Latest News

(Latest updates marked with *)  
2025      
Aug      
15th – 17th 2025 Newport Chess Congress Rougemont School Auditorium,
Malpas Road,
Newport NP206QB
Info

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Upcoming Events

2025      
Aug      
15th – 17th 2025 Newport
Chess Congress
Rougemont School Auditorium,
Malpas Road,
Newport NP206QB
Info
Sept      
13th UK Open Blitz
Championship Qualifier
Mercure Cardiff North Hotel, Circle Way East,
Llanedeyrn, Cardiff

CF23 9XF 
Details
26th – 28th 9th WCU Senior Chess Championships and Autumn Under 50s Weekend Congress Mecure Cardiff North Hotel,
Circle Way Eat,
Llanedeyrn,
Cardiff CF239XF
 
Info
Oct      
25th – 26th Welsh Autumn Congress Mecure Cardiff North Hotel,
Circle Way Eat,
Llanedeyrn,
Cardiff CF239XF 
 
       
       
       

News

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ECU E-Magazine
June 2025
2025 WCPL Entry Form
(Deadline August 15th)
Welcome Inn Chess Club David Andrew Bennion RIP
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Camacho Collados wins
2025 Welsh Champs
ECU E-Magazine
April 2025
ECU E-Magazine
May 2025
WCU Newsletters
The Neath & District
rises again
Wales Silures finish 4th in 2025 European Seniors O50 Christopher Davies RIP Steve Cunliffe RIP
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Taking on the Giants ECU E-Magazine
February 2025
Iwan Cave on
2025 World Junior
2025 Welsh Blitz results
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ECU E-Magazine
January
2025
2025 Spring Congress and Junior Championships Results Roy Purnell RIP Castell Nedd member on BBC Chess Masters (10/3/25)
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BCET awards notice
to be published
2025 South Wales
Winter Congress
Results
ECU E-Magazine
December 2024
Adam Hunt IM RIP
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January 2025
Live Rapidplay
Rating List
Sligo 2025 2025 Dragon
League Results
FM and CM titles awarded at 2024 European Club Cup

WCU Fees 2024-2025

Please note that the WCU fees for season 2024-2025 remain the same as season 2023-24.

These are:

Existing WCU members

Seniors /  Adults: £20      Juniors (U-18 on 1/9/2024): £10

New WCU members

Seniors /  Adults: £10      Juniors (U-18 on 1/9/2024): £5

Anne Veale RIP

It is with great sadness that we have learned that Anne Veale (who used to be a member of Upper Killay and Swansea Chess Clubs) has passed away. 

Anne was involved in junior chess in West Wales in the 1980’s.

The WCU would like to express our sincere condolences to Anne’s family and friends at this sad time.

The funeral will take place on 6th September at St Ann Church, Dunvant followed by cremation at Swansea Crematorium at 2.00pm.

Golding and Grieve win 2024 South Wales International

FM Alex Golding (ENG) and IM Harry Grieve (ENG) tied for first place in the 2024 South Wales International in Bridgend with 7/9.

GM Jose Fernando Cuenca Jiminez (ESP), FM Aaravamudhan Balaji (ENG), IM Yichen Han (NED), GM Boris Chatalbashev (DEN) and FM Daniel Kozusek (WLS) tied for third place on 6.5/9.

The full results can be found here.

 

Welsh Chess Chat E-Magazine issue # 1

Jonathan Blackburn has produced this e-magazine which he hopes to produce monthly.

Issue # 1 can be viewed here.

2024 World Seniors Team Championship, Krakow, Poland

Two teams are currently competing in these championships between 1st and 12th July. 

Wales Silures are competing in the Over 50’s championship. The players are:

Sven Zeidler
Lee Davis
Mark Adams
Anthony Hughes
Gary Thomas

Their results can be found here:

Another Wales Silures team are competing in the Over 65’s championship. The players are:

Peter Varley
Rudy van Kemenade
John Fletcher
Peter Quinn
Anthony Hughes

Their results can be found here.

The Championship website is here:

We wish them well.

A O Jones Rapidplay 2024

 

The annual WWCL Rapidplay for the AO Jones trophy was held at Morriston Rugby Club on Saturday 18th May 2024.  We’ve opened the event to non -WWCL members for some years now and again attracted players from the East Glam & Dyfed leagues. The AO Jones trophy is awarded to the highest placed WWCL member.

The event is a 6 round swiss (20 mins & 5 second increments), run as one tournament. All the entry fees were returned as prizes.

FM Grzegorz Toczek (2328) was the top seed, with Adam Musson (2043) and Derek Jones (2023) the only other players rated over 2000 on the WCU rating list. The event gave a number of lower graded players the chance to play a Fide Master & member of the current Olympiad Team. Grzegorz didn’t have it all his own way, conceding a draw to Ian Jones (1972) in Rd3 and to 14-year-old Vismith Prabhu (1388) in Rd4. Vismith also drew with Derek Jones (2023) in Rd6.

Results

1st= Ian Jones (Morriston), winner of the AO Jones trophy & Grzegorz Toczek (Cardiff)

3rd= Adam Musson (Morriston) & Derek Jones (Cardiff)

U-1500

1st Farouq Nasir (Morriston)

2nd Sam Brown (Morriston)

3rd Bill Davies (Rhondda)

Junior

1st Vismith Prabhu (White Knights)

2nd Bobby Taylor (Morriston)

The full results can be seen on Chess-Results website here.

2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship New York

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

DEADLINE FOR INTEREST: 15 July 2024

The 2024 FIDE World Individual Rapid and Blitz Championships wil be held in New York during the last week in December.

Anyone interested in representing the WCU in this event needs to contact the International Director, Peter Bevan (email: internationaldirector@welshchessunion.uk) by 15th July.

Regrettably, the WCU cannot provide any financial support towards this event.

The regulations are available here.