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.

Junior 4NCL Online – Season 11

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.

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.

Strong Turnout at EJCOA Zonal Wimbledon

The EJCOA Zonal Tournament brought together 74 children aged 6 to 13 for a highly competitive day of chess at the Everyday Church in Wimbledon.

The tournament reached full capacity three weeks in advance (soothing the nerves of the organisers for our first tournament!). The length of the waiting list was clear evidence of the growing enthusiasm for junior competitive chess in London.

For many of the participants it was to be their first experience of an in-person chess tournament. Remarkably, the appeal of the EJCOA National Finals places on offer meant several families travelled more than two hours to attend.

Qualification Pathway

The event served as a qualifying tournament for the English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA) National Youth Championships Finals, to be held at Nottingham High School in July. The EJCOA Finals provide a valuable opportunity for the top young players across the UK to compete in a FIDE-rated standardplay environment.

Experienced Arbiters

On the day, our ECF-qualified team helping the children were:

The additional support of venue helpers Sara and Emilia, ensured a welcoming environment for players and their families.

Sportsmanship

Across the playing hall, concentration was intense and both the standard of play and level of focus were impressive. The section arbiters noted the excellent attitude of the participants throughout the whole day.

Every player received a commemorative Chess Rising Stars pen and a multi-coloured chess piece to keep as a souvenir.

Results

Congratulations to the EJCOA National Finals Qualifiers:

U8 Boy = Ezra C (5/5)
U8 Girl = Aakruthi R (3/5)

U10 Boys = Liantai L & Dias N (4.5/5)
U10 Girl = Lara M (4/5)

U12 Boys = Theodore T & Reidan M (4.5/5)
U12 Girl = Ellene A Z (3/5)

U14 Boy = Fedor B (3/5)

FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025

It’s not every day that after shaking hands at the end of a blitz game, you stand up from the board and nearly faceplant into the two-time World Championship runner-up Ian Nepomniachtchi!

Chess Rising Stars had a unique opportunity to compete in the World Team Championship this month, as it was held at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith.


This was the first time we had competed as ‘Chess Rising Stars’ in an OTB event, having previously only entered online competitions. Our captain, Maria, drew on her experience as a former World School Team Champion and coaches Andreea and Chris were also in the squad. A special thanks to Joel Bird for supporting us with the team entry.

Individual highlights included: Li Wu beating the two-time European Champion Matthias Blübaum (Germany’s #3) with black, FM Zisis Tsaknakis winning against a GM and two IMs in the blitz pool and Chess Rising Stars coach Tom becoming U2200 champion with his Hammersmith team!


Congratulations to the MGD1 team for winning the rapid (especially to Stavroula Tsolakidou, Greek Olympiad board one and former World Junior Champion and coached by CRS’s Savvas as a kid!) and to WR Chess who were the blitz champions.

As we wrapped up the tournament with a celebratory team dinner, we wondered – would we ever get to play in another World Championship? We felt that our best chance lies with our youngest team member, Aden, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to support him in that goal. Aden had an impressive event, even beating the FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich in the rapid portion!


If you’re interested in helping your child take the next step in their chess journey, we’d love to welcome you to Chess Rising Stars. Whether your child is brand new to chess or already competing, our coaches are here to help them improve.