Chess Rising Stars London Academy had the great pleasure to host its first ever cross-continental chess teaching collaboration on Saturday 26th August. This online event brought us together with the Chess To School initiative for an exciting afternoon of chess.

Chess To School is a non-profit organisation, dedicated to harnessing the power of chess to educate children in the slums and schools of Lagos, Nigeria. Their commitment to equipping underprivileged children with valuable life skills through chess is inspiring to witness and we recommend following their progress.

Photo by @Chesstoschool

WFM Maria Manelidou opened the event by demonstrating one of her own games. The depth of understanding exhibited by the children during the ensuing analysis demonstrated their obvious chess potential.

Following her lesson, the competition came alive in a tightly contested 3v3 match. Excellent sportsmanship was displayed throughout and, despite some unsteady internet connections, we were able to complete a 6-game match.

We are grateful to the Chess To School team for sharing this experience with us. Their enthusiastic participation and shared vision for a better future through chess resonated with us. This event would not have been the success it was without their involvement.

Our gratitude goes out to Chess To School for their enthusiastic involvement. We eagerly await our next encounter!

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.

    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.

    Jan 06, 2025

    4th Chess Rising Stars 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 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 five rounds of 10+5 and seven rounds of 5+3. 

    Prizes

    Trophies to be awarded in various categories (e.g. Top Girl, Rating prizes and Overall Champion). Your top 5 scores from the 6 Grand Prix events will count towards this.

    A selection from the Chess Rising Stars library

    Schedule

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

    • 26th January = Warm-Up
    • 2nd February = Grand Prix 1
    • 9th February = Grand Prix 2
    • 16th February = Grand Prix 3
    • 2nd March = Grand Prix 4
    • 9th March = Grand Prix 5
    • 16th March = Grand Prix 6

    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.