Category: Club Updates

Dear Members, the club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is approaching – this year it will be held on Monday 7th July at 7:30pm at the Mindsports Centre.

The Committee gives notice that the following members will stand for re-election:

• • President – Adam Cranston (currently Secretary)
  • Treasurer – Christof Brixel
  • Club Captain – Gastón Franco (currently Webmaster)
  • PR & Events Officer – John White (currently Chairman)
  • Diversity Officer – Anastasija Royce
  • Junior Officer – Tom Townsend
  • Auditor – Nadim Osseiran

We are sorry to announce that Robin Sarfas and Matt Perchard have decided to step down from the Committee this year.

As Club Captain for several years, Robin has carried out a demanding and vital role with dedication and professionalism. Responsible for overseeing 16 teams, he introduced several initiatives to support our ever-changing roster of captains. These include comprehensive documentation to help new captains avoid common pitfalls, as well as organising the now-annual end-of-season captains’ dinner.

In his role as PR & Events Officer, Matt has brought numerous prominent speakers to the club, delivering both entertaining and thought-provoking lectures. His creativity and expertise have been instrumental in shaping the club’s identity — our current logo, branded scoresheets and pens are all the result of his remarkable work.

The Committee is deeply grateful for Robin and Matt’s significant contributions and lasting impact.

With this in mind, David Lambert intends to run for the position of Secretary, and David Steyn for the role of Webmaster. All members are encouraged to stand for any Committee position, and all applications are warmly welcomed.

This year, the Committee proposes to make a significant amendment to club’s status. In short, we are looking into setting up Hammersmith Chess Club as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO for short).

We have struggled sometimes with not being an official organisation, including difficulties with bank accounts, lease agreements and software to help us manage the club better.

What is a CIO?

The CIO was created in response to requests from charities for a new legal form that could provide some of the benefits of being a company, but without some of the burdens.

What are the advantages of CIOs?

• We can enter into contracts
• We can receive gift-aid
• Other benefits as that of a charity

Specifics of the proposed changes to the club constitution will be shared in due course.

Any member who wishes to stand for a Committee position, or to submit a motion for the meeting, should do so at least 21 days prior to the AGM – that is, 16th June. If you want to support any of the Committee roles, we would love to hear from you too, as there is a lot of work to run the club and any time is valued. There are a number of subcommittees reporting to the Committee that are vital to the club, on which volunteers to help out are invaluable. We are constantly looking for members to help out in areas including (but not limited to) the following:

Operations

– Running club night events
– Point of contact and friendly face for new walk-ins
– Providing suggestions for different types of events to run
– Running occasional club nights on Mondays and Thursdays

Captaincy

– Captains for the 2025/26 season

Juniors

– Coaching at Monday night Junior Hour (6-7pm)

Events/PR

– Help with organising club tours, events and matches

Website/Social Media

– Writing articles for the website
– General maintenance of website
– Creating other useful pages for the website
– Creating content for our social media channels

Please contact Club Secretary Adam if you wish to stand for a Committee position, submit a motion, or are willing to help out in any other way: adam1234321@gmail.com

Thank you for your continued support!

Introducing: A lecture and workshop for club members by Scotland’s strongest ever player, Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson.

Jonathan is a three-time British Chess Champion and author of the critically acclaimed books, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins (2001) Chess for Zebras (2005) and The Moves that Matter (2019).

On Monday 5th May, Jonathan will introduce the idea of chess therapy, ahead of offering weekly chess therapy sessions at the Mindsports Centre on Monday evenings. Jonathan has prepared material from his books to share, but would also welcome the chance to analyse games and take questions from club members, so feel free to bring them along.

Which island would you associate with a week-long International Open in April? One immediately thinks of Reykjavik, and sure it is an attractive tournament. But then, there is Jersey. Close to the UK, but not part of it. Much more sunny than Reykjavik, lots of sandy golden beaches, and a long history of chess tournaments. In fact, the author proudly remembers the Jersey International Congress 1975 where he (not a Hammer yet) finished 3rd in a strong field, and so it was a kind of nostalgic return exactly 50 years later.

This time, there were 4 Hammers, plus the father of our local Jersey boy Matt, who was convinced to participate the night before the start. Quite a family affair. The only negative aspect was the low number of participants, in total 44 players, just a tenth of the simultaneously convened Reykjavik Open. That however created another touch of familiar atmosphere, which seems to me quite fitting to the relaxed Jersey mood. Do I need to tell more about Jersey? Its population is half the size of Hammersmith, it is a self-governing entity, and it is so because it was supportive of English kings when it was important – Henry III in 1259, when it was either France or England; then Charles II who was proclaimed king here in 1649, 11 years before the monarchy was restored with his crowning in London. It seems, Jersey knows how to play the royal game. Well, back to chess then.

