Details of adult chess are in the left hand column and junior chess in the right hand column below. Online chess is also taking place - main club communities ["Watford Chess Club" and, for junior members and others known to us, "Watford Juniors"] are on Lichess but there are corresponding communities on Chess.com. Teams compete in 4NCL and other events, both over-the-board and onIine
Watford Chess Club's venue is Herts Bowling Club, Bellmount Wood Avenue, Watford, WD17 3BT. Club nights are on Mondays for both adults (7.30 onwards) and juniors (6.0 onwards).
Both adults and juniors take part in the 4 Nations Chess League, both online and over-the-board, with junior teams also playing in the Junior 4 Nations Chess League. Watford has two teams in the 4 Nations Chess League, two in the Hertfordshire League, and junior teams in the J4NCL and the Hillingdon League.
Intending new members of all levels and abilities (with the obvious proviso that they know how to play chess) are welcome. Club policy is that newcomers are allowed three visits as guests to sample the atmosphere and decide whether they wish to apply to join the club. This website aims to give full information about the club but, if you find there is anything not covered here, please use the "Contact Us" facility and a committee member will get in touch.
Our squad in this event is fairly evenly divided between adults and juniors. In 2022-23, Watford 'A' compete in Division 3 East whiIe Watford 'B' compete in Division 4. Both events are scheduIed to take pIace over 11 rounds spread across five weekends.
First two rounds for both teams was 5-6 November with Watford A resuIts shown in opposite coIumn and Watford B resuIts on 'ResuIts' page. Later weeks for Watford A are 7-8 January (Daventry), 11-12 February (Warwick), 25-26 March (Daventry) and 29 April - 1 May (Milton Keynes). The 11 opposing teams are AngIian Avengers, Cambridge University B, Crowthorne, GuiIdford CastIes, HuII & East Riding, Iceni, MK Phoenix, Poisoned Pawns, Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg, Surbiton and Sussex B.
Watford B wiII pIay on 7-8 January (Daventry), 4-5 February (Daventry), 25-26 March (Daventry) and 29 April - 1 May (Warwick). Division 4 is a Swiss-paired event so future opponents are unknown.
Start times, except for the finaI three-day weekend, are 2.0 (Saturdays) and 11.0 (Sundays) Time control is first 40 moves in 100 minutes with 50 minutes for all remaining moves plus 30-second increments from move 1

Above - the 4NCL scene before the action starts
4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE ONLINE
Three Watford teams, including two junior teams, will compete in the 2022-23 main 4NCL online. In 2021-22Watford's first team compete in Division 1; they won their group and were beaten in the semi finals by a very strong Guildford Young Guns team. Watford's second team finished fourth in their group in Division 3.
HERTFORDSHIRE CHESS LEAGUE
Watford are fielding two teams in the Hertfordshire Chess League.
1. Receive apologies for absence
2. Elect Officers, Secretaries and Committee for 2022-23. Committee nominations are:
President Sriram Panchanadeeswaran
Treasurer AIistair TayIor
Club Secretary Jayakumar Jayakarthikeyan
Membership Secretary Sandesh Tathare? (TBC)
Juniors Secretary Roger Lancaster
Tournament Secretary Vacant
Other Committee members Simon Charles (TBC), Sanjay Vig (TBC), Bradley Mead-Herbert (TBC) plus one vacancy
3. Approve the Accounts for the financial year ending 31st July 2022
4. Agree Club membership subscriptions for 2022-23.
5. Approve minutes of September 2021 AGM
6. Receive report on the 2021-22 year
7. Plans for 2022-23
8. Any Other Business
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, WATFORD CHESS CLUBPRICE CUP
JUNIOR CLUB NEWS, MARCH 2023:
BREAKING NEWS: The club has paused taking on new junior members effective Tuesday 14 March in order to assimilate recent joiners. Exceptions will be made only for juniors ECF-rated 1400+.
BREAKING NEWS: Details of 3 April (blue text) and 10 April (brown) club rapidplays appear below.
BREAKING NEWS: London u-10 champion Advait Keerthi Kumar debuted on BBC 3 Counties Radio Sunday evening, 26 February. Below, he is joined by BBC presenter Farzana Choudry and Watford coach Roger Lancaster.
New club venue (Monday evenings, 6.0 onwards) is Herts Bowling Club, Bellmount Wood Avenue, Watford WD17 3BT. Picture below is from 27 February club night. Watford juniors are playing in the foreground while, in the background, matches against West London and Hoddeston are under way. Visiting grandmaster Eldar Gasanov (West London) can be seen, standing, in the background.
Club nights are from 6.0 until 10.45 (but no obligation to stay late!) on Monday evenings.. Herts Bowling Club is a comfortable and spacious venue. As well as the playing area, there's normally an overflow lounge area where parents can sit and relax while their progeny checkmate one another. The bar isn't usually staffed but there are two admirable vending machines (cash only) which dispense coffee and a range of other drinks, alcoholic included, at very reasonable prices.
