notes from the Australasian.

An interesting mention of the late Charles Fisher at the bottom of the Hodgson biography - "In 1893 also, he won a handicap tournament at the club, in which, being at scratch, he had to give odds to every other competitor. His (Hodgson's) score on this occasion was 13 wins to 1 loss, a record which has only been surpassed in the history of the club, when the late Mr C.M.Fisher, notably the best odds giver of the day here, went through a similar tournament without losing of drawing a single game."

4 April 1925 — The Ballarat Courier

The season was opened by the newly formed Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club on Saturday night, when a match was played between teams chosen by the president and the secretary.

At no.1 table Fletcher and Spielvogel had a great struggle. The latter won a pawn early in the game, but Fletcher playing very well managed to secure a draw.

At the second table Odlum won both games from McKay, while at table 3, C. Gordon won both games from Lancaster.

At table 4 a prolonged struggle was fought between Little and Webb. At the call of time the first game was not finished and was adjudicated in favor of Little.

At table 5, Hall won his two games from Hassell. At table 6, Rees had a piece from Martin but just at adjournment time he lost his queen and the game.

The results were:

27 May 1925 – Ballarat Courier

Visit of Mr. Gunderson — Simultaneous Exhibition.

Members of the recently formed Mechanic’s Institute Chess Club considered themselves highly favored when the Secretary (Mr. N. F. Spielvogel) received a reply from Mr. G. Gunderson accepting an invitation to visit Ballarat. Mr. Gunderson for several years was the chess champion of Victoria, and it was realised that exhibition games by him would be very beneficial to the club, particularly to those members who have taken the game comparatively lately.

Instead of playing match games against one or two leading players Mr. Gunderson expressed his desire to give an exhibition of simultaneous chess, stating that if the club wished it, he would engage a dozen or more players at the one time. The strain which such a display entails can well be realised for concentration of thought is one of the essentials to successful chess.

Play commenced at half-past 7 o’clock, twelve boards being arranged in the smoke room of the Institute in parallel rows of six each. These were so placed that Mr. Gunderson could pass along the six boards on one side of the room, and then along to the other six without having to do undue walking from end to end of the room.

Throughout the exhibition he was on his feet, so that the physical tax was no slight one. This combined with his having to adjust his mind to the state of the game at board after board, and move his pieces rapidly while his opponents had ample time to think out their respective moves, added to the severity of his task.

The Ballarat players in the order of which they sat were: Messrs. J. C. Fletcher, E. Martin, E. Greenhalgh, W. Pickford, H. Gordon, T. R. Odlum, A. Pascoe, F. Rauch, J. Hall, N. F. Spielvogel, F. Webb, and C. Gordon. Arrangements had been made for a number of spectators to witness the play, and they were greatly interested in the proceedings.

Play had been in progress for an hour and three quarters before the first result was made known, the visitor claiming first win against Rauch. Five minutes later he had his second, checkmating Pascoe with the rooks in parallel files.

At 20 to 10 H. Gordon failed to keep his opponent’s queen at bay, and lost. Five minutes later Gunderson proclaimed his game against Pickford a draw. The visitor had made an obvious error early in the game, and lost his queen, but by fine play he recovered from that disadvantage, and the game closed with each player having five pawns to support his king. Pickford, who is one of the latest members to take to the game, was warmly congratulated upon his effort.

Webb was beaten at 10 o’clock. Fletcher was the first winner for the night amongst the locals. He had all the worse of the attack, being for some time on the defence. But after some time he succeeded in turning the tables on Gunderson and won in the end game. Gunderson opened with pawn to king 4, and Fletcher responded with an irregular opening.

Soon after the visitor resigned to Hall and made a draw with Greenhalgh. The next announcement was the defeat of C. Gordon followed by that of Martin. That left only Odlum and Spielvogel playing, but the end soon came, Odlum getting a draw and Spielvogel a win.

Prior to the start of play Mr. J. C. Fletcher, president of the club, received Mr. Gunderson, and expressed the pleasure which the members felt at his having come to Ballarat. Mr. Gunderson briefly responded.

At the end of play a hearty vote of thanks was passed to him at the motion of Messrs. N. F. Spielvogel and T. R. Odlum.

Mr. Gunderson said that he was amply repaid for his visit if it served to stimulate chess in Ballarat.

At the close of the evening Mr. Gunderson was entertained at the Wattle.

