A New Home
The club had many homes in the city - the records make mention of Princes Street, George Street, Queen Street, St Andrews Square, York Place, and Hanover Street for instance. In the years leading to the centenary of the club it must have been apparent that the moving from place to place was not satisfactory and a movement began to find a permanent home.
This
must have been a considerable undertaking, for property at the West End
has never been cheap. Fortunately there was a legacy from Mr J G THomson
and the members included a number of men of means including such as the
Earl of Perth who made a number of generous donation to the club. The money
was raised with the help of a debenture issue and the current building in
Alva St was purchased in 1922. The opening ceremony took place on the 4th
November - the same day as the 100th Anniversary dinner. Owning its own
premises gave it a unique position amongst UK chess clubs and there are
very few if any who can boast of a similar facility.