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British Correspondence Chess Association (BCCA) was founded in 1906 and for over 100 years the BCCA has been meeting the needs of Correspondence Chess Players with a comprehensive range of tournaments and competitions.

The current President/Chairman is Stanley Grayland.

History
Founded in 1906, the BCCA quickly established itself in the chess world. Rules were drawn up, trophies purchased and tournaments began. The BCCA grew vigorously in 1907 thanks to the keen efforts of officers, and the first Year Book was produced at the end of the year showing a full list of officers, rules and a selection of annotated games. By 1908, membership had risen to 72 and its first international CC match was commenced (against the Pillsbury National CC Association of the USA).

Founded in 1906, the BCCA quickly established itself in the chess world. Rules were drawn up, trophies purchased and tournaments began. The BCCA grew vigorously in 1907 thanks to the keen efforts of officers, and the first Year Book was produced at the end of the year showing a full list of officers, rules and a selection of annotated games. By 1908, membership had risen to 72 and its first international CC match was commenced (against the Pillsbury National CC Association of the USA).

In 1909, the BCCA launched its first magazine. Originally appearing on a quarterly basis, it became more irregular towards the outbreak of WWI and only spasmodically throughout the war. The BCCA almost died during the Great War as membership dropped to around 30 but was saved through the efforts of a few die-hard enthusiasts. After WW1, things improved rapidly and membership numbers began to flourish. From 1921 (until 1956), BCCA had a regular 2 or 3 pages in each issue of BCM (British Chess Magazine) which kept members up to date with results and news as well as occasionally providing annotated games. Also, from 1921, the BCF (British Chess Federation) caught on to the popularity of CC and launched the British CC Championship which no doubt helped tremendously with marketing CC.

The inter-war years of BCCA were indeed a “golden period”. Membership rose year on year and standards of play increased. New competitions were added (the two BCCA mainstays – the annual Championship & the Handicap tourney had both been ongoing since 1909) such as the Knock-Out tourney and the Problem Solving Tourney. A BCCA Instruction Course was introduced in 1929 and, from 1925, the BCCA began to produce annual Yearbooks (just as they had at the beginning of the Association’s life in 1907 & 1908 but not produced after that) to record all the activities of the BCCA in the past year with all results etc. This is an important aspect which continues today.

WWII saw a boom in CC! Membership rose rapidly to over a 1000 by 1946 but this proved to be the highest membership number BCCA ever had. In 1949, the Association felt strong enough to re-start its own magazine. Originally 6 issues a year, it quickly reduced to 4 which has been the pattern ever since. Apart from a slight blip in 2004, the magazine has run continuously since 1949 to date and is its of our proudest achievements.

The magazine was renamed “Correspondence Chess” in 1963 and has had a distinguished series of Editors throughout its life. In 2008, “Correspondence Chess” was named Magazine of the Year by the English Chess Federation.

Membership slipped during the 1950’s owing to a combination of a too-staid approach by the Executive Committee and the arrival of a vibrant newcomer on the scene of CC. The Postal Chess Club (PCC) had the distinct advantage that the owner/proprietor (Baruch Wood) also ran “Chess Monthly” and could market itself across the chess playing British public. However, unlike the BCCA, the PCC had no democratic structure and eventually died in 2002. However, the lesson had been learned – the BCCA could afford to remain static as there are competitors all around us. Innovations, fresh challenges & new competitions must be continually sought.

1962 saw the formation of the British Postal Chess Federation (now called the British Federation for CC- BFCC) to bring together all the various different CC bodies, organise the British Championship and enter England teams & players in the international arena. The BCCA affiliated to this new body and has done so ever since. Following the Fischer-Spassky match of 1972, CC entered its second golden age and, by the end of the 1970’s/early 80’s, membership once again approached 1000. The standard of CC was now extremely high and at least one BCCA Championship Final featured players with an average OTB grade of over 200.

In the mid-1980’s membership begin to fall. Chess was not as popular and the cost of playing chess by post became much higher. Also, the arrival of computers and chess analysis engines began to make itself felt and put some players off. The 1990’s and early part of the 21st century saw a continuous decline and many forecast the death of CC. But they were wrong! The internet and e-mail brought fresh life and new opportunities. The BCCA began its first webserver tournaments in 2006 which became immediately popular. In 2011, the decision was made to switch the BCCA Championship to webserver and this competition has seen a resurge in interest. New competitions such as the webserver Trio are now available throughout the year and the BCCA is now ready to meet the future with confidence!

Competitions

 * British Individual Correspondence Chess Championship
 * Annual BCCA Individual Championship
 * Medal Tourneys
 * Handicap Tourney
 * Webserver Class Tourneys
 * Endgame Tourneys
 * Thematic Tourneys
 * Friendly Team Matches & Representative Team Tournaments

BCCA Officers

 * President: Stanley Grayland
 * General Secretary: Stephen Woodhouse
 * Membership Secretary & BCCL Controller: Stan Grayland
 * Treasurer: Allan Gardner