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BUCA Championship winners

This page outlines all the winners of the BUCA Championship there have ever been. As much information as possible has been added. It is believed that all winners are known, but not all venues or individual winners. Any information that you have to add to this page would be greatly received.

British Universities’ Chess Association Founded

Between 1947 and his death in 1989, Baruch Harold Wood (BH Wood) was the President of the British Universities’ Chess Association. He Presided over events until his death. The peak period was in the early 1970s, during the Fischer boom. The Association lapsed in 1991, shortly after BH’s death. In this era, the various London colleges competed as a united “University of London” team. The triumvirate of Cambridge, London and Oxford dominated this period, coming first or first equal on 34 occasions between them. It was also possible to have shared winners; there being no tie-break in the event of a share of first place. There was no competition in 1989 due to BH Wood’s death, and 1991 allowed Polytechnics to compete, but none entered!

Year   Winner     Venue
1947   Leeds     ?
1948   Oxford     ?
1949   Manchester     ?
1950   Oxford     ?
1951   Oxford     ?
1952   Durham     ?
    Oxford      
1953   Birmingham     ?
1954   Cambridge     ?
1955   ?     ?
1956   Cambridge     ?
1957   London     ?
1958   Cambridge     ?
    Glasgow      
    London      
1959   Oxford     ?
1960   London     ?
1961   Cambridge     ?
1962   Cambridge     ?
1963   London     ?
1964   Oxford     Manchester
1965   London     Sheffield
1966   Cambridge     Oxford
1967   London     York
1968   Oxford     Swansea
1969   Cambridge     Liverpool
1970   London     Manchester
1971   Cambridge     Leeds
1972   Cambridge     London (Imperial)
1973   Cambridge     Leeds
1974   Cambridge     Birmingham
1975   London     Sheffield
1976   Glasgow     Edinburgh
1977   Sheffield     ?
1978   Leeds     Leeds
1979   London     Southampton
1980   Edinburgh     Lancaster
1981   Leeds     Leeds
1982   Oxford     London (Imperial)
1983   Cambridge     ?
1984   Oxford     Birmingham
1985   Oxford     ?
1986   London     Manchester
1987   Leeds     Leeds
1988   Cambridge     Bristol
1989   (No competition)     Warwick
1990   Cambridge     Birmingham
1991   Nottingham     Swansea

Independent Events

The Association had lapsed, but many Universities took on the mantle of organising inter-University events between 1991 and 2008. These were held on an infrequent basis. BUCA was briefly revived in 2007, but had lapsed again by 2008.

Year   Winner     Venue
1998   Oxford     Birmingham
2001   Cambridge     Cambridge
2002   Warwick     Warwick
2003   Oxford     Birmingham
2004   Oxford     Warwick
2007   Sheffield     Warwick
2008   Sheffield     Nottingham

British Universities’ Chess Association Reformed

The Association was refounded in 2010. Rather than be organised by Universities, it was organised by the Association.

Year   Winner     Venue
2010   Bath     Oxford
2011   Oxford     Oxford
2012         High Wycombe