CHESS CLUB.

Evening Star, Issue 14038, 20 April 1909, Page 8

CHESS CLUB.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Otago Chess Jlub was held in the club room last night. Ihe president (Mr G. D. Wright) occupied ;he chair, and there was a good attendance }f members. —Report and Balance-sheet.— The twenty-fourth annual report of the :lub, which was read by the hon. secretary (Mr G. F. Dodds), was as follows : The Committee have much pleasure in congratulating members on the eminently satisfactory position of the club. Never has the club been in a more flourishing condition with respect to membership and finance than it ;s to-day. The principal event of the past’ fear was the holding of the New Zealand championship tourney in Dunedin during the Christmas-New Year holidays, in which competitors representative of the principal chess clubs in the Dominion participated. The visiting players expressed themselvei well pleased with the manner in which ‘.ho tournament was conducted. The thanks >f the club are due to His Honor Air Jusice Denniston for presiding at the formal ipening of the Congress, and mention must ilso be made; of t,he indefatigable efforts )f the hon. treasurer (the Rev. A. T. Cholowski) in obtaining subscriptions to the prize fund, and of Mr R. A. Gleland, whose able management of the routine business connected with the tournament caused 3 very!hing to proceed with smoothness am! alock-like regularity. During the year telegraphic matches were played with the Canterbury and TLmaru Chess Clubs, both of which we lost by the narrow margin of one game. A week-end trip was subsequently made to Oamaru by several rnerapers of the club for the purpose of contesting a match over the boards with the Oamnru Chess Club, and on this occasion the victory was gained by our side. The senior and junior club championship matches were keenly contested, the former being won by Mr G. F. Dodds, and the latter by Mr .11. Armstrong, the usual winter and summer handicap tournaments were also held, and attracted a large number of entrants. Mr G. F. Mirams wot the winter and Mr R. A. Cleland the summer handicap. The thanks of the club are due to (Mr F. K. (veiling (champion of Now Zealand) and the Rev. J. S. Ponder ;or liberal donations to the prize fund for the ensuing year The revised rules of ihe club, drafted by (Mr F. J. Mouat, were submitted to the Registrar of Incorporated Societies for registration. The Registrar wishes the club to state specifically the destination of its property in the very unlikely event of its dissolution, and with that small amendment will forthwith register the rules. Ihe small amendment required has been made, and will be placed before for approval. The club desire to acknowledge their indebtedness to Mr Mouat for his able services in this connection. The comfort of members has been considerably enhanced bv the installation of improved lighting in the rooms, and a welcome addition to the club’s possessions has been made by the generous donation by an esteemed member of a Handsome bookcase containing a small library of books on chess. In conclusion, the Committee are happy to report that the club’s finances, as indicated by the balancesheet, were never in a healthier condition yid praise is due to our treasurer (the Rev! A. 1. Chodowski) for this very satisfactory date ot affairs. ‘ J

The balance-sheet, which was read hv he hon. treasurer, showed that the finmces of the club were in a very flourishing rendition. The club had £2O Is 2jd cash m hand, and outstanding subscriptions and rents would realise £l3 11s 4d, bringing the total credit balance to £33 12s 61dt Ihe assets amounted to £129 4s ‘ In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet the Chairman referred to the satisfactory condition that the club were in nt_ the present time. The improved financial position wa? due to the work of the treasurer, who had been untiring in his efforts to place the club in a sound financial position. Among the assets of the dub were two handsome bookcases which had been presented to the club by a very old member. J The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Election of Office-bearers.— The following office-bearers fop the year were elected President, Mr J. J. Marlow; vice-presidents, Messrs A. Ellis and fi. J. Mouat; honorary secretary, Mr J braart; hon. treasurer, Mr G. D. Wright • hon. auditor Mr T. Gillies; hon. solicitor Mr D. Forsyth; committee—Messrs b. b. Myers, R. A. Cleland, H. Armstrong, and Rev. A. T. Chodowski. —Presentation of Prizes The prizes won during the year were presented by the chairman as follows: benior club championship, Mr G. F. Dodds; junior championship, Mr H A.rrastrong; winter handicap, Mr G. F. Mirams I, d. 2; summer handicap, Mr K. A. Cleland 1, H. Armstrong 2. Air Dodds was also the winner of the first and second prizes for brilliancy at the Chess L-ongress. In connection with this it was agreed that the club place on record their pleasure at Mr Dodds’s success. —Presentations.— Mi' Myers, on behalf of the Committee, presented the retiring president (Mr G soieieign case. Both recipients briefly- replied, thanking the Committee for the gilts. —Votes of Thanks.— t A r volc °! thanks was accorded Mr F J. Mount tor the work done by him in connection with the registration of the M e R n I™*! 1 ’ 1 - V °/-° Was to :V 1 Cleland tor his work in connection with the Chess Congress, to the ladies "h° provided refreshments at the Con- £ e eilUes). t0 the auditor 0f tlle dub Wr