(From the files of "The Northern Scot", August 31, 1946)

Chess champion - Mr R.F. Combe, Ladyhill House, Elgin, who arrived home this week after his triumph in the British chess championship at Nottingham, has been the recipient of the delighted congratulations of his many friends since his return. His victory, which has been hailed by chess experts as a really outstanding performance considering the formidable opposition, has excited much comment in chess circles, where the supremacy of the English (and particularly the London competitors) was regarded as something of a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately Mr Combe has had to forego participation in the international masters tournament at Prague in October, to which he was invited following his winning of the British title last weekend. His professional duties as a partner of the firm of Messrs Wind and Mackenzie, solicitors, Elgin, preclude his acceptance.