Bournemouth Junior Chess Club
January 10th, 2026 Update – Welcome Back!
🎉 Welcome to the January 2026 Term!
What a fantastic return to chess! On our initial week back after the holidays, we had a total of 30 juniors at different levels come along to learn and play chess. The energy was wonderful and it’s great to be back with everyone.
Welcoming New Players & Saying Goodbye
We said goodbye to Mariella, Holly, and Oakley at Christmas, but we’re delighted to welcome our exciting newcomers:
- Eva
- William
- Jake
- Arina
- Anu
- Viktor
- Konstantin
It was wonderful to see our regulars in both sessions, some of whom have been coming to the club for a number of years. This continuity and community spirit is what makes our club special!
🎓 Chess is a Life Skill
We’d like to remind everyone that Bournemouth Junior Chess Club is for all levels of players, and we welcome everyone from complete beginners to advanced competitors. Chess is a life skill that develops strategic thinking, patience, and problem-solving abilities.
Different players have different goals, and we support them all:
- Competitive Players: Some wish to reach competitive levels and play at junior events outside the club, and eventually join adult clubs. We can and will contribute to all requirements to support their advancement.
- Recreational Players: Some wish to reach a reasonable level and then move on. We support this completely and know that once you’ve achieved this ability, you can always return to advance your levels at any time.
- All Players: We can help you achieve any level you wish to reach.
We’re proud that we’ve developed players who have gone on to join local adult clubs and played at the highest levels – some even representing England at under-14 level!
📖 Saturday’s Session Highlights
1st Session
Yesterday was very much about getting back to playing and reviewing previous teaching.
- Tony had his regular class with 6 advanced players and went through key winning moves in games by some of the greatest players of all times – Bobby Fischer, Gary Kasparov, and Mikhael Tal. Some of the class found the key winning moves, which proves excellently what can be done to open up a defence with a sacrifice completely out of the blue!
- Graham had a good session with Liam, JH, and Nirvan looking at winning moves in puzzles.
- Paul went through a game with Pavina and Markas.
- Steve took on three complete beginners new players.
- Eric worked with Erin and Omer on their games.
2nd Session
- Graham had his hands full reviewing puzzles with Hektor, Koko, Nilay, Manvik, and Jake. All went well!
- Steve took on the new beginners Anu and Eva.
- Eric reviewed games with Sepanta, Andreas, new player William, and David.
We hope all our new players enjoyed the club and will continue to come along and develop their own games!
📅 What’s Coming Next
⚔️ Ladder Board Competition Starts Next Saturday
Next Saturday we will start the weekly Ladder Board competition! All our players are looking forward to playing competitive games against players of a comparative level. This is always a highlight of our program and provides fantastic opportunities for players to test their skills in a structured competitive environment.
⏸️ Club Closures – February
Please note: We are unavailable on 7th February and 14th February. We will resume on 21st February. Please update your calendars accordingly.
👏 Thanks to Our Coaches
As always, we want to thank our wonderful coaches for supporting the club:
- Steve
- Tony
- Graham
- Paul
We also had the benefit of Dee’s company on Saturday to assist with administration. Thank you!
🚨 Urgent: Recruit More Coaches
While writing this update, Eric wants to emphasize something very important:
We urgently need to recruit more coaches that can come along on a weekly basis. Our dedicated and committed coaches are not always available, and we need to have adequate support to continue the club at its current level with 30+ players.
If you have any free time or know of anyone that could assist with coaching, please contact Eric Sachs immediately. This is most important for the sustainability and growth of our club.
No prior coaching experience is necessary – we can provide guidance and support for new coaches. Experience playing chess at any level is welcome!
📞 Get Involved
Want to help support Bournemouth Junior Chess Club? We’re looking for:
- Weekly coaches for Saturday sessions
- Administrative support
- Tournament organizers
- Community volunteers
Contact Eric Sachs to learn more about how you can help!
Bournemouth Junior Chess Club – Where Young Minds Learn to Think Ahead
Contact: Eric Sachs
