Category: News

February 29, 2016

Dominik Schwarz is currently studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resources at the University of Sunderland and a regular Chess Team Player for South Shields this year. He was also a driving force behind the setting up of the First Chess Society at the University, after discovering a bunch of like minded chess players huddled over a board.

Together they  mustered up a team comprising of Piotr Niedbal , Dominik Schwarz , GedimInas Balys and Thong Luu and decided to enter the British Universities Chess Championship 2016, this year held in Birmingham .

Entered into the Shield Division , the team finished in a very creditable third place out of 18 entrants. Finish closely behind Imperial and Warwick. Thong Luu playing on Board 4 won an Individual Gold Medal with a score of 10 from 10 games, with Piotr Niedbal, board 1 taking a Silver Medal with a score of 7.5 out 10.  It was a great team effort .

The competition was run over 2 days in a Quickplay Format comprising 10 rounds of 25 minutes plus 10 second increments.

February 7, 2016

South Shields had a good night of Chess at Peterlee ,last Tuesday 2nd February , our teams are sitting at the top of the league after rounds three and four and it looks like we will probably have to face each other in the final rounds.The Ron Evers RapidPlay competition is run on a handicap basis , and our teams have been organised such that they are actually fairly evenly matched so it will very interesting to see the outcome.  The final rounds are due to be played on the 14 th of March .

P W D L GPts MPts South Shields 2 4 4 0 0 15½ 8 South Shields 1 4 3 0 1 13½ 6 Bishop Auckland 4 2 1 1 9½ 5 Hetton Lyons 1 4 2 0 2 13 4 Durham City 4 2 0 2 11½ 4 Hartlepool 4 1 1 2 8 3 Hetton Lyons 2 4 1 0 3 9 2 Peterlee 4 0 0 4 7½ 0

 

January 30, 2016

The South Shields Chess Club had its first open Chess night on Monday the 1st of October 1866, at the Mechanics Institute in Ocean Road, South Shields. This information was verified with the help of the British Newspaper Archives and in particular to an article in the South Shields Gazette printed that simply said “It was hoped that there will be a good muster of not only the lovers, but the learners of the game”.

Our Club , like many others around the UK are kept running by enthusiastic volunteers  held together by the common interest of Chess . It is an amazing Achievement that the club has reached this milestone .

This year we are running a number of events that are aimed strengthen the growing popularity of the game  . We are hoping that this will increase participation not only in our local club , but in clubs around the region and around the UK .

Bobby Fischer , considered to be one of the greatest Chess World Champions of all time ,once famously said    “Chess is Life ”

Please tell us what benefits you believe chess has brought to your life .

If you would like to be kept informed the events we have planned , please send us an email and also tell us why you believe Chess is Important to you .

 

 

October 13, 2015

A big thank you goes out to  Peter Locke , a member of the South Shields Chess Club in the 1950s . We believe it was taken in either 1955 or 1956 . Lance Oliver is receiving the trophy for the  club championship Friends Bowl ,on the right is Jack Bishop  who was a teacher at the Boys Grammar school . Peter is the  tall thin young man wearing glasses

This brought back memories for  Simon McGuiness , our current Chairman who occasionally used to take a chess set to The Vigilant and play him  ,  he remembers Mr Bishop was a keen Pipe Smoker .

Another player on the photograph is Keith Lundy , who went on to win the trophy in 1961 .

If the picture brings back memories please contact us to share them.

 

June 17, 2015

In an effort to raise the profile of South Chess Club we have arranged the first of our open air ventures at the Westoe VIllage Fete this coming Saturday 20th of June .  Fingers crossed for the weather .  Hopefully a couple of the members will pop down for a quick game .

April 13, 2015

The Ron Evers Rapid Play Chess Tournament  is an annual competition held by the Durham County Chess Association and it members . This year South Shields fielded 3 teams  of 4 players .  Both the A and the B  teams have managed to get in the Semi Final and will be facing each for the pleasure of playing against Durham A , probably the strongest team in the competition in terms of individual grading points .

Fortunately the competition is a  Team Handicap , with the average grade of each team taken into account and then a handicap applied according to the difference between the average ratings .  The teams play two 30 minute games against each other , one black and one white .

The South Shields Semi Final is due to be played shortly  so look out for the result.

 

 

 

March 30, 2015

South Shields A team  secured the necessary points against Gateshead at the Carlton Club to pip them at the final hurdle . It was a tight match with the final score of 3.5 to 1.5 . The Result now means that next season the team will be promoted to the First Division of the Northumberland Chess League .

At the same time the South Shields B Team playing at home at The New Ship managed to pull out an excellent Draw against Tynedale Rievers . This put South Shields B in 3rd  Place in the 3rd Division of the Northumberland League by a single board point .

With two matches left in the Durham League the South Shields Team are playing for a respectable mid place position in Division 2 .

This season has been a bit of a renaissance season  , having for many years struggling to pull one team together we now have 3 teams with the possibility of a 4th team next season ,

The relative success can be put down to a great club spirit . The players moved around within the teams in order to give a wide range of opportunities and all efforts were truly appreciated .

 

January 26, 2015

Chess has been played now in one form or another for around 1500 years  . In recent years the internet has opened up the game to many more people. You can quite easily play online chess with people from all over the world from the comfort of your front room , However chess is a fundamentally a game that crosses all the social borders and you cannot beat the experience of sitting directly opposite your opponent and hopefully watching them squirm as you make that killer move. Serious competition chess doesn’t permit discussion and laughing out loud or “sledging” , It doesn’t allow mobile phones … and if that isn’t a great reason to take up chess I don’t know what is . However in the more social and friendly practise games the Art of Talking someone off the board is alive and well . Come down to our club and witness some of the banter . Chess can be both fun and serious . The internet has never made it so easy to pick up the skills to become the next Chess Champion . I have come across a really great  site that is crammed full of tips and is aptly called The Chess World

December 18, 2014

7 Health Benefits of Playing Chess

1        Increases Brain Power

2        Exercises both parts of the Brain

3        Prevents Alzheimers       

4        Helps treatment of Schizophrenia                

5         Improves Childrens thinking and problem solving skills

6         Helps with self confidence

7          Helps with rehabilitiation and therapy .

 

The full details of this article can be found on. So full credit is given to the author . The internet is full of similar stories .

http://www.thechessworld.com/learn-chess/4-healthpsycology/239-7-surprising-health-benefits-of-playing-chess

For those of you that are keen to improve your chess I recommend this website as it is full of interesting articles and lessons .

November 1, 2014

The South Shields Chess Club has seen its membership numbers increase dramatically this year . The club in recent years struggled to maintain one or two teams , but this year has entered 3 teams into the Local Chess Associations of Durham and Northumberland . Next year there is talk of a fourth and possibly 5th team .

The increase in participation is partly down to a number of things.

1. The very Basic Website , created with no budget . This is in dire need of some improved imagery and design input . Maybe some local designer might want to swap a few chess lessons and coaching for some design time .

2 . The very welcoming nature of the people involved in the club .

3.  The help of the South Shields Gazette for their agreement to start a weekly chess column that helps up to maintain the profile .

Come down and play a friendly game  .