Month: July 2026

What Makes Hammersmith So Special?

After nearly 14 years as a member of Hammersmith Chess Club, I believe the answer is clear.

What makes this club special is not just the chess. It is the spirit of the place.

It is the sense of ownership that members feel: this is their club. It is the camaraderie — the way Hammers support one another, compete together, and take pride in each other’s successes. It is the welcome we offer, creating a safe and friendly environment where people come not only to play chess, but also to make friends.

Our club reflects London, and especially Hammersmith and Fulham, at its best: diverse, open, and outward-looking. We build friendships beyond our own walls, and even beyond our own city. Our recent trip to Lübeck was a perfect example of that spirit in action.

We are also ambitious in what we offer. We actively support women’s chess, girls’ chess, juniors, beginners and improvers. We innovate. We bring in outstanding guest lecturers. And we are fortunate to have a superb venue in which all of this can happen.

All of these things are part of our DNA. They define who we are.

But none of them happens by accident.

At the heart of Hammersmith Chess Club is one thing above all else: our volunteers.  The trainers, captains, committee members and helpers who give their time, energy and expertise so generously.

People such as Adam, Ana, Jenny, Sarah, Gaston, David, David, Christof, Nadim, Tom, Tom, Richard, and many others contribute enormously to the life of the club. They step forward, take responsibility, and make things happen. They do so not for reward, but because they believe in the club and want to see it flourish.

That, more than anything else, is what makes Hammersmith Chess Club so special.

Now that we are a charity, our ambition is greater than ever. We want to do more, and to do that, we need more volunteers.

So if you can help, please get in touch at jdrw9591@gmail.com.

You could become a captain, help with one of our classes or club sessions, support an event, or simply bring fresh ideas. However you choose to contribute, you will be helping the club continue to grow and evolve.

Our immediate need is for the Community Event in Ravenscourt Park on 18 July 2026, where Hammersmith Chess Club will have a stand. If you can help, please check the WhatsApp poll and put your name forward.

Many hands really do make light work.  More importantly, they help build the kind of club we all want to belong to.

So this is a call for Hammers to assemble.

Join the team.

John White
Events Officer

Season Review and Annual Awards Night!

With the 2025/26 season almost over, Club Captain Gastón Franco shares a brief review of our results, as well as announcing our annual Awards Night, with the return of our favourite world-famous presenter…

We fielded 19 teams this season, three more than last year with the addition of a second Women’s team and two teams in the brand new U1400 “Minor” division of the London League, one for our less experienced juniors and one for adult beginners. The broad range of competitions gives us more room to allocate players to teams and divisions, and to give everyone a chance to play at various levels.

Team Stats

Indeed, some of our teams were clear favourites in their divisions, while others were punching above their weight! So each team often has their own goals and aspirations, and they may even gravitate toward opposite ends of their respective league tables. Nonetheless, it has been a very successful season with 5 Promotions and no Relegations! Overall, 11 out of 19 teams ended in the top 3, including at least 3 division winners! The teams lifting the trophies were Hammer 1  &  3 in the Central London League and Hammer Cadets in the London League. Hammersmith Juniors is also currently in first place so we retain a chance to win Division 4 too! Other clubs still have some matches remaining in this competition and may surpass the Juniors in the end.

Teams Stats 2025-2026
Ranks and results by team. (P) indicates promotion to a higher division

Adding up all the numbers, we can see our teams won just a bit over half of their matches, with an average match score of ~59%. The total number of games amounts to almost 1,200 and we had over 150 Hammers taking part! Joining these matches is a great opportunity to gain same valuable experience at the chess board, and we look forward to seeing even more new players next season.

Making it happen

We should also send our thanks to all the Captains involved in organising our teams! Many of them have been in their roles for many seasons, but new teams also mean new captains! We added Florin, Sarah and Srishti to our roster this year, and they have all done a great job. As we try to decide on how many teams we’ll field next season, we welcome any volunteers who would like to Captain a team so we can continue to expand our offerings to all members. The bulk of the role is mainly just messaging players and putting a team together from their responses, and it even comes with some perks such as the ability to select yourself whenever you want to play, getting to meet new teammates, and access to the exclusive end-of-season Captain’s Dinner at the Ritz*.

