Edward Winter
C.N. 5574 asked which chessplayer Edgar Lustgarten described as being ‘the subject of more public discussion than any other English clergyman since Wolsey’.
The observation appeared on page 290 of Lustgarten’s book The Judges and The Judged (London, 1961), in his chapter on ‘The Rector of Stiffkey’, Rev. Harold Francis Davidson (1875-1937). Davidson’s ‘extra-rectorial activities’, to borrow the genteelism coined by Lustgarten, have been widely narrated. One of the lesser-known monographs is The Rector of Stiffkey and Morston by Buttercup Joe (Briston, 1985 and 1987):
Davidson’s death was briefly mentioned on page 7 of CHESS, 14 September 1937:
In fact, Davidson survived the mauling for two days, and the circumstances of his death, in hospital, appear quite complex. Of course, that is too dull for a book such as The Even More Complete Chess Addict by M. Fox and R. James (London, 1993), and so page 22 had some ‘fun’ by making out that the lion devoured Davidson.
At the beginning of the century Davidson represented Oxford University on several occasions, and two of his games are given here:
Harold Francis Davidson (Oxford University) – F.W. Clarke
(Cambridge University)
London, 21 March 1902
Scotch Game
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 g5 7 Nxc6 dxc6 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8 9 e5 Ng4 10 Bg3 Bg7 11 Nc3 Nxe5 12 O-O-O+ Bd7 13 Rd2 Kc8 14 Be2 Be6 15 Rhd1 b5 16 a3 a5 17 Ne4 Bd5 18 Bxe5 Bxe5 19 Bg4+ Kb8 20 Re2 Bf4+ 21 Kb1 Ka7 22 g3 Be5 23 Nc5 Bd6 24 Nb3 h5 25 Bf5 Bf3 26 Rde1 Bxe2 27 Rxe2 Kb6 28 Nd4 Rae8 29 Rd2 Re7 30 f3 c5 31 Ne2 Rhe8 32 Nc3 Re1+ 33 Ka2
33...b4 34 axb4 axb4 35 Nd5+ Kb7 36 Nf6 R8e2 37 Be4+ Kb8 38 Rd5 c6 39 Rxd6 Rxh2 40 Rxc6 Ree2 41 Rxc5 h4 42 Nd7+ Ka7 43 Ra5 mate.
Source: The Field, 29 March 1902, page 475.
From page 197 of the April 1902 BCM:
‘At 5 o’clock the score stood Cambridge 3½, Oxford 2½, with the unfinished game distinctly in favour of the Cantab., who was the exchange and a pawn ahead. Mr Clarke, however, made a slip and left a piece en prise, and so enabled Mr Davidson to announce mate in two, bringing the score to Cambridge 3½, Oxford 3½, and drawing the match.’
J.F. Sawin (Yale University) – Harold Francis Davidson
(Oxford University)
Cable match, 27 March 1903
Ruy López
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Bc5 5 O-O Nf6 6 c3 b5 7 Bc2 d5 8 d4 exd4 9 e5 Ne4 10 cxd4 Bb6 11 Re1 Bf5 12 Nc3 Nb4 13 Bxe4 dxe4 14 Nxe4 Qd5 15 Qe2 Rd8
16 Nf6+ gxf6 17 exf6+ Be6 18 Ng5 Rg8 19 Qg4 Kd7 20 Qf4 Nd3 21 White resigns.
Source: The Field, 4 April 1903, page 556.
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Chessplayers and Animals shows this photograph of Davidson from page 14 of The Rector of Stiffkey and Morston by Buttercup Joe (Briston, 1985 and 1987):
The front page of the Daily Mirror, 29 July 1937:
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