Our Chess On The Thames tournament starts at Fulham Pier at 11am, consisting of 7 rounds of 15+5 rapidplay ECF-rated chess, with a massive £1000 in cash prizes, plus £500 in Chessable vouchers.
Whilst it won’t be on youtube, GM Daniel King will be at the event entertaining the public so please come and visit. We will even have a few spare boards and clocks for fun. Alternatively, follow the top games on chess.com or lichess.
Hammers, our Chess on the Thames event is less than two weeks away.
It is going to be amazing. However, I need help to set-up, run the event, and pack up!
Specifically, from 4.30pm on Friday the 18th September, I need four volunteers (including a driver and car) to meet at the MindSports Centre to transport the kit to the Fulham ground.
On the day, from 11am to 4.30pm on Saturday 19th September, I need help on the desk and on the live podcast working with Daniel King. We will be meeting and playing the public, and broadcasting on the internet. So please, four plus volunteers for the desk and two volunteers to work with Daniel.
Then from 4.30pm I need four volunteers (including a driver and car) to pack up and return the kit to the MSC.
Hammer needs you.
Please email me, John White, on jdrw9591@gmail.com
John
Membership for the 2026/27 season is open. Whether you are a returning Hammer or joining us for the first time, please complete our membership form below. We welcome all ages and experience.
More information, including membership rates, is available on our joining page.
Twelve years ago, Hammersmith Chess Club had 23 members. Today we have around 250 — and nearly half of them are juniors.
That is quite a transformation.
Hammer Juniors now range from complete beginners to titled players, with coaching for different ages and abilities across three rooms at the MindSports Centre. Some are very young indeed — we have learned not to make rash claims about where the lower age limit actually lies.
The atmosphere is friendly, enthusiastic and, in the main hall at least, not always entirely silent. We regard that as a feature rather than a bug.
And they are getting rather good.
Last season Hammer Juniors won London League Division 4, while Hammer Cadets won the Minor Division. Our juniors also picked up plenty of individual successes and played an increasingly important part in Hammersmith teams and events across the club.
Junior Hour is only part of it. Juniors can stay on for club lectures and events, play in our internal competitions and, importantly, get more rated chess. That includes our Thursday-night Rockhammer and Sledgehammer games.
The club has grown enormously, and so has the scale of what we provide. Junior membership and Junior Hour fees have therefore increased this season. Even after the increase, £150 for three school terms of Junior Hour remains substantially below the cost of commercial chess coaching — and club membership opens the door to everything else Hammersmith offers throughout the year. And if cost would make participation difficult, please speak to us. We do not want financial circumstances to stop a child playing chess.
The new season starts on 7 September.
Whether your junior is learning how the pieces move, already terrorising adults across London, or somewhere in between, we would love to see them.
To join, please complete the membership form which will be pinned to the top of this newsletter from 1st September.
19th September Hammersmith Chess Comes to Fulham Pier
We are delighted to announce a major new chess event, staged in partnership with Fulham Pier at the home of Fulham Football Club.
On Saturday 19 September 2026, from 11am to 4pm, Fulham Pier’s Market Place will be transformed into a celebration of chess — open to experienced players, complete beginners and anyone curious to learn more about the game.
Visitors will be able to meet members of Hammersmith Chess Club, play informal games, discover more about the club and enjoy chess in one of London’s most striking new riverside settings.
At the heart of the day will be an English Chess Federation-rated rapidplay tournament, consisting of at least six rounds and played at a time control of 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move.
A total prize fund of £1,000 will be on offer:
🏆 1st place: £300
🥈 2nd place: £150
🥉 3rd place: £100
♟️ Top women’s prize: £100
♟️ Top junior under 15: £100
♟️ Top senior over 60: £100
♟️ Top player rated under 2000: £50
♟️ Top player rated under 1800: £50
♟️ Top player rated under 1500: £50
Entry fees:
Hammersmith Chess Club members: £10
All other players: £20
Entries will close on Wednesday 16 September 2026. Places are limited, so early booking is strongly recommended.
Further details, including the tournament format and entry arrangements, will be announced shortly.
Save the date: the inaugural CHESS ON THE THAMES, Saturday 19th September.
Our Beginners’ Officer, Jenny Mulholland, is standing for election as a Gold Members’ Representative on the English Chess Federation Council.
If you are an ECF Gold member, you should recently have received details of how to vote. We are delighted that Jenny has put herself forward and hope Hammersmith members will take a look at her candidacy.
Since joining Hammersmith, Jenny has become one of the club’s most enthusiastic volunteers. She joined the committee, launched our weekly adult beginners’ sessions, helped organise a range of outreach events, and has been a passionate advocate for making chess welcoming to newcomers and to communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in the game.
Away from the board, Jenny brings extensive experience in public service, governance and safeguarding. She recently completed eight years as a Camden councillor, is a founding member of Yas Queen! Chess Club, serves as Deputy Safeguarding Officer for the London Chess League, and has a long record of volunteering, community engagement and charity work.
Jenny says:
“I love being part of Hammersmith and have thrown myself fully into the club since joining as a member. I’ve joined the committee and helped kickstart a new weekly session for adult beginners which has proven very successful. I’m full of energy and enthusiasm for chess and getting more people into the game, and I’d love the opportunity to bring that same energy to the ECF Council.”
We wish Jenny every success in the election.
Read all candidates’ statements here: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/gold-members-representatives-2026-election/
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
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:
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.
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.
Members are hereby given notice that a General Meeting of Hammersmith Chess Club will take place at the Mindsports Centre on Monday 13 July 2026 at 7.30pm.
A important milestone in our history, this will be the first General Meeting of Hammersmith Chess Club as a registered charity.
It marks the next stage in our evolution: strengthening our foundations, widening our community role, and continuing to build a club that is about more than the game itself. Now with charitable status, we have the opportunity and responsibility to carry that vision further.
The agenda will be:
1. Annual report of the Club, including our finances up to 19th April 2026;
2. Outlook for the next year, our first full year as a charity.
All members are warmly encouraged to attend and take part in shaping our next chapter.
