Folkestone 1933

An eBay auction for the photo shown below caught my attention when I recognized Vera Menchik standing behind the table. Was this perhaps a pre-WWII Women's World Championship? I didn't understand the title -- 'Women play CHESS ± 1930 Outremont + Schartzmann' -- so I sent a question asking if the information was on the back of the photo. The seller, located in the Netherlands, kindly attached a scan to his reply. Written in French, it said, 'Women's chess championship. From left to right Mme Lucien D Outremont and Mlle Schartzmann, champion of the tournament. Photo Meurisse.'

On my page World Chess Championship (Women) : 1927-39 Title Tournaments, I have a scanned crosstable of Folkestone 1933, an eight-player double round robin, which Menchik won with a perfect score. The scan, from Kazic's 'International Championship Chess' (Batsford 1974), mentions both D'Autremont and Schwartzmann. It appeared to be the same event recorded in the eBay photo and I decided to bid on it if there was little interest.

The photo received nine bids from six different bidders with a winning bid of US $109.50. The price jumped from $32 to the final bid in the last minute of the auction, indicating that other bidders also recognized its historical importance. While the winning bid won't make the item a candidate for my series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price, it does show that there is serious interest in early women's events.