English Chess Forum

forecf.jpg Following the day of chess, local social media carried plenty of coverage. Some of which passed through my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086346963185 A town hall full of children and their parents at their first chess tournament (thanks to Chess in Schools and ...

Tournament report now available https://congress.org.uk/node/161

I was very impressed with the facilities that congress.org.uk provides.

Mike and David

Thanks for your insights. I am hoping for more of the same to feed back to contacts in schools.

grandjury.jpg Entries for the other elements of the day of chess have been exceeding expectations - especially those for the schools event which involves Chess in Schools and Communities. The Rapidplay may well end up mainly being played in a cupboard near the car park. Or, more likley in the Grand...

christi1740.jpg Christi Krybbe Skoler in Bergen is the oldest elementary school in the Nordic countries. I was pleased to spot a chess board in its playground! Not every school has such a facility but at least we can dream of the day when every UK junior school has a chess club. Which is why I am a...

How many MPs play chess? How many local politicians play chess? How many local MP vs Mayor chess matches can you point to? I have been promoting chess in the City of Colchester for a while now and mostly I need help in that. Different mayors have opened the Jonathan Penrose Chess Park 04The Mercury ...

ChessDayForECF.jpg The tournament is part of a day of chess that has 'something for everyone'. https://colchesster.org.uk/chess/ So, tournament players can bring their whole family (not the dog though, as not permitted in the Town Hall) to Colchester to enjoy the fun and of course all the other att...

A unique opportunity to play in a tournament with a side of entertainment and do so in a stunning venue. The Colchester Rapidplay Chess Championship 2026 Moot Hall, Colchester Town Hall - Saturday 21 February 2026 Moot Hall photo by Colchester City Council.jpg 6-Round Open ECF rated Rapidplay (15+5)...

In terms of spreading the gospel of chess, there must be infinitely more scope in focusing on the 0 to 10 category. But why limit the thinking to the number of match games played? We should pay more attention to getting high volumes of informal chess played in cafés, pubs, schools, libraries, etc.....

Once I had refound my library card, I read the ODNB article with much interest and found several insights that were new to me. I can recommend it to anyone interested in British chess. Thanks for mentioning the Chess Park!

Jonathan Penrose Chess Park PenroseSummary-1920x1080-1-640x360.jpg The first chess park in the UK dedicated to a titan of British chess. Visit in person to play chess in Colchester or find on the website information on his life in chess, with access to his games including those in correspondence ch...

I agree that venue hire costs can be a killer. Just a thought on equipment though. If you want a DGT boards set up then again cost is considerable. In the US players take their own boards, pieces and clocks to tournaments. Has anyone tried to set up such an event in the UK? I have a chess 'everyday ...

Not sure if this made it into the local press, but Liverpool Chess Club socal media comments drew attention to a great initiative: chess sets donated to pubs https://www.facebook.com/10005436118852 ... 486390112/
Yet another British Chess Championship benefit!

Report back from the first 2025 session is that they had seven boards in play!
To put this in context, the village/town of Wivenhoe has a population of about 7,500.

Ask not what chess can do for you...

Wivenhoe Family Chess Club launched over the summer holidays - using a community fun day as great publicity. Now that the excitement of World Chess Day is over for another year, you may be thinking ‘what else can I do to market my chess club?’ Obviously the most efficient approach to marketing is t...