Category: CRS London Academy

To help prepare our students to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars, we are delighted to announce the return of our Online Grand Prix.

This term, our free Grand Prix tournaments are to be held on our lichess team page. Chess Rising Stars students, parents, and friends are all welcome to take part.

We have kept the successful Autumn Term format so there will be a warm-up in January, followed by weekly Grand Prix events held on Sundays. The tournaments will be 1-hour Arenas at the 5+3 time control. 

Schedule

The online chess tournaments will take place on Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Spring Term 2026:

• 25^th January = Warm-up

• February and March = Weekly Grand Prix Arenas

Fair Play

To ensure the integrity of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix tournaments, we will use the lichess cheat detection system alongside the observation and judgment of our experienced coaching team.

Register Now

Drop us a message on the Chess Rising Stars lichess team page or an email to london@chessacademy.uk to get involved.

Chess Rising Stars are hosting our first ever OTB tournament, the EJCOA Zonal Wimbledon, on Saturday 21st February 2026 at the Everyday Church, Wimbledon, SW19 8LR.

We have been preparing throughout 2025: in the Spring three of our coaches completed their ECF Arbiter qualifications. During the Summer, coach Chris achieved his first FIDE International Arbiter norm. Then in the Autumn Term, we introduced ECF rated games at our Chelsea and Wimbledon Clubs and secured our venue for the Zonal next February.

We are looking forward to welcoming children who are keen to qualify for the English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA) National Youth Championships Finals at Nottingham High School in July which is a rare opportunity for UK juniors to compete in a high-level FIDE rated standardplay tournament.

EJCOA Champions

Chess Rising Stars students have already achieved EJCOA success on the national stage with Noah winning the U12 Boys category in 2024 and Silk becoming the U10 Girls champion in 2025. We are excited to see what 2026 will bring!

Register Now

Our website has further information about the EJCOA Zonal Wimbledon, plus the Entry Form, or you can fire us a quick email to london@chessacademy.uk and we would be happy to help.

It’s a Chess Rising Stars Christmas tradition to host a December online tournament on our lichess team page. We are offering the opportunity to play in a fun private tournament with players of all chess levels.

Open to all CRS students, parents and including a special welcome to our friends from the Chess To School initiative in Nigeria, fresh off their Division 3 runners-up finish at the J4NCLO.

We will award prizes for age and rating categories including books trophies and private lessons with our experienced coaches. In previous years, we have received over 30 entrants to this event.

Schedule

The Christmas Online Tournament will take place on Sunday 14th December at 4 pm (GMT).

There will be 9 rounds of 5+3 blitz and we’re expecting to finish between 6 and 7 pm.

Warm-Up

Many of our junior students have qualified for the LJCC Finals later in December and this would be an ideal warm-up tournament for them to compete against other strong, experienced juniors.

Fair Play

To ensure the integrity of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix tournaments, we will use the lichess cheat detection system alongside the observation and judgment of our experienced coaching team.

Register Now

Drop us a message on the Chess Rising Stars lichess team page or an email to london@chessacademy.uk to get involved in this exciting and competitive chance to test your blitz skills.

How to Use Chess Rising Stars Courses to Improve Your Chess

Whether you’re a junior or an adult improver, a beginner or a master, our expert chess coaches are here to guide you with the knowledge and support you will need.

This is an updated version of the article that we posted back in 2023, as we have improved our chess course options to better support our students.

Juniors – In-person

Chess Rising Stars London Academy now offer in-person junior chess clubs at two venues in London:

Chelsea

We have created the ideal environment to help introduce the game to younger children, the Chelsea Chess Club for 5 to 7 year olds at Marlborough Primary School. Your child will discover the joys of learning chess in an interactive and enjoyable setting. We will work together on chess strategy and tactics plus associated skills such as sportsmanship, planning and focus.

Our main junior chess club, the Chelsea Chess Club, is staffed by 4 expert coaches and is suitable for more experienced children. The Chess Rising Stars team will ensure that children are grouped with those of a similar age and chess level. Our ECF rated tournament games will help prepare those who intend to compete in chess tournaments and team matches.

Wimbledon

Launched in 2025, our Wimbledon Chess Rising Stars Club is held on Sunday afternoons at William Morris House. Each week, we will offer a mixture of chess lessons, friendly games, and an internal tournament with plenty of prizes for the winners! For those seeking an extra challenge, our weekly tournament games will be ECF rated from November.

