Edinburgh Chess Club

🏆 Frederick Waldhausen Gordon wins the 2026 British Rapidplay Championship! In the British Women's Rapidplay, Trisha Kanyamarala, Harriet Hunt, and Bodhana Sivanandan share the title. (photos to follow) Full results: s2.chess-results.com/tnr1369533.asp… 📸 Ife Olayinka

Nigel Short scored +17 =3 -0 in his simul at the club last night. Congratulations to @VipinZamvar, @DCIM101 David Montgomery and Archie Drysdale on making draws.

Season's Greetings! We ran a Christmas quiz on Tuesday, thanks to @cuppablanca and @fiercebadger64 for organizing. As well as the festive questions, a good knowledge of Edinburgh, famous chess quotes and puzzles was required to score well!

We ran an open Christmas Blitz tournament last week. A very competitive event, with club member FM Keith Ruxton winning after the lead changed hands several times in the last few rounds. 1 Ruxton 12.5/15 2 Ian McDonald 12 3= Yevgeni Sprenger de la Iglesias & Andrew Greet 11.5

GM Nigel Short will give a 20‑board simultaneous exhibition at 7pm on 30th December at Edinburgh Chess Club (1 Alva Street, EH2 4PH). Refreshments will be served and we expect this to be a memorable occasion. Tickets will cost £50 (£45 for club members) edinburghchessclub.wildapricot.org/event-6447391

Our traditional season opener - the Club Champion's Simultaneous display. FM Keith Ruxton scored +14 =6 -0 against other club members.

The playwright, Katy Nixon visited us during the spring, and club member Snorri Kristjansson helped script the fiendish cheapo that is part of the plot. Cast announcement at instagram.com/p/DOdhhUBDOw3/ 2/2

A chess themed play is being performed in Scottish theatres over the next few weeks. "Cheapo" opens in Glasgow at Oran Mor (29 Sep – 4 Oct), and will tour to Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh  (7-10 Oct) and then to The Lemon Tree Aberdeen (14-18 Oct) 1/2

We had an online match today against the Uruguayan club Los Trebejos de Walter Estrada. Results: BERRY, Neil 1-0 DOMINGUEZ, Facundo KANE, Bob 1-0 MUNIZ, Gonzalo KRISTJANSSON, Snorri 1-0 ROMERO, Juan Manuel PARASUR, Raghuram 0.5-0.5 RUIZ, Alain MALLICK, Sai 1-0 GASCO, Maximiliano

Congratulations to our Richardson Cup Team for defeating Bon Accord 6.5-1.5 in the final on Saturday. This was our 3rd victory in a row, and our 28th in total.

Looking forward to welcoming @NatashaRegan123 and Matt Ball to the club on Tuesday for a talk on their recent book/ chessable course on Zwischenzug!

Congratulations to Jenny Wilson for organising events last Sunday to mark International Women's Day. 19 girls played in their first competitive event at the 'She Plays to Win' taster tournament, and 10 players joined the evening session for casual games.

Our first Team made it 10 wins from 10 in the Edinburgh League last night, with a 4-2 victory against last season's champions Edinburgh West. Congratulations to captain Craig Thomson and the team!

Last week, I voulenteered at a Norwegian prison to teach chess to the inmates. I shared my experience on social media, hoping to inspire others to volunteer at the prison. But I had not expected Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard to contact me and generously donate a huge collection of books to the prison library..! This act of kindness will give many people access to knowledge, growth, and the deep joy of chess... @GMJacobAagaard , @NewInChess , and @QualityChess : Thank you. Your generosity will have a lasting impact. 🥹 Many believe that acts of service should be done quietly, without seeking attention. I understand that view. But I also believe that sharing these experiences can inspire more people to contribute. We live in a time of increasing individualism and division... perhaps now, more than ever, we need to see and celebrate community, kindness, and giving...? If sharing can encourage more people to step up, to give, to help, to participate, then maybe posting isn’t about performance.. Maybe it’s about connection? A huge thank you to Jacob - And if you’re reading this and wondering if you should do something for your community: yes. Someone, somewhere, will be grateful that you did. ❤️ #chesspunks

On Sunday we are holding a 'She Plays to Win' @SPTWchess taster event at the club, for Primary School girls without a Chess Scotland rating. Details on how to sign up at tinyurl.com/yvnaaywx. Later from 5.30pm Ladies Night for casual games.

ChessCafe: The Birmingham venue bringing young people together - BBC News bbc.com/news/articles/…

We are auctioning surplus chess books, magazines and sundry ephemera acquired over the years. Something for everyone – “Lots of Antiquarian & Collectable Books, Prints and Related Items” on Thursday 6th March, 2025 lots 201 to 219: bit.ly/43a6iUX

President Raj Bhopal, Alastair White and former Treasurer Rob McAndrew were part of the Scotland Over 65 Team competing at the World Senior Team Championship in Prague. Standout result was Raj's victory over GM Vlastimil Jansa. tinyurl.com/fp5e73v6

Congratulations to Freddy Waldhausen Gordon on competing the requirements for the IM title, his 3/3 at the Bundesliga this weekend moving his live rating to 2410!

Congrats to UK Open Blitz Champion Eldar Gasanov on 11.5, 2nd Danny Gormally on 11 & 3= Freddie Gordon & Shreyas Royal on 10.5. Also congrats to UK Open Blitz Women’s Champion Eunice Hng who won on tiebreak from Kamila Hryschenko & Bodhana Sivanandan, all on 12.5 @ecfchess