13th March 2023
Chess at Wormwood Scrubs – Peter Sullivan volunteers with Chess in Schools and Communities, he runs a chess club at Wandsworth Prison. He is looking for someone who might be interested in doing the same thing at Wormwood Scrubs. Peter regards running a prison chess club as one of the most challenging and rewarding things he has ever done. The sessions are typically for two hours during the week. If you are interested in discussing this further, or if you know of anyone who is, then please contact Peter on peter.sullivan99@gmail.com
9th February 2023
Yes to Chess! – an initiative by Willesden and Brent Chess Club designed to increase chess participation in schools in or on the outskirts of Brent
Entry Form for the The 47th Brent Junior Chess Congress on Saturday 24th June 2023
21st December 2022
Harrow junior breaks records – a shout out to our neighbours
23rd May 2022
Summary of The Southern Counties Chess Union – a retrospective by Danny Rosenbaum: “Anthony Fulton has done the English chess world a great service. His book The Southern Counties Chess Union – a retrospective is a testimony to the author’s industry and dedication. Isaac Newton wrote in a letter: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” Well, in the same vein, future chess historians researching not just the SCCU but also county chess generally will be indebted to Fulton for his authoritative account. It is published by Conrad Press and retails at £15.99 and was due to be published as ChessMoves was going to press.”
25th June 2022 – The 46th Brent Junior Chess Congress. See the Juniors – Brent Junior Chess Congress page of this website for details here
7th May 2022 – 11:00 am to 1:00 pm – Let’s Talk Chess on Chalkhill Community Radio –
9th April 2022 – Middlesex County Chess Association article on A History of Chess in Brent
3rd April 2022 – Wembley Matters publishes article on the Chess Club
29th March 2022 – Free travel for Asylum Seekers in London Petition
As a Club who is likely to get asylum seekers attending so that they can maintain their interest in the game, this is a petition we should support. Please read this, and if possible please sign this petition.
23rd March 2022– Preston Community Library (Ashley Gardens, Wembley, HA9 8NP) will be resuming its chess club on Wednesday, 6th April, 3.30pm – 5.30pm, thereafter on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Any Willesden and Brent members or other chess players will be very welcome.
15th March 2022 – Offer of free tickets to an upcoming Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performance to people aged 18 and under, who live in Brent.
For details please see – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
16th February 2022 News from Anthony Fulton –
Dear All
The club has celebrated its first month at its new venue and wow!
The move to Cricklewood Library has suited the club well as membership enquiries and those going onto join has been phenomenal. The junior session has been incredible in that we have effectively doubled the numbers when we were last up and running; we are returning to the numbers seen at the Scout House but there is scope of more juniors joining. We have a number of juniors who will be sitting the English Chess Federation Bronze Certificate of Excellence exam.
For those of you have yet to turn up, I would urge you to do so and feel the energy the club has.
The club is about to go into unchartered waters as from 2nd March it will be hosting a 2nd night in Wembley Park. Wembley has been a much neglected area as the last time a club existed in it was 1954. When Willesden took on the name Brent it was never clear that it really wanted responsibility for the entire borough. The current incarnation recognises this was a mistake as those wanting to play chess would be reluctant to travel to Willesden in part because trying to travel across Brent let alone NW London is not the easiest or decided to go to Ealing or Harrow. By rectifying this mistake the prospect of numbers reaching 100 over both sites is a real possibility – club records suggest it has never been anywhere near these figures. The second night also gives you options to determine which site is better for you.
With the club operating from two sites we recognise that the is opportunity for greater community engagement. We are exploring a number of opportunities that will allow young people to consider various Duke of Edinburgh volunteering roles and the notion of volunteering can be extended so as to include anyone who wishes to give something back to the community or enhances CV. If you know of anyone that may be interested do ask them to contact me and I’ll be more than happy to inform.
All of these changes means that the website needs to be updated which is currently in process and we will be looking to create a WhatsApp group in order to keep you informed – yes the club is finally moving into the 21st Century.
As you can see the club has embraced the idea of building back better and is doing so with a bang!
Will look forward to seeing you.
Regards
Anthony
February 2022 – Willesden and Brent Chess Club are extending their reach in the community; apart from offering individuals the opportunity to learn or improve their chess playing or even play competitively, the club is offering volunteering opportunities – see Volunteer page for details.
Download the Volunteer Flyer
Download the Duke of Edinburgh Flyer
February 2022 – The club’s plans to open at Chalkhill Community Centre from Wednesday 2nd March are in the final stages. The club plans to meet for all from 6pm-10pm with a junior session to be held from 6pm-7:15pm. The junior time may become closed depending on the number of juniors in attendance.
February 2022 – Several juniors are due to take the English Chess Federation’s Bronze Certificate exam. Good luck to them all, results to be published in due course.
January 2022 – Articles on the Club’s History and Junior History have been added to our website.
January 2022 – the club resumed activities with Junior and Social Chess played at the Cricklewood Library from Monday January 10.
September 2021 – In seeking to expand the range of opportunities offered to young people in Brent the club has become a member of Young Brent Foundation.
March 2020 – we had to suspend activities due to the Covid lockdown and the suspension of over-the-board league chess. During this Covid lockdown, we lost access to the Venue we were using up to March 2020, the Willesden Working Men’s Club.
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