Category: Captain’s Log

Happy New Year! Hammersmith Chess Club will soon resume their league activity with 4 matches to be played on the week of 5th Jan, and we share an update on how we’ve done so far this season. Almost half of our teams stand at the top of their respective league tables!

Given we have 19 different teams, it’s no surprise that we’ve already had lots of competitive chess in the first few months of the season. Indeed, since September we have already played nearly 450 games! The season will run until June 2026, which means there is still much to look forward to, and newer members who haven’t played yet will have more than enough opportunities to join a team – speak to a captain or feel free to message me directly if you’re not sure where to start!

Below is a summary of our stats by team so far. It’s comforting to notice that 9 (out of 19) teams are currently in sole or shared first place in their divisions! This includes: most of our “first” teams; our Women’s team (defending champions); our Juniors team, crushing it in an adult division;  and two brand new teams (Mackenzie and Cadets) currently sharing first place in the Minor Division of the London League; and our only team still on 100% score: Hammersmith 3 on the Central London League – and more!

The irregular scheduling of matches makes some of these stats hard to compare against other clubs which might have played a much different number of games so far. But you can only count the points you’ve earned at the board! Speaking of which, the above numbers add up to 36 match-wins to 31 losses (plus 10 draws), rounding to about 53.25% (slightly better than White’s average score per game, according to Lichess stats!)

Upcoming matches

We have 22 matches in January, with spots filling up fast! I hand-picked a few of them that I think will be interesting to follow, so keep an eye on our group chats to see how we’re doing!

8th January: Hammersmith Mackenzie vs Hammersmith Cadets (London League Minor). Two of our teams facing each other for the second time this season! The young Cadets won the first match 3-1 back in September. Will Mackenzie strike back?

15th January: Hammersmith 3 vs Pimlico 4 (Central London League Division 4). We maintain a 100% record in this division and Pimlico is currently in second place. A win would be a big step towards promotion to Division 3.

20th January: London Women Hou vs Hammersmith Women 1 and Wimbledon Women vs Hammersmith Women 2 (London League Women’s). Both of our Women’s team are playing on the same night! Our respective opponents have similar playing strength to our teams, so both matches will be hard fought.

27th January: Hammersmith 1 vs Wood Green (London League Division 1). Our toughest match of the year against the perennial champions of the London League. Even though we will be the underdogs, we have defeated them in the past so it can be done again!

Good luck to all our players in the rest of the season (and don’t forget to save the scoresheets of your good wins for our annual Awards Night!) and wishing everybody a Happy 2026!
Gastón

Captain’s Log — #1

As we gear up for the new season, this is the first in a series of “Captain’s Logs” we’ll be publishing throughout the year. First up, Frank Valle, Captain of our Junior Team in the London League (Division 4).

— Gaston Franco, Club Captain

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WHAT A SEASON FOR HAMMERSMITH JUNIORS!

From humble beginnings to genuine contenders — what a journey it’s been.

When I was lucky enough to be appointed the very first captain of the Hammersmith Juniors team back in 2022–23, we celebrated every half-point as if it were a trophy. The next season, 2023–24, things began to change. We started winning games — not many matches yet, but the dedication was obvious, and you could see our opponents taking us seriously.

Then came 2024–25: the year Hammersmith Juniors truly arrived.

Armed with experience and confidence, we scored big wins against strong sides like our own Hammersmith 4, plus Metropolitan 3, Hackney 3, and Lewisham 3. We finished mid-table, just two points shy of third place — a huge step forward for the team.

Of course, we always play to win, but the real philosophy — mine as captain, and the club’s — is to make sure the juniors enjoy their chess. Win or lose, everyone who’s ready gets a game, often against opponents rated 300–800 points higher. That’s why it’s so important they understand that losing is part of the journey — and that a hard-fought loss can teach you more than an easy win.

This year, 20 juniors represented the team, including four talented young girls — Charlotte, Dyuthi, Rebecca, and Amelie. Several players had real breakthrough seasons:

• Max Townsend – 3 wins from 4 games
• Tom Balmond – regularly holding down Board 1
• Cedric Demarcus, Thomas Ewart, Alex Royce, and Kacper Gawryjolek – all making valuable contributions
• Aforementioned Charlotte Oudet also won the U10 Girls Blitz British Championship in Liverpool

And we achieved all this without our very top juniors in the line-up, because they were busy making headlines of their own in higher divisions:

• Sohum Lohia (16) – earned his final IM norm and the Title
• Supratit Banerjee (11) – achieved the FM title, and an IM norm at the British Chess Championship
• Harry Bryant (13) – earned the CM title
• Aryaman Ganguly (13) – won an Individual Board Bronze at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships (WRBTC)
• Aryaman and Kai Hanache (13) – helped Hammersmith win Best Team U2200 at the WRBTC
• And many others that keep making our club proud: Zain Patel, Cian Ward, Raman Vashisht-Pigem, etc.

From hopeful first moves to playing with skill, courage, and joy — the future for Hammersmith Juniors has never looked brighter.

— Frank Valle, Hammersmith Juniors Team Captain