Welcome to Metropolitan Chess Club

About the club

!!!!!!!! CLUB IS OPEN !!!!!!!!!!

From Thursday 23rd September 2021 the chess club is open 6pm

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Our venue is the Artisan Centre within the Middlesex Street Estate, accessed via Gravel Lane on the right hand side of Middlesex St, 250 yards from the junction with Bishopsgate.   La Piazzetta Bistro & Baris on the nearest corner.  Stations are Liverpool St., Aldgate and Aldgate East.

Access is now via the Gravel Lane entrance (adjacent to JADS Hairdressing).  When you get to the GREEN door type 101 and press CALL - someone from the club will respond and buzz you in.  You should take the lift to the first floor and turn left directly in to the new hall.

The venue is available for use from 6pm every Thursday. London league matches will start at 6.30pm and Middlesex league matches at 6.45pm

Coaching: Free, informal, one-to-one coaching is offered to members who are beginners or near-beginners.

Clubmap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Gravel Lane Entrance - GREEN Door

 

The Metropolitan chess club is one of the oldest clubs in London.  It was founded in 1890 with the amalgamation of two existing clubs 'The Three Pawns' and 'The Monument'.

We currently have over 50 members and welcome new members of all abilities.  We have many teams in both the London and Middlesex Leagues, so players of all standards are always able to find a serious game if they want to. As we are based in a central location in the City of London , most of our matches are played at home or very nearby in the Barbican.  In addition, we have had a team in the 4NCL depending on interest.

If you are interested in joining our club, please feel free to come along to any of club nights (Thursdays), play a few games and speak to a member about joining.  Alternatively you can download and return the membership application form to the address shown on it.

The membership runs from the 1st October until the 30th September each year. If you join part way through the subscription year a pro rata subscription will apply.  There are also discounts available to those who have retired or on benefits.


This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Click here for an application form

 

 

Thinking about Chess 1

I'm planning on doing a series of short articles about my thought on chess and chess improvement.

I'm a club amateur so not privy to the knowledge of your average Russian trained grand master so this will be a collection of knowledge picked up in books or via google.

The subject today is what to think about during the Opening / Middle / Ending phases of the game.

And the first problem is knowing when those phases start and end!

As a easy point of reference I say opening phase ends in 10-15 moves.  I think you should start looking at middle game ideas from move 10 if you don't already know the position and the standard themes of that opening.

Middle game is that fuzzy bit between opening and endgame.  So at this point we should define when the Endgame starts.

My definition of Endgame is when the pawns are no longer just support points or levers to break open the opponents position but have a significant value for promotion.  The other indicator is what problems do you need to fix or improve in the position - if the solutions are middle game style tactics then you are still in the middle game.  I know that is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. If you want an easy marker I would suggest move 25-35 is where this happen on average but it will depend on the themes of your opening and your personal attacking style.

So now what do we think about in each phase.  I have provided my list below in no particular order.

In future articles I hope to go over some of the ideas below in more detail.

Opening

Activation of all pieces

Knight placement (because they are harder to correct later)

Castling

Centre control / blocking or flank control / blocking

Opening themes and creating asymmetry

 

Middle Game

Attack or defense

Pawn play or pawn weakness and weak squares

Minor piece placements

2 Bishops via Bishop/Knight

Initiative

Power piece play - Rooks / Queen and Bishops interactions

Opponent's plans

 

End Game

Pawns - weakness, promotion, fortress

Pieces play

Drawing options / swindle options

Clock play

 

Let me know what you think!

 

 

Season's first results!

 

Season has started three matches played!  A win for Giovanni's Team but loss for Team 2 and Gnomes.

Its good to be back with face to face chess again - good luck for the rest of the season.

 

Hamilton Russell Challenge Cup: Metropolitan 3 vs Battersea 3
Date: 04-11-2021, Division: Two West, Trophy: Hamilton Russell Challenge Cup
 
 
Board Home player Result Away player Rating
difference (Δ)
one Stephen JM Hamilton s1908* Stephen JM Hamilton had the white pieces 1-0 Edwin Magombe s1654* Edwin Magombe had the black pieces +254
two Giovanni Vasco s1758D  Giovanni Vasco had the black pieces 0-1 Alan H Palmer s1791B Alan H Palmer had the white pieces -33
three Ronan Kelly s1660A Ronan Kelly had the white pieces 0-1 Tim Wells s1748C Tim Wells had the black pieces -88
four Ceikh Ndiaye s1690F  Ceikh Ndiaye had the black pieces 0-1 Timothy Valentine s1747A Timothy Valentine had the white pieces -57
five Ray P Hamilton s1488C Ray P Hamilton had the white pieces 1/2-1/2 Emils Steiners s1549D Emils Steiners had the black pieces -61
six Nicholas Nardecchia s1465D Nicholas Nardecchia had the black pieces 1-0 Thomas Palmer s1663* Thomas Palmer had the white pieces -198
seven Peter Szabo s1548D Peter Szabo had the white pieces 1-0 Tung Nguyen s1533* Tung Nguyen had the black pieces +15
eight Mark Nevison s1443C  Mark Nevison had the black pieces 1-0 Zoya Boozorginia s1158E Zoya Boozorginia had the white pieces +285
Mean rating Home team: 1620   Away team: 1605.4 Δ = 14.6
Notes Battersea board 6 was given as T. Palmer, Board 7 as Son Tung Nguyen and their board 8 as A. Boozorginia, none of which are on the list of Battersea players.
match result: 4.5 — 3.5

