Author: Eddie

We are putting our usual summer blitz on the Sunday 7th July at the Word.

9 rounds, 5 minutes + 2 second increment, FIDE rated, £10 entry fee, generous prizes (first 3, plus grading prizes plus best junior and best senior), 11 am start, should finish about 3pm, byes available for up to the first 4 rounds to accommodate players who cannot play until after lunch

Enter by emailing blitz@southshieldschessclub.co.uk. We’ll send you the clubs bank details so you can pay online. Or if you prefer you can pay on the day. If you are not already registered with FIDE then we will also need your date of birth for registration.

Keep an eye on entries here.

This years Durham Congress will be held on the weekend 1st to 3rd May 2020 . Save the date its the week before May Bank Holiday this year . More information will follow in due course or check the congress website

In part of our efforts to find extra funds we have uncovered a grant , but we need your vote to help us get into the top 40 Bids .

Please click on the link to register your vote , up to 3 allowed maximum .

The winner of the first U100 Club Championship was Jay Steel

South Shields 2 managed to overcome all the competition , despite their lower average grades and brought back the Ron Evers Trophy to South Shield once again . South Shields 1 came in joint second . The Trophy will be presented at the Durham Chess Association AGM in May and a fuller report will follow .

The story so far.  A few  months  ago,  the  South Shields Historical Society  received  a  donation  of  documents regarding  the  Davidson  family  of  South  Eldon  Street,  mostly  from  WW1  onwards.
However, in amongst family photographs and postcards from the 20th century there is an older photograph of chess players from what appears to be the Victorian era.  At recent informal meetings members have been trying to determine if the photograph below is South Shields Chess Club, when it was taken and ultimately identify the members.

South Shields Chess Club had its opening night on 1st October 1866, at the club’s room in the Mechanics Institute, which would eventually become the town’s library and museum.  Its President was none other than Alderman John Williamson, twice Mayor of South Shields.
The archive of the Shields Gazette reveals that the club’s Treasurer was John Scott and his brothers Alex Scott and Councillor William Scott are also members.  Another brother George Scott  (not a member of the club)  becomes  Mayor  of  South  Shields  in  1887.
All four of them were sons of the South Shields marine artist John Scott. Finally, the club’s secretary Thomas Kell was their brother-in-law, since he married their sister Eleanor Scott.

Members of our group are of the opinion that there are a number of siblings present, so could some of the chess players be from the Scott family?

There is more of this story to follow .

Grateful thanks to Jim Mulholland and the members of the South Shields History Group for allowing us to recount this story .

South Shields Chess Club, with the support of South Shields Library Services and the Charity Chess in Schools and the Community , now extended a 6 week trial and will continue until the end of April 2019  at least.Chess is played at The Word , South Shields Central Library in the Atrium Area on the ground floor between 2pm and 3.45pm on a Saturday afternoon . We have players of all abilities turn up to play ,from children  and complete novices to  champion chess players who have been more than happy to spare some time to pass on their skills .  This is a great opportunity to get Chess more widely seen , to possibly attract more members and most of all gives us a fantastic new venue to play chess in, it would really be appreciated if our members can support this initiative.

Dates 

October – 20th 27th

November – 3rd 10th 17th 24th

December – 1st 8th 15th 22nd

January – 12th 19th 26th

February – 2nd 9th 16th  23rd

March – 2nd 9th 16th 23rd 30th

April – 6th 13th 20th 27th

The new season is about to start , league meetings are being held this week for both the Northumberland and Durham leagues to finalise the fixture lists .

South Shields are entering 5 teams in the Northumberland and 1 team in the Durham. This is a great achievement and is testament to the increasing interest within our area .

Please ensure that you get your ECF registration sorted as soon as you can . If you need assistance please as the committee .

To be held at the New Ship tonight   13/09/2018  Starts at 730 pm  .

if members cannot attend please send apologies by email . then we know that this message has been read , also please indicate if you wish to play for one of the club teams . You will need to register with the ECF as a Bronze Member  at least , though if your intend to play in any of the congresses then a Silver or Gold would be more  cost effective .