THE ENGLISH CHESS CHALLENGE SEMI-FINALS (ECC)
This is tournament was set up in 2001 to provide a tournament of its own type where ALL of CCF’s trainees (plus others who wish to enter) can take part with a properly accountable structure and where no legitimate qualifiers would be excluded from semi-finals and finals they had qualified for. Click the above link to go to the English Chess Challenge home page.

In most cases, pupils will qualify through a competition held in their school during the Spring Term. In addition, the CCF Junior Club runs a qualification event and these 2 open events are there for those at other schools who want the chance to qualify plus anyone that wants a 2nd or 3rd chance. Anyone qualifying twice provides another entry for others (usually players from their own school).

The finals are in age groups with boys and girls split:

UNDER 18 BOYS……..UNDER 18 GIRLS (Years 11-13)
UNDER 15 BOYS……..UNDER 15 GIRLS (Years 9-10)
UNDER 13 BOYS……..UNDER 13 GIRLS (Years 7-8)
UNDER 11 BOYS……..UNDER 11 GIRLS (Year 6)
UNDER 10 BOYS……..UNDER 10 GIRLS (Year 5)
UNDER 09 BOYS……..UNDER 09 GIRLS (Year 4)
UNDER 08 BOYS……..UNDER 08 GIRLS (Year 3)
UNDER 07 BOYS……..UNDER 07 GIRLS (Year 2)
UNDER 06 BOYS……..UNDER 06 GIRLS (Year 1 & below)

* School years are listed as a guide. Those who are not in the year their date of birth should put them in will be adjusted accordingly for the purposes of the competition.

Following the semi-finals in early June, we move onto the finals on the August Bank Holiday Monday.

A 7 round competition open to anyone under 18 on 31 August 2016. Everyone plays in one big section and the leaders boys and girls from each age group will qualify for the semi-finals.
English Chess Challenge Qualifier @ 84-90 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon
Jan 29 @ 10:45 am – 6:00 pm
Contact: CCF Email: chess@ccfworld.com
Website

UK FIDE Tournaments Registered for 2017

Magnus Carlsen summed up the mood of many chess fans when he posted, “We’re not a serious sport unfortunately,” after a chaotic moment in the Global Chess League. The game between Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Vidit Gujrathi turned farcical when reaching a K+R v K ending without increment, as pieces were frequently knocked over in the frantic time scramble. To make matters worse, FIDE shared the “dramatic draw” video on social media, unaware that this mess could overshadow the event for the wrong reasons.

Magnus Carlsen post-match interview

Despite this misstep, drawing inspiration from the eSports community, chess clearly can host modern events that appeal to a broader audience with a focus on online streaming, fan engagement and fast-paced games. The Chess Rising Stars students and coaches who attended were made to feel welcome. Fresh off her win for Alpine SG Pipers in a fiercely competitive match, the legendary Hou Yifan was kind enough to take a photo with Chess Rising Stars founder, Coach Maria. Putting women centre stage, events like this are paving the way for the next generation, showing girls everywhere that they belong in this game.

Maria Manelidou and Hou Yifan

Behind the scenes, GMs Gawain Jones, David Howell, and Shreyas Royal contributed in supporting roles, but it was a disappointment for English chess that no local players were invited to compete. We hope the recently announced London Chess Classic, starting in November, won’t replicate this mistake and will stick to its tradition of including and promoting English GMs.

Hosting back-to-back major events, London is busy staking a claim as a global chess hub and we’re here for it!