** The Murder of Julia Wallace **

[Herlock Sholmes]

e.g. did Wallace or Moore not turn up on the 8th DEc and did Wallace or Walsh not turn up on the 5th Jan?

There’s no way of knowing Ven. They might both have not turned up. Or maybe one of them turned up before Wallace got there and decided to play off one of his other games if that opponent was free?

[Ven]

e.g. did Wallace or Moore not turn up on the 8th DEc and did Wallace or Walsh not turn up on the 5th Jan?

[Ven]

If Monday and Thursday were league means then a Sunday (or any other day) would suit a champions league game. As per any other league...they wouldn't double up.
Also, the table doesn't show the nights Wallace didn't turn up but also the nights his opponent may not have shown up.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I imagine they set the November 30th deadline because it was the end of the month.

Wouldn't they have just set the last Thursday in the month?

[Herlock Sholmes]

It does seem strange though?

The league table was a point that I’ve raised in the past against Parry’s involvement. If he’d seen the table he’d have had to have assumed that Wallace hadn’t been to chess since November 10th when he’d played his last game against Lampitt. So why would he come up with a plan which involved him receiving a call at a club that he hadn’t visited for over 2 months? For all that he’d known Wallace might have dropped out of the tournament or even lost interest enough to stop attending?

[Gordon]

I imagine they set the November 30th deadline because it was the end of the month.

[moste]

‘Tis strange. Wasn’t there playing days Mon&Thur.?

[Herlock Sholmes]

It was a knockout tournament (which I hadn’t heard of until Mark’s book) The one on the notice board was a different one and was played in a league format. What must have happened was that as well as the 3 ‘league table’ competitions (1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class) there was also a knockout competition which players of all levels could enter and Wallace lost to Baruch.

Whats strange is that I’ve just checked and the 30th November 1930 was on a Sunday

[jmenges]

The footnote on page 14 says “In the knockout tournament the first round matches had to have been played by 30th November 1930. Wallace, at the time a third rate player, was eliminated in the first round by first class player Daniel Baruch.”

I know very little about chess tournaments, and I even watched The Queen’s Gambit.

JM

[Herlock Sholmes]

I wonder if there was another competition played under the ‘knock-out’ format where you get quarter finals, semi-finals etc and Wallace had lost in the first round of that one? I’ve never heard of it Jon but it could have been something that Mark discovered during his research?

[Herlock Sholmes]

According to Mark Russell’s book, Wallace last played at the Chess Club in a tournament that’s first round ended on November 30th, 1930 and he was eliminated in that first round.

JM

In the competition that Wallace was in everyone played each other with the usual chess point system of 1 for a win 1/2 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. Wallace had only played one game which was against Lampitt on the 10th of November (which he lost) so it was just over 2 months since he’d played. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he hadn’t attended though as he could have turned up and not played a match (maybe potential opponents were playing against each other?)

[jmenges]

I noted,Mark mentioned the chess club absences by Wallace, as 2 months ,but games were scheduled for 2 per week, and Wallace had missed 4 that equals 2 weeks to my reckoning.??

According to Mark Russell’s book, Wallace last played at the Chess Club in a tournament that’s first round ended on November 30th, 1930 and he was eliminated in that first round.

JM

[moste]

I noted,Mark mentioned the chess club absences by Wallace, as 2 months ,but games were scheduled for 2 per week, and Wallace had missed 4 that equals 2 weeks to my reckoning.??

[moste]

I wonder if it was checked out whether Wallace owned a bicycle. I’m surprised actually that his very extensive rounds were not traversed by bike. If he owned a bike but chose not to normally use it for his job, it would certainly have cut his journey time to his first tram to Allerton to 2 or 3 minutes. Just lean the bike against the wall near the tram stop and forget about it. Just a thought.

[moste]

Mark was interviewed recently by Alan R Warren of the American House of Mystery podcast, KCAA 106.5 F.M. Los Angeles/ 102.3 F.M. Riverside/1050 A.M. Palm Springs.

Best wishes
Adam

Thanks.