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THE IVORY CHESS SET. The ongoing saga of the ivory chess set started way back in 1886 when the Teesside Chess association purchased it to be used as a challenge trophy. The set remained in the trust of the officers of Teesside chess association and then with Cleveland Chess Association. It does not belong to CCA because in law an unincorporated association cannot own property. It belongs to each and every member of the current membership of CCA . (An unincorporated association) Looking at its history since 1970 1971 Discussion took place regarding a valuation and Insurance CCA decided not to insure it. Premium quoted at £10 per annum
NOW TO THE MOST RECENT CHAIN OF EVENTS ----------- 2000 to date -----------
Annual General meeting 19.6.00 Mr Walsh informs the meeting that the set has been valued recently on the antique road show at around £20,000. It was accepted by the meeting that an EGM should be called to discuss what to do with it if anything. The meeting was informed that it was currently being stored in a bank at a cost to the association of £10 per quarter. Executive meeting of CCA 13.9.00 Mr Walsh raised the issue of the set and what to do with it He said it was to appear on the antique road show (BBC TV) in the near future. Several parties had expressed an interest in the trophy and it might be possible to keep it in the county. The four ivory pegs that were missing have now turned up so the set is complete. It was agreed that an extra-ordinary meeting would be held, probably on October 16th to discuss the matter. Executive meeting of CCA 24.01.01 Mr Walsh reported that he had just received a letter from the BBC to the effect that the item about the set would now not appear on the antiques road show due to space limits. The secretary had been waiting for this programme to be shown before calling an EGM to discuss what to do with it, if anything. After discussion Mr Walsh said he would consult Cleveland members at the forthcoming Redcar Congress to see if there was sufficient support to call an EGM, otherwise the matter would have to wait until the AGM in June. CCA Annual general Meeting 11.6 .2001 Discussion again; selling of the set and whether that would have a bearing on the fees. Mr Walsh informed the meeting that the man who had originally valued the set at £20,000 no longer worked on the show due to a dispute over a picture he had valued for around one million pounds. The picture had in fact been a forgery Mr Walsh said one person had declared an interest in buying it, if it was for sale and he knew that Lothar Schmidt was a keen buyer of chess sets. Mr Pallister suggested that there should be a meeting in September to discuss the future of the trophy and to vote what to do with it. Mr Kiddle said it should be sold rather than just being kept in the bank incurring storage charges of £40 a year to the association. Mr Moore said he would like to see a plan on what the Association intends to do with the money if it was sold. Mr Walsh said that the issue genuinely splits Cleveland members 50:50 over whether to sell it or keep it. Eventually it was agreed that a meeting would discuss the matter, probably in September, and there would be two votes- one to decide on whether to sell and one to decide how to sell and what the minimum price should be. Voting would be for registered members of the CCA as of this year, to take into account that at the start of the season fees could be paid as late as the end of October. Postal votes might also be allowed but it was to be hoped that there was a good turnout when the meeting was called to discuss the issue and that the set would be on display at the meeting for members to inspect. Executive Meeting 19.1.01 No discussion because the president was not present. Executive Meeting 16.1.02 There was much discussion on the future of the set. It was to be returned to the bank for safe keeping, as it wasn’t insured by the association. It was felt that a firm valuation should be sought for the trophy before a meeting was called to discuss its fate. Mr Walsh reported that a similar set sold at auction for around £9000. His straw polls of the members still show opinion divided whether to sell or not. He also thought that he might be able to get a more reliable valuation from an auctioneer in Saltburn.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 10. 6. 2002 The old Teesside Chess trophy was still in the bank and its future had yet to be resolved- however due to the pressure of other business on the agenda this matter would have to wait. Executive Meeting 9th September 2002 Mr Walsh gave a brief history of the background leading up to this issue now being debated. In brief the association had a valuable asset sitting in a bank vault and its long future needed to be resolved i.e. does the association sell it or keep it. There followed a lengthy debate and it was clear that opinion was reasonably split between those that wanted to sell it and those that wanted to keep it. There was much agreement however that if it were not sold keeping it in a bank vault was not a sensible option.. A number of options were discussed such as having it displayed in a museum but then the legal issue of title and insurance becomes an issue. Ray Pallister had prepared a questionnaire to be circulated to all members asking them to vote for one of the various options. The members present were not content with the format of the questionnaire. It was eventually agreed that all members of the association would be asked to complete a simple question viz. Do you want the association to sell the set or keep it? It was also agreed that the results of the questionnaire would not be binding upon members present at the next AGM of the association at which time a final decision would have to be made. In the interim period enquiries would be made of museums etc so that all options could be put to the members at the AGM
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CCA 23 .6. 2003 Yet again the selling of the set was discussed. After a short discussion it was decided to canvass members by seeking their opinions through a form to be distributed to clubs at the September meeting, the issue to be decided at the January exec meeting. Executive Meeting 15th September 2003 Meeting informed that the questionnaire concerning the sale of the set is to be circulated to all clubs and to be returned by 31st October 2003, which is the deadline for fees. This is to ensure that only paid up members are permitted to vote on this issue. Executive Meeting 2nd March 2004 Only record of this meeting says. For selling it 32 Against 37 No Papers received from the following clubs. Billingham Darlington Elmwood Guisborough Whitby Woodpushers Nothing else said about it BUT ----- read on
RECENT ACTION TAKEN BY THE CCA CHAIRMAN Following the current Chairman’s election at the 2006 AGM he conducted a review of CCA and the property it held in trust for its members. He found that that the set was not being stored in a bank as members believed therefore, following discussions with some other officers he took immediate steps to take possession of it and arrange its safe keeping. The Chairman has concerns that there is no evidence that the set has been stored anywhere other than in a house uninsured. Prior to having the set placed in safe storage the Chairman made a trip at his own expense and in his free time to one of the biggest and well established auction houses in the UK. Tennant’s of Leyburn That visit has resulted in a professionally prepared and binding certificate of valuation for Insurance purposes of £7,500. Tennant’s also supplied a current valuation for auction sale of between £3000 -£5000 with a reserve of £3000. Commission charges of 10% (less than the normal rate but negotiated by your chairman) Your Chairman managed to get the auction house owner (Mr Tennant himself) to waive the usual Insurance valuation fee. Tennant’s were unable to explain the big difference between their valuation and that given on the antique road show; one they considered to be completely way off the mark and unrealistic for a set that is not considered to be rare. It was interesting that one of the three Tennant’s experts works on a number of the BBC Antique programmes including the antiques road show. All three experts independently gave the same valuation. Following that visit the set has been placed in a solicitor’s strong room pending the EGM on 1st December 2006. On Monday 13th November your chairman spoke to the top expert on chess sets for Bonham’s the internationally known auction house based in London. He confirms the information supplied by Tennant’s and is mystified and bewildered as to the £20,000 valuation confirming that the set is not rare. He said it is a nice set and would be desirable to collectors but is never going to attract that figure or any where remotely close to it. Your Chairman has taken positive action to deal with this valuable asset its now up to you the members to decide its future. Keeping it in someone house is not an option as that can result in difficult to resolve legal issues (legal advice.) Keeping it in a bank vault also raises legal issues if we want to insure it. An association cannot insure it but an individual acting as a trustee can however that raises other legal considerations. If it is to be kept in a bank as association property then we need to sort out the admin of the CCA bank account. The mandate for storage and removal of the set from a bank requires that the signatures match those on the current account mandate.(trustees)Currently the treasurer is the only member authorised to sign cheques and access the account. That is why the set is currently in a solicitor’s strong room The action I have taken is on behalf of all the members. Ernie Lazenby Chair CCA 12.11. 2006. |