Reading Chess Club

27/12/2025

Christmas Blitz Tournament Results

06/12/2025

Christmas Blitz Tournament

- On Thursday 18th December between 7.30pm and 10.00pm the Club will hold a 10 round Blitz Tournament.
- The games will be ECF rated.
- Please arrive at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start.
- Entry will be free for members
- Guests will be asked to pay £10
- There will be prizes
- There will be 10 rounds with a 5 minute time control.
- There will be a maximum of 40 players - first come first served.
- The first 40 to email their commitment to play will be accepted.
- Late entries on the night will not be accepted .
- The tournament will take until 10pm to complete and only those who can commit to playing until then should enter.
- It will not be suitable for any juniors who have to leave earlier than 10pm.

If you wish to enter please email [email protected] giving the name of the entrant and also the ECF blitz rating if available, if not, please state the standard play rating. If you have any queries please email them to [email protected]

At the halfway stage during the refreshment break we will present the trophies which were awarded at the AGM. They have now been engraved with the names of the trophy winners.

17/09/2025

♟️ 2nd Reading Chess Club Rapid Championship
📅 Thursday, 25 September 2025
📍 New Hope Community Church

Join us for an exciting evening of rapid chess!

Round 1 starts: 7:30 pm

Format: 5 rounds, Swiss system

Time control: 15 minutes

ECF rated

💷 Entry fees:

Free for club members (membership must be renewed)

£10 for guests

⚠️ Limited to 32 players (Swiss 5-round)

Don’t miss the chance to compete, learn, and enjoy a great night of chess!

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.

05/08/2025

The last of this season’s Internal Tournament games were played. The details are below along with a rated non-tournament game.

Results of Rated Games Played on 31st July 2025

Open tournament:
White Black
Alfie Smith. 0-1 Harry Rogers
Connor Scott 0-1 Zain Jafri

Non-Tournament Rated Games
White Black
Volodymyr Lebedev 1-0 Aashi Aggarwal
Firstly a reminder that the next Club Blitz Tournament will be held next Thursday 7th August. It is not too late to enter. The details are:

Blitz Tournament - 7th August

This is the last call for entries to our Blitz Tournament Details below.

- Entry is free for members and £10 for any guests.
- All those entering must be ECF members
- The games will be ECF rated.
- Please arrive at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start.
- There will be prizes
- There will be 10 rounds with a 5 minute time control and no increments
- There will be a maximum of 40 players - first come first served.
- The first 40 to email their commitment to play will be accepted.
- Late entries on the night may not be accepted .
- The tournament will take until 10pm to complete and only those who can commit to playing until then should enter.
- It will not be suitable for any juniors who have to leave earlier than 10pm.

If you wish to enter please email [email protected] and cc [email protected] Please do not 'reply to all’ to enter.

Future Events
7th August – Blitz tournament
14th August - Volodymyr Mylovanov training session
21st August - Club closed due to Reading Festival
28th August – AGM
September - Training sessions to be confirmed

31/07/2025

Firstly a reminder that the next Club Blitz Tournament will be held next Thursday 7th August. It is not too late to enter. The details are:

- Entry is free for members and £10 for any guests.
- All those entering must be ECF members
- The games will be ECF rated.
- Please arrive at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start.
- There will be prizes
- There will be 10 rounds with a 5 minute time control and no increments
- There will be a maximum of 40 players - first come first served.
- The first 40 to email their commitment to play will be accepted.
- Late entries on the night may not be accepted .
- The tournament will take until 10pm to complete and only those who can commit to playing until then should enter.
- It will not be suitable for any juniors who have to leave earlier than 10pm.

If you wish to enter please email [email protected] and cc [email protected]

Club Tournaments
The last day for playing tournament games is today 31st July. Trophies will be presented at the AGM. Please would all current trophy holders return them to the Club before the AGM.

No rated game tournament results have been reported to me for last Thursday, perhaps because of the training session given by Jim Stayt.

Future Events
7th August – Blitz tournament
14th August - Volodymyr Mylovanov training session
28th August – AGM
September - Training sessions to be confirmed

22/07/2025

It was a quiet night at the Club last Thursday evening with 11 members present.

Internal rated games played on 17th July 2025

Open Tournament
White Black
Kasi Nallaperumal 0-1 Connor Scott

Non-Tournament Rated Game
White Black
Alastair Wilson 0.5-0.5 Samuel Turner

Club Tournaments
The last day for playing tournament games is 31st July. Trophies will be presented at the AGM. Please would all current trophy holders retund them to the Club before the AGM.

Future Events
24th July - Jim Stayt training session
7th August – Blitz tournament
14th August - Volodymyr Mylovanov training session
28th August – AGM
September - Training sessions to be confirmed

16/07/2025

Last Thursday GM Matthew Wadsworth took on 20 of our members at the Club in a Simul. Matthew won 18 and drew 2. Well done Kasi Nallaperumal and Jim Stayt for achieving draws.

