CJCC Autumn Term

 Autumn Chess Club

Chelmsford Junior Chess Club will meet on the following Saturday mornings from 9am to 12.15pm in Christ Church in London Road (CM2 0AW).

11th September, 2nd October, 16th October, 30th October, 27th November, 11th December.

The younger club (Years 2 to 5) will meet from 9am to 10.30am. 

The older club (Year 6 and above) from 10.45am to 12.15pm.

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

Covid precautions will be in place.

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

Payment in cash on the day or online marked CJCC.

Further details will be emailed out.

Week Two - 4th August

It was the turn of the older players this week. Thank you to Scott Shelley and Ben Bishop for coming along to help out.

Anna playing Ben Bishop (which took most of the afternoon) and Joshua playing Adam closest to the camera.

Harel (facing the camera) had a close game with Sushant - coming down to King vs King and Pawn. Both boys are in the same year at KEGS. Veer is playing Christian next to them.

Best Wishes

Robin Slade (chelmsfordjuniorchess@gmail.com) 

Day One - 28th July 2021

It was great to take Chelmsford Junior Chess Club back to Christ Church. We had 20 children in Year 5 and below making new friends and catching up with old ones. 

Thank you to Ben Bishop for returning to help out. It was also good to see Luoke who yesterday finished 2nd in the Under 10 British Online Chess Championships. We gave him a special trophy and looked at the finish of one of his games.

Aarushi and Janet are playing as a team. Amelia looks serious next to them.

Sid (standing), Jeremy, Isaac and Aditya in the foreground.

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)