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Chingland Site Map

Chingland

Chingland is the extended links section of my Newcastle-u-Lyme Chess Club website, complete with my personal commentary. Intended in time to grow to give an overview of the opportunities for over-the-board chess in this country the name Chingland has been chosen not so much as a snazzier but as a less pretentious one than the "Chess in England" of which it is a natural compression. It also enables me to use the phrase "Chess in England" in its natural sense in these pages without risking confusion.

 

I have assembled the links within these pages by searching the net myself. It quickly became apparent that many of the links on other chess sites are broken. This is not surprising given that sites are set up, expanded, redesigned and abandoned in line with the enthusiasms of their designers. It seems inevitable then that the collection of links here will also over time prove to be inaccurate, though it is my intention to fight this and to continue to look for new links. I am of course more than happy to receive new links.

 

There are several layers within the organisation of chess in England.

At the top is the National Body, the English Chess Federation, which has

Seven Constituent Units: London, Manchester and five Unions which are amalgams of

County Associations, which together with some District Associations run Leagues and other competitions for the benefit of both clubs and individuals. My thoughts on Club websites are available here.

Individual players are expected to support financially the whole of this structure. Not surprisingly this expectation is not uniformally appreciated, and as fees have increased some sections of the chess community have opted out of providing support to the higher levels.

 

There is also a calendar of congresses organised by any of the above (or indeed other) organisations, and it is my intention to include a section on these in due course. I am not however taking bets on how long 'in due course' will turn out to be.