South Shields Chess Club invite you all to come to The Word Central Library to spend a few hours and play some BLITZ Chess. The competition will be Fide Rated. Many people will already have a FIDE Reference number, but if not all we require is your Date of Birth,
We intend to run a 9-round competition, starting at 11 am and finishing about 3 pm, with a break for lunch. The competition will be in THE ROUND, the top floor exhibition area, you will have fantastic views overlooking the Tyne River.
The building is fully accessible with lifts taking you up to the 4TH Floor. We have a limit up to 50 players so we would advise that you book a place in advance to secure a place. Prize money may vary subject to the actual number of entries on the day.
1st Prize £150 2nd Prize £100 3rd Prize £50
2 x grading prize of £30 (cut-offs to be decided on the day according to entry) ,Junior (U18) prize – £20 ,Senior (S65) prize – £20
Maximum of one prize per entrant.
Advertised start time: 11 am — we will be there from 10am . Time control: 5+2 (game in 5 minutes with a 2 second increment)
Entry fee £10 .. Option to pay CASH on the day but please advise that you are entering, and we can also give you the option on paying by bank transfer prior to the event to save time on the day.
Free Parking at The Mill Dam Car Park – Across from The Customs House ( some bays say 3 hours limit – most do not , Please choose carefully )
Newcastle City Library will next month host a memorial tournament for the North East’s most famous chess player, Grandmaster Jonathan Hawkins of Consett, who passed away in December after a battle with cancer. He was 42.
The memorial rapidplay will take place on Saturday April 11, from 10:30am to 1:30pm, in the library’s Bewick Hall. Entry is free, and participants are encouraged to donate to Cancer Research UK.
To enter, email: timpeterwall@gmail.com or WhatsApp: 0750 372 2366, giving your full name and date of birth. The tournament has spaces for up to 60 participants, so players are advised to enter early.
The FIDE- and ECF-rated event will be a six-round Open Swiss, with trophies for Open, Under 1800, Under1500, and Juniors (Under 18) categories.
After the tournament, a reception with light refreshments is planned.
Hawkins was unique among North East players, winning the British Championship twice, in 2014 and 2015. Among modern-day grandmasters Hawkins’ route to the top was unusual. Rather than being a child prodigy with a personal coach, he was purely self-taught and only emerged as a strong player in his twenties.
Hawkins played as a junior at Consett Chess Club, later switching to playing for Leam Lane in the Northumbria League, where he built a formidable reputation. He achieved the International Master title in 2010 at 27, and the Grandmaster title in 2014 at 31.
Many of the players in the memorial event will be friends, teammates and students of Hawkins, who was over the last decade mostly involved in the game as a coach of leading juniors.
Among Hawkins’ students were IM Sohum Lohia, currently England’s second-highest rated junior, FIDE Master Stanley Badacsonyi and Zain Patel, another promising junior from London.
Apart from Hawkins’ games, which typically showed a fine blend of tactics and strategy, his legacy includes one of the best books on practical endgame play ever written. Published in 2012, Hawkins’ “Amateur to IM: Proven Ideas and Training Methods” explains how endgame practice and study helped him become a strong player.
After the 2012 British Championships in North Shields, where Hawkins met his future wife, chess coach Angela Eyton, Hawkins moved to London and they set up a successful chess coaching business together. In recent years they had relocated to Torbay, Devon. Last year Hawkins was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, and he died in Torbay on December 22. Apart from Angela, Hawkins is survived by his parents and two brothers.
This week’s puzzles show brilliant finishes by Hawkins at his very best.
(source Chess with Knight, Newcastle Chronicle Friday March 20,2026)
Puzzle A: Grant-Hawkins, 2012. Black to move.Puzzle B: Hawkins-Srienz, 2013. White to move.Puzzle C: Conquest-Hawkins, 2011. Black to move.Puzzle D: Hawkins-Willmoth, 2015. White to move.
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.
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.
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:
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:
