A major change in Junior Hour for 2024/2025, and the launch of a brand-new chess initiative for Women and Girls at Hammersmith Chess Club. Both these initiatives will start officially on Monday 9th September 2024.
As some of you may already know, Luna Eastham and Luke Lau are both standing down from their positions as Junior coaches. On behalf of the Committee and all Hammersmith members, I want to thank them both for all their hard work over the past 12 months. They are true Hammers.
To fill such a void, we needed to find the right person. To that end, I am delighted to announce that Tom Villiers – Hammer, vastly experienced chess trainer and 2200+ FIDE rated Candidate Master – has agreed to head up Junior Hour coaching at Hammer. I know he will do a fantastic job.
In addition to this exciting development, Hammersmith CC is launching an exclusive Women’s and Girls’ Hour on Monday 9th September. This will start at 5pm, and like Junior Hour be based on school term dates. Tom Villiers will provide coaching from 5:30pm each Monday for the attendees, and there will be other surprises throughout the year.
This is a bold initiative. Its origins lie very much with the altruism of a Hammer member, as well as with huge contributions from Ana, Veronika and Sarah. This is a hugely exciting development for Women’s and Girls’ Chess at our club.
The cost of attending this extra hour will be as follows:
For Women (age 18+) the yearly cost will be £80. This includes entrance to this hour, full Hammer membership and attendance on both Thursday and Monday nights if desired.
For Girls (age under 18) the yearly cost will be £50. This includes entrance to this hour, full Hammer membership and attendance on both Thursday and Monday. The extra payment for Junior hour will remain £100.
I ask all Hammers to help promote this initiative for Women’s and Girls’ Chess, and make it a massive success.
John White