New North East Chess Events

Tim Wall, my very hard-working friend and CSC colleague, has announced details of two brand new chess events which will take place across the North East from October onwards.

Here is Tim's plan. Anyone interested in playing in the events should contact their local chess club (all clubs already have the details).


This is to confirm the proposed dates for the (FIDE-rated) 2019-20 North East League and North East Individual Championships.

North East League
Round 1: Sunday, October 13, 2019
Round 2: Sunday, November 17, 2019
Round 3: Sunday, December 1, 2019
Round 4: Sunday, January 19, 2020
Round 5: Sunday, February 16, 2020

North East Individual Championships
Rounds 1 & 2: Sunday, March 1, 2020
Round 3 & 4: Sunday, March 22, 2020
Rounds 5 & 6: Sunday, April 19, 2020


League Teams

Based on my canvassing so far, possible participating teams** include: Forest Hall & Gosforth (Northumberland); South Shields & Durham (Durham); Darlington & Middlesbrough (Cleveland)
**We welcome applications from any other teams that would like to participate. A final decision on the league lineup will be made in June 2019.
**Please note that teams do not have to be based on an existing league team or club, but can unite players from various clubs.


Possible venues*** for North East League & North East Individual Championships:
We intend to announce the venues for the League and Championships in June 2019.
Possible venues include: Forest Hall, Gosforth, South Shields, Durham, Darlington, Middlesbrough/Teesside.
*** We would welcome offers of venues from around Tyne & Wear, County Durham and Cleveland.
*** We intend to spread the events evenly around the region, so that all players and teams get the chance for 'home' and 'away' venues, all within one hour's travelling distance.


North East League format:
6 teams of 5 players each. The League will be all-play-all.
Five rounds, each on a Sunday from October to February.
Matches start 2:30pm, finish 6:30pm
Time limit: All moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 seconds increment per move
All games will be FIDE-rated (Players will need to be ECF Gold members)
Teams will receive a total of 1 extra bonus game point per match if they include a minimum of a) 1 junior player under 18 years old; and additionally b) one male and one female player.
(Each category will give 0.5 bonus points)
The winning team will be awarded a trophy and receive medals, and there will be medals for the best individual performances.


North East Individual Championships format:
Three 6-round Swiss tournaments - Open, Major (Under 1975 FIDE / 170 ECF), Minor (Under 1700 FIDE / 140 ECF)
Open to all players born in, or resident in, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Cleveland.
Rounds to be played at the same venue on 3 Sundays in Spring 2020, 2 rounds per day.
Round times: 10:30am-2:30pm, 3:30pm-7:30pm
Time limit: All moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 seconds increment per move

All games will be FIDE-rated (Players will need to be ECF Gold members)

There will be a combination of cash and non-cash prizes, to be announced in June 2019.

The winner of each section will additionally be awarded a trophy and receive a medal.

There will be additional prizes for Best Rating Performance (compared to published grade/rating), Best Junior (Under 18) and Best Female Player in each tournament.

Entry fees will be announced in June 2019.

Sponsors are welcome for the North East Individual Championships.