CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Chess Rising Stars

Picture a room full of young children leaning over chessboards, sharing ideas and learning to think one step ahead. Chess at this age is less about competition and more about discovery. From April 2026, Wimbledon Chess Rising Stars will open a new Sunday club for 5 to 8 year olds taking their first steps into the world of chess.

The club will take place at William Morris House, Wimbledon on Sundays from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. It is specifically tailored for younger children who are new to chess and would benefit from an engaging introduction to the game. No prior knowledge of chess is required. However, to ensure children settle in comfortably and keep pace with the group, we recommend that complete beginners join by week 3 of the term.

Our experienced and enthusiastic coaches specialise in teaching young learners. Children will learn the rules, develop good habits and begin to think strategically in a supportive and encouraging environment. As students gain experience and confidence, we will recommend they progress to our main Wimbledon Rising Stars Club, which runs from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the same venue.

Wimbledon Chess Rising Stars will be our fourth in-person Chess Rising Stars club and we are excited to bring this opportunity to more families in the area. We look forward to welcoming our newest young players to our chess community this April!

Full details

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CRS London Academy
Jul 03, 2025

ECF Rated at the Chelsea Chess Club

Starting in September 2025, the Chelsea Chess Club will introduce weekly ECF rated rapid games as part of our regular sessions.

This opportunity will be available for students in the top group of the club. We will help our advanced students take a step forward by giving them the chance to gain official ratings and prepare for competitive play beyond Chess Rising Stars.

To participate in ECF rated games, students must be registered with the English Chess Federation. For parents new to ECF membership, we’re here to guide you through the registration process. Read our article on how to get started.

Games will be overseen by our highly qualified coaching team – five of whom are now certified ECF Arbiters. Their expertise will ensure each rated game meets official standards of play and sportsmanship, all within a supportive learning environment.

Our Chelsea Chess Club is already recognised at Level 2 within the English Chess Federation’s Junior Development Pathway scheme. This new initiative is another way Chess Rising Stars is helping our young players grow in skill and confidence.

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CRS London Academy
Jan 11, 2026

7th Chess Rising Stars Grand Prix

To help prepare our students to compete beyond Chess Rising Stars, we are delighted to announce the return of our Online Grand Prix.

This term, our free Grand Prix tournaments are to be held on our lichess team page. Chess Rising Stars students, parents, and friends are all welcome to take part.

We have kept the successful Autumn Term format so there will be a warm-up in January, followed by weekly Grand Prix events held on Sundays. The tournaments will be 1-hour Arenas at the 5+3 time control. 

Aden with his LJCC Finals U14 Major category trophies

Schedule

The online chess tournaments will take place on Sundays at 4 pm (GMT) in the Spring Term 2026:

  • 25th January = Warm-up
  • February and March = Weekly Grand Prix Arenas

Fair Play

To ensure the integrity of the Chess Rising Stars Online Grand Prix tournaments, we will use the lichess cheat detection system alongside the observation and judgment of our experienced coaching team.

Register Now

Drop us a message on the Chess Rising Stars lichess team page or an email to london@chessacademy.uk to get involved.

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CRS London Academy, UK Chess News
Aug 11, 2026

Double British Champion

For most children, the summer holidays are a chance to relax and take it easy. Aden chose a rather more demanding agenda: 30 competitive games of chess in just 9 days!

Aden has returned from the 2026 British Chess Championships as a double British Champion, taking first place in both the Under 12 Standard and Under 12 Rapid tournaments at the University of Warwick.

Aden began by scoring 6.5/7 in the rapidplay section, taking a final round draw to secure the victory outright. He then produced an even more remarkable 7/7 in the standardplay, winning every game to claim a second British title in the same week.

There was plenty more chess to enjoy as Aden also scored 5.5/9 in the Major Open, competing against a much wider and stronger field, and finished 4th in the Under 12 Blitz with 5.5/7. Across his four events, that gave him a mightily impressive 24.5 points from 30 games.

Perhaps fittingly for such an extraordinary week, Aden’s dad told us that it hasn’t quite sunk in for either of them yet. An understandable reaction after finally achieving a goal Aden’s been working towards for years.

The British Chess Championships are one of the highlights of the summer chess calendar, bringing together players of all ages and abilities. This year’s event proved particularly memorable for the Chess Rising Stars community, with Aden becoming the first Chess Rising Stars student to become a British Champion and doing so twice in the same week.

There was also success for one of Aden’s Elite Club coaches, CM Tom Villiers, who finished second in the Major Open with 7.5/9. His tournament included plenty of fine attacking wins alongside some resilient defensive performances. Tom narrowly missed repeating his 2018 Major Open victory, but his performance added another impressive result to an already memorable week.

Aden’s season is not over yet. His next major target is the Terafinal in October, following his victory at the Northern Gigafinal, where he produced another perfect 7/7 score.

For now, though, there is the small matter of taking in what has just happened: two British titles, four tournaments, 24.5/30 overall and a summer holiday that will be difficult to forget. Once it finally sinks in, that is!

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