Some of you will be aware that I write a weekly column, covering a wide range of topics, for GM Nigel Davies’s Chess Improver blog.
I’ve recently written a series of articles about what services chess clubs should be offering. The three articles look at chess instruction, social chess and competitive chess.
Many clubs only offer the third of these. These clubs, by and large, are suffering a slow decline as their members get older. This season we’ve done more to encourage social chess, and have seen an influx of new members, some of whom are now playing for our Thames Valley League teams.
The ambitious clubs, such as Hammersmith and Battersea, are now offering chess instruction as well as more options for social chess and innovative competitions played at faster time limits in a more social environment. These are all things we’d like to do, but the size of our current venue is restrictive. The alternative venues we’ve looked at are prohibitively expensive, though.
Please read these articles and let me, or another committee member, know how we might improve our services. Replies saying “This is what I could do” are even better than those saying “This is what you should do”.