*(or a cheaper alternative, as approved by our Treasurer)

Jokes aside, every bit of work anyone can offer is great help to our Club! As you know, all our activities are planned and executed by our members, for our members. Please message Gastón if you would like to be a Captain or if you have any questions, and here is more info on other activities you could Volunteer for.

Grandmaster Daniel King. Photo by Lennart Ootes

Awards Night and Game of the Season

We’re delighted to announce our annual Awards Night will take place on Monday 27th July and GM Danny King will return as the judge of our Game of the Season! Danny always gives entertaining commentary on the selected games before naming the winner, and there will be even more awards given out on the night. Take a look at last year’s awards!

If you have played any games this season that you would like to nominate, please send to Gastón via WhatsApp or email him at gastonfranco1990@gmail.com before Friday July 17th to give Danny time to review. The games do not need to be from our Leagues, but they must have been played this season! Members of any rating or playing experience can make a submission (just one per person!)

The Do’s and Don’ts:

Please do send the game notation in text format, including the date and the names of both players. Please do not send a photo or gif file as those are very time consuming to process, specially for longer games.

Looking forward to seeing your brilliancies! Join us on the 27th to find out who’s won!
Gastón Franco, Club Captain

Reminder: General Meeting 7.30pm Monday 13th July MSC

All members are warmly invited to attend.  The General Meeting will be followed by a blitz tournament including our guests from Lübeck!

The committee for the coming year is:

  • Adam Cranston – Chair
  • Christof Brixel – Treasurer
  • Dave Lambert – Secretary
  • Gaston Franco – Club Captain
  • Sarah Ewart – Membership Secretary
  • David Steyn – Webmaster
  • Richard Thursby – Deputy Webmaster
  • Tom Townsend – Junior Officer
  • Jenny Mulholland – Beginners Officer
  • John White – Events Officer
  • Anastasija Royce – Diversity Officer
  • Tom Rendle – Advisor

We are particularly delighted to welcome Jenny, Sarah and Richard who have all recently joined the committee. Fresh ideas and new volunteers are vital to the success of the club, and we are extremely grateful that they have stepped forward to help.

Hammersmith Chess Club has always depended on the generosity of its members. Every coaching session, junior activity, league match, social event, website update and administrative task happens because volunteers give their time and expertise. As the club continues to grow—and now that we are a registered charity—that support is more important than ever.

Whether you can spare a few hours each month or are willing to take on a larger role, your contribution can make a real difference.  We would love to hear from you.

From The London League To The Hanseatic League

 

Twenty-two members of Hammersmith Chess Club travelled to Lübeck last weekend to renew a friendship that began seven years ago when a group from Lübeck Chess Club visited Hammersmith during our summer season at the Albion. We always intended to return the visit, but the pandemic intervened. This year, we finally made the journey.

Lübeck Chess Club proved a wonderful host. Founded more than 150 years ago, it has over 200 members, thriving junior sections, around 20 teams and its own dedicated clubhouse—making it a club with much in common with Hammersmith.

Our travelling party reflected the breadth of our own club: juniors and adults, competitive players and social members, parents and supporters alike.

The weekend began with a Friday evening blitz tournament, won by Tony Niccoli ahead of Peter Finn, followed by a rapid tournament on Saturday, won by one of Lübeck’s talented junior FMs. Temperatures climbed above 37°C, making the playing hall almost as challenging as the opposition! The planned long-play match was sensibly abandoned because of the heat, but an excellent barbecue hosted by our Lübeck friends ensured the afternoon was no less enjoyable.

Sunday was devoted to exploring Lübeck itself—a beautiful Hanseatic city and well worth a visit. As always, however, the lasting memories were not only of the chess but of the friendships renewed and new ones made.

The exchange continues this weekend when our Lübeck friends visit London. They’ll be joining us for a friendly match on Friday evening, attending ChessFest on Sunday, and taking part in our club blitz tournament on Monday 13 July.