CRS London Academy
Chess Rising Stars

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.

    Related Post

    CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
    Oct 20, 2023

    Chess Rising Stars at the Terafinal

    The 2023 Terafinal was held in Blenheim Palace and three Chess Rising Stars students met the high standard necessary to qualify to compete. We are now delighted to report on their successes in this distinguished tournament.

    Sheng, Ashwin and Aden are all members of our Elite Online Chess Club. We established this club back in 2021 to support those children who were looking to compete in tournaments and team matches beyond Chess Rising Stars. Their hard work over several years has culminated in this triple achievement.

    After a gruelling weekend of 11 rapidplay games, Sheng was crowned the U10 Girls Champion, Ashwin finished in 3rd place overall at U10 and Aden in 7th. We are proud of their efforts and are confident this is just the beginning of their junior chess success.


    Our students with their prizes

    From an original pool of over 10,000 children across the UK, just 60 had achieved the results necessary to reach the Terafinal. October 2023 marked the first time that Chess Rising Stars students had managed to reach this last stage of the UK Chess Challenge. Good things come in threes!

    You can read more about our U10 Girls Terafinal Champion here.

    2023 Terafinal Qualifiers – Three Chess Rising Stars in the U10s

    Our chess calendar remains busy with the next major tournament already in our sights – the London Junior Chess Championship in December. LJCC Qualification tournaments are being held across the UK and registration is now open. We are confident of building on our Terafinal experience and putting in another strong showing.

    Read More
    Chess Articles, CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
    Feb 27, 2024

    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.

    Read More
    CRS London Academy, Chess Articles, UK Chess News
    Dec 05, 2023

    Mapping your Chess Progress: A Guide to Chess Rising Stars Courses

    How to Use Chess Rising Stars Courses to Improve Your Chess


    Our comprehensive chess courses serve as the roadmap to chess mastery. Whether you’re a junior or adult improver, our expert coaches are here to guide you with the knowledge and support you will need.

    Juniors – In-person


    Chess Rising Stars London Academy is creating the ideal environment to help introduce the game to younger children, the     Chelsea Chess Club for 5 to 7 year olds. 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.

    Moving forward, our main junior chess club, the Chelsea Chess Club is staffed by 4 expert coaches. The Chess Rising Stars team will ensure that children are grouped with those of a similar age and chess level. We also offer support to more experienced children who are intending to compete in chess tournaments and team matches.

    WGM Andreea Navrotescu, Guest coach at the Chelsea Chess Club

    Juniors – Online


    The     Wednesday Online Club is perfectly suited as an introduction to small-group chess lessons for less experienced children. We would recommend that children are already familiar with how the pieces move, check and checkmate but no further knowledge is required.

    The Friday and Sunday Online Clubs offer groups at Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced level. There is a new group exclusively for secondary school chess players aged 11-16 at the Friday Online Club. Chess is gaining popularity in this age range, with students even using it for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award activity.

    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. To support this development, there are regular guest coaching appearances from Grandmasters.

    Registration is open for the CRS Christmas Online Tournament 2023

    Adult Improvers


    Our     Adult Improvers Online Group Classes would be ideal for adult beginners or parents whose children are learning the game. We will work together on the fundamentals of chess strategy and tactics. You will have the chance to try out what you have learned in our private, friendly tournaments.

    We offer interactive and engaging private chess lessons 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.

    What Next?


    If you are embarking on a journey to enhance your chess skills, look no further than Chess Rising Stars courses, meticulously designed to cater to players of all ages and levels.

    Read More