English Chess Forum

The funeral of Tony Gillam was held earlier today:

https://funeral-notices.co.uk/notice/gillam/5316304

This is the online tribute: https://anthony-gillam.muchloved.com/

RIP

The minutes of Board meeting 177 from Friday 17 July have appeared: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Board-Minutes-No.-177-July-2026.pdf together with the draft minutes of last Friday's Board meeting 178: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Draft-Minu...

Good thinking, usually this is the type of idea that someone would have in 2035 and by then it would be too late. I'm reminded about a book that Robert Richmond wrote, or was was getting fine tuned before going to a publisher about the 1936 tournament. Was it ever published. I did find this in a gl...

Clearly, the next version of the FIDE Laws needs to incorporate "Banana Split".

The election process was reviewed by the Chair of Governance and the Voting Registration Officer and was found to be in order – David Eustace, Chair of Council" I'm glad governance reviewed it. Still surprised it was acceptable to them though. I look forward to reading their committee minutes at so...

An interview with Emily Maton was played on BBC World Service News hour this evening. This was the first I'd heard of the 'She Plays to Win' team earning their promotion to Division 1, and frankly coverage like this is a complete own goal for the 4NCL and English chess in general. ..... I've never ...

Congratulations to the four successful candidates and commiserations to the three who didn't make it over the line. I hope that those elected are able to work well together, where that is necessary or desirable. I'm happy to see that my prediction of perhaps forty-fifty votes for the successful cand...

I suppose it depends on your definition of “soon”, with the ECF website saying “ We expect to announce the successful candidates on the ECF website soon afterwards.” It's about time we had a thread for conspiracy theories on why the result still hasn't been announced. I assume the candidates will h...

....... I'm not at all comfortable with the sweeping and speculative assumptions regarding 'nerve' and 'embarrassment' - some individuals do not need nerve (maybe they've been involved in numerous elections before) and to suggest that they might be embarrassed is frankly unnecessary and might be co...

The minutes of Board Meeting 176 from Friday 10 April 2026 have been published:

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... -ECF-1.pdf

The minutes of the Governance Committee of 24 June 2026 have appeared:

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... e-2026.pdf

Two sets of minutes of the Governance Committee (30 January and 27 March 2026) have appeared:

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... y-2026.pdf

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... h-2026.pdf

The minutes from the Finance Committee's recent online meeting on 14 May have appeared with commendable speed:

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-cont ... y-2026.pdf

... The event is also very different in nature in 2026 compared to 1996: There are more events for recreational players; including rapids, blitzes, team events, and more. There is a festival of events happening during the event. There are junior training camps with coaches for local juniors during ...

Financial comparisons are being made between 1997 and the situation today. Stretching things by just one year, I recollect that when we in Nottinghamshire helped to organise the British Championships in 1996, one of the preconditions was that the venue had to be free to the BCF. This condition was m...