Twenty-five years on ...

[Alan Jelfs]

That Buddies Bar made the 1st division was actually news to me but proof that
a small club can get there though staying up is much harder. Of course its now
much easier for a new club but it seems the only new clubs who join are
short lived Univ teams. It was remarkable that so many good chess players were
at Strathclyde at the same time.

p.s. another thing I didn't know was that the archives had been set up by the late Gerry Wilson,
a great guy.

That's the worst thing about being in chess for so long - the people who are no longer with us like Gerry, Walter Munn, Richard Wiltshire or Gordon MacArainn.

Buddies actually made Div 1 twice but were relegated straightaway both times. The first time we did respectably including a draw with Crowwood and a win over Bearsden, but the second time we lost every game (though never defaulted a board). I managed 1 point from 9 games on board 2 (thank you Dougie Will!). The demoralisation from that second season played a large part in the demise of the club, I think.
My "all-time Buddies Bar select team" - Richard Wiltshire, Richard Cochrane, Joe Galbraith, Alistair Watson, Yours Truly, Frank Hughes, Bill Elliot, Steve Riley.