CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Chess Rising Stars

Back in December, at our Captains Meeting, Chess Rising Stars decided to make a change from our usual online team competitions. We took a break from the J4NCLO for Season 13 and focused instead on our main 4NCLO campaign after our recent promotion to Division 3. So, was it the right decision?

The season was a competitive one from start to finish. We finished 2nd in Pool B, securing our place in the knockout stages on the final day after five match wins and two losses. The semi-final against Dundee City D was also rather dramatic, ending 2-2 before we edged through on a board-count tiebreak.

That result set up a final against Bromley, who had beaten us earlier in the pools. We very much saved our best for last and a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory won us revenge and the Division 3 title!

A huge thank you goes to all of our players who represented the team throughout the season: James, Yuk Hei, Savvas, Alex, Ishaan, and Angelos. Every player contributed important points and supported the team along the way. This success would not have been possible without their efforts.

Division 2 beckons in September!

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CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Nov 07, 2023

November News

We are keen to share Chess Rising Stars London Academy’s upcoming Christmas and New Year chess courses with you.

Online Chess Camp

The 24th Chess Rising Stars Camp will be held online between Monday 18th and Wednesday 20th December, 9am – 12 noon. Beginners, intermediate and advanced players are all welcome. Our online holiday camp returns by popular request after the success of our Summer Holiday Online Club. Secure your spot with our Early Bird registration discount.

Christmas Tournament

Embrace the festive spirit with our Christmas Online Chess Tournament on Saturday 9th December from 10:00-12:30 using lichess.org! The tournament will also incorporate our 9th Girls’ Online Chess Tournament. Entry is open to all Chess Rising Stars students, parents, coaches and friends.

Spring Term

Be the first to mark your calendars with the Spring Term dates for all of the Online Chess Clubs and our prestigious Chelsea Chess Club. Chess Rising Stars clubs will have 9 weeks of lessons across the term and a week off for half-term. As usual, spaces are limited across our chess clubs and allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Chess Rising Stars teacher GM Marian Petrov was selected to coach the Bulgarian team at the FIDE World Youth Olympiad tournament in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Registration is now open for all of these fantastic courses. If you’d like more details, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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CRS London Academy
Jul 03, 2025

ECF Rated at the Chelsea Chess Club

Starting in September 2025, the Chelsea Chess Club will introduce weekly ECF rated rapid games as part of our regular sessions.

This opportunity will be available for students in the top group of the club. We will help our advanced students take a step forward by giving them the chance to gain official ratings and prepare for competitive play beyond Chess Rising Stars.

To participate in ECF rated games, students must be registered with the English Chess Federation. For parents new to ECF membership, we’re here to guide you through the registration process. Read our article on how to get started.

Games will be overseen by our highly qualified coaching team – five of whom are now certified ECF Arbiters. Their expertise will ensure each rated game meets official standards of play and sportsmanship, all within a supportive learning environment.

Our Chelsea Chess Club is already recognised at Level 2 within the English Chess Federation’s Junior Development Pathway scheme. This new initiative is another way Chess Rising Stars is helping our young players grow in skill and confidence.

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UK Chess News
Aug 30, 2021

Chess Rising Stars Summer Camp 2021

Our 18th Chess Rising Stars Camp took place at Marlborough Primary School in Chelsea, London. We improved our chess skills together from Monday 23rd to Thursday 26th August 2021.
It was a delight to return to teaching chess camps in-person. Our children (and staff!) had all missed playing and learning chess together over the board.

Our camps are open to children from ages 6 to 14 and of all chess levels so beginners, intermediate and advanced children were all there with us. We split up into two classes for the activities. This helped us to match children with those of a similar level of chess experience and ensure they all made maximum progress.

Lessons had a mixture of chess tuition, mini-games and sportsmanship advice. We also made sure to find time for a break but some of our students just continued to play chess outside!
Each day we finished with several games under tournament conditions. We awarded trophies, medals, toys and certificates to our fantastic students. Particular congratulations go to Brain L., who scored 8 out of 9, and was the overall chess camp champion and Nicolas T., who scored 4.5 out of 9 and won the second group. Hector M. was our most improved player for his 5 consecutive wins to finish the tournament.

The camp was organised and delivered by WFM Maria Manelidou, CM Thomas Villiers and Chris Russell. We had a great time and our students did too.

Our next Chess Rising Stars Camp will be held in October for half-term and we hope to see you there! Please do contact us if you are interested in finding out more.

View more photos of the event

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