 

Division Three Trophy: Metropolitan 2 vs Hammersmith Central
Date: 10-11-2021, Division: Three East, Trophy: Division Three Trophy
 
 
Board Home player Result Away player Rating
difference (Δ)
one Kevin P Lenaghan s1878D Kevin P Lenaghan had the white pieces 1-0 Jeremy K Hodgson s1918D Jeremy K Hodgson had the black pieces -40
two Jan Lepetun s1840C Jan Lepetun had the black pieces 0-1 Matteo Bezzini s1829E Matteo Bezzini had the white pieces +11
three Adegbenga Amusa s1818D  Adegbenga Amusa had the white pieces 0-1 Liam Fleming s1806C Liam Fleming had the black pieces +12
four Toby Rolls s1780D  Toby Rolls had the black pieces 0-1 Jonathan Hoong s1701C Jonathan Hoong had the white pieces +79
five Charlie Cooke s1743D Charlie Cooke had the white pieces 1/2-1/2 Laurie Mackellar s1690B Laurie Mackellar had the black pieces +53
six Geoffrey L Bishop s1718A Geoffrey L Bishop had the black pieces 0-1 Jake Stones s2029* Jake Stones had the white pieces -311
seven Ceikh Ndiaye s1690F  Ceikh Ndiaye had the white pieces 0-1 AN Other AN Other had the black pieces –
eight Ronan Kelly s1660A Ronan Kelly had the black pieces 1-0 Luke Pakenham –  Luke Pakenham had the white pieces –
Mean rating Home team: 1765.9   Away team: 1828.8 Δ = -62.9
Notes Hammersmith board 7 - Nick Groves-Kirkby
match result: 2.5 — 5.5

 

Minor Trophy: Metropolitan Gnomes vs Hackney Startup
Date: 11-11-2021, Division: Minor West, Trophy: Minor Trophy
 
 
Board Home player Result Away player Rating
difference (Δ)
one Ronan Kelly s1660A Ronan Kelly had the white pieces 1/2-1/2 Shir Bar-Tal es1700  Shir Bar-Tal had the black pieces -40
two Nicholas Nardecchia s1465D Nicholas Nardecchia had the black pieces 1-0 Daniel Rosenbaum s1623E Daniel Rosenbaum had the white pieces -158
three Joshua Beckmann s1390D Joshua Beckmann had the white pieces 0-1 Harvey Garfield es1550  Harvey Garfield had the black pieces -160
four Ned Selchuk s1105E  Ned Selchuk had the black pieces 0-1 Chris Thorne s1480D Chris Thorne had the white pieces -375
Mean rating Home team: 1405   Away team: 1588.3 Δ = -183.3
match result: 1.5 — 2.5

 

 

 

London Chess League

Metropolitan Future fixtures

 

 = Rearranged (or date TBA) fixture

Import all fixtures for Metropolitan club Import all Metropolitan fixtures into your calendar
 
