Pembrokeshire Chess Club

17/09/2026

News Update

Pembrokeshire Chess club based in Kensington Court Steynton, Milford Haven.

It's been a busy few weeks since the club restarted after its summer break for both our Adults and Juniors. It's good to see new members whilst we also bid farewell to a few. It's been great to have their messages of appreciation..
Our senior team has entered the Dyfed League, Good to welcome Aberystwyh back into the fold along with Carmarthen Chess Club and Cardigan Chess Club. We were sorry to hear that Fishguard and Haverfordwest would not be able to enter, hopefully we'll see them next year. At the Dyfed AGM it was also agreed to run the popular Dyfed All Play all Under 1500 festivals, to allow new to chess adults and juniors to compete on an even playing field.. Names are submitted from all the clubs in the county and matched as evenly as possible to compete in a friendly manner and hopefully get ready for the league next year.
At the AGM our highly respected and esteemed Chair - Gwyn Evans was elected as the League Chair whilst our Treasurer and Junior Organiser, Martin Jones was elected as League Controller . Enjoy your role gents.
We also entered the WCPL Under 1850 again this year with a slightly changed team and with seven fixtures we will rotate our squad so all will enjoy. It would be remiss of us not to wish good luck to our Board 1 from last year Ben Brewer, who is trying his hand this year with our colleagues Llanelli White Knights Chess ClubLlanelli White Knights in the main Premier League.

The Junior front has also been busy with things settling down after the school holidays and this week coaches Martin and Scott Hammett welcomed our Fide Master Alexis Harakis who as well as some excellent coaching tips played a few games with our juniors which was a great experience for them.

It's great to see the new initiative to support juniors in the County with the County Chess Academy coaching led by Alexis with the experienced Stuart Warner from Fishguard Chess Club as his assistant.. Well done to all who organised this and thank you to the sponsor.. We have a few members involved, unfortunately due to some logistics two could not attend. Good luck and enjoy to everyone in the county with this exciting chapter.

We also had 4 juniors invited to some Welsh training Camps but due to some clashes and travelling only two were able to take the offer up. Congratulations to all from the County

Daarshik Haldar (Fishguard)
Emily Thomas-Ward (Narberth)
Osian Griffiths (Pembrokeshire)
Joe Othen ( Pembrokeshire)
Noah Bambrick (Saundersfoot and Tenby)
Dylan Bambrick (Saundersfoot and Tenby)

As normal a massive thank you to Ian Eustis Junior Director of the Welsh Chess Union who makes this possible.
We have also entered two sides in the new Junior Welsh Chess Premier League and look forward to meeting and playing some new friends. Good luck to our Pembrokeshire Young Guns and the Cleddau Knights.

As well as our experienced players it's great to see all of our Junior learning and enjoying chess. Our dedicated hour of training to start helps all junior and senior development.
One section of the club which we have not mentioned yet is our fantastic parents who transport everyone to club nights, games and festivals and are adept at looking after us during Junior matches !

Everyone has busy lives these days with all our juniors having different hobbies and I illustrate two in this post. Sebastian Kummer as well as being a good player is a member of the Welsh Sailing Team and one to watch is Aled Hooper who is auditioning for a part in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Milford Operatic Society at the Torch Theatre. If successful and you watch the production autographs are available on request!
To finish ,we are a family friendly club who cater for all abilities to those who want a friendly game on club nights to League and Cup competitions. There is a dedicated coaching session to help those that want to improve.. If you are interested please message our page or contact Martin Jones on 07884384131 for further details

Until next time folks

Milford Haven Town Council

30/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BpY2f4uQt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

28/08/2026

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Congratulations to all at the Welsh Chess Union for raising the profile of the game/sport on BBC radio,BBC TV news and newspaper reports.
Well done to Sarah and Tim Kett for excellent interviews from all at our club.
Da Iawn♟️👍✔️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

The chess market has grown exponentially in recent years fuelled by a wave of celebrity interest.

18/08/2026

18/08/2026

NB. Date for the Diary

After its summer recess Pembrokeshire Chess Club opens its door again on the 25th August 6pm to -----. We are based at Kensington Court Steynton ,Milford Haven. We are a family oriented club who cater for Juniors ,adults new to and returning to the game and the more experienced players. You can play friendly club games with friends or enter our club championship and or play league / cup games if you wish.We have a dedicated coaching team for juniors and adults normally in the first hour and looking forward to welcoming any new or existing players next week.
It was great to see three of our juniors enter the chess festival at Pembroke Castle on the weekend ,well done to the organisers.
Whilst not playing a lot of chess in the summer they all acquitted themselves well. Henry Burton came 2nd in the Under 12 section with Harry Harling playing two Welsh Internations picking up 3.5/pts /7 and Osian Griffiths 3/7 . The latter two played in the Under 16 section with another three years to go at that age group . Da Iawn all.
Congratulations to all who competed and to the winners Jai Hrithvik Adithya Are and especially to our good friends from Llanelli White Knights Chess Club ,Vismith and Cynan. We hope to catch up in the coming season for more games
Lots of exciting things to announce shortly and we keep you all posted.

