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SOMERSET COUNTY CHESS ASSOCIATION

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Welcome to the Somerset County Chess Association

The website for chess in Somerset, England

About the SCCA

The SCCA is a members' organisation of independent chess clubs. It is affiliated to the West of England Chess Union and to the English Chess Federation. The SCCA  organises a competitive chess league with three Divisions catering for all standards of player from novice to expert. There is also the annual Frome Chess Congress, an open congress that any player may enter. The Congress incorporates the Somerset Championships.

Please send news of Somerset chess events, interesting games, match reports, corrections, notifications of broken links, and suggestions to improve the website to Somerset Chess.

Site last updated 2024-03-17

Upcoming Events in the Region

Sun 24th March 2024 - 28th Dorset Rapidplay. Furzebrook Village Hall, Furzebrook Rd, Wareham BH20 5AR

Online entries available

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19th - 21st April 2024 - Dorset Centenary Chess Congress.
The Bournemouth Carlton Hotel, East Overcliff, Bournemouth BH1 3DN

Four sections available. Tel: 01202 544118

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17th - 19th May 2024 - 33rd Frome Congress. Selwood Academy, Berkley Road, Frome, Somerset BA11 2EF

Online entries now live!

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Please send in games. These can be anything with a local interest. Interesting games from any Division of the Somerset League are especially welcome.

Previous games shown here can be found in the Games Archive.


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Chess Puzzle of the Day

Puzzle from chessvideos.tv

(Click on the image below to solve the puzzle)


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Chess Quote of the Day

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Latest Somerset News Headlines

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Latest Somerset League results, fixtures and current League tables

17/03/2024 - Added links for the Dorset Rapidplay Dorset Rapidplay. South of Wareham. Enter today (17th) to avoid a late entry fee.

In April the Dorset County Chess Association celebrates its 100th Anniversary by hosting an air-conditioned tournament with free tea and coffee provided in the playing area. https://www.dorsetchess.co.uk/dccc/.

03/01/2024 - Added links for the first ever Wells Chess Congress. Organised by Chris Strong. Enter by the 1st of March 2024.

18/12/2023 - Frome Congress 2024 now live.

29/01/2023 - Club contact details updated. Please see the new Club Contacts page.

15/03/2022 - Bristol Blitz. Entries are being taken in advance (only) for the 3rd Bristol Blitz, which is a nine round 5+3 tournament starting at 13:00. This is an open FIDE-rated event, costing £12 per player.

17/02/2022 - Nigel Crucefix. With great sadness Trowbridge Chess Club give notice of the sudden death of Nigel Crucefix, who played in the Somerset leagues for many years. He was well known by the Frome Congress Committee as he would regularly volunteer his time to help clear away sets and tables. He will be missed.

28/11/2021 - Frome Congress. The 31st Frome Chess Congress will now take place on Friday 13th May to Sunday 15th May 2022. Please see the Congress Home Page for further details.

18/03/2020 - Somerset League.Because of the current coronavirus emergency, and in line with Government and ECF advice, The 2019/2020 Somerset League is shut down with immediate effect. No more League matches should be played until further notice.

16/03/2020 - Frome Congress. The 2020 Frome Chess Congress due to take place on May 15 - 17 has been cancelled as a precaution against the Covid-19 virus and to end all uncertainty regarding the event. The organisers are devastated to have to make this decision but believe that this course of action is in the best interests of participants.
Entry fees already paid will be refunded in full. For on-line entries, refunds will be made via PayPal to whichever debit/credit card or PayPal account funded the original payment. Fees paid by cheque will be refunded by post. This process is expected to take a few days.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to greeting you again in 2021.

09/03/2020 - WECU County Championship. The U160 match between Cornwall and Somerset on 14th March has been cancelled as a precaution against the Corona virus

07/03/2020 - Somerset League. Congratulations to Yeovil on winning Division 1.

04/12/2019 - Frome Congress 2020. Details of the May 2020 Frome Congress are now on the Congress Home Page. Many thanks to the new team of Chris Lamming, Mark Leonard and Dave Marshall for taking over the organisational and administration aspects of this popular congress, now in its 31st consecutive year.

24/11/2019 - WECU Championship. Somerset U160 team played Devon on 16th November. Devon won 12.5 - 3.5. Individual results can be seen here.

13/10/2019 - WECU Championship. Somerset first team played Cornwall on 6th October. Cornwall won 9.5 - 6.5. Individual results can be seen here.

04/10/2019 - WECU Championship. Dates for County match fixtures can be seen here.

24/09/2019 - WECU Jamboree. Devon and Somerset fielded two teams each for the WECU Jamboree with the Devon teams being far too strong for a weakened Somerset. Devon won the Open section 9.5 - 2.5 and the graded section 8.5 - 3.5. Thanks are due to Matt Turner and Millfield for their excellent hosting and to Guy Greenland for his efforts in putting together two Somerset teams. Let's hope that players are more supportive for the next round of County matches starting on October 5th.

03/09/2019 - Somerset League. Fixtures for the 2019-20 season have now been loaded into the League Management System.

03/09/2019 - Frome Club change of venue and match night. Frome have been forced reluctantly to leave their long-standing venue at the Rugby Club and will now meet on Monday nights at the Cheese and Grain, Market Yard, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BE.

15/08/2019 - 2019 WECU Jamboree. The 2019 Jamboree will be held at Millfield School on Sunday, September 22nd. (Thanks to the school and especially GM Matthew Turner for hosting the event.) 12 board teams from across the region will compete for the trophies in one of two sections: Open - no grading restriction (current holders Somerset!);
Graded - team's total grade must not exceed 1600 (current holders Cornwall B). Will Somerset players seeking further information and/or wishing to play please contact Guy Greenland.


For more on these and previous news items see the news page.

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