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Chess Rising Stars

Chess Rising Stars London Academy is creating the ideal new environment to help to introduce chess to younger children. We are delighted to announce that the Chelsea Chess Club for 5 to 7 year olds will start in January 2024.

Benefits abound as your child discovers the joys of learning chess in an interactive and enjoyable setting. No knowledge of chess is required, although we would suggest that without any chess background it would be best to join the club by week 3 of term.


Lessons are shorter than at our original Chelsea Chess Club and will be held in a smaller teaching group. The venue remains at Marlborough Primary School in Chelsea, where we have been based since 2019.

In 2023 the Chelsea Chess Club was recognised at Level 2 within the English Chess Federation’s Junior Development Pathway initiative. We are one of only eleven junior chess clubs across the country to achieve this status.

Once children have mastered the fundamentals of the game, and are feeling more confident about chess, then the Chelsea Chess Club would be the natural next step in their development.

Registration is now open for the Spring Term at the Chelsea Chess Club for 5 to 7 year olds

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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.

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CRS London Academy
Oct 30, 2025

Mapping Your Chess Progress

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.

The Chess Rising Stars squad at the 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships

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.

CM Tom Villiers coaching at our new Wimbledon Chess Rising Stars Club

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.

Callum representing the National Chess Junior Squad at the Glorney Cup

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.

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CRS London Academy
Oct 07, 2023

CRS Academy’s work recognised by the English Chess Federation

This October marked a significant milestone for our Chelsea Chess Club. We established it as our first independent junior chess club back in 2019 and have since grown to welcome over 30 children aged 5-12 each week.

Today the Chelsea Chess Club is one of only eleven junior clubs in the country to be recognised by the ECF Junior Development Pathway initiative.

We are proud to have attained Level 2 Status within the English Chess Federation’s Junior Development Pathway scheme. The recent competitive successes of our students, both individually and in team competitions, and the high quality of our website were highlighted by the ECF as contributing towards our successful application.

            “The English Chess Federation’s Junior Development Pathway is a new initiative by the ECF to create a structured and formal progression plan for junior chess players which incorporates existing coaches, junior clubs, associations and programmes”

ECF Juniors Website, Autumn 2022

This acknowledgment is a testament to the dedication of our coaches, the enthusiasm of our young chess players, and the support of parents within our community.

We are confident that the club’s journey doesn’t end here. We aspire to earn ‘Centre of Excellence’ status and are already working towards it.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed.

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