This image of The Wattle Tearooms in Lydiard St South, was taken in 1938 and is sourced from Victorian Collections.

Ballarat plays Geelong. From The Ballarat Courier, 26 April 1925. A photograph capturing the inter‑city match held at the Mechanics' Institute, showing players from both clubs engaged in play on the 23rd of April during the 1925 fixture.

24 April 1925 - Geelong Adveriser

INTERCITY CHESS TOURNAMENT, BALLARAT BEATS GEELONG

The first intercity Chess match ever played in Victoria took place in Ballarat yesterday, when the home team defeated a team from Geelong by 12 points to 5. The play was most interesting. Several of the games lasted from 3 to 4 hours. A flashlight photograph of the players at the boards was made during the afternoon. Special interest attached to the meeting of Messrs Sabeston and Spielvogel, both former headmasters of Wangaratta State School, who had never previously met.

Eleven players made the trip from Geelong, and were accompanied by Mr. D. MacDonald, secretary to the Mechanics Institute (of Geelong). Both teams were entertained to light refreshments, also to dinner at the Alexandra Cafe, by the Ballarat Institute. The President, Mr H. G. Morrow, welcomed the Geelong visitors, and interesting speeches were also made by Messrs Fletcher, captain of the Ballarat team, and Spielvogel. All the speakers expressed their pleasure to see such a revival of chess. Messrs Fallow (Geelong captain) and Sabeston responded in similar vein.

After dinner, play was concluded and the visitors left for Geelong, tired but not downhearted. Ballarat expects at an early date to play a return visit here (in Geelong). Another event which is being looked forward to is an expected visit next month from a Melbourne team. Undoubtedly, chess in Geelong is receiving more substantial support than it has ever enjoyed before.

Membership of the Mechanics Institute entitles anyone to join the Chess Club without further fee. The present officials are: President, Mr L. Fallow; vice-presidents, Messrs Sabeston, Glover and Hitchens; secretary and treasurer, Mr D. MacDonald. The president of the Geelong Mechanics Institute, Mr D. MacLennon, would have accompanied the Geelong team to Ballarat had he not been called to Melbourne.

20 July 1925 – Ballarat Courier

Melbourne versus Ballarat.

A team from the Melbourne Chess Club will visit Ballarat in August to play the local club. In preparation for this important match team matches will be played each Saturday night in the club room. All members should play in these as the team will be chosen from the most successful players.

The two winter tournaments are now concluded. The Major Tournament which was not a championship as reported in the Metropolitan Press, was won by Greenhalgh, who won six out of seven, losing only to Fletcher. Fletcher, Odlum, and Spielvogel tied for second place, each losing one game and drawing two games.

The Minor Tournament resulted in a tie between Webb and Lancaster. They played a match to decide and Webb won. He becomes an A player now.

A proposal has been made to play a series of correspondence matches against some NSW club.

Mr. Rauch’s class for beginners has not started operations, so there is yet time to hand names in at the Library at the Mechanics’ Institute.

31 August 1925 – Ballarat Courier

Ballarat defeats Melbourne.

On Saturday night a team from the Melbourne Chess Club visited Ballarat and played a match at the Mechanics Institute against the local club. The match commenced at a quarter to eight and was finished at ten fifteen.

At board 1 Greenhalgh played Berman. He opened strongly, and quickly gained an advantage which he pressed home and secured victory.

At Board 2 Spielvogel found Keage a very cautious player, who watched very carefully. Spielvogel gained a pawn and had the better position, but through a weak move lost the pawn again and a draw was agreed on.

At Board 3 Odlum played Pearce, and soon got a strong position, gaining a good win.

At Board 4 Rauch and Biggs had a merry little game, which resulted in a draw.

At Board 5 Hall met Rev. Brain. After some steady play Hall sacrificed a piece for a mating position and won.

At Board 6 Lancaster met Colville. He played rather impulsively and got into a bad position and was forced to resign.

The match resulted in a win for Ballarat: 3 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss.

The visitors were entertained at supper at the Wattle Palais. Mr. McGregor, President of the Mechanics Institute, was in the chair. He proposed the health of the visitors, and said that chess must be a great cementer of friendships. He condoled with the losers and cordially hoped that they would be the losers in the return match.

Mr. N. F. Spielvogel spoke to the toast. He said the result was of little importance, but the match and similar matches must stimulate interest in the great game.

