If you walk into most North East chess clubs, the chances are you’ll be surrounded by pre-teens and gentlemen of a certain age (either pensioners or not far off pension age).
It’s often said that chess is a game you can master, no matter how young or how old you are. This has now been proven by England winning world titles in the Girls Under 8 and Over 50 and Over 65 age groups.
Just like local football rivalries, the competition between teams from north and south of the Tyne is an intense one. In recent years, Newcastle and North Tyneside teams have dominated, but this week Leam Lane Aces took the lead south of the Tyne in Division 1 for the first time in a few seasons.
Newcastle United fans will remember the folly of neglecting the club’s reserve and youth teams in the 1990s, and how this affected North East football for a generation. In a similar way, other sports that rely on big-money signings from overseas often neglect grassroots development.
Club chess on Tyneside is thriving, with six divisions, 37 teams and up to 150 players taking part in the 2023-24 Northumbria League. Many of these players and teams are new to league chess.
The Northumberland Congress is one of the country’s great traditional weekend chess events, and this year the event attracted a total of 117 competitors at the Parks Leisure Centre in North Shields.
Many people are aware (from films and shows such as ‘The Queen’s Gambit’) of chess being played in city parks around the world, particularly in New York’s Washington Square Park, where Bobby Fischer used to hang out. In Moscow’s Gorky Park, to this day chess aficionados young and old wrap up warm and enjoy a friendly game.
Now chess in parks could be about to take off in this country.
We have 2 main news items:
1) Our Rapidplay Championship begins
2) 2023-24 League Fixtures are out!
The 59th Northumberland Congress kicks off this evening at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields, and runs throughout the weekend.
What do these sports have in common: Football, baseball, American football, basketball, pool and table tennis?
The answer is they all use the Elo system, a way of rating chess players invented by US physics professor Arpad Elo.
Tyneside Irish Centre, the popular venue for live music and Guinness opposite St. James’ Park football stadium, is the venue for a new blitz chess tournament.