Juniors – Online

Our online community on lichess now has over 500 members. The Wednesday, Friday and Sunday Online Clubs each offer groups for children of all levels. We would recommend being familiar with how the pieces move, check and checkmate but no further knowledge is required.

On Fridays we have a club exclusively for secondary school chess players aged 11-16. Chess is gaining popularity in this age range, with students even using it for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award activity.

Our new Chess Rising Stars Online Club acts as a feeder for the ever-popular Elite Club. It is designed for juniors who are already competing in local and regional tournaments, to support their preparation and help them to take their next steps. We can better match students to a group at their current level.

In our invitational Elite Online Club, we work together on areas of strategy, tactics and mindset to build the confidence and skills necessary to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars at national and international tournaments. Our new lead coach, GM Martin Petrov, will be supported by Elite Club founder Chris Russell this term.

Our Online Grand Prix has become a termly event since 2024. Chess Rising Stars students, parents, and friends are all welcome to take part. We have altered the format for the Autumn Term with a warm-up back in September, followed by weekly Grand Prix events held every Sunday. The tournaments are 1-hour Arenas at the 5+3 time control to help prepare our students to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars.

Adult Improvers

We offer interactive and engaging private chess lessons for adults online, delivered by our team of experienced coaches. The Chess Rising Stars teachers have been carefully selected and trained by WFM Maria Manelidou and are passionate about sharing their extensive chess knowledge and experience.

If you are keen to compete in OTB or online tournaments, our coaches have supported adult students in their local leagues, tournaments and even internationally. We have helped students to exceed their rating goals by following our individual training plans. Since 2024, Chess Rising Stars has competed in the 4NCLO team competition and were promoted in both our first and second seasons.

What next?

Get in touch with us by email to london@chessacademy.uk, WhatsApp to +447858563332 or via the website to register for one of our Chess Rising Stars courses.

To help prepare our students to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars, we are delighted to announce the return of our Online Grand Prix.

This term, our free Grand Prix tournaments are to be held on our lichess team page. Chess Rising Stars students, parents, and friends are all welcome to take part.

We have altered the format so there will now be a warm-up in September, followed by weekly Grand Prix events held on Sundays. The tournaments will be 1-hour Arenas at the 5+3 time control. 

Schedule

The online chess tournaments will take place on Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Autumn Term 2025:

• 28^th September = Warm-up

• October, November and December = Weekly Grand Prix Arenas

Fair Play

To ensure the integrity of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix tournaments, we will use the lichess cheat detection system alongside the observation and judgment of our experienced coaching team.

Register Now

Drop us a message on the Chess Rising Stars lichess team page or an email to london@chessacademy.uk to get involved.

We are creating a new ‘Rising Stars’ club to upgrade our online chess club provision for the new academic year. This group will be part of our Sunday Online Club programme and act as a feeder for the ever-popular Elite Club. It is designed for juniors who are already competing in local and regional tournaments, to support their preparation and help them to take their next steps.

The Sunday Online Club is already our busiest with three weekly teaching groups. The new Rising Stars Online Club will ensure that children who are looking to one day take part in national or even international-level tournaments receive the knowledge and training that they will need.

Since 2020, Chess Rising Stars has taught hundreds of children in our online chess clubs. Our global community of chess learners has grown to over 500 members on lichess.

Our expert coaches will offer real-time feedback during our private tournaments and follow this with game analysis. We will support each student in gaining an understanding of their current strengths and weaknesses and how best to train in-between lessons.

Through our strong links with experienced local tournament organisers in the London-area, plus in national championship events, we encourage our students to take part in suitable competitions. We communicate regularly with parents to share these opportunities.

We also offer our students an opportunity to represent the Chess Rising Stars teams in both the J4NCLO and main 4NCLO. You can find out more about this later in the article.

Individual Achievements

Our Elite Club members have succeeded at both the national and international level:

• Double 1st place at the LJCC Finals in the U12 and U14 Major sections.
• 1st place in the U12 Boys category of the EJCOA National Youth Finals.
• Two members were selected for the EPSCA South West England team, plus one for the South East England team, to face Wales.
• Elite Club members reached the Terafinal of the UK Chess Challenge and returned as 3rd and 7th place finishers.

