Northern Counties vs. Scotland match: Contest is drawn; Yates defeats Mackenzie on first board

The match between representatives of the northern English counties and Scotland, first held in 1901, was unfortunately canceled last year, a circumstance which makes its 1913 edition all the more welcome.  The two sides, each twenty-one players strong, met yesterday at Wigan, near Manchester.  The Englishmen were ably led by Mr. F.D. Yates of Leeds, while Mr. A.J. Mackenzie held down first board for the Scots.  The hard-fought contest was ultimately drawn with the score 10 1/2 - 10 1/2, the Northern Counties' advantage on the higher boards (three wins and three draws on boards one through six, including a victory by Yates over Mackenzie) being counterbalanced by the Scots' preponderance further down.  We present three games for the consideration of our readers.

Here Mr. Yates, playing Black in a Queen's Pawn Game, defeats Mr. Mackenzie, delivering checkmate at the finish.  Notes by the winner.

  

 

Next, on tenth board, Mr. Caplan of Manchester takes the full point from Mr. Lothian of Edinburgh in a French Defense with the assistance of a very agile Knight:

In our final offering, played at the 15th board, Mr. MacGrowther of Glasgow demonstrates that combinations are not the sole province of the Masters, as he bests Mr. Ivimy of Leeds with a fine Bishop sacrifice: