Month: July 2021

Announcements: Blitz Tournament, Summer Club, and our New Venue!

A few exciting announcements to bring you today!

Summer Club at the Prince of Wales

We mentioned three weeks ago that we’d be starting up again over-the-board at the Prince of Wales Townhouse. Our first night was a roaring success, with 26 players entering the tournament.

https://twitter.com/hammer_chess/status/1417263471692029961?s=20

This week we hosted a bughouse tournament, which was won by junior pair Nicholas and Yashvardhan!

There will be five more meet-ups at the Prince of Wales during August. They will start at around 6:30pm:

  • Tuesday 3rd August
  • Monday 9th August
  • Monday 16th August
  • Monday 23rd August
  • Monday 30th August

Note that 3rd August is a Tuesday, rather than a Monday. 30th August is a bank holiday, but there’ll doubtlessly still be a few chess nuts keen to play.

On these dates there may be some more friendly tournaments organised or training offered via the demo board. To join the WhatsApp group where further details will be shared, please contact adam1234321@gmail.com.

Our New Venue

It gives us great pleasure that we can now announce that the new Hammersmith Chess Club venue will be the London MindSports Centre!

London MindSports Centre
21-23 Dalling Road
Hammersmith, London, W6 0JD

This venue, just down the road from the Prince of Wales, is due to complete its renovation very soon. It is spacious, well-ventilated, and with excellent facilities including a bar and kitchen, we expect it to provide a great atmosphere in which to play chess in London.

We hope to organise a moving-in party on September 6th with special guests – watch out for more details to follow!

Brainstorm Blitz – Monday 2nd August

The reason next week’s Summer Club is on a Tuesday, is that Hammer member Kishan Pattni is organising a blitz tournament on Monday, at The Globe, Marylebone.

  • 9 rounds
  • 3+2 mins per player
  • FIDE-rated (national membership not required)
  • 70% of all entry fees returned in prizes with 1st, 2nd and rating prize(s) guaranteed
  • Entry/cash on the day accepted. Advanced registration recommended as places are subject to availability.
  • Special offer entry fee for Hammer members if entering before the day of the tournament – £10.00

Juniors are welcome if accompanied by a parent/guardian. You can register using the form here: https://form.jotform.com/211964321309351

Adam

OTB Hammer Tournaments Are Back!

During the Lockdown and social distancing period, the online format for the Hammersmith Internal Tournaments was very popular and many players were able to compete and enjoy a good game of chess. 

Now that the social distancing rules are being progressively lifted, Hammers will be able to play OTB internal tournament games again, and this will be very enjoyable to all of us at the club!

Those tournaments will continue to combine online and OTB formats, so that the choice is available to players, and to maximise the opportunity to play high-quality games of chess between the members of our club.

On June 30th 2021, the 2020 season was officially closed and we can now announce the winners as follows:

Sledgehammer Cup 2020 results (Standard Play)

Winner:  Robin Sarfas (37 points)

Runner-up: David Lambert (30 points)

Third: Chris Moore  (17 points)

Rockhammer Cup 2020 results (Rapidplay)

Winner:  Christof Brixel (60 points)

Runner-up: Raluca Stroe (29.5 points)

Third: Adam Cranston (28.5 points)

 

Jackhammer960 Cup 2020 results (960 Rapidplay)

Winner:  Nadim Osseiran (29 points)

Runner-up: David Lambert (14 points)

Third: Javier Silvarrey (12.5 points)

 

Launch of the 2021/2022 Hammer Tournaments Season

This year we will continue to  have 3 different Cups:

  • The Sledgehammer Cup for Standard Play
  • The Rockhammer Cup for Rapid Play
  • The Jackhammer960 for 960 chess variant in Rapid Play time control

Those tournaments are open to all Hammersmith Chess Club members. All you need to do is to contact your fellow club members, agree an appointment for an OTB or Online game, and then submit the game result via this link to the game submission form.

Please note that

  • Online games count towards the ECF online grading (except for 960 chess)
  • Only games that are rated on the online platforms will be accepted, casual online games will not be accepted
  • Players are encouraged to have a live video connection during online games
  • All OTB games are ECF graded.
  • Players must be ECF-registered in order to play OTB games.
  • Game results will only be accepted via the provided game submission form, results by email will not be accepted.

For complete information and rules, please have a look at the Hammer Tournaments Documentation

Good luck for the 2021 Hammer Tournaments Season!

The Internal Tournaments Team

 

The Return of OTB Chess at Hammer!

Over the last 16 months, the global pandemic has played havoc with our lives. Some have been affected more than others, but one thing is the same for all of us: over-the-board chess has been off the menu.

To some extent we are lucky that chess can be played online, but there’s no doubting it isn’t quite the same. Gone is the buzz of moving physical pieces, hitting the clock, and enjoying our rival’s reaction as their position slowly crumbles! So it is with a huge amount of joy that we can finally announce that OTB chess is returning to Planet Hammer!

Sadly the pressures of the pandemic have meant that our old Goldhawk Road venue has changed ownership. However, we soon hope to announce an even better venue for the club, into which we’ll be moving early-September.

Until then, we intend to set up camp in the Prince of Wales Townhouse, right next to Ravenscourt Park station. It really is a hidden gem, with excellent food, fantastic beers, and a great atmosphere in which to play chess. Some members have been meeting there unofficially over the summer to get in a little OTB practice under strict Covid restrictions.

With lockdown easing from next week, the club intends to host a welcome back blitz tournament on Monday!

  • Date: Monday 19th July
  • Registration: 7pm
  • Start: 7:30pm

The tournament will be time-handicapped. Both players will receive 10 minutes between them, but the weaker player will receive a greater share of this time, depending on the difference in their ratings. Every player can expect to play around 7 games, the exact format to be decided based on the number of entries. There may be a small prize for the winner.

Please fill out this form if you intend to take part. If the event proves popular it may not be possible to accept additional entries on the night. Priority will be given to Hammersmith members.

Hope to see lots of you there!

Adam