Chess Club

Students playing chess in the Student Union Building, (19--). PR; Series 1; Sub-series 2; Item 5557.

Previous/other names: N/A

Prominent date(s) of activity: 1943 - 2008?

History: The UNB Chess Club was the first official student chess club in the Maritimes. It was hoped that students' interest in the game would continue to grow and that chess would eventually become one of the major activities at UNB. Chess did become especially popular in 1946 with a great number of veterans enjoying the past time.

Activities: The Chess Club met weekly on campus, and competed against other chess clubs that formed at other universities.

Note(s): The highlight of the club's inaugural year was a telegraphic chess match against McGill University, which McGill won by a very close decision after a month of adjudication.

In 1981 a UNB student, named Robert Hamilton, was the first Atlantic Canadian to win a national chess championship.

The club maintained close contact with the Chess Federation of Canada.

Source(s):

• UA Case 173.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 63, no. 6, 15 October 1943, p. 1.
• Up the Hill, 1944, Organizations.
• Up the Hill, 1946, Organizations.
• Up the Hill, 1947, Organizations.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 119, no. 7, October 1984, p. 10.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 142, no. 11, 2008, p. 12.

© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2014