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.

CRS London Academy Chess Camp in October was a Success

We are glad to announce that our 19th Chess Camp in October was successful and very much enjoyed by our students.

We offered a mixture of Chess Lessons, Friendly Games and an Internal Tournament with plenty of Prizes for the Winners!

Prizes were awarded at the end of the camp for the tournament winners, as well as those who showed particular improvement and enthusiasm.


The sessions were delivered by WFM Maria Manelidou, CM Thomas Villiers and Chris Russell.


You are welcome to join our Chess Club which is also held at the same venue of Marlborough Primary School, SW3 3AP.

Apr 16, 2024

One Weekend Four Trophies

The Chess Rising Stars students had a busy weekend! We competed in rapidplay tournaments in Maidenhead and Oxford plus at the St Albans standardplay. 

At the Maidenhead Junior Congress two of our players played in the U11 section. They met in round 4 with and despite a win for Noah T, he finished 2nd overall with (5.5/7) and Aden came 1st, winning all of his other 6 games.

The English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA) National Youth Championships is a popular competition this year thanks to hard work of organisers across the UK. In the EJCOA Oxford Zonal, Noah B drew his first game but recovered to win the U12 section with 5.5/6.

A successful weekend for our Elite Club members as the Noahs each won a trophy and Aden picked up two! 

What’s Next?

The UK Chess Challenge starts this term with Megafinal tournaments taking place during May and June. In July it’s the EJCOA final in Nottingham, where we aim to continue our streak of success and make our mark on the national stage.

Feb 11, 2025

Junior Chess Tournaments: A Guide for Parents

English junior chess is something of a patchwork with a wide variety of organisations hosting their own tournaments. At first it can seem disorganised and, for parents, navigating these events can feel a bit overwhelming but our guide will help you get started.

Junior tournaments provide a platform for young players to showcase their chess skills and develop as players. This article will introduce you to the big four national-level competitions. It is designed to help parents identify the junior tournaments that are most beneficial for their children.

Please note that the English Chess Federation Events Calendar provides a full list of tournaments and can be filtered to suit your needs.

Autumn Term

London Junior Chess Championships (LJCC)

– LJCC Qualification Tournaments are suitable for all chess levels.
– The LJCC celebrated its centenary last year, originating in 1924 as the London Boys Championship.
– Titles are awarded for seven age groups, Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21.
– To play in the Under 8, Under 10 or Under 12 Finals you must first qualify, either via a qualifying tournament or by rating.
– Qualification is not required for the older age groups.

Spring Term

EJCOA National Youth Championships

– EJCOA Qualification Tournaments are suitable for all chess levels.
– The English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA) National Youth Championships was founded in 2021.
– There are age group categories as follows: Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20.
– Finals qualification is obtained either by winning your age section in a Zonal of the EJCOA National Youth Championships or by rating.
– The Final takes place in Nottingham and is ECF graded as well as FIDE rated.

Summer Term

UK Chess Challenge (UKCC)

– UKCC Megafinals are suitable for all chess levels.
– The UKCC is an annual four-stage chess competition for school-age children from the United Kingdom.
– It was created in 1996 and over 40,000 children play in the competition at the school stage, making it one of the largest chess tournaments in the world.
– There is a schools/clubs round (no longer a necessary route to qualify for the Megafinals) followed by Megafinals, Gigafinals and the Terafinal.
– The Terafinal is held at Blenheim Palace with only 60 players qualifying across 5 age categories.

Summer Holidays

British Chess Championships

– More suitable for advanced chess players.
– The first British was held in 1904 and since 1923 there have been sections for juniors.
– The championship venue usually changes every year and has been held in different locations in England, Scotland, Wales and once on the Isle of Man.
– There are age group categories as follows: Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16.
– The junior age category events are split into standardplay, rapidplay and blitz.

Chess Rising Stars Achievements

Our students have enjoyed many successes in these big four competitions and we have collated some recent articles below:

Double LJCC Champion – 2024
Gold at the EJCOA National Youth Finals – 2024
Bronze Medals at the LJCC Finals – 2023
Chess Rising Stars at the Terafinal – 2023

Further Information

This is the third in our series of informational articles for parents.

ECF Membership: A Guide for Parents
Chess Ratings: A Guide For Parents

We encourage all of our students to participate in chess tournaments suitable for their level. Please drop us an email if we can support you further: london@chessacademy.uk