Casual chess at the Alexandra pub on Wednesday 19 February
Some of us will be at the Alexandra pub just off London Road this coming Wednesday from 7.30pm for a few games of friendly, ungraded chess. Please bring a chess set if you have one that you’re happy to use around drinks. Club members old and new are welcome, as are non-members. Come along if you’ve been meaning to try out the Club for a while or if you’d simply like to give in-person chess a go. No charge, no commitment – just turn up!
This is in addition to our regular sessions on the first Saturday of each month at the Mitre pub on Portswood Road (Google Maps link) from 11.00am to around 12.30pm. Join us there on Saturday 1 March, probably in the raised area on the left as you come in to the pub.
Information for Visitors
Southampton Chess Club was founded in 1883 and is the largest chess club in the Southampton area. We welcome visitors and newcomers of all abilities, although see below for what one of our normal sessions looks like – we are serious about our chess!
The club meets on Tuesday evenings, 7.00-10.30 p.m., September to May inclusive (except between Christmas and New Year), at St. Denys Community Centre (opposite the Junction Inn), Priory Road, St. Denys, Southampton, SO17 2JZ.
Future League and Cup matches, along with details of meetings and other events are available on the Club Calendar
Children and young people are welcome but under-16s must be accompanied by an adult as the Club is not set up to take responsibility for children. Also note that games often finish quite late although we do have an optional rate of play for school-age children which means their game will finish no later than 10.00pm. Other clubs in the area do have activities aimed at children – see the Hampshire Junior Chess Association website for details of children’s chess activities.
For more information, please see the “About the Club” page, email Club deputy president Dave Agostinelli or call 07545 774096.
Club Championship format
Most Tuesday evening sessions are focused on our season-long Club Championship competition.
These games are put through the English Chess Federation grading system so you need to be a Club member (and an ECF member) to take part. Newcomers are welcome to play three games in the Club Championship before committing to joining for the season, though.
Here’s how the Club Championship works:
- Arrive at St Denys Community Centre from 7.00pm and register to play a Club Championship game
- We’ll pair you up for a game with someone who’s doing roughly as well as you are (the Swiss System) but we will swap people around a bit in favour of relative beginners. It’s not always fun to have a run of bad losses against far more experienced players, though it can be a good way of learning!
- The time control is 36 moves in 75 minutes for each person, then 15 minutes to finish. We get started at 7.30pm so the game will finish by 10.30pm at the absolute latest (usually earlier).
- If both players agree then the time control can be 36 moves in 75 minutes, then 24 moves every 60 minutes (so the game might need to be adjourned and finished another evening)
- Alternatively, if both players agree then you can play with 80 minutes for all your moves, and a 10-second increment from the start (you’ll need to use one of our digital clocks for this option)
- Shorter rate of play for young people If either of the players in a game is in school year 11 or below, they can insist on a shorter time control to ensure their game will finish by 10.00pm. This is 30 moves in 60 minutes for each person, then 15 minutes to finish