NEWS & EVENTS
Club Closed *Christmas & New Years Day*
23rd December 2024
With Christmas and New Years Days falling on Wednesdays this year the club will now be closed until 8th January.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas from Lewisham Chess Club, and a prosperous New Year ahead.
Xmas Puzzle Competition 2024
19th December 2024
Our annual Christmas Puzzle competition attracted 14 entries during the final clubnight before the Christmas break.
1st Prize was won by Ash Stewart (left), with a very impressive 21 marks - stumped only by the final teaser. Grading prize was taken by Matthew Helsby (right), who scored 15 points and finished behind only Ash and Wilf (18)
Club members will receive the puzzles and answer sheet to their emails in the next few days
Blitz Winners
29th November 2024
Congratulations to Mike Roberts and Xabi Gutierrez who shared the honours at Wednesday nights blitz event. In a field of 20 players, they each scored 5/6.
Blitz Event
23rd November 2024
We'll be holding an informal blitz event at the club this coming Wednesday, 27th November.
1st Prize will receive 2 spectator tickets for the upcoming London Chess Classic, kindly donated by Chess In Schools & Communities.
Please arrive in good time, with intention to start play at 8pm.
Henry wins the U1600 Cambridge Congress
6th November 2024
Congratulations to Henry Brennan, who won his first congress event at Cambridge this month - taking the U1600 prize with outright 1st place and a 5/5 score.
Ted Mason Memorial - Sunday 29th September
30th September 2024
The Ted Mason Memorial was contested by a crowd of 28 players this weekend.
Former club members John Richardson, Neil Bradbury, Andrew Smith, Gordon Botley, Howard Dobson, Jim Johnson all took up invitations to play, with the event also honouring Chris Brown.
Both Howard and Andrew Smith gave a talk about Ted, with Andrew reading from his book - "Off the board Chess" which features a great deal about Lewisham Chess Club from his playing experiences, and which he very kindly gifted the club a copy.
After lunch Howard gave recollections of Chris, touching on some words from another former member Roger Winterburn. A minutes silence was impeccably observed.
To the chess - and Colin Gentile retained his trophy, winning jointly with Ash Stewart who drew in a nail-biting finish with John Richardson (=3rd). Kushal, leader after four rounds, Neil and Henry also tied for =3rd.
New Kent Chess Website & Fixtures
22nd September 2024
The Kent League fixtures have been agreed for season 2024-25
This season Lewisham will enter 8 teams - one in each of the County, Lewis, Stevenson, En Passant, Harvey and Intro, and two in the Tom Fuller.
Each Kent Competition works on an maximum average rating of the teams. With no limit in the County Cup down to a maximum average of 1400 in the Intro. Full details can be found on our Fixtures & Results page, where you can also download our full fixture list.
With matches kicking off from 2nd October, players should start receiving emails from team captains in the near future.
In addition, Kent Chess has developed a new website, where the playing rules can be found
Kent County Chess Association (kentchess.org)
Pitt-Yavash Trophy 2024
19th September 2024
Lewisham retained the Pitt-Yavash Trophy - our annual season opener against neighbours Beckenham - last night.
A fifteen board match-up including 3 new Lewisham players edged the match 8-7, with the final match to finish being a decisive victory on top board for Andrew, our team captain.
Both sides observed a period of silence before the match, in memory of both Chris Brown and Terry Green (who captained the Beckenham team posthumously) who we sadly lost recently.
Ted Mason Memorial
12th September 2024
The Ted Mason Memorial will take place on Sunday 29th September, starting 12:30pm.
In light of recent events, this years event will also commemorate the life of Chris Brown.
Edward ‘Ted’ Mason was one of Lewisham Chess Club’s greatest servants. An honorary life president, he was part of the Lewisham team that won the London League in 1937. He was heavily involved in the resumption activities in 1945 and served as club secretary for 25 years.
Ted was also an accomplished player – a regular on the top boards for the Kent County, he won the Kent Individual Championship 5 times – his final triumph coming at the age of 67. He was a part of 14 of Lewisham’s County Cup victories (a record he continues to hold), and was victorious in our Club Championship on 4 occasions.
Known for his adventurous play, his usual weapon was the Philador. His ‘Immortal’ appeared in print in Chess Review 1953.
The Ted Mason tournament was established in 1989 and takes place annually with a trophy awarded for the winner.
This event is exclusively for Lewisham members and/or by invitation from the Secretary.
Calling all Women! Play for Lewisham in the London Women's League
9th September 2024
Lewisham Chess Club will again be competing in the London League Women's Division for season 2024-25.
Although we're playing as Lewisham, we'd be keen to hear from any Women players based who would like to play in this league, with our club representing the East side of London.
Other clubs in this league are Wimbledon, Hammersmith, Battersea and London Universities.
All games will be playing within Zone 1, with fixtures kicking off in November - note that this league runs independently from the London League (Open) Divisions and thus players of other clubs are eligible to represent any of the above in the Women's League.
Please do drop us a note if you'd like to connect and obtain some further information from our club secretary, Andrew
Chris Brown
20th August 2024
It is our sad duty to report that longstanding member Chris Brown died on Thursday 15th August. He was 72 years old. A 34 year old woman has been arrested and charged with his murder.
Chris was a solicitor, graduating from Manchester University. He spent his entire career at Alban Gould Baker & Co. where he was a partner specialising in Legal Aid and later Family Law.
Chris joined as a member of Lewisham Chess Club in the late 1960s and attended weekend tournaments throughout the 1970's and 80's with other club members of the time. He served as a team captain for a number of years, predominantly playing in our London, Kent Lewis and Stevenson teams as well as playing for the Kent County.
His final games for the club came in the season curtailed by the covid-19 pandemic, where he had scored an impressive 75%.
