All welcome for Newcastle’s ‘Summer Nights’

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Hi everyone,

Here is the Newcastle Chess Club ‘Summer Nights’ schedule for Thursday evenings at Newcastle Labour Club, 1-3 Haymarket, Newcastle NE1 7PF. The club opens at 7:00pm, and matches and tournaments start at 7:15pm. (The last people generally go home around 10:30pm.)

Everyone is welcome to come along and join in our ‘Summer Nights’, whether you are a Newcastle Chess Club member or not.

We are running 3 events throughout the summer:

  1. Northumberland Summer Teams Cup (4 round Swiss, then semi-finals and finals)
  2. Newcastle ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament (7-round Swiss, 75 mins & 10 seconds, you can take up to 2 half-point byes). Trophies and book prizes.
  3. Newcastle Summer Blitz Grand Prix (Best 3 scores from 5 tournaments count towards your final score) Entry Fee: £5 per tournament. Cash prizes.

Newcastle teams in the Summer Cup – club members will be contacted by team captains and invited to play.

To enter ‘El Classico’ or ‘Newcastle Summer Blitz,’ email: timpeterwall@gmail.com, or Text/ WhatsApp: 0750 372 2366.

SCHEDULE:

MAY

Thursday 29 May – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament. Round 1 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

JUNE

Thursday 5 June – Northumberland Summer Teams Cup, Round 2

Group A matches: Tynemouth v Gateshead, Forest Hall Tigers v Newcastle Dragons, Jesmond v Gosforth Siths, Newcastle Sheriffs v South Shields.

Thursday 12 June – Newcastle Summer Blitz, Round 2. FIDE-rated 7-round Swiss. Time control: 5 mins & 3 seconds/move. £5 to enter.

Thursday 19 June – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament. Round 2 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

Thursday 26 June – Northumberland Summer Teams Cup, Round 3

Group A matches (to be announced after Round 2)

JULY

Thursday 3 July – Newcastle Summer Blitz, Round 3. FIDE-rated 7-round Swiss. Time control: 5 mins & 3 seconds/move. £5 to enter, cash prizes.

Thursday 10 July – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament, Round 3 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

Thursday 17 July – Northumberland Summer Teams Cup, Round 4

Group A matches (to be announced after Round 3)

Thursday 24 July – Newcastle Summer Blitz, Round 4. FIDE-rated 7-round Swiss, Time control: 5 mins & 3 seconds/move. £5 to enter, cash prizes.

Thursday 31 July – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament, Round 4 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

AUGUST

Thursday 7 August – Friendly games

Thursday 14 August – Newcastle Summer Blitz, Round 5. FIDE-rated 7-round Swiss, Time control: 5 mins & 3 seconds/move. £5 to enter, cash prizes.

Thursday 21 August – Friendly games

Thursday 28 August – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament, Round 5 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

SEPTEMBER

Thursday 4 September – Northumberland Summer Teams Cup, Semi-Finals

(Matches to be announced in July)

Thursday 11 September – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament, Round 6 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

Thursday 18 September – Northumberland Summer Teams Cup, Finals

(Matches to be announced after Semi-Finals)

Thursday 25 September – ‘El Classico’ Open Tournament, Round 7 (7-round Swiss, you can take up to 3 half-point byes)

Newcastle Teams in 2025 Summer Cup

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Newcastle Chess Club has four teams playing in the 2025 Northumberland Summer Cup.

You can see all the info on the ECF’s League Management System (LMS) page for Northumberland: https://lms.englishchess.org.uk/lms/organisation/394

It has two phases:

  1. Two 4-round Swiss tournaments (Group A and Group B), finishing in mid-July
  2. Semi-finals and Finals in September

Our teams are:

Dragons – captain Tim Wall. Players include: Tim Wall, Nathan Ekanem, Ravi Wariyar, Jounaid El Archi

Jesters – captain Jeremy Revell. Players include: Krithik Shai, John Awesome, Jeremy Revell, Sijo Jose

Cavaliers – captain Thomas Chazelle. Players include: Femi Fafiola, Thomas Chazelle, James Phillips, Dhanvi Fondekar

Sheriffs – captain Tim Wall. Players include: Olga Pinchuk, Billy Ness, Lyan Ossai, Adam Graham.

Once you have played for one team, you are tied to play for that team throughout the Summer Cup.

