New Club Tournaments Announced for 23/24

After a four-year hiatus, club members will have the chance to compete for a champion title, alongside a new challengers section, and a rapid time format event.

As with many things, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented such tournaments from running in recent years. This season sees their return, led by new Tournament Director, Adrian Pickersgill:

“I am excited to bring a new set of competitive tournaments to the club this year, as I feel they are an integral part of this and any chess club and have been sorely missed by our members”

The Eastbourne Club Championship will be contested by 8 players, with a classical time control of 65 minutes + 30 seconds per move. Players will only face each other once, with colours determined by the
Berger all-play-all single-round system. The same format is held by the new Challengers category, allowing lower-rated plays to participate in a competitive tournament. This division grants players at all levels the chance for success.

The Eastbourne Winter Rapidplay is a round-robin tournament, with players facing each other twice, once with each colour. Games have a 25 minutes + 10 seconds per move time control and must be played by the last Friday in May 2024.

Adrian is also pleased that these events can be managed using the new format LMS system from the ECF:

“The ECF League Management System (LMS) has become the way forward for chess in England. Anyone can find out about local clubs, leagues and events. By using this system, I hope to further promote our club to a wider general public with an interest in chess”

The club wishes to thank Adrian for organising these great opportunities. They promise to be a lot of fun, and we look forward to crowning our first club champion in four years!