Import Date Division/Competition Home club Home team Away club Away team Venue
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 18) to be played on 2021-11-10 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 10-11-2021 Three East Metropolitan 2 Hammersmith Central CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 20) to be played on 2021-11-11 at Metropolitan into your calendar 11-11-2021 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Hackney Startup MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 30) to be played on 2021-11-18 at Metropolitan into your calendar 18-11-2021 Two West Metropolitan 3 Lewisham 3 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 41) to be played on 2021-11-24 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 24-11-2021 Three East Ilford 1 Metropolitan 2 CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 46) to be played on 2021-11-25 at Metropolitan into your calendar 25-11-2021 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Battersea Power MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 47) to be played on 2021-12-02 at Metropolitan into your calendar 02-12-2021 One West Metropolitan 1 University College London Bishops MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 51) to be played on 2022-01-06 at Metropolitan into your calendar 06-01-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Battersea 1 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 59) to be played on 2022-01-12 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 12-01-2022 Three East Metropolitan 2 Ilford 1 CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 64) to be played on 2022-01-13 at Metropolitan into your calendar 13-01-2022 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Hammersmith W Minor MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 69) to be played on 2022-01-18 at Brokers Wine Bar into your calendar 18-01-2022 Two West Lewisham 3 Metropolitan 3 BWB
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 76) to be played on 2022-01-20 at Metropolitan into your calendar 20-01-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Imperial College 1 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 86) to be played on 2022-01-26 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 26-01-2022 Three East DHSS 1 Metropolitan 2 CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 100) to be played on 2022-02-03 at Metropolitan into your calendar 03-02-2022 Two West Metropolitan 3 Hammersmith Seconds MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 109) to be played on 2022-02-09 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 09-02-2022 Three East Metropolitan 2 Kings Head 2E CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 112) to be played on 2022-02-10 at Metropolitan into your calendar 10-02-2022 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Hammersmith W Minor MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 120) to be played on 2022-02-17 at Metropolitan into your calendar 17-02-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Hammersmith Firsts MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 130) to be played on 2022-02-23 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 23-02-2022 Three East Hammersmith Central Metropolitan 2 CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 133) to be played on 2022-02-24 at Metropolitan into your calendar 24-02-2022 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Hackney Startup MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 144) to be played on 2022-03-03 at Metropolitan into your calendar 03-03-2022 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Battersea Power MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 148) to be played on 2022-03-07 at King's College into your calendar 07-03-2022 One West King's College KGA Metropolitan 1 KCOL
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 154) to be played on 2022-03-10 at Metropolitan into your calendar 10-03-2022 Two West Metropolitan 3 Hammersmith Thirds MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 163) to be played on 2022-03-17 at Metropolitan into your calendar 17-03-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Lewisham 2 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 177) to be played on 2022-03-24 at Metropolitan into your calendar 24-03-2022 Two West Metropolitan 3 Battersea 3 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 185) to be played on 2022-03-31 at Metropolitan into your calendar 31-03-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Battersea 2 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 189) to be played on 2022-04-06 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 06-04-2022 Three East Kings Head 2E Metropolitan 2 CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 196) to be played on 2022-04-07 at Metropolitan into your calendar 07-04-2022 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Hammersmith Hedger MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 202) to be played on 2022-04-21 at Metropolitan into your calendar 21-04-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Wimbledon 1 MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 211) to be played on 2022-04-26 at GLCC into your calendar 26-04-2022 Three East Greater London 2 Metropolitan 2 GLCC
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 230) to be played on 2022-05-05 at Metropolitan into your calendar 05-05-2022 One West Metropolitan 1 Kings Head 1W MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 235) to be played on 2022-05-12 at Metropolitan into your calendar 12-05-2022 Two West Metropolitan 3 Hammersmith Thirds MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 247) to be played on 2022-05-18 at Citadines Hotel into your calendar 18-05-2022 Three East DHSS 1 Metropolitan 2 CIH
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 250) to be played on 2022-05-19 at Metropolitan into your calendar 19-05-2022 Minor West Metropolitan Gnomes Hammersmith Hedger MET
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 254) to be played on 2022-05-24 at GLCC into your calendar 24-05-2022 Three East Greater London 2 Metropolitan 2 GLCC
Import this fixture (fixtureID = 261) to be played on 2022-05-26 at Metropolitan into your calendar 26-05-2022 Two West Metropolitan 3 Hammersmith Seconds MET
 

METROPOLITAN MIDDLESEX LEAGUE FIXTURES 2021/22 SEASON

METROPOLITAN MIDDLESEX LEAGUE FIXTURES 2021/22 SEASON

 

30 November                        Hammersmith (a)                   7-30

 04 January                             Ealing               (a)                   7-30  

27 January                               Hendon            (a)                   7-30

21 February                            Albany               (a)                   7-15

24 February                             Hammersmith  (h)                  6-45

23  March                                 West London    (a)                  7-15 

14  April                                    West London     (h)                 6-45

28  April                                    Ealing                  (h)                  6-45

19 May                                       Hendon             (h)                   6-45

09 June                                      Albany                 (h)                  6-45 

 

Metropolitan Chess Club Summer Tournament

The time has come to organise our internal Metropolitan Chess Club Summer Tournament.

You can enter by e-mail or by letting me know in person at the club.

As always there will be four sections, in order of strength, these are:
- Championship
- Naumann Cup
- Silver King
- Silver Queen

Some of the rules:
 - Registration will close on Thursday 31st May
 - First game will be on Thursday 14th June
 - Last game will be before the end of August
 - The default time control will be quick play, unless both players want slow play
 - All results are sent to the ECF for grading
 - Entries are divided into groups with players of similar level
 - In case of a tie the final order will be decided by the Sonneborn–Berger score. If that also results in a tie then the trophy will be shared.

There will be an entry fee of £5 which should be paid to me before the first game is played.

Please let me know by the end of May if you want to play.

I will circulate the groups, full details for the tournament, rules, fixtures and contact list in early June.
Please see Ray or myself for more information.

Kind Regards

Peter Szabo

  1. Season Summary
  2. New London League Venue - Citadines Hotel
  3. London League Fixtures for 2017-18 Season
  4. Middlesex League Team Results 2016-2017
  5. Club Committee Meeting
  6. 2016-2017 Season Summary
  7. Club AGM
  8. 2015-2016 Season Summary
  9. New season starts 2016-2017 !
  10. Middlesex Div 2 Fixtures
  11. Metropolitan vs Athenaeum Friendly Match Result
  12. London League Matches
  13. Last Season Summary
  14. 20 Board Friendly Match against Athenaeum Chess Club
  15. Summer Tournament - Internal Club Event