Club Tournaments
The last date for playing Championship, Challengers and Open tournament games is 31st July.

Future Events
The Club will be holding its next Blitz tournament on Thursday 7th August. Here are the details:
- Entry is free for members and £10 for any guests.
- All those entering must be ECF members
- The games will be ECF rated.
- Please arrive at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start.
- There will be prizes
- There will be 10 rounds with a 5 minute time control and no increments
- There will be a maximum of 40 players - first come first served.
- The first 40 to email their commitment to play will be accepted.
- Late entries on the night will not be accepted .
- The tournament will take until 10pm to complete and only those who can commit to playing until then should enter.
- It will not be suitable for any juniors who have to leave earlier than 10pm.

If you wish to enter please email [email protected] and cc [email protected] Please do not 'reply to all’ to enter.

Training Evenings
The training evenings held over the past few weeks have been popular and more are planned over the summer.

17/06/2025

Congratulations to our A team who won their match against the University in the Berkshire Premier Precision Cup Final to retain the trophy which they won last year. It was a tough match and as the University had the higher average rating, particularly on the top boards, a 3-3 draw would have been enough for Reading to win. In the event Reading won 3.5-2.5. The details are below.

Berkshire League - Premier Precision Cup
Reading PPCA University of Reading PPCA (white on odd boards)
1. Ewan Wilson (2177) 1-0 Maxin Dunn (2226)
2. Volodymyr Mylovanov (1906) 0-1 Forbes Welford-Ranson (2156)
3. Jim Stayt (1910) 0.5-0.5 Max Walker (2077)
4. Abhishek Pradhan (1887) 0-1 James Connors (1791)
5. Stephen Bartle (1836) 1-0 Adam Smith (1670)
6. Yawar Jafri (1719) 1-0 Kyri Weeks (1570)
Result. 3.5-2.5

Last week our Border League B team played its last match of the season against a strong Crowthorne B team which out-rated our team on all boards. Reading B lost 1.5-3.5. The details are below

Border League Div 2
Crowthorne B Reading B (white on odd boards)
1. Colin Purdon (2036) 0.5-0.5 Dylan Wastney (1971)
2. Derek Johnson (1938). 1-0 Jim Stayt (1918)
3. Peter Tart (1989) 1-0 Volodymyr Mylovanov (1900)
4. Kenneth Coates (1888) 0-1 Ilan Dwek (1744)
5. Zak Javellana-Jones (1865) 1-0 Yawar Jafri (1683)
Result 3.5-1.5

Summer Events

Last Thursday Stuart Knox presented a coaching session to 12 Club members. It was well received as was the previous week’s coaching session given by Volodymyr Mylovanov. Many thanks to Stuart and Volodymyr for running these sessions for the Club.

Thursday 19th June - An opportunity to practice Blitz games to prepare for next week’s Blitz tournament.

Thursday 26th June - Blitz tournament (please note the changed details below)

All those entering must be ECF members
- The games will be ECF rated.
- Please arrive at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start.
- Entry will be free for members
- Guests will be asked to pay £10
- There will be prizes
- There will be 10 rounds with a 5 minute time control and no increments
- There will be a maximum of 40 players - first come first served.
- The first 40 to email their commitment to play will be accepted ( there are still places available).
- Late entries on the night will not be accepted .
- The tournament will take until 10pm to complete and only those who can commit to playing until then should enter.
- It will not be suitable for any juniors who have to leave earlier than 10pm.

If you wish to enter please email [email protected] and cc [email protected] Please do not 'reply to all’ to enter.

Thursday 3rd July - Training session to be presented by Jim Stayt

Thursday 10th July - Simul by GM Matthew Wadsworth (entry list now full)

04/06/2025

There were 14 members at the Club last Thursday and as there were no league matches members played internal rated games. The results are shown below.

There are still some places for club members available to play in the simul to be given by GM Matthew Wadsworth on 10th July. If you would like to play please contact John Roper [email protected].

Planned Training Sessions
The Club has planned a series of training sessions for members over the summer months. The first two are:
June 5th Simple Pawn Endgames (aimed at members with ratings up to 1300-1500 but all welcome) Coach:Volodymyr Mylovanov
June 12th How to work to become a better player (suitable for juniors and adults) Coach: Stuart Knox
N.B. Attendees should bring a writing pad and pen.
The sessions will start at 7.30pm.

Internal Rated Games Played on 29th May 2025

Championship:
White Black
Volodymyr Mylovanov. 1-0 Stephen Bartle
Abhishek Pradhan. 1-0 Remi Tailleux

Open Tournament:
White Black
Harry Rogers 1-0 Conner Scott

Rated Non Tournament Games:
White Black
Shaquille Hills 0-1 Nick Spearing
Yawar Jafri 0.5-0.5 Stuart Knox
Samuel Turner 1-0 Kasi Nallaperumal
Zain Jafri 1-0 Raja Sajjad

Future Fixtures and Match Results
There are no League matches scheduled for this week. The last two matches of the season are on 11th and 12th June.