The participants were split in 2 sections: a smaller, norm-awarding Open with mostly titled players, and a – maybe inappropriately called – Holiday section with FIDE ratings below 1900. Our fabulous four represented Hammersmith in both groups. There is Gaston, everyone knows him. Organiser and lecturer of nearly everything, he was able to squeeze in a holiday week. Same goes for Robin, club captain, organiser of our teams, he came with his girlfriend for a joint fun & chess week (the verdict is open whether that suits the chess). Matt, still the club’s PR officer, having recently returned to his native Jersey (does that give a home advantage?). And then me, Christof, adult improver (I hope so, at least!)

So, how did it go? To start with a summary: With the exception of myself, we all won prizes: Matt and Robin won Rating prizes, Gaston was Best U2150. Everyone improved on their starting rating, Matt even by an impressive 92 points! And the challenge was formidable. Most of us started in the bottom half of the rating lists. Half of our games were against title holders, mainly GMs and IMs in the Open section, but also some in the U1900 section. Gaston played all except one game against titled players, he was in fact paired in the first round with the final winner, Lithuanian GM Eduardas Rozentalis. We made no points in our 3 games against GMs, drew one in 4 against IMs, but made 5 of 7 (!) against FMs and drew the one game against a CM, all in all not too bad for us four amateurs.

Day 1 started with a hammer. And I mean that. It surely was a big upset in the Open section, me winning against all odds against a FM who was here after an IM norm, a mere 340 points higher rated. I played a good game, and the end was even better. In mutual time trouble, I found the psychologically most challenging move, then the winning tactics motif, and executed the right sequence. You sense a feeling of pride in my words? Judge for yourself:

After White played 30. Re5, Black should have given his queen with dxe5 31.Bxc6 exf4 for a chance to hold the game. After 30…Qc8 however, White wins with 31.Re7! Qf5 (Qxe8 32.Rxe8 Kg7 33.Rxf8! Kxf8 34.Bxd6+) 32.Bh6! Rc8 33.g4 (Be4 or Bd5 work as well) Qf6 34.Bxf8! Rxe8 35.Rxe8 and Black has to give back the queen to avoid being checkmated. It couldn’t have started better – which means it could only get worse. And it got worse, for me. So, the next days reports are mainly dedicated to my fellow Hammer players.

Day 2: See day 7.

Day 3 saw Matt’s brilliancy in his game against a higher rated opponent. He sacrificed an exchange in a tactically demanding position. With Matt’s tournament preparation heavily focused on calculation skills, it definitely helped to bring home the point. See for yourself – would you have found and gone for Matt’s choice?

Black sacrificed the exchange with 16…Bxf3!, and after White accepted the sac with 17.Bxf8 (Qxf3 was necessary), Black followed up with Bxg2 (Bxh2+ works even quicker, but requires flawless calculation) 18.Bxd6 Bxf1. Black is a pawn up in a much better position, the rest was good technique.

Day 4: Christof blundered in record time against the World’s best non-binary (their own words) chess player, who at the end had more time on the clock than at the beginning. Otherwise, see day 7.

Day 5 was the golden day of the Hammers, 4 games, 4 wins. Did our joint relaxed dinner the evening before help? Early finishers were watching the remaining matches in the downtown Sports Bar. No, chess is not on Sky Sports yet, but 3 of our 4 games were always recorded live on Lichess. For Gaston it was a diamond day, winning a fabulous game against FM Mike Waddington.

Day 6: Robin took on a CM. His energy level was still high from his day off with a bike trip around the island. And in true Hammer holiday spirit, he gave 2 pieces for a rook and a couple of pawns, plus the initiative. The game continued in a highly complex manner. In mutual time trouble towards the end (that seemed to be a common theme for us, may be Jersey-mood inspired) he settled for a draw by threefold repetition. Have fun watching the whole game.

Day 7: We have to talk about knight endings. Three times, we dropped unnecessary points. Knight endings are a matter of calculation and visualisation, but also of having seen lots of patterns and quickly recognising ideas. So, before the next tournament, some focused puzzle training is due to overcome our knight ending trauma.

White has a tablebase draw after 46. Kf2, but lost after 46. Kg2, which allows Black’s King to support its f-pawn with Ke4.

Black has a tablebase win after 42… Ke4, but lost his h-pawn after 42… Nf4 43. Kh6 and drew.

Day 8: Last round, Saturday, our Black Sabbath day. Three losses, only Christof escaped with a lucky draw. Maybe moody blues had taken over by now, with a lovely week coming to an end.

When you have four Hammer players together, even if everyone with his own agenda, you can expect lots of joint postmortems, of chess-related discussions, some beer and wine, and else. That is the charm of those events. Besides the relaxed holiday mood and a good sun tan, we gained prizes, and all gained rating points, and we also took home some valuable lessons.

And lots of new memories, which is what is really counting.

Christof Brixel

Following the popularity of our initial series of beginners’ classes, we are very happy to announce our next series of classes, to begin on Thursday 1st May.

Or second series of classes will take place at 5:30pm each Thursday over 8 weeks. Each week will feature an hour long group lesson on a different topic, followed by organised, casual games against your fellow students.

