About
Club nights are held on Monday evenings for both adults (7.30 onwards) and juniors (6.0 onwards) at the Field Junior School Annexe, Elfrida Road, Watford, WD18 0AZ, generally running from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM, with sessions occasionally extending during league matches.
Our club is run by volunteers and supported by parents, creating a safe, friendly, and community‑driven environment for everyone. The Club delivers weekly coaching, competitive league play, and opportunities for personal development through strategic thinking and problem‑solving.
The Club regularly receives enquiries from parents about membership and chess lessons for their children. In many cases, children benefit greatly from first spending some time on a good online learning platform such as ChessKid, chess.com or lichess.org. The absolute basics of chess can be downloaded from numerous reputable sites, and the official Laws of Chess are available at: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/e012023.
We do encourage parents and children to visit the club, but all visits must be pre‑arranged by emailing the club (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), so that a coach or committee member is available to welcome you and show you around.
Annual Club Subscriptions (please read carefully):
Subscriptions for the 2025-26 playing season (excl. English Chess Federation membership fees) are as follows:
|
Membership category |
Costs |
Notes |
|
Full |
£90 (pro rata for late joiners) |
Discounted to £85 for payments by 22nd Sept 2025 (20% discount for 2nd and subsequent members of the same family) |
|
Associate |
£30 + board fee (no fees for online games) |
Where a member does not live locally and expects playing few, if any, over-the-board games. Board fees are £5. |
|
Temporary |
£30 valid for 3 months |
Provides new joiners and existing members under review with 3 months access to weekly club sessions including training and competitive games. |
Please note there is sometimes a waiting list for juniors.
English Chess Federation Memberships
Those wishing to play tournament and league matches, as opposed to just social chess for the club need to join the English Chess Federation (ECF) and obtain a membership. Full details can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-rates-and-joining-details/. FIDE membership details can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide/.
Parents of juniors will want to know that a concessionary scheme applies whereby, for the first registration year only, free junior membership ("silver" level) is available if appropriately applied for.
"Bronze" level members covers all intra-club, inter-club and inter-county play but not outside tournaments organised by third parties. This requires "silver" level ECF membership.
To participate in internationally recognized events [standard play only] including the main 4 Nations Chess League, "gold" membership is required.
Non-registered players, or those registered at too low a level, are liable to be charged "Pay to Play" fees for competitive games they play - the rules governing this are somewhat complicated. In the main, these fees go towards the cost of grading these games. No fees apply for social ('friendly') games.