Guildford Chess Club

Welcome to our world!

We aim to provide a safe and secure inclusive environment for all chess players to play and learn about chess.

We are one of the strongest chess clubs in the UK, with over 50 regular adult players and 100 juniors in membership, spanning the complete ability range from beginner to expert.

We currently field 20 teams across four leagues – the Surrey League, the Surrey Border League, the 4 Nations Chess League and the 4NCL Online. Some of our members also play for Surrey County teams and have represented England at both Junior and Senior levels.

Our regular club night is at 7.30pm on Mondays night for adults (earlier for juniors) from September to July at the Guildford Institute on Ward Street – we're closed in August and on Bank Holidays.

We encourage all our members to participate in the life of the club in some way.

Map

How the site works

Access to everything on the site is via the Navigation menu at the top of the page. Move the cursor over each item to reveal a drop-down menu with links to all the pages.

  • About – our constitution, contacts, gallery, history, library, membership, privacy policy, roll of honour, and safeguarding policy.

  • Activities – our calendar, coaching, junior club, league chess, and tournaments.

  • Directory – chess advice, games by club members, and links to the outside chess world.

And below on our home page, see our blog with all the latest news about the club.

It's easy to contact us. There's a contact form below for adults, and a contact form on our Juniors page for juniors.

Click on the club logo on the top left to return to the home page.

Latest news

Guildford FIDE Congress 2025

The congress takes place from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 April at the University of Surrey. With one week to go, a total of 75 players have entered. This is lower than in previous years. We have restructured the event and will now be running two sections, the Open, and the Major for players rated under 2000. Entries close on Thursday 24 April. More details on the congress page on the website.

Tags: April 2025

The end is in sight

Most league matches are played and the league tables are looking clearer. In the Surrey League, Guildford 1 and 2 have each finished runners up in their respective divisions. Guildford 1 won 4.5–3.5 away against Coulsdon 1 this week in a close match which was in balance right up to the end. Guildford 2 lost 6–1 to a very strong Wimbledon 1 last week. The club's Surrey League campaign reaches its climax at the end of April when Guildford take on Kingston in the final of the Alexander Cup.

Tags: April 2025,Match reports

Chess in prisons

A group of Guildford players went into a prison at the start of April to play chess in an initiative organised by the Chess in Schools and Communities Prison programme. The programme helps prison governors to start chess clubs in their prisons. The ECF says that chess "is recognised as providing purposeful activity for inmates, supporting the development of critical analysis and reasoning skills and helping to reduce reoffending rates." Peter Hegarty coordinated this from the Guildford end and can provide more details about the programme.

Tags: April 2025,Chess in prisons

Hard pounding

Guildford 1 lost 5.5–2.5 to Kingston 1 in Division 1 of the Surrey League on Monday night. The match was hard-fought and closer than the score suggests. This means Kingston win Division 1. Guildford will need at least draw from their final match away against Coulsdon 1 on 14 April in order to secure the runners-up spot. Guildford face Kingston again in the final of the Alexander Cup on 29 April. And in Division 4 of the Surrey League, Guildford 4 lost 3.5–2.5 to Kingston 3.

Guildford teams have enjoyed more success in the Surrey Border League. Following Guildford A who won Division 1, the juniors of Guildford F have won Division 6, also with a match to spare. Congratulations to the players and their manager Ian Jennis.

Tags: April 2025,Match reports

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Contact us

This form is for enquiries from adults. For juniors please use the contact form on our Juniors page.

© 2025 Guildford Chess Club