The calendar covers ALCA club nights and events together with other local tournaments in which members may be interested.
The Academy meets at Sawston Village College in rooms S1 and S2 (science block) on Friday evenings in term time between 6pm and 8pm. The spring term runs between Friday 10 January and Friday 4 April (inclusive). We are closed on Friday 21 February for the half term holiday.
12 January Cambridge International Rapidplay Whittlesford
On Sunday 12 January the third Cambridge International Rapidplay is being held at Whittlesford. I’m delighted to say that this 5-round event now includes lower-rated sections (U1550 and U1150) which are ideal for the Ravenclaw and keen Gryffindor players. Opportunities to play in top-class local events are rare so please play and hopefully this can become a regular fixture in the calendar. For full details and to enter go to the calendar page on the ECF website.
18/19 January EACU Closed Championships Newmarket
On 18 & 19 January the East Anglian Closed Championships are being held in Newmarket. These consist of three standard-play tournaments: Open, U1950 and U1650, so the U1650 should be suitable for most Ravenclaw players. The East Anglian junior championship prizes are awarded to the highest-placed juniors in each of the tournaments. For details visit the ECF website’s calendar page.
26 January Schools League Perse Upper School
8 February ALCA Open Junior Championships Sawston
On Saturday 8 February ALCA is running its own open junior tournament in the Henry Morris Hall at Sawston Village College, a 5-round rapidplay. There are three sections based on age and this is suitable for all ALCA members. Full information and entry details are shown below.
2 March Schools League Perse Upper School
9 March East Anglian Team Championships Bury St Edmunds
On Sunday 9 March the East Anglian Team Championships are being held at Bury St Edmunds. There are three tournaments, the lowest of which has a low aggregate rating threshold to encourage players of all levels of ability. Three games are played at a time control of 60+10, so it should finish about 5pm. Lets enter an ALCA team! If you’d be interested in playing contact Paul and if we don’t have enough players or we have spare players we’ll integrate them into one of the Linton teams. An opportunity to get standard rated games with a reasonably quick time limit.
19/20 April Cambridge International Chess Congress Whittlesford
Over the Easter weekend, 19 & 20 April, the third Cambridge International (standard play) chess congress is being held at Whittlesford. The lowest-rated section is for players below 1500, so it is mainly of interest to Ravenclaw players. This is an excellent early step into a weekend congress and if five rounds at a 60+30 time limit sounds daunting you can always take a half-point bye for one round (such as early evening on Saturday). Pencil it into your diary and see how you get on this term.
The tournaments in the calendar require ECF Junior Gold membership (free in the first year, £12pa thereafter). To join the ECF, select membership on the English Chess Federation website.
The Junior Rapid Entry Form is provided below: