30/08/2025
Here are some details about our club:
- we currently have about 65 members from near beginner level to strong match players and including over 25 juniors.
- we have ongoing Open and Championship tournaments so that every week, if they wish, members can play games where the results are sent to the ECF for rating. These are ongoing tournaments so that members may play tournament games whenever they wish on Thursday evening club nights.
- members may play unrated friendly games if they don’t wish to play rated tournament games.
- we have five teams in the Berkshire Chess Association Leagues; one in Div 1, two in Div 2 and two in Div 3.(Sept-May)
- we have two teams in the Surrey Border League; one in Div 1 and one in Div 2(Sept-May)
- we have several blitz and rapid play tournament evenings where members play six rounds with 5 or 15 minute time controls. There are prizes.
- we also have occasional simuls given by guest IMs or GMs.
- in the summer months we run training sessions.
- we are open throughout the year including the summer months, always on Thursday evenings from 7.15pm until 10.30pm, at the Hope Centre (first floor) , 95 York Road, Reading RG1 8DU.
- young juniors must be accompanied by an adult at the club
The annual membership fee for adults is £95 and for juniors it is £85. If payment is made by 18th September 2025 there is a £5 reduction. The membership fee may be paid by cash, cheque or bank transfer. Our membership season runs from September to August. For those wanting to try the club without obligation to join we charge £5 for a visit which is subtracted from the membership fee if you decide to join.
Joining the Club just requires completing a membership form and paying the subscription. I can email you a membership form which contains the club’s bank details. Club members must also be bronze or higher members of the English Chess Federation (ECF). The ECF can be joined on the ECF website https://www.englishchess.org.uk/. For juniors the first year of ECF membership is free.
We do not offer chess lessons and so the Club is not suitable for absolute beginners. For those wanting a specifically junior chess club with coaching I suggest the following website:
https://www.chesswithdino.co.uk which gives details of a local junior chess club.
The minimum age for juniors is 11 unless the junior has an ECF rating.
ChesswithDino is a Chess club for children in Reading.
