Sep 10, 2024

Chess Rising Stars Autumn Grand Prix

Are you ready for an exciting series of online chess tournaments?!

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.

Each tournament will have five rounds of 10+5. We have chosen this time control to mimic the playing conditions in the Junior Four Nations Chess League Online (J4NCLO).

Prizes

Trophies to be awarded in various categories (e.g. Top Girl, Rating prizes and Overall Champion). Your top 5 scores from the 7 Grand Prix events will count towards this.

Please note this a slight change from previous terms, as we are adding an additional tournament due to the longer term.

Chess Rising Stars students and coaches at the 2024 Mind Sports Olympiad

The online chess tournaments will take place on Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Autumn Term 2024.

    Tournament Schedule

      •  29th September = Grand Prix 1

      •  6th October = Grand Prix 2

      •  13th October = Grand Prix 3

      •  10th November = Grand Prix 4

      •  17th November = Grand Prix 5

      •  24th November = Grand Prix 6

      •  1st December = 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.

    Sep 04, 2024

    Four Nations Chess League Online

    Chess Rising Stars has entered our first team in the Four Nations Chess League Online (4NCLO) for Season 10, starting on 10th September.

    We’re excited to expand our team chess provision by entering a second online competition, aiming to build experience and squad depth for future over-the-board events.

    Matches will take place on lichess on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm

    As veterans of the junior league (J4NCLO) since 2022, we’ve claimed four divisional titles and two runner-up finishes. Now, Chess Rising Stars is ready to compete in the main league against adult teams. This will provide an extra challenge for our Elite Club and Adult Improvers students.

    Don’t miss out. Join our squad this week to be part of this exciting opportunity! You can also follow our progress on the 4NCL website.

    Aug 08, 2024

    Regency Chess Company Sponsorship

    Chess Rising Stars are delighted to announce that The Regency Chess Company have generously offered to donate us a beautiful wooden chess set from their extensive range.

    We are planning to award the set to our ‘2024 Chess Rising Star’. Students will be invited to write a summary of their chess achievements during the year. Then there will be an online vote to decide the winner.

    The Regency Chess Company, a specialist chess retailer based in Frome, Somerset also sponsors the annual Frome Chess Congress. Established in 2008, their impressive selection of chess sets includes over three hundred different designs and a multitude of different materials. In addition to chess sets, they offer a range of Backgammon and Mahjong sets.

    It is exciting to award such an exquisite prize and we anticipate contributions from many of our students, regardless of their chess level. We will contact parents to advise of this new award. Please do apply, even if you just started learning chess this year! Students will be encouraged to vote for those they feel have made outstanding progress.

    Thank you to The Regency Chess Company for their support.

    Jun 25, 2024

    Summer Holiday Online Chess Club

    Summer feels like it’s finally arrived here in London. 28℃ today and forecast to be even hotter tomorrow!

    With the school holidays around the corner the Chess Rising Stars Summer Holiday Online Club is returning for its 3rd year.

    The club is open to children aged between 6 and 14 of all chess levels. It’s an ideal companion course to our school and online clubs in term-time.

    Lessons will have a mixture of small-group tuition, friendly games and an internal tournament. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the term for the tournament winners, as well as those who have shown particular improvement and enthusiasm.

    Details for Parents:

    Day: Sundays
    Time: 10:30-12:00pm
    Group Size: 6-12
    Age: 6+
    Coaches: Savvas Manelidis and WFM Maria Manelidou
    Cost: £24 per single lesson
    7-Lesson Discount: £18 per lesson

    Confirmed Dates

    July: 14, 21, 28
    August: 4, 11, 18, 25

    May 27, 2024

    Chess Rising Stars Online Shop

    Chess Rising Stars Online Shop

    We are delighted to announce that the Chess Rising Stars online shop is now open! You can find a superb selection of 21 new and unique designs on t-shirts, hoodies and hats available in both children’s and adults’ sizes.

    Our shop is the latest addition to the Chess Rising Stars London Academy website, following the full update in March. We have worked hard to create a range of merchandise that reflects the fun and vibrant side of our chess community.

    Since we started the Chelsea Chess Club back in 2019, our coaches have sported Chess Rising Stars shirts and now it’s finally time to extend this opportunity to our students as well.

    Noah is our first happy customer, proudly showing off his new ‘Eat. Sleep. Chess. Repeat.’ t-shirt alongside his well-deserved trophy from the EPSCA U11 Team Finals.

    Do have a browse and see what catches your eye.

     

    Mar 26, 2024

    Chess Rising Stars Summer Grand Prix

    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 on our chess team page. Chess Rising Stars students, parents, and friends are all welcome to take part.

    Each tournament will have five rounds of 10+5. We have chosen this time control to mimic the playing conditions in the Junior Four Nations Chess League Online (J4NCLO).

    Prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries and will be confirmed later. Your top 5 scores from the 6 Grand Prix events will count towards this.

    The online chess tournaments will take place on the following Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Summer Term 2024:

    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.

    The Chess Rising Stars London Academy team hopes to see many of you there.

    Easter & Summer Chess Courses

    After a busy and productive Spring Term at our academy, Chess Rising Stars are now accepting bookings for the below courses taking place over the Easter Holiday and Summer Term:

    Easter Holiday Chess Camp

    Our Online Chess Camp will take place during the Easter Holiday. The camp will have a mixture of chess lessons, friendly games and an internal tournament with trophies posted to the winners. Lessons will take place from 9:00 – 11:30 am on 8th, 9th and 10th April.

    Summer Chess Club Dates

    The Summer Term Chess Club dates have been published for our Online Clubs, Chelsea Chess Club and Chelsea Chess Club for 5-7 year olds. All of our clubs will run for 10 weeks, with a break for half-term.


     

    Chess Rising Stars Grand Prix

    The final round of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix will take place this Sunday at 4 pm on lichess. There is free entry for all Chess Rising Stars students, parents and friends. Our popular online tournament series is coming to an end (for now) but we are already planning for its return!

    Grandmaster Coaching

    There will be a new guest coach for our Elite Chess Club lesson on Sunday 24th March. We have booked GM Martin Petrov (not to be confused with Marian!) to demonstrate his best games to the class. Martin will become the 3rd Grandmaster to have coached at the club since its creation in 2021.

     

    Please do get in touch if you would like to register your child.

    Breaking Barriers: Growing The Game

    The Chess Rising Stars Girls’ Online Chess Club is now into its second term. Supported by lead coach WFM Maria Manelidou, our active community of girls taking part in chess lessons continues to grow.

    In its 2019 publication ‘Development of Women’s Chess – Progress Plan’, the English Chess Federation identified that “there will need to be cultural change at all levels of chess in England which will require engagement from clubs, counties, unions, schools and individual members”.

    In support of this aim our club is free to enter for girls who already have chess lessons with us.

    “Chess has played an important role in my life and I am keen to share that. I moved to Greece when I was a young girl but I didn’t speak any Greek. Joining the local chess club changed my life because chess has its own language. It helped me to make friends and become more confident.”

    WFM Maria Manelidou – Founder at Chess Rising Stars London Academy

    We are keen to promote and create opportunities for girls to play chess with us. Our Girls’ Chess Club Online is another step in this direction.

    Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix

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

    You can find our free Grand Prix tournaments on our lichess team page this term. Chess Rising Stars students, parents and friends are all welcome to take part.

    Each tournament will have 5 rounds of 10+5 and points will be tallied across the 6 Grand Prix events. We have chosen this time control to mimic the playing conditions in the Junior Four Nations Chess League Online (J4NCLO).

    Prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries and will be confirmed at a later date. Your top 5 scores from the 6 Grand Prix events will count towards this.

    The online chess tournaments will take place on the following Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Spring Term 2024:

    28th Jan = Warm-Up

    4th Feb = Grand Prix 1

    11th Feb = GP 2

    25th Feb = GP 3

    3rd Mar = GP 4

    10th Mar = GP 5

    17th Mar = GP 6

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

    The Chess Rising Stars London Academy team hope to see many of you there.

    Bronze Medals at the LJCC Finals

    This year’s prestigious London Junior Chess Championships (LJCC) Finals were a successful one for Chess Rising Stars. Our students, Sachin and Ashwin, shared 3rd in the U10 Major with an admirable 5.5/7.

    The first weekend of the 2023 LJCC Finals were held at the University of Westminster, Marylebone Hall. Hundreds of chess players of all ages took part, making for an inspiring atmosphere for our young students.

    L to R: Chris, Arnav, Sachin and Maria

    Sachin and Ashwin are both active members of our Elite Chess Club. We work together on areas of strategy, tactics and mindset to build the confidence and skills necessary to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars.

    We are proud to add to our series of individual tournament accomplishments this year, building on the successes the Elite Club students achieved at the UK Chess Challenge Terafinal earlier in the year.

    We had 12 current Chess Rising Stars students who met the high standard necessary to qualify for the LJCC Finals. This illustrious tournament has been running for nearly 100 years and provides a first-rate competitive experience for junior chess players.

    On Saturday our coaches, Maria and Chris, paid a visit to offer their support and guidance plus drop off some prizes to take home as souvenirs! Tom also set a fine example, competing in the Open tournament and scoring 3.5/4.


    The Chess Rising Stars team are looking forward to the upcoming U8 and U12 LJCC Finals later this month. The achievements of Sachin and Ashwin are a shining example of what can be accomplished with the knowledge and support of our experienced coaches.