The cost of the course will be £100, reduced by 50% for Hammersmith members. Non-members who take the course will be eligible for a 50% discount on club membership.

Following feedback from the previous series, we will be insisting that all attendees are genuine beginners. Those who sign up are expected to know little more than the basic rules of chess. Anyone rated >800 should not attend.

Please email enquiries@hammerchess.co.uk with any questions or to book your place!

Adam Cranston

Following on from the success of Junior Hour and Women and Girls Hour, Hammersmith Chess Club is proud to introduce its next offering, aimed at another sizeable but often-neglected demographic: chess beginners!

Commencing on 9th January, our first official Beginners & Improvers Course will take place at 5:30pm each Thursday over 8 weeks. Each week will feature an hour long group lesson on a different topic, followed by organised, casual games against your fellow students.

The cost of the course will be £100, reduced by 50% for Hammersmith members. Non-members who take the course will be eligible for a 50% discount on club membership.

Those who sign up are expected to know no more than the basic rules of chess. Anyone rated >1200 would be too strong for this course, but depending on demand, there may be more advanced courses in future.

Please email enquiries@hammerchess.co.uk with any questions or to book your place!

Adam Cranston

Hammersmith Chess Club is thrilled to host Grandmaster Daniel King once again for an exclusive book signing and puzzle-filled lecture for his new book launch! This is a unique chance to gain invaluable insights and get a copy of his new book signed!

GM Daniel King will share his expertise through puzzles, exercises, and chess wisdom throughout the evening.

He will also be selling signed copies of his books at a special discounted price of just £20 each:

• • King’s Anti-Sicilians for Black (25 copies available)
  • King’s Kalashnikov Sicilian (15 copies available)

Pre-order now to secure your copy!

Hammersmith teamed up with the 4NCL Sharks (featuring several of our strongest players) to play in the UK Team Open tournament, a part of the Global Chess League Season 2: with Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Hou Yifan, the sibling duo Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali, and many other top GMs gathering in London, it was an amazing atmosphere to play chess!

On Saturday 5th of October, the teams gathered in Friends House near Euston for a prompt start at 1:30pm, following some introductory words from the GCL CEO Sameer Pathak, and tournament organiser Peter Hornsby who explained the rules. Even though we were all together in person, the tournament was to be played online in a 3+2 Arena format. This would ensure more games for everybody and the top 2 teams with highest total scores would then play each other in an OTB Rapid (10+5) match.

And off we went! Almost immediately, our own IM Peter Roberson (playing on his phone, while most people were using laptops!) took a clear lead over the rest of the field, which he safely kept until the end of the scheduled 90 minutes of play. It was fair to say our team had most of the strongest players, but other teams had brought many more people than us and the standings would be decided by total points, so we all had to stay focused the whole time!

In the end, we took first place in the Arena by 45 points, and had 5 of the top 6 individual scores (aforementioned Peter, IM Tom Rendle, Gaston Franco, FM James Moreby, and Zain Patel). An amazing performance! We were keen to know who we would play against in the final match, only to find a rather unlikely tie for second place! It was decided that Eton College and Alpha Chess would play an OTB rapid match as well as a sort of semi final to determine who would play against us.

Alpha Chess won the playoff, and the final match started, played over 10 boards. Our opponents were all juniors, but not without strength or experience, and all the games were extremely challenging! Our players were up to the task and achieved a 6.5-3.5 victory, with GMs Gawain Jones and Kateryna Lagno presenting the prizes – we’re the #1 Chess Club in London!

Even leaving the results aside, it was an extremely enjoyable afternoon for everyone involved. Many thanks to Peter Hornsby for organising and to our captain Tom Rendle (who also made an appearance on ITV London News later that day) for bringing together such a strong team. Looking forward to further success stories for Hammersmith Chess Club!

Gastón Franco

The 2024/25 League Season has officially started this month and Hammersmith is once again presenting 16 teams on 4 different leagues. We expect to play 184 matches throughout the season, meaning a total of 1,100 games (!) for our members, with opportunities for players of all levels from beginner to master.

As usual, we have some Hammer vs Hammer clashes in the divisions where we entered more than one team, and these typically happen at the start of the season before playing other clubs.

Our biggest internal clash is taking place on Thursday 3^rd of October, when Hammersmith 2 will face Hammersmith 3 and Hammersmith 4 will be up against our Juniors team, both for the London League. Each of these matches is played over 8 boards, which means we will need 32 players on the night!

Every Thursday we would typically welcome everyone for either rated or unrated standard or rapid games against other members, but given space constraints for this particular date, your best bet if you want a game will be to join one of our teams.

Our team captains are collecting expressions of interest and will contact the selected players for each team, please fill in this form if you’d like to play.

Please be reminded that both Club Membership and ECF Membership (at least Bronze level) are required for participating in League Matches. If you have not yet done so, please join or renew your memberships.

Thank you to all our players who continue to bring success to our club, and especially to all team captains for coordinating their respective teams, looking forward to some exciting games! The fight for the next Game of Season Award has started!

Hammersmith Chess Club