Elite Club

As the Elite Club moves into its fifth season, we are delighted to announce a new Lead Coach, GM Martin Petrov. Martin has been a popular guest coach since Summer 2024 and we are excited to extend his role. Martin’s lectures have included demonstrating his recent win against GM Alexei Shirov from the Bundesliga and explaining when to apply AlphaZero-inspired plans to push our a- and h-pawns.

This club has a limited number of spaces and these are available by invitation only. From September 2025, students at our new Rising Stars Online Club will be assessed for promotion to the Elite Club at the end of each term.

You can follow our progress through our News, Achievements and Top Students pages.

We always welcome parents contacting us, if you would like your child to be considered for a place in this prestigious group.

Team Achievements

Our strongest juniors represent Chess Rising Stars in two major online team competitions:

• Since registering our first team back in 2022, we have achieved many successes in the J4NCLO and are 7-time Divisional champions and 3-time runners up.
• Back-to-back promotions in the main 4NCLO in 2025: Division 5 runners-up in our first season, followed by winning Division 4.

Please do consider joining one of Chess Rising Stars’ upgraded Online Chess Clubs when we restart in September 2025!

We look forward to hearing from you and would be happy to help answer any questions you may have.

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.

To help prepare our students to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars, we are delighted to announce the return of our Online Grand Prix.

This term, our free Grand Prix tournaments are to be held on our lichess team page. Chess Rising Stars students, parents, and friends are all welcome to take part.

The tournaments will alternate between four rounds of 10+5 and three rounds of 5+3. 

Prizes

Trophies to be awarded in various categories (e.g. Top Girl, Rating prizes and Overall Champion). Your top 6 scores from the 7 Grand Prix events will count towards this.

Schedule

The online chess tournaments will take place on Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Summer Term 2025:

• 11^th May = Grand Prix 1

• 18^th May = Grand Prix 2

• 25^th May = Grand Prix 3

• 8^th June = Grand Prix 4

• 15^th June = Grand Prix 5

• 22^nd June = Grand Prix 6

• 29^th June = Grand Prix 7

Fair Play

To ensure the integrity of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix tournaments, we will use the lichess cheat detection system alongside the observation and judgment of our experienced coaching team.

Register Now

Drop us a message on the Chess Rising Stars lichess team page or an email to london@chessacademy.uk to get involved.

We’re careful when it comes to chess ratings. It’s easy to lose sight of improvement, focus on the number and forget what’s important: study, study, study (and have fun)!

With that said, we felt that two students crossing the 2000 rating barrier in the same month is worth celebrating. It’s a first for Chess Rising Stars and it happened twice in one month.

Entering the 2000s

Noah and James both achieved personal best standard ratings in the English Chess Federation’s April Rating List. Their new 2000+ ratings put them both comfortably into the top thousand ECF ranked players, including adults.

It was a great month across the board for Chess Rising Stars, as we now have five students ranked in the Top 20 in their age category on the ECF Rating Database.

Near Misses

The alcohol-free champagne is on ice for Ashwin and Aden! They’ve both been making excellent progress and, with ratings in the 1900s, will surely join the 2000 club soon.

We’re proud of what our students have achieved and look forward to seeing what the May list brings.

Learn More

Track Chess Rising Stars progress on our ratings page

Check our comprehensive chess ratings guide for parents

Noah and James are both members of our Elite Online Chess Club

Our first ever Chess Rising Stars team didn’t exactly get off to a flying start in 2022. We missed the registration deadline for the J4NCLO and defaulted in Round 1. But the squad bounced back in style, winning six straight matches and the Division!

Over the next six seasons, the CRS squad has expanded from 8 to 26 players, claimed four Divisional titles and built on that momentum by entering five teams in January.

Clean-sweep

Season 11 turned out to be our most successful yet, featuring tight tie-break victories and dominant finals:

Our two Division 3 teams won 11 out of 14 matches between them and CRS4 were champions by just two game points on tie-break over Ojays E.

In Division 2, both CRS2 and CRS3 qualified for the Semi-Finals. CRS3 were able to avenge the loss of CRS2 to win 7-1 against Hilsmark Juniors 1 in the Final.

Clinching the Division 1 title was an especially pleasing result for CRS1, as we recovered from finishing as runners-up behind Rogue Rooks in Season 10!

In other team news, our new 4NCL Online squad (a mix of CRS juniors, parents and coaches) has reached the Division 4 Semi-Finals. This league uses a classical time control and promotion to Division 3 in September promises an even more competitive experience.

If you’re interested in joining a Chess Rising Stars team, do reach out to find out more.