1) 4-round ECF-rated Swiss-paired (15' + 5") rapidplay
1) 6-round ECF-rated Swiss-paired (15' + 5") rapidplay, first two rounds accelerated pairing if appropriate
We strongly recommend juniors (under-18) join the EngIish Chess Federation because there are many events where ECF membership is mandatory. Junior membership of the ECF is inexpensive - see https://www.englishchess.
Full junior membership (expiring 30 September 2023) of Watford Chess Club costs £35 and is subject, in the case of new members, to their already being able to play chess at a reasonable level, taking age into account. "Online only" membership is £17.50.
Most Monday evening sessions start with group coaching (6.0 to 6.40) following which training games take place. The length of playing sessions means that we can stage classical games (typically 45' + 15") as well as rapidplay. Some evenings instead have matches against other clubs. We aim to ensure that all rated training games at the club, whether rapidplay or classical, count towards juniors' ratings by the ECF within 10 days of their being played.
JUNIOR 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE
Due to difficulties booking hotels, the 2022-23 J4NCL season has been cancelled. Watford Juniors played in the final 2021-22 weekend when results were as follows:
J4NCL DIVISION ONE | P | W | D | L | MP | GP | ||
1 | Oxfordshire A | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 15 | |
2 | JHJ 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 14½ | |
3 | Staffordshire Spitfires | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 13 | |
4 | Welsh Dragons A | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | |
5 | Leicestershire Juniors | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9½ | |
6 | Watford Juniors | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | |
7 | Fantastic Six | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 11 | |
8 | 3Cs Charmanders | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10½ | |
9 | Warwickshire Bears A | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | |
10 | JHJ 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | |
11 | Harrow Juniors A | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5½ | |
12 | Manchester A | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Once J4NCL restarts, the intention is that Watford Juniors will compete again. Each J4NCL weekend consists of 5 rounds [3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday] of chess, at either an 80' + 10" [Division 1] or 50' + 10" [Division 2] rate of play, between teams of four following a Swiss-paired system. BeIow ( L to R) Avy, Maanav, Jacob, Ananya. (Not shown, Aashna) in April 2022.
4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE
For this event, Watford Juniors combines with the adult section of the club - our squad is fairly evenly divided between adults and juniors - with two teams competing. In 2022-23, Watford 'A' compete in Division 3 East whiIe Watford 'B' compete in Division 4. Both events are scheduIed to take pIace over 11 rounds spread across five weekends.
Watford A played 5-6 November, 7-8 January and 11-12 February - results in 'Latest Results' pages - with later matches scheduled for 25-26 March (Daventry) and 29 April - 1 May (Milton Keynes).
Watford B pIayed 5-6 November, 7-8 January and 4-5 February - results in 'Latest Results' pages - with later matches scheduled for 25-26 March (Daventry) and 29 April - 1 May (Warwick).
Start times, except for the finaI three-day weekend, are 2.0 (Saturdays) and 11.0 (Sundays) Time control is first 40 moves in 100 minutes with another 50 minutes for all remaining moves plus 30-second increments per move starting at move 1.
HILLINGDON & DISTRICT LEAGUE - JUNIOR DIVISION
Watford finished as divisional runners-up in 2021-22 in this competition which is designed to give match experience to our newer and younger juniors. After playing all eight matches in 2022-23, Watford Juniors are in first place with five wins, one draw and two losses but likely to be overtaken by another team which has a match in hand. Format is teams of four playing 45' + 15" sessions, on home and away basis.
The object of WLCA is to act as a bridge between club-level and national-level coaching with a view to enabling juniors, if they have the necessary drive and ability, to progress to approximately candidate master (CM) level. It is not intended, certainly at this point, as a substitute for good-quality club-level coaching. Participation is open to members of the six junior chess organisations mentioned above.
Jennifer Hurrell presents Ernest Karumazondo, joint 2019 winner with Andrew Stone, with the Price Cup
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Everyone is welcome (to access, click on pictorial below) at Geir Erik Nielsen's YouTube channel at
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Also embedded in the updated article is now a video of how to get the best of Arena and Leela at home.
As a teaser for it all, and as an incredibly instructive game, here is how Leela deals with the Benoni
USEFUL CONTACTS AND WEBSITES |
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Watford Chess Club email address |
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (allow up to 2 days for reply) |
English Chess Federation |
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Hertfordshire Chess Association |
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Hertfordshire Chess League results |
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Hertfordshire Schools Chess Association |
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4 Nations Chess League (incl. J4NCL) |
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Tournament chess results (main site for this) |
http://chess-results.com/Default.aspx?lan=1 |
ARCHIVE:
Article in Watford Observer, 19 February: https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/18247132.watford-chess-club-looking-sponsors-ahead-international-tournament
Club rapidplay, 30 December 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/Tnr501649.aspx?lan=1
3rd Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 29 July 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr457143.aspx?lan=1
Club rapidplay, 8 July 2019, results at http://chess-results.info/tnr453784.aspx?lan=1
Price Cup (2018-9 club championship), October 2018 to June 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/
2nd Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 27 May 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr435032.aspx?lan=1
Club rapidplay, 13 August 2018, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr374277.aspx?lan=1
1st Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 30 July 2018, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr373197.aspx?lan=1