Yes, starting 7th May 2019, Hammersmith Chess Club will be running events tailored for women, aimed at beginners and intermediate players, seeking to encourage woman to participate in the game we all love!

The initiative is a first for Hammersmith and is a demonstration of our drive to become the club of choice for women chess players in London, and help redress the balance of underrepresented groups in the chess world. We are grateful to the English Chess Federation for their support and funding. Read on!

The following events will be FREE of charge to all women (and girls!) that wish to attend – please drop us an email to register your place at any of these events in May – john.white49@ntlworld.com

All players are welcome to attend – men and women – however we will be giving priority to women at all of these events:
7th / 14th / 21st May – Women’s Master Maria Manelidou

Tuesday 7th May, 6pm – A Chess Lecture from Women’s FIDE Master Maria Manelidou on “Opening Themes“
Tuesday 14th May, 6pm – A second lecture from Maria on “Check Mate Patterns“
Tuesday 21st May, 6pm – A third and final lecture from Maria on “Basic tactics“

FIDE Master Maria joins us at Hammersmith in May
21st May – Women’s Tournament – £250 Prize Money
After the final lecture on 21st May, we will then be hosting a women-only rapid chess tournament wth £250 of prizes on offer. It will be a Swiss tourney, 10 minutes per player for all moves, with cash prizes as follows:
Winner: £125
Runner-up: £75
Third: £50

Special Offer to Join Hammersmith in May
Finally, to round off Women’s Chess Month at Hammersmith, any female players who want to join the club can do so in May for the special price of £40, which will cover membership for the remainder of this season and all of next season – up until June 2020 – including ECF membership worth £15!

This gets you full club membership, and English Chess Federation membership, providing you with rated games, all club tournaments and activities, lectures, training, and much more!
It’s going to be great – please get in touch to register your interest and secure your places! john.white49@ntlworld.com

For more info visit www.hammerchess.co.uk

Aug 30, 2021

Chess Rising Stars Summer Camp 2021

Our 18th Chess Rising Stars Camp took place at Marlborough Primary School in Chelsea, London. We improved our chess skills together from Monday 23rd to Thursday 26th August 2021.
It was a delight to return to teaching chess camps in-person. Our children (and staff!) had all missed playing and learning chess together over the board.

Our camps are open to children from ages 6 to 14 and of all chess levels so beginners, intermediate and advanced children were all there with us. We split up into two classes for the activities. This helped us to match children with those of a similar level of chess experience and ensure they all made maximum progress.

Lessons had a mixture of chess tuition, mini-games and sportsmanship advice. We also made sure to find time for a break but some of our students just continued to play chess outside!
Each day we finished with several games under tournament conditions. We awarded trophies, medals, toys and certificates to our fantastic students. Particular congratulations go to Brain L., who scored 8 out of 9, and was the overall chess camp champion and Nicolas T., who scored 4.5 out of 9 and won the second group. Hector M. was our most improved player for his 5 consecutive wins to finish the tournament.

The camp was organised and delivered by WFM Maria Manelidou, CM Thomas Villiers and Chris Russell. We had a great time and our students did too.

Our next Chess Rising Stars Camp will be held in October for half-term and we hope to see you there! Please do contact us if you are interested in finding out more.

View more photos of the event

Easter & Summer Chess Courses

After a busy and productive Spring Term at our academy, Chess Rising Stars are now accepting bookings for the below courses taking place over the Easter Holiday and Summer Term:

Easter Holiday Chess Camp

Our Online Chess Camp will take place during the Easter Holiday. The camp will have a mixture of chess lessons, friendly games and an internal tournament with trophies posted to the winners. Lessons will take place from 9:00 – 11:30 am on 8th, 9th and 10th April.

Summer Chess Club Dates

The Summer Term Chess Club dates have been published for our Online Clubs, Chelsea Chess Club and Chelsea Chess Club for 5-7 year olds. All of our clubs will run for 10 weeks, with a break for half-term.


 

Chess Rising Stars Grand Prix

The final round of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix will take place this Sunday at 4 pm on lichess. There is free entry for all Chess Rising Stars students, parents and friends. Our popular online tournament series is coming to an end (for now) but we are already planning for its return!

Grandmaster Coaching

There will be a new guest coach for our Elite Chess Club lesson on Sunday 24th March. We have booked GM Martin Petrov (not to be confused with Marian!) to demonstrate his best games to the class. Martin will become the 3rd Grandmaster to have coached at the club since its creation in 2021.

 

Please do get in touch if you would like to register your child.

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.