August Chess News

Chelmsford Junior Chess Club continues to meet on Saturday mornings in between chess events at Brentwood School (see previous post!).

It was good to see some of our juniors playing their first Standard Play tournament (and in some cases their first tournament) at Brentwood School on 31st July and 1st August.

Congratulations in particular to our debutants and our prize winners.

George and Joshua (below) played one day of the Standard Play to warm up for the British Championships so a busy chess week for both of them.

Chelmsford Junior Chess Club is back open this coming Saturday (22nd) ahead of the 5th Brentwood Bank Holiday Rapid Play on Saturday 29th August.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade

chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com

August Dates and WhatsApp

 

Chelmsford Junior Chess Club - Dates in August

Sat 1st Aug - Closed (Brentwood Standard Play Tournament)

Sat 8th Aug - Open as usual

Sat 15th Aug - Closed

Sat 22nd Aug - Open as usual

Sat 29th Aug - Closed (Brentwood Rapid Play Tournament)

Tuesday 4th August - Chelmsford Chess Workshops (at CJCC venue)

9.30am - 12.30pm Chess Foundations

1.30pm - 4.30pm Chess Superstars

Limited numbers. £25 per student. Book your place by emailing chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com

All upcoming chess as always is on the live Google Doc

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-F8SAJkWRhlj01L4FwNFkfCeIj16YKNJ7WM4H-eckf4/edit?usp=sharing

CJCC WhatsApp Group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/FuhlWovOarpLKAi50AWoqM

Essex Chess Parent WhatsApp Group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/K88AtRj8QxkDGq8kTxh9tI

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Southern Gigafinal

Well done Essex Junior and Chelmsford Junior Chess Club players who qualified for and played in the Delancey UK Schools' Chess Challenge Southern Gigafinal at Sandown Park Racecourse last weekend.

Special congratulations to Joshua from CJCC who qualified for the Terafinal at Blenheim Palace in October from the U10 Boys Section after a five-way play-off.

Fellow CJCC player Digby qualified for the Challengers with 5 wins from 7 games.

Joshua is pictured centre with his entry ticket and medal.

What a brilliant venue. Plenty of room for everyone and perfect weather to sit in the sunshine looking down on the Parade Ring.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Facebook

Chelmsford Junior Chess Club now has a Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2060120884591450

Please also follow Essex Juniors on Facebook to help stay informed about upcoming chess

https://www.facebook.com/essexjuniorchess

Follo these links to find out about what tournaments are running in the summer holidays.

https://essexjuniorchess.co.uk/tournaments/

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/events/

Above is the Wessex Auditorium at Brentwood School ahead of last summer's tournaments.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Chelmsford Summer Tournament 28th June

It was great to see so many CJCC players taking part in the Essex Junior Chess Association Summer Tournament in Chelmsford last Sunday.

It was particularly nice to see some making their tournament debuts alongside our more experienced players. I managed to gather most of them for a club photo.

This was the final EJCA Grand Prix tournament of 2025/2026 which combine to decide our County Champions. 

Particular congratulations to our new Under 9 and Under 11 Essex Champions.

William (above) is the Essex Under 9 Champion. This is particularly impressive as William is in Year 2 so two years younger than some of his competitors.

Digby (on the left below) is the new Essex Under 11 Champion. He is pictured at the club with Essex Under 11 runner-up Joshua and last year's Under 11 Champion Vidwath.

Digby will be joining Vidwath at KEGS in September.

KEGS and Brentwood School took part in the English Chess Federation National School Finals in Nottingham just ahead of the Chelmsford tournament.

Over half the KEGS and Brentwood players were current or former CJCC players. It was great to see both schools perform so well on the national stage.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade

chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com

Chelmsford Tournament, Club Dates and Holiday Workshop

The Chelmsford Summer Tournament on Sunday 28th June is fast approaching. 

It is the final leg of the Essex Junior Chess Association Grand Prix and split into age groups. Please ask if you have any questions.

The details and online entry are via Tournaments – Essex Junior Chess Association

No chess club on Saturday 27th June because it is Brentwood School Speech Day. This photo is from last week.

All upcoming chess as always is on the live Google Doc

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-F8SAJkWRhlj01L4FwNFkfCeIj16YKNJ7WM4H-eckf4/edit?usp=sharing

There are two Chelmsford Junior Chess Club workshops on Tuesday 4th August. You will see the details for these on the Google Doc.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Club Dates

Below are some club dates to remember:

Sat 30th May - We are in the smaller hall off the car park rather than the main building for this week only - so don't panic if you find our normal room empty!

Sat 6th June - Closed (Brentwood School Open Day)

Sat 13th and 20th June - Open as usual.

Sat 27th June - Closed (Brentwood School Speech Day)

We are then open all through July although closed on 1st Aug.

This week we looked among other things at a neat finish by Digby against me.

Digby had the white pieces and had played a lovely attack. I was hoping to draw but after 30NxB, QxN  31Qe8+, Qf8  32Rh8+ I had to resign.

Shrimath enjoying his game with George

Daniel and Ani - both just 4 years old - playing each other.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)