On Saturday 21 February 2026, the Mayor of Colchester, Cllr. Mike Lilley, welcomed chess players to the Town Hall for a day of fun and fundraising to support the Mayor’s chosen charities. For seasoned chess players, the day kicked off at 9 am when registration opened for the Colchester Rapidplay 2026. The tournament was plannedContinue reading “Mayor’s Day of Chess 2026”
Author Archives: ColCHESSter
World Chess Day
In 1966, 20 July was extablished as World Chess Day by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). From 2020, the day became designated as such by the United Nations. Other lesser sports, such as football, had to wait for their UN world day (25 May 2024). Unfortunately, 20 July does not always fall at the weekend.Continue reading “World Chess Day”
A summary for ChessMoves
The November 2024 edition of English Chess Federation magazine ChessMoves carried an article sumarising the ColCHESSter project so far. The 50+ page monthly magazine, with a link sent by email, is included with ECF membership, see https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-partners-and-benefits/ Past editions of ChessMoves (starting back six months ago) form a great archive resource and may be foundContinue reading “A summary for ChessMoves”
ColCHESSter on Instagram
ColCHESSter Twitter archive
ColCHESSter’s Twitter account is no longer updated because Twitter became the wrong sort of social media platform. Until 2025 the 435 tweets, almost all with photos, could still provide a bit of history and entertainment, but Twitter has now hidden them from view and lied with the words ‘@ChessInColter hasn’t posted’. When time allows, thereContinue reading “ColCHESSter Twitter archive”
Jonathan Penrose Chess Park
This page mirrors a page hosted by the Mercury Theatre at https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/jonathan-penrose-chess-park/ It provides greater functionality because it can. Chess may be played on the Roman Wall side of our building where some benches are equipped with chess boards. Chess pieces may be borrowed from the Café Bar. The chess park is named after Colchester-bornContinue reading “Jonathan Penrose Chess Park”
2023 so far (or half a year on)
The article ‘2022 was a start’ was a rewrite of the opening content of this website and a report on what ColCHESSter had been doing in October 2022. At that time, the website was much smaller and ColCHESSter had litttle social media activity, so an update seemed right. Now that ColCHESSter is on Facebook, TwitterContinue reading “2023 so far (or half a year on)”
London social chess
Here is your typical weekly calendar for places to play social chess clubs/meetups in London. In general just turn up and you will find chess equipment and other players for casual games. If a café or pub is the venue, your custom will be appreciated. Before visiting it is worth checking for latest information onContinue reading “London social chess”
Playing chess ‘over the board’
If you are mainly used to playing chess online you may be a little unsure about playing with real three-dimensional pieces and a real three-dimensional person sitting on the other side of the board. The obvious differences are all to do with the physical rather than electronic format. Online, you may have been playing fairlyContinue reading “Playing chess ‘over the board’”
Starting this ‘everything else’ section
ColCHESSter is promoting chess in Colchester for everyone, from the chess-curious to the dedicated chess-hobbyists, on the street and in cafes, pubs and other venues. To do this, there is plenty of talking to people and doing stuff so this website, along with social media is a way of establishing a presence, providing information andContinue reading “Starting this ‘everything else’ section”