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”
Category Archives: About 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ColCHESSter’s Twitter account is no longer updated because Twitter became the wrong sort of social media platform.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”
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)”
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”
Chess equipment
ColCHESSter uses chess pieces, boards and clocks that are fit for playing rather than admiring for their aesthetics*. Unfortunately, there are no local shops selling them. They are available from specialist suppliers such as Chess and Bridge www.chess.co.uk and Chess for Schools and Clubs https://www.chess4schools.co.uk/ For popup events, such as the one pictured above, ColCHESSterContinue reading “Chess equipment”
2022 was a start
The ColCHESSter website announced the first public appearance of the campaign as follows: ColCHESSter is having a ‘soft launch’ (think rubber champaign bottle) at the New Town Community Day on 17 September. Come and play some chess. Come and find out about a Colchester chess hero, about places to play and the start of aContinue reading “2022 was a start”