CJCC returns to Christ Church this Summer

 Summer Chess Club

Chelmsford Junior Chess Club will meet on the following Wednesday afternoons from 2.30pm to 4pm in Christ Church in London Road (CM2 0AW).

28th July, 11th August, 25th August - up to Year 5.

4th August, 18th August, 1st September - Year 6 and above.

Numbers are strictly limited and sessions will need to be pre-booked at chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com

The cost will be £5 per session, which will be a mix of playing and coaching .

Payment can be made online in advance.

It will be great to see old and new players alike in person. I'll send out more details to those who enquire.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

London Chess Festival

There is a great (and free) family chess event taking place in Trafalgar Square on July 18th organised by Chess In Schools. All the details are at www.chess-fest.com 

It should be a fun day out (and a nice reason to visit London again). Do let me know if you are going and I'll keep an eye out for you.

Best Wishes

Robin (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com) 

Over The Board Chess?

Currently, chess in Primary Schools is across the board in year bubbles while chess in senior schools is still virtual. I am currently involved with chess at Brentwood School, KEGS, St Cedd's and Widford Lodge.

Pupils at St Cedd's and Widford Lodge have physical chess within year bubbles. This week at St Cedd's we've enjoyed outdoor chess under the trees with a giant chess set.

Pupils at Brentwood Senior School have a physical weekly club within year bubbles but play each other on iPads. Pupils at KEGS do all their chess remotely.

There is a great variety of online chess available and using Zoom alongside www.chesskid.com and www.lichess.org allows for interactive coaching. 

This will carry on regardless of the latest easing (or not) of covid restrictions. This weekend Essex Juniors take on Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen football clubs in their first International Battle.

Essex-Suffolk-Werder-HSK-FCB Team Battle #aYJvCgPQ • lichess.org

Hopefully CJCC along with the rest of the chess world will be able to move to a mix of over the board and online chess over the summer. I am looking to run some physical chess in Christ Church in Chelmsford along with weekly online coaching and tournaments. 

Chelmsford adult club is looking to return physically at the end of June.

Like everyone else, I will be looking at what is allowed and what feels sensible before making a decision. Fingers crossed though....

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Half-Term Coaching and chess round-up

CJCC continue to have regular tournaments at www.chesskid.com and www.lichess.org.

Our Saturday morning ChessKid tournaments are split into sections, with some coaching ahead of the tournament for the least experienced players.

We also have Team Battle Blitz and/or Individual Arena Tournaments on www.lichess.org every week.

The sites have some great learning material. As players get stronger, the puzzles on lichess are the best way to hone skills.

Over half-term, I will run some group coaching sessions over Zoom. These will be split by ability and age, with our theme this holiday the very start of the game.

Looking ahead to the summer holidays, I am looking to run a Zoom coaching day once a week and (fingers crossed) get us together for some actual, over the board chess.

The Essex Junior Battle Blitz Team at www.lichess.org now has over 170 members. As well as taking on other counties, we also have our own tournaments. 

This week we have a Swiss Blitz on Wednesday while on Thursday I have a meeting with Bayern Munich Football Club ahead of some European Battles for Essex Juniors with different football clubs!

Every junior chess player in Essex is welcome to join. Essex Juniors • lichess.org

It has been great to see so many CJCC players representing the Essex U9s, U11s, Essex Girls, U18s or their schools (and us!) in online competition. Congratulations to everyone involved.

The Essex U9s and Essex U11s have done brilliantly to finish 2nd and 5th respectively in the National Finals over the last month. The Essex Girls Team currently lead the National Standings.

If your children would like to join Chelmsford Junior Chess Club or if you would like to know more about any aspect of junior chess, please get in touch.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Online Chess

 It is great to see how many juniors have embraced playing online. It is not better or worse than playing over the board - just different.

Tonight over 50 juniors represented Essex in the latest monthly Inter-County Battle Blitz. Essex swept to victory in Division Two and return to Division One at the first attempt.

16th Inter-County Division 2 Team Battle #IiqhOtPw • lichess.org

There is also a separate monthly Inter-County Battle Blitz competition just for girls. Essex have won both events so far.

CJCC will be in action in a National Team Battle Blitz on Thursday and an Essex Team Battle Blitz next week. 

Next week we will take on Colchester Juniors, KEGS, Colchester Grammar School, Brentwood School, Wanstead Juniors as well as an Essex Junior and Suffolk Junior Team.

In all these Team Battle Blitz events, teams can be of any size and players can play all or part of an event with no prior commitment. Any player who wants to can join a Zoom session during play to share the ups and downs of the competition.

CJCC also has a programme of individual tournaments at www.lichess.org and www.chesskid.com along with coaching sessions. They all run with Zoom alongside.

All juniors are welcome to join our club. I will also create student accounts within CJCC for anyone who would simply like to explore the online chess world independently in a safe environment. Please get in touch for more details.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com) 

March Chess

Great for the children to get back to school this week. I've enjoyed seeing the chess players in person again in the schools I visit.

CJCC will be continuing online for now though. We have tournaments and coaching at www.chesskid.com and www.lichess.org. I run Zoom alongside our events for the social and coaching elements.

We also take part in Battle Blitzes on lichess. Last night was the latest fortnightly Battle linked to the Junior 4NCL (the National Junior Chess League). Next week, we take part in a Battle with other Essex teams.

Many of our players represent Essex online. We have monthly inter-county Battles for the Essex Junior and Essex Girls Teams. Everyone is welcome to sign up. Essex have also won through to the National Finals at Under 9 and Under 11 levels.

Overall, more children are involved with online chess than were with physical chess. Whatever happens with the traditional game, online chess will continue.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about junior chess as well as our club.

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)

Half-Term Chess and Camel Success

CJCC will be continuing their online chess through half-term week and up to Easter. 

Last Friday CJCC's Battle Blitz Team (led by SereneCamel George) won promotion to Division Two of the National Battle Blitz League. These Battles take place on www.lichess.org every fortnight and everyone is welcome to join the CJCC Team and take part.

This week our Battle Blitz Team will take on Essex, Suffolk, KEGS, Brentwood School and Colchester Juniors in a Six-Way Shootout on Saturday 20th at 7pm. 

Six-Way Shootout 20th February Team 200221 #wxo9csUS • lichess.org

Also this week we have a Coaching Day on Tuesday involving 32 children split over 4 sessions. These book out quickly and I'll be running more over the Easter holidays.

On Wednesday evening we have our Arena Blitz on www.lichess.org

CJCC Wednesday Evening 170221 Arena #N2V12sQf • lichess.org

On Saturday morning we will have a pair of tournaments split by rating with coaching for the less experienced players on www.chesskid.com  

We'll continue with a mix of individual tournaments, Battle Blitz Team Tournaments and coaching through the next half-term. 

All our chess sessions have Zoom running alongside to add to the social and coaching elements. 

www.chesskid.com and www.lichess.org have great learning material and I would encourage all junior players to have fun exploring both sites.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com)