Hammersmith Chess Club has hosted its club night on Mondays for as long as I can remember. Featuring a variety of activities including lectures, tournaments, and simultaneous exhibitions, as well as special events hosted by top GMs, these club nights have proven increasingly popular, indicative of the constant progress and prosperity of the club.
As we strive to offer more and more value to our members, we are very happy to announce the introduction of a second club night, to take place weekly on Thursdays at the Mindsports Centre.
Astute readers will note that the club already books a room on Thursday nights during the league season. Historically this has been used to host matches, with members invited to play internal games on non-match nights, subject to advance notice. We have taken the decision to extend this booking throughout the summer, aiming to establish a popular and vibrant second night for Hammers to congregate and enjoy our favourite pastime.
What can you expect on Thursdays?
The intention is for Monday and Thursday club nights to fulfil slightly different purposes.
Going forward, Mondays will mostly feature more collaborative and noisy activities: lectures, simuls, handicap blitz, GM special events etc.
Thursdays will typically feature slower chess in a quieter setting. Our more experienced members are invited to walk in to find opponents for casual chess or rated games in our internal tournaments. Additionally, Thursdays will have a particular focus on welcoming beginners. This is a demographic we know to be sizeable, but for whom Monday club nights can seem intimidating and not always accessible.
To this end, we will be hosting one-hour beginner classes at 6pm every Thursday. These will be free-of-charge to all paid-up members, through to at least 20th June 2024. After the classes, an experienced member will be on hand to pair players appropriately for slow games, and available to help analyse these games afterwards.
Launch Night
Our first Thursday club night will take place next week, on 25th April 2024. We will kick things off with a 5-round rapidplay (10+5) tournament, featuring two sections:
Both sections will have prizes for the winners as well as various category prizes.
How can you find out more?
Further announcements and the latest club night gossip will take place in our WhatsApp groups:
Please feel free to contact me via WhatsApp or email if you have any questions.
Adam
This is a huge development thank you Adam for leading this initiative.
Hammers this has come about partly due to the feedback we had from the club survey..your Committee does listen!!
Your club ..get involved.
I am I interested in joining the Hammersmith club.
Where do the club meet please?
Hi Elizabeth,
We meet at the London Mindsports Centre and we’d be delighted for you to join us for a free taster session on any Thursday or Monday.
More info about joining our club can be found on the Contact & Joining page.
Hope to see you soon!