1840: Richmond Chess Club (1) play a correspondence game against Armagh, and their secretary plays by correspondence against a young gentleman from Congleton. It’s not clear when this club started and how long it ran for. A game played there was published in a NI paper in 1841.
1849: games between Harry Wilson and the President of Richmond Chess Club (2) published in the Chess Players’ Chronicle and the ILN – not clear when they were played. Captain P – George Brooke-Pechell?
1853: Richmond Chess Club (3) founded by chemist William Harris. Promoted by Staunton and Loewenthal, it ran until 1856, when Harris left the area.
1870s: social clubs in the area played chess and other games through to the 1920s.
1880: Twickenham Chess Club (1) founded.
1893: Richmond Chess Club (4) founded.
1896: Twickenham Chess Club (1) moves to Teddington & becomes Thames Valley Chess Club.
1910: Kew Chess Club founded by Arthur Compton Ellis – little activity 1920-1926.
1914: Thames Valley Chess Club merges with Kingston Chess Club, perhaps moving to Kingston at this point, and changing its name to Kingston & Thames Valley Chess Club in 1930.
1921: Twickenham Chess Club (2) – president is local politician and doctor John Rudd Leeson. Matches played up to 1932.
1922: Teddington (Constitutional) Chess Club play matches against Twickenham in 1922 and 1923.
1924: Barnes Village Chess Club founded. Merges with Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club at some point in the 1970s?
1929: Richmond and Kew Chess Clubs merge to become Richmond & Kew Chess Club.
1931: The National Physical Laboratory played matches from 1931 to the start of WW2, and again from 1947 through to the 1990s.
1939: Richmond & Kew Chess Club closes due to WW2.
1945: Georgian Chess Club founded by Jack Redon, soon becoming Richmond Georgian Chess Club, and then Richmond Chess Club (5). Some membership overlap with R&KCC.
1947: First mention of Twickenham Chess Club (3): may have opened a year or two earlier.
1948: Shene Chess Club founded – unsure how long it was active, probably until some time in the 1950s.
c.1957: Richmond Community Centre Chess Club played in the Thames Valley League for a few years. They also played in the Minor Trophy (Surrey League Division 5) for a time round about 1961. The building was also used for the Thames Valley League Congress in at least 1966 and 1967.
1958: Richmond and Twickenham Chess Clubs merge to become Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club.
c.1970: Hampton Chess Club active in the Thames Valley League in the 1970s and 1980s.
c.1978-1980s: Richmond Community Centre Chess Club again active for a time in the Thames Valley League but closed down when the building was demolished and replaced by a supermarket.
1975: Richmond Junior Chess Club founded by Mike Fox & Richard James
For the last half century or so, club chess in the Richmond and Twickenham area has been remarkably stable.