A link to the ECF Forum obituary page can be found here.
Chris Brown - English Chess Forum (ecforum.org.uk)
With thanks to Zia Mehmet.
South East London Junior Chess Championships - Qualifier
18th August 2024
Hope Chess Club, ran by Lewisham members Madara Orlovska and Jude Ranga Samarasinghe will be holding a qualifying event for the London Junior Chess Championships at Lewisham Chess Club on Sunday 1st September.
Age categories Under 8 / Under 10 / Under 12 / Under 14.
Six-round rapidplay tournament; time control 20 mins+10 sec per move.
The winner of each section will receive £60; medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in each section.
Entry fee: £40
More information is available on at https://forms.gle/hraYBdUsiL9LLvnQ9
Further enquiries can be directed to Madara at hopechessclublondon@gmail.com
Subscriptions 2024-25
30th July 2024
Club members are advised that following our AGM, subscription rates for 2024-25 have been set as below.
£65 Waged Membership
£45 Unwaged Membership
£15 Junior Membership*
*Junior memberships will be fully subsidised until the depletion of our funds on trust.
Subscriptions are requested to be paid prior to 30th September 2024
Full AGM minutes are now available, a link has been sent to your email.
Club Talk - Wednesday 24th July
21st July 2024
We'll be holding a Club Talk 24th July, by National Master Ash Stewart, where he will go through some of his recent county games where his winning record helped Surrey to the County Championships title.
- The theme will be to be looking at some wild and messy games (how to navigate them) and games decided by tactics.
The talk will being at 8pm, with casual chess to follow.
This event is free to members.
Lewisham Chess Club AGM - Wednesday 17th July
20th June 2024
Our AGM will take place at 8pm on Wednesday 17th July.
Agenda Notices;
-
Minutes of 2023 AGM
-
Secretary Report
-
Treasurers Report
-
Matters Arising from the Cricket Club AGM
-
Equipment Officers Report
-
Librarian Report
-
Subscriptions 2024-25
-
Election of Officers
-
Competition Report
-
AOB
End of Season Archiving
With the 2023-24 season now complete, we have moved that news into our archive, which you can access here;
Attn Lewisham Schools!
Lewisham Chess Club would like to help local Schools and Colleges start or develop their own Chess teams.
Chess develops the mind - Mental discipline, patience, forward planning, calulation, spatial awareness, strategy and strategic thinking are just some of the attributes a person develops when they learn to play chess. It can also teach one to win with grace and to lose with dignity.
Chess can be demanding, rewarding, exciting and FUN!
So if you are a teacher who would like to start a school Chess Club or would like to enhance the development of an existing club/team please get in touch with us to discuss how we at Lewisham Chess Club can assist you in your quest to develop and enhance young minds.
In the first instance please contact Martin Stewart who will discuss how we can best assist you in conjunction with our Youth Chess Engagement officer David Hamilton.
Upcoming Events
Mon 10th February 2025
Kent Harvey Cup: 19:30
Lewisham 5 v Charlton 4
Mycenae House, 90 Mycenae Rd, London SE3 7SE
Weds 12th February 2025
Kent Lewis: 19:45
Lewisham 2 v Petts Wood 2
Kent Tom Fuller: 19:45
Lewisham 6 v Petts Wood 8
Kent Intro: 19:45
Lewisham 8 v Dartford 5
Catford Cricket & Sports Club
Tues 18th February 2025
London League D4: 19:00
Lewisham 3 v Battersea 2
Battersea Labour Club, 81-83, Falcon Road, Battersea, SW11 2PF
Tues 18th February 2025
London Womens League: 19:00
Lewisham W v Battersea W
Battersea Labour Club, 81-83, Falcon Road, Battersea, SW11 2PF
Tues 18th February 2025
Kent En Passant: 19:45
Lewisham 4 v Gravesend 2
Waterloo Tavern, 55 Wellington St, Gravesend DA12 1JQ
Weds 19th February 2025
Kent Harvey: 19:45
Lewisham 5 v Dartford 3
Catford Cricket & Sports Club
Weds 19th February 2025
Kent Lewis Cup: 19:45
Lewisham 2 v Beckenham 2
Parklangley, 44A Wickham Way, Beckenham BR3 3AF
Thurs 20th February 2025
London League D1: 18:30
Lewisham 1 v Cavendish 1
Millman Street Community Centre, 50 Millman Street, WC1N 3EW
Tues 25th February 2025
London League D4: 18:30
Lewisham 3 v Hammersmith 4
Brokers Wine Bar, 6-9 Leadenhall Market, EC3V 1LR
Weds 26th February 2025
Kent Tom Fuller: 19:45
Lewisham 6 v Dartford 4
Lewisham 7 v Petts Wood 8
Catford Cricket & Sports Club
Friday 28th February 2025
Kent Stevenson: 19:45
Lewisham 3 v Petts Wood 3
Kent Intro: 19:45
Lewisham 8 v Petts Wood 9
Catford Cricket & Sports Club
Tues 4th March 2025
London League D4: 18:30
Lewisham 2 v Hammersmith 2
Brokers Wine Bar, 6-9 Leadenhall Market, EC3V 1LR
Tues 4th March 2025
London Womens League: 19:00
Lewisham W v Wimbledon W
Battersea Labour Club, 81-83, Falcon Road, Battersea, SW11 2PF
Weds 5th March 2025
Kent Harvey: 19:45
Lewisham 5 v Beckenham 5
Parklangley, 44A Wickham Way, Beckenham BR3 3AF
Thurs 6th March 2025
Central London League D3: 18:30
Lewisham v Wanstead 1
Churchill Gardens Tenants Association, Glasgow Terrace, London, SW1V 3AL
© 2024 Lewisham Chess Club. Proudly created with Wix.com