To check if you are invited to play in any match, go to Newcastle Chess Club’s WhatsApp groups for the Dragons, Jesters, Cavaliers and Sheriffs.

The Dragons, Cavaliers and Sheriffs are in Group A, which plays matches at Newcastle Labour Club on Thursdays, and Gosforth Empire Club on Mondays

The Jesters are in Group B, which plays matches at Gosforth Empire Club on Mondays and Morpeth Rugby Club on Wednesdays

Schedule of Matches (Group A and Group B):

ROUND 1: Group A – Monday 19 May (Gosforth) & Thursday 22 May (Newcastle)

Group B – Wednesday 14 May (Morpeth) & Monday 19 May (Gosforth)

ROUND 2: Group A – Monday 2 June (Gosforth) & Thursday 5 June (Newcastle)

Group B – Monday 2 June (Gosforth) & Wednesday 4 June (Morpeth)

ROUND 3: Group A – Monday 23 June (Gosforth) & Thursday 26 June (Newcastle)

Group B – Monday 23 June (Gosforth) & Wednesday 25 June (Morpeth)

ROUND 4: Group A – Monday 14 July (Gosforth) & Thursday 17 July (Newcastle)

Group B – Monday 14 July (Gosforth) & Wednesday 16 July (Morpeth)

Cup and Plate SEMI-FINALS: Monday 1 September (Gosforth) & Thursday 4 September (Newcastle)

Cup and Plate FINALS: Monday 15 September (Gosforth) & Thursday 18 September (Newcastle)

Group B – Wednesday 14 May (Morpeth) & Monday 19 May (Gosforth)

Pairings are posted on the ECF website for each Round as it comes up. Look at these to check when and where your team is playing:

Group A fixtures: https://lms.englishchess.org.uk/lms/event/7706/fixtures

Group B fixtures: https://lms.englishchess.org.uk/lms/event/7707/fixtures

Summer KO Round 1: Newcastle Chess Club, Thursday 22 May

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The first round of the Northumberland Summer KO being played at Newcastle Chess Club will now take place on Thursday 22 May, 7:15pm. This is a week later than originally planned, to allow for Newcastle Labour Club to open its new venue to the public.

On Thursday 22 May, Newcastle Chess Club is hosting Round 1 of the Summer KO at Newcastle Labour Club, opposite Haymarket Metro, Northumberland Street, NE1 7PF.

Start time is 7:15pm. However, clocks will only be started at 7:30pm for visiting teams that arrive late.

Matches take place in The Lounge, which can be reached by lift or the stairs. We look forward to seeing you there.

Tim Wall
Secretary
Newcastle Chess Club

How to get to Newcastle Chess Club’s venue

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Beginning on Thursday May 22, 2025, Newcastle Chess Club meets on Thursday evenings, 7pm-10:30pm at The Lounge at Newcastle Labour Club’s newly opened premises, opposite Haymarket metro station.

The full address of the new venue is: Newcastle Labour Club, Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle Labour NE1 7PF.

Match starting time

Our usual starting time for matches is 7:15pm, but we can start at 7:30pm at visiting teams’ request. No clocks will be started for late-arriving visiting teams until 7:30pm.

Public transport links

The Labour Club is easy to reach by public transport, as it is just 5 metres from the entrance to Haymarket Metro Station.

The Tyne & Wear Metro has 60 stations, from as far afield as Newcastle Airport to Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Park and Ride

We suggest that visiting teams consider using car parks at Metro stations, and then “Park and Ride” to quickly reach Haymarket.

Newcastle Labour Club is just 50 metres from Haymarket Bus Station, where buses arrive from various parts of Tyneside and Northumberland. Additionally, the club is 200 metres’ walk from Eldon Square Bus Station, where buses arrive from western Northumberland and around County Durham.

Car Parking near Haymarket Metro

There are several car parks within a few hundred metres of Newcastle Labour Club, and some of them have free parking after 7:00pm.

Beware, however, as many of those city centre car parks also close at 10:00pm.

Some that stay open till midnight include NUFC Stadium, Dean Street and Grainger Town.

If in doubt about car parking, check beforehand.

Newcastle City Council has a very informative page about Council-run car parks here: https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/parking-and-permits/car-parks-and-street-parking#wheretopark

There are also various commercial car parks, info from https://www.parkopedia.com/