Mr. Biggs humorously responded to the toast. He said they had one or two other players in the Melbourne Club. He knew all about Ballarat chess now and when the return match came there would be a different story.

7 September 1925 - Ballarat Courier

Ballarat plays Geelong.

Ballarat easily defeated Geelong in the return chess match on Saturday evening in Geelong. Of seven games played, Ballarat won five, drew one and lost one. Details:

The visitors were entertained at dinner on arrival. Mr. D. McLennon, president of the Geelong Mechanics’ committee welcomed the Ballarat players, and Mr. Fletcher responded.

24 May 1926. Ballarat plays Geelong — Ballarat defeats Geelong.

On Saturday afternoon and evening at the club room in the Mechanics’ Institute the annual match between the Ballarat and Geelong chess clubs was played. Unfortunately, Geelong brought only seven players instead of a dozen.

At table one Odlum defended with a Sicilian against Keage. His defense was very sound but his opponent was stubborn, and it was only after three solid hours that Odlum secured a victory.

At table two Greenhalgh met the Geelong Keeleway, Fitzpatrick. The Ballarat man secured a good opening, and had a win in sight when he made an inexplicable blunder, and allowed his opponent to queen a pawn. This won the game for Geelong.

Fallow met Fletcher at board three and opened with an eerie‑weird move known as the Geelong gambit. Fletcher was not disconcerted, but playing strongly secured a victory.

Spielvogel played a Vienna against Adams. He smartly won a pawn on the 6th move and another on the 15th move. He consolidated his pieces, and checkmated his adversary on the 40th move.

Wallace quickly secured his position against Webb, and at dinner adjournment the game looked bad for Ballarat. But Webb is best when he is hard‑pressed and by some clever strategic play secured a good draw.

Lancaster played Synot, and after some give and take got the advantage and had the honor of scoring first win for Ballarat.

Campbell played Robins. For a while the game was very level but Campbell took advantage of a weak move of his enemy and won a great game.

The visitors were entertained at dinner and supper. At the former the chair was taken by Mr. N. F. Spielvogel, President of the club, and at the latter by Mr. R. McGregor, President of the Mechanics’ Institute. A short toast list was given on each occasion.

1932 Ballarat Courier

The Confession by Nathan Spielvogel

14 August 1943 – The Age (Literary Section)

Spielvogel’s Verses

Ballaratians, his brother teachers, and all Australian versifiers and lovers of the Victorian mining scene will be glad that Nathan F. Spielvogel has published, in the evening of his days, Our Gum Trees, with its dedication to John K. Moir, President of the Bread and Cheese Club. It embraces some 30 narrative and descriptive poems, many of them with the authentic touch of the man who wrote A Gumsucker on the Tramp, and that creator of “Old Eko,” whom thousands of State school old boys call blessed.

Mr. R. H. Croll — surely the champion introducer of old and young literary lions — writes one of his pleasant introductions to his old friend’s work. Mr. Spielvogel, besides other accomplishments, is a doughty chess player, a fact that gives special point to one of his more fatalistic poems, Life’s Pawn, which has an ending that all chess enthusiasts will appreciate—

Other poems reveal a more cheerful philosophy. One of the best tells of The Golden Days of Ballarat; one of the most poignant is Beyond the Ninety‑Mile. If all the poems “date,” they are not less welcome on that account.

15 November 1949 – The Argus

The Ballarat Chess Club’s annual championship tournament was won by Mr R. Wilson, who won 14 and lost 4 of the 18 matches he played. Runner-up was Mr J. Purdue and third Mr R. Eldridge. Mr Wilson received a gold medal.

The minor tournament winner was Mr A. A. Turner, with Mr L. Gunn runner-up.

27 January 1954 – The Weekly Times

The result of the tournament was a tie between K. Ozols, Victorian champion, and A. Teters, of Ballarat. Both won all but one of their games. Teters lost to Ozols, and Ozols lost to Browning. It was Teters's first appearance in an important tournament In this country; he made an excellent debut. The remaining scores were (out of 9): Learner, 4½; Crowl, 4; Browning, 2½, Andreasson and Awdiew, each 2; and Malitis, 1.
The tournament was a disappointment. The Melbourne Chess Club went to considerable trouble and expense in an endeavor to obtain entries from leading interstate players, but they did not come.