About Southampton Chess Club
Southampton Chess Club meets on Tuesday evenings, 7.00-10.30pm, from September to the end of May (except between Christmas and New Year), at the St. Denys Community Centre (next to the Junction Inn ), Priory Road, St. Denys, Southampton, SO17 2JZ.
If you're coming for the first time, please arrive as soon after 7.00pm as possible - we'll then have plenty of time to meet you and answer any questions you might have before we get playing at around 7.30.
For the 2023-24 season, we're trialling a new sequence for our first few meetings. On the first Tuesday in September we'll have friendly, ungraded games (and the Club committee will meet to sort out our league teams for the season), then a lightning tournament (see below), then our Annual General Meeting, and our season-long Club Championship will begin the week afterwards - on the fourth Tuesday of September.
We currently have 25-30 members encompassing a wide range of playing strengths. All Club members are welcome to play in various events:
(1) Club championship. Run every Tuesday (except on dates of quickplay events), although you don't have to play each week. Just play 10 games over the whole season in order to qualify for prizes. These usually include three grading prizes, so there's plenty to play for even if your ECF grade isn't up there with the Club's strongest players. We also have a knockout tournament that runs through the season. All games are ECF graded.
(2) Southampton league. We currently have three teams playing in the Southampton league (for details see the Southampton Chess League website).
(3) Quickplay events. We have three one-evening quickplay tournaments: two use the dreaded ten-second buzzer, and the other is a five minutes for all the moves affair. Real fun events.
Club members regularly participate in weekend tournaments, including the Hampshire Congress (run by the Hampshire Chess Association in early November), and congresses at various locations across Hampshire and further afield. Come along and join in!
If you're at all unsure about whether to come, or would like any further information, please email Club secretary Kevin Sawers, or call 07815 600227.