Taunton Chess Club Rapid Tournament

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Tuesday 3rd May was the first session of the inaugural Taunton Chess Club Rapid Tournament.  The tournament is being played over two weeks, with the final night on the 10th May.

It was really encouraging to see so many players even if not all were fully enjoying the time limit of 15 minutes for each player.  There was plenty of room for blunders and missed opportunities with some players excelling.

Make sure you come to the club on Tuesday 10th May for the deciding 4 rounds.
There will be prizes!

A big thank you to Chris Greenaway for organising the tournament.

Delancey UK Chess Challenge Mega Finals – Calling all Juniors

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Calling all Taunton Chess Club Junior Players.

When: 12th June 2022
Where: Taunton Pre School
Age: Aged 18 and younger (born after 31.08.2003)

The tournament is part of the Delancey UK chess challenge for juniors and covers all the UK. Mega finals are held in different areas of the country (Somerset being our local tournament), then those who are successful will proceed to the gigafinals, then the terafinals.

More information about the Delancey program can be found here: https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/enter-the-challenge/

Taunton Chess Club Juniors are eligible to enter the competition at the megafinal stage and we would like to encourage all of you to enter, if you are able, as it will be great experience for you all and even better if you continue on in the competition. The cost is £20 and to submit your entry please head over to the entry form at the following link:

https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/product/2022-somerset-megafinal/

If you do sign up to take part can you please drop an email to Sharon & Chris on the club email: tauntonchessclub@gmail.com to let us know you are going so we can gather together during the event and Chris will be on hand to walk through games, give advice and Sharon can bring cake and look after bags etc!

Hope you can make it.

Frome Congress.

Please find below details of the next Frome Congress organised by the Frome Chess Club (with many helpers).  The annual Frome Congress is one of the most popular and friendly Congresses in the South-West, regularly attracting between 150 and 200 entrants.  The Selwood Academy venue has comfortable playing conditions. The restaurant, bookstall and analysis areas are separate from the playing areas and there is ample (free) car parking.  The Congress includes the Somerset Championships. The Open is FIDE-rated.

The organisers reserve the right to require additional mitigations against COVID-19, such as the compulsory wearing of face masks in the tournament hall.  The final decision will be made shortly before the start of the congress, based on the government regulations in force at the time.  Online entries and Congress leaflet/brochure will be made available as soon as possible.  Please bear with them while they make the final arrangements.

You may register your interest by emailing info@somersetchess.org. We will contact you when all the details are finalised.

The 31st FROME CHESS CONGRESS DETAILS:

May 13th – 15th 2022
Selwood Academy, Berkley Road, Frome, Somerset BA11 2EF

Selwood Academy

Selwood Academy – (photo by Brendan O’Gorman 2016)

Tournaments

Four 5-round Swiss tournaments with 4-hour playing sessions
Please note that all fees and prizes are subject to confirmation. No entries will be accepted at this time.

Section

Grade Limit

Entry Fee*

(not including any
applicable ECF fee
or Junior discount)

Prizes

Open
(FIDE-rated)
None £32 First = £200,  Second = £150, Third = £100
Denys Bonner trophy
Major Under 1950 £23 First = £150,  Second = £125, Third = £90
Leon York memorial trophy
Intermediate Under 1750 £23 First = £150,  Second = £125, Third = £90
Roy Hossell trophy
Minor Under 1500 £23 First = £150,  Second = £125, Third = £90
Cyril Chapman and Jean Mackereth (for ungraded players) trophies

* For late entries after 1st May add £3

ECF Fees

In the Open section there is no charge for Gold or Platinum ECF members.
Otherwise: FIDE registered players with a non-English affiliation £1.50. All other players £11

In all other sections there is no charge for Silver, Gold or Platinum ECF members. Otherwise £9

Junior Discount

There is a £5 discount for all Juniors under 18 on 1st September 2021.

Trophies and Cash Prizes

Somerset trophies are awarded to the highest placed Somerset player in each section.

Dependent on entry, there will be at least one grading prize in each section.
Team prize of £50 for genuine club teams of 4 players.
Except in the Open tournament, no ungraded player may win higher than the value of the third prize.

Playing Schedule

Friday 18.50 Opening
19.00 Round 1
Saturday 10.00 Round 2
15.00 Round 3
Sunday 10.00 Round 4
15.00 Round 5

Players will be defaulted if not present within 30 minutes of start of round.

Rate of Play

All Sections: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move from start of game.

Byes

A half-point bye may be claimed in any one of Rounds 1,2,3 or 4.

Bookstall

Bookstall and sets supplied by Chess Direct

Refreshments

We hope to provide hot and cold drinks and lunches on-site — to be confirmed.

Grading Information

The January 2022 ECF standardplay  grading list will be used to determine eligiblity for a section.
It is a condition of entry that all entrants agree that their results will be forwarded to the ECF for grading.

Conditions of Entry and Competition Rules

The full Conditions of Entry and Competition Rules are here.

Club Reopening

GREAT NEWS – We are reopening the club. Please see below for dates:
 -
Tues, 7th September 2021- current members only
Tues, 14th September 2021 – new starter members
 -
If you haven’t heard from us via email or FB messenger, please get in touch at tauntonchessclub@gmail.com and we can send you further information and some extra things we have put in place.
 -
Look forward to hearing from you!

West of England & South Wales County Team Championships (u9,u12 & u14)

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This weekend we had the West of England & South Wales County Team Championships (u9,u12 & u14) of which Josh and Nathanael had been invited to be a part of the Somerset County Team.

They both had successful matches, with Josh having 3 wins and 1 draw and his u9’s team winning overall.  The u14’s didn’t have such a good time after Gloucester decided to submit a team and subsequently took Somerset’s top four u14 players with them.  This was a big hit for them.  The u14’s team unfortunately came last even though some long hard fought games were made on higher boards than they would usually play.  Nathanael however had a successful day coming out with 2 wins and 1 loss.

Well done boys!

Taunton Juniors Pre-club Sessions

Update September 2021 **** We will advise you once our junior sessions are up and running again *****

From January we will be starting some pre-club sessions for the junior members of the club where Chris Greenaway will be helping them to improve their game.  There will be 2 groups, beginners and advanced, and we will let you know via the WhatsApp group which group your child has been allocated to.

Please see below to see the timetable for when sessions will be held.

JUNIOR PRE-CLUB SESSIONS AT 18:45 – 19:30

January 07/01/2020 NO LESSON
14/01/2020 Beginner class lessons
21/01/2020 Advanced class lessons
28/01/2020 Beginner and Advanced class
February 04/02/2020 Advanced class lessons
11/02/2020 NO LESSON
18/02/2020 Beginner class lessons
25/02/2020 Beginner and Advanced class
March 03/03/2020 NO LESSON
10/03/2020 Beginner class lessons
17/03/2020 Advanced class lessons
24/03/2020 Beginner and Advanced class
31/03/2020 NO LESSON
April 07/04/2020 Beginner class lessons
14/04/2020 NO LESSON
21/04/2020 Advanced class lessons
28/04/2020 Beginner and Advanced class
May 05/05/2020 Beginner class lessons
12/05/2020 NO LESSON
19/05/2020 Advanced class lessons
26/05/2020 Beginner and Advanced class