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Chess Rising Stars

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.

Related Post

Chess Articles
Mar 14, 2024

Grandmasters are now achieving their Titles at an earlier age than ever

The game of chess is witnessing a fascinating trend. New research by Chess.com shows that grandmasters are now achieving their titles at an earlier age than ever. Will the chess world see 10- or 11-year-olds becoming grandmasters in the next few years?

In the past year, we’ve seen a surge in children scoring extraordinary results. Records that would’ve seemed unbreakable only five to 10 years ago aren’t as shatterproof as we once thought, and it’s just a matter of time until they are broken again. “Child’s play” as some say.

Here are some examples:

The results appear to be a part of a new trend as shown by Chess.com research that looks at the age of players who secure the grandmaster title.

While the average age for players achieving the most prestigious title in chess was 30 between 1975-1979, it dropped to 22.8 between 2020 and 2024. The highest age for a new GM was 32.8 in 1977. More then four decades later, in 2021, the average age is down to a record low of 20.9.

10 players are currently pending approval for the GM title in 2024. The average age is down to 21.4, the second lowest to date.

Article source chess.com

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CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Jul 10, 2026

LJCC Qualifier in Wimbledon

For many young chess players, qualifying for the London Junior Chess Championships (LJCC) Finals is one of the first major milestones in their chess journey. This November, Chess Rising Stars is delighted to host an official LJCC Finals Qualifier in Wimbledon, giving local players the opportunity to compete for a place at one of the most prestigious junior chess events in the country.

What is an LJCC Qualifier?

Founded in 1924, the LJCC has been part of the junior chess calendar for over a century. The event has helped provide a pathway for generations of young players to improve, including some past winners who have even gone on to achieve the Grandmaster title.

Each year the London Junior Chess Championships brings together talented young players across different age categories, with qualifying events held during the Autumn Term for the Finals in December.

For many children, an LJCC qualifier is an exciting introduction to rated tournament chess. It provides the opportunity to meet other young chess players and test their skills in a formal tournament environment.

Chess Rising Stars and the LJCC

Chess Rising Stars has already organised two over-the-board junior tournaments in 2026, both were qualifying events for the EJCOA National Finals.

“It’s a great pleasure for Chess Rising Stars to be selected to organise an LJCC Qualifier and become a small part of such a famous tournament.”
WFM Maria Manelidou

Chess Rising Stars students have achieved many LJCC successes over the years. For example, Aden joined Chess Rising Stars as a 5-year-old back in 2020 and has since progressed through the academy, becoming a member of our Elite Club, where he continues to develop his understanding alongside other ambitious junior players.

Aden has now won the U12 LJCC title once and the U14 LJCC title twice, with his first Under 14 victory coming when he was just 10 years old! We are excited to see whether he can defend his title again in 2026.

Aden with his U14 LJCC Finals trophy in 2024

Tournament Information

Date: Saturday 7th November
Venue: Everyday Church, Wimbledon, SW19 8LR

The tournament will be overseen by International Arbiter Lance Leslie-Smith, ensuring that games are conducted in accordance with the FIDE Laws of Chess and ECF tournament regulations.

For families who are new to rated chess, our guides to ECF Membership and ECF Ratings help to explain how tournaments work and what players need to do before entering.

“We attend a great many tournaments and I say this without any hesitation: this was by far the best organised we have ever experienced. The care and thought that went into every element was evident and I wanted to make sure that was acknowledged.”
Email feedback from a parent after our 2nd EJCOA Zonal

Please do check out our full tournament guide if you would like register or just find out more.

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CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Nov 07, 2023

November News

We are keen to share Chess Rising Stars London Academy’s upcoming Christmas and New Year chess courses with you.

Online Chess Camp

The 24th Chess Rising Stars Camp will be held online between Monday 18th and Wednesday 20th December, 9am – 12 noon. Beginners, intermediate and advanced players are all welcome. Our online holiday camp returns by popular request after the success of our Summer Holiday Online Club. Secure your spot with our Early Bird registration discount.

Christmas Tournament

Embrace the festive spirit with our Christmas Online Chess Tournament on Saturday 9th December from 10:00-12:30 using lichess.org! The tournament will also incorporate our 9th Girls’ Online Chess Tournament. Entry is open to all Chess Rising Stars students, parents, coaches and friends.

Spring Term

Be the first to mark your calendars with the Spring Term dates for all of the Online Chess Clubs and our prestigious Chelsea Chess Club. Chess Rising Stars clubs will have 9 weeks of lessons across the term and a week off for half-term. As usual, spaces are limited across our chess clubs and allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Chess Rising Stars teacher GM Marian Petrov was selected to coach the Bulgarian team at the FIDE World Youth Olympiad tournament in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Registration is now open for all of these fantastic courses. If you’d like more details, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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