27/05/2025

There were 10 members at the Club last Thursday evening including 5 playing for Reading D in a Berkshire Div 3 home match against Camberley C. Also on Thursday 5 members were playing in a Berkshire League Div 2 away match for Reading B against Eton College A. Reading B and Reading D both won their matches which were the last of the season. The detailed results are below.

Berkshire League Div 2
Eton College A (white on odd boards) Reading B
1. Nayan Keats Rastogi (2011) 0.5-0.5 Jim Stayt (1918)
2. Alan Wang (1468) 0-1 Stephen Bartle (1898)
3. Jack Ma (1673) 0-1 Mayank Palav (1714)
4. Akaash Agnihotri (1616) 0-1 Yawar Jafri (1683)
5. Edison Brown (1206) 0-1 Ilan Dwek (1744)
Result 0.5-4.5

Berkshire League Div 3
Reading D Camberley C (white on odd boards)
1. John Richardson (1768) 1-0 Aditya Vikram Sengupta (1547)
2. Connor Scott (1574) 0-1 Robert Wooding (1533)
3. Michael Celaya (1499) 1-0 Joshua Jackson (1435)
4. Benas Arbocius (1208) 1-0 Anthony Clarke (1272)
5. Aashi Aggarwal (713) 1-0 Daniel Gallagher
Result 4-1

All Berkshire League matches have been completed for the season apart from the final of the Premier Precision Cup,
The final League positions are:

Berkshire League Div 1
Reading A 6th out of 6.

Berkshire League Div 2
Reading B 2nd out of 9 with the same match points as Camberley B but placed 2nd because Camberley B had a better game difference. Reading B were the only undefeated team in League Div 2.
Reading C 6th out of 9

Berkshire League Div 3
Reading D 2nd out of 7
Reading E 6th out of 7

Internal Non-Tournament Rated Games Played on 22nd May 2025
White Black
Kasi Nallaperumal 0-1 Volodymyr Lebedev
Samuel Turner 0-1 Stuart Knox

21/05/2025

There were 26 at the Club last Thursday evening including 10 from visiting teams. Six more of our members were playing in the Berkshire Premier Precision Cup semi final away match against the University PPCB team. Reading had to win 4-2 on handicap which they did and are now in the final against University PPCA.
Reading C had a Berkshire League Drive 2 home match against a strong Henley A team and let 2-3. Sameera Kodukula had another good result against a much higher rated opponent.
Reading E had a Berkshire League Div 3 match home to Crowthorne C and did well to hold a much higher rated team to a draw 2.5-2.5. All the Reading points were scored by our juniors.

Berkshire League Premier Precision Cup Semi Final
University of Reading PPCB Reading PPCA (white on odd boards)
1. Alex Yeo (1623) 0-1 Remi Tailleux (2052)
2. Tom Mantell (1563) 0-1 Jim Stayt (1918)
3. Carl Parasram 0-1 Yawar Jafri (1683)
4. Luke Hayhoe (1427) 0-1 Rohit Keshari (1567)
5. Blaise Welsh (1323) 1-0 Harry Rogers (1465)
6. Luigi Sacco 1-0 Zain Jafri (1206)
Result 2-4

Berkshire League Div 2
Reading C (white on odd boards) Henley A
1. Ayan Pradhan (1806) 0-1 Kevin Millward (2116)
2. Volodymyr Lebedev (1749) 0-1 Roger Betts (1830)
3. David Johnson (1704) 1-0 Ben Norton (1829)
4. Krish Keshari (1663) 0-1 Christopher Voelker (1774)
5. Sameera Kodukula (1133) 1-0 Trevor Green (1694)
Result 2-3

Berkshire League Div 3
Reading E Crowthorne C (white on odd boards)
1. Michael Celaya (1499) 0-1 Timothy Chapman (1702)
2. Benas Arbocius (1208) 1-0 Jonathan Welton (1674)
3. Anay Deshpande (1102) 1-0 Alex Waters (1662)
4. Samuel Vanstone (1367) 0-1 Matthew Palmer (1545)
5. Archie Bartle (844) 0.5-0.5 Matthew Pearce (1475)
Result 2.5-2.5
Internal Rated Games Played on 15th May 2025
White Black
Kasi Nallaperumal 0.5-0.5 Ilan Dwek
Delfin Catapang 0-1 Stephen Bartle

Future Fixtures
On Thursday 22nd May Reading B has a League Div 2 away match against Eton A and Reading D has a Berkshire League Div 3 home match against Camberley C. Good luck to our teams.