However it would be remiss of us not to wish our Junior member Henry Burton,parents Yan and Andrew best wishes with their move to Staffordshire today. All at the club wish him continued success with his Chess and look forward to seeing his progress in the future. It was fantastic to receive this message from Yan which sums up the clubs ethos

We are moving to Staffordshire, but will keep Henry's federation as WCU as will hopefully move back in the future. Kevin will keep Henry's WCU rating updated whilst we are away. Pembrokeshire Chess Club has been fantastic for Henry over the last few years and has taught him a lot, whilst making many fond memories and good friends. We will still play in the Welsh chess tournaments and hopefully see you there. Take care Martin and please pass our best wishes to Gwyn, Mark, Scott, Ray, Colin, Alan, and Alexis. x

If you are interested in joining us please message our page Pembrokeshire Chess Club or contact Martin on 07884384131

Welsh Chess Union Chess in Wales West Wales Chess Milford Haven Town Council

31/07/2026

Fantastic experience in Limerick, Ireland for one of our youngsters Henry Burton. He played for Wales this week on Board 1 in the Glorney Cup, Stokes section against the other home nations, England and Ireland with two teams with the Welsh team playing against players in general who were higher graded. A tough time for the Welsh players but everyone including Henry enjoyed and had a great time.This was his first overseas chess tour.
Lots of learning with some hard fought games, which he will undoubtedly learn from. He's already looking forward to another tour!
As well as Henry, congratulations also to Alexis Harakis our International Master who accompanied the team and helped them with their after game analysis which will further help all in their future games.
Well done to both for putting the County and the club on the map.

22/07/2026

Pembrokeshire Chess Club.

Yesterday, July 21st the club welcomed Castell Nedd Chess Club to Steynton for what has become an annual fixture. A big thank you to them for travelling and to Hywel Griffiths for bringing them down West.
Whilst we are on a short summer break with School holidays, The Royal Welsh and a casualty or two on the day it was great to see 15 youngsters playing, learning and enjoying the game.
As per normal the games were nip and tuck with some small margins in a number of games especially the top few boards. Most games could have gone either way with the biggest learning point being to take your time and not rush moves.
It's great to see the standard of play increasing each year.

There were 4 matches with each player having 20 minutes on the clock. Special mention to Advik of Castell Nedd who remained undefeated with Harry drawing one game with him and narrowly losing the 2nd in a tight endgame. Arrus and Jakob also did well also in their games.
For Pembrokeshire Henry Malone and Emily Thomas picked up 3 points,Jozef and Osian 2.5 with Sebastian 2 points. The games benefitted all players in their development - hope Castell Nedd enjoyed their Macdonalds on the way home and we look forward to coming up next year.
Over the years, home advantage has been key as it was again this year.
The club also played a friendly a few weeks ago with the newly reformed Narberth Chess club and it was great to give their new adults and juniors an opportunity to play different people. Again to the benefit of everyone. We hope to see them in Steynton shortly.
The club, although it has changed its name has recently celebrated its Fifty year since inception.

It won't be long before the club starts again after a well earned and deserved break with the season due to start in September. Any adults or juniors interested in joining this family, friendly club who have excellent coaches and cater for all abilities - ,beginners, those who want to play friendly or competitive games on club nights, please message our page or Contact Martin Jones on 07884384131.

Pembrokeshire Team

Harry Harling ,Jozef Othen ,Sebastian Kummer, Osian Griffiths,Emily Thomas and Henry Malone.

Castell Nedd Team

Advik Ram, Aarush Ram, Jakob Josh-Wright,,Virat Nagari, William O'Connor, Oscar Purcell, Ethan Tirukoti, Misha Nigari and Cae Aubrey.

Castell Nedd Chess Club Narberth Chess Club

14/06/2026

A fantastic result and weekend for Pembrokeshire Chess club.

Pembrokeshire Chess club played their final game in the Welsh Chess Union Premier League Under 1850 today emerging victorious against Abergavenny, thus winning the League outright. Early in the season they beat Castell Nedd, North Cardiff,Morriston and drew with Cardiff Tigers.
Whilst they have won this event before online during Covid it was the first over the board League title for the Club. It was great to represent the County playing teams from across Wales

Congratulations to all the players who registered for the Club for this competition

Ben Brewer,Martin Jones,Scott Hammett , Mark Paffard, Henry Burton, Huw Jones and Kevin Heady
At our recent AGM we have decided to enter two teams in this competition next year to give more members especially our juniors opportunities to play.
In addition two of our Juniors - Jozef Othen and Harry Harling played in an Invitation Ceredigion / Pembrokeshire match v Carmarthenshire both playing with distinction on Saturday afternoon Jozef also played in an online Megafinals on Saturday morning progressing to the Gigafinals.
The Club has decided to hold its first ever Junior Rapid Tournament on the 24th January , more details to follow.
It's great to see our Fide Master Alexis Harakis coaching and supporting the Juniors and Senior members of the recently formed Fishguard Chess Club. He will certainly increase the standards which will be good for chess in the County.

Pictured are today's team, Ben,Martin ,Scott and Mark

Pembrokeshire Chess Club, Champions Of The Welsh Chess Premier League Under 1850 for 2026!

Milford Haven Town Council

09/06/2026

Great to see the numbers at our AGM tonight,17 in total including some junior members.
Various reports received,and Accounts adopted with some heathly discussions on a number of points.
Special mention given to Kensington Court and Milford Haven Town Council ,to our Junior section and parents.

Officers Elected.
Life President Margaret Baron
Chairman Gwyn Evans
Secretary Scott Hammett
Treasurer Martin Jones
Captains Dyfed League Mark Paffard and Gwyn
Dyfed all play all organiser Martin and WCPl U1850
Junior Organiser Martin.
Social Media Vicky Hammett and Martin.
Club Champioship organiser Colin Bloodworth
Junior Parent and merchandiser Li Othen
Our new and revised Constitution adopted.

Fantastic to listen to the success of the Club this year with hopefully more to follow 👍 ♟️