One of the major drivers in the success and transformation of Hammersmith Chess Club has been its willingness to engage with the Hammersmith community and use chess to promote something positive in Hammersmith – it is enshrined in our constitution.
With that in MIND (subtle pun), the club is pleased to announce one new and one old initiative to help us fulfill that GOAL (another subtle pun). Please read on…
Working with Chelsea FC – Starting 18th March 2019
We’re delighted to announce that Chelsea FC have agreed to sponsor five 1-hour chess lessons at Hammersmith Chess Club, on five consecutive Mondays, starting on the 18th March 2019.
Lytton Hall -aka The Anvil – has been booked, and the courses will start at 6pm.
These will be aimed at introducing and re-introducing members of the local community to our brilliant game. Hammer member, and ECF-registered trainer, Tony Niccoli, will be running the lessons. He’s a dab hand at teaching the game, with plenty of experience ranging from juniors to adult regulars, and these are sure to be popular!
Watch this space – the social media campaign starts now. It will be totally open with no pre-booking, and is something Andrew Ducille – senior inclusion officer at the Chelsea FC Foundation – wanted to happen. Hammersmith are grateful to him and Chelsea FC for their support.
Whether this will change any football loyalties remains to be seen, but if it helps Hammer members look for the Chelsea result with a more positive view, we’ll be delighted.
Hammersmith MIND Day – Saturday 11th May 2019
For the third year in a row, Hammersmith Chess Club will be bossing Lyric Square in the heart of Hammersmith from 10am-4pm on Saturday 11th May. This is a chess jamboree as we get members of the public to play chess and at the same time raise funds and spread the word for a worthy cause that directly helps the people of our community.
In the past two years we have raised nearly £1,200 for Hammersmith MIND and we are going to add to that total this year.
The format will be the same as previous years, but there may be some special appearances from our new football partners… watch this space!
We’ll be recruiting members later this month to volunteer their time to help this enterprise. So put it in the diary! It’s a great day out and hugely social – the Albion pub and social chess beckons!!