DCCA

The Durham Chess Congress will be held from Friday 8th to Sunday the 10th of May. The Dolphin Centre in Darlington will again be the hosts. Further details and online entries can be found on the below website.

Home

The Ron Evers Quick Play Tournament is always a highlight in the DCCA calendar, taking place so close to Christmas and being an opportunity to meet up with other clubs in a fairly informal atmosphere. 2025 was no exception in this respect, and it was really pleasing to see another new club enter the tournament. Welcome to Thornaby from us all!

There were many memorable moments throughout the day, but seeing two women players competing on Board 1 against each other was perhaps the most positive sign that we have some real talent in the county that we can encourage and develop. The other highlight for me as an organiser was the extent to which our chess clubs are building their capacity and ensuring sustainability for the future; South Shields entering 4 teams and Peterlee 2 is testament to how well we’re doing in this respect.

And now to the winners…

In their first year of entering the tournament, I’m delighted to say that Thornaby came away as winners. Congratulations from us all!

On a finishing note, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Bryan Bainbridge for organising the event; it’s a lot of hard work ensuring that these things run smoothly. Also, thanks must go to Durham University and Jack Lally for arranging the venue for us.

I look forward to the continuing success of the Ron Evers Tournament in 2026.

Mark Edmundson (Bishop Auckland Co Durham League Captain)

The 61st Northumberland Chess Congress will be held over the weekend Friday 26th September 2025 to Sunday 28th September 2025. The venue is The Parks Leisure Centre in North Shields. The link to the congress website is below.

Home | 61st Northumberland Chess Congress

This year’s Northumbria Masters Chess Congress, again organised by Tim Wall, is being held at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington, from 20-25 August. There will be three FIDE-rated 9-round Swiss tournaments, plus a range of additional events, including a ChessFest on Sunday 24th August. Details can be found on this website:

Homepage

A total of 159 players took part in this year’s congress. The winners of the three sections were:

Open – Shriaansh Ganti (Ilkley) and Toby Quaite (Leeds) 4½/5.

Major – Andy Trevelyan (Jesmond) 5/5.

Minor – Gautham Sathishkumar (Gosforth) and Alan Tunnacliffe (North Yorks.) 4½/5.

The full scores are on the Chess Results website:

https://chess-results.com/tnr1174941.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=5

This year’s event will be held over the weekend of 9-11 May at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington. Click the link below for full details.

Home

The Durham County Junior Championships are to be held on Saturday 12th April at Belmont Community Centre, Durham. Full details can be found on the Durham City Club website:

http://www.durhamcitychess.co.uk/tournaments.php

Bryan Bainbridge took several photos at the Ron Evers Tournament last month – apologies for the delay in posting them.

The Ron Evers Team Tournament was hosted by Durham University and organised by Bryan Bainbridge on Sunday 1st December.

Nine teams of four (the same as last year) competed in a rating handicap rapidplay event and they finished in the following order:

1 Durham University A (5pts);

2  South Shields A (3.5pts);

3=  South Shields B, Thornaby A (3pts);

5= Durham City A, Durham City B (2.5pts);

7=  Bishop Auckland, Peterlee (2pts);

9     Thornaby B (1.5pts).

Previously only open to Northumberland players, this event has now been extended to include players from Durham.

It will take place on Saturday 15th June, 11.00 am to 6.00 pm, at Forest Hall Social Club, Errington Terrace, Newcastle NE12 9DQ.

Details and entry form are on the website:

2024 Northumberland & Durham Rapidplay Championships (15 June 2024)