Lance writes:

A new event is coming up this summer!

There will be a big Rapid and Blitz event taking place on 22-23 August at the ILEC Conference Centre in Earls Court, part of the 2026 Mind Sports Olympiad!

There will be a 2 day rapid with £4,000 in prizes in the Open, £700 in the Under 1900, and £700 in the Under 1600 section.

Five rounds of 15+10 rapid games each day (10 rounds total).

There are additionally two blitz tournaments.

The Saturday Blitz has £1,600 in prizes, and the Sunday Blitz has £300 in prizes.

Both blitz tournaments will be 11 rounds (Saturday is 3+2, and Sunday’s time control is TBC, but likely a 3+0 or 5+0 with no increment!).

The total prize fund is £7,300 across all the tournaments.

Limited conditions to Grandmasters!

Player lists: https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr1394731.aspx?lan=1&SNode=S0

Entry form with more details: https://form.jotform.com/261047348658364

Please spread the word, and I am looking forward to making this event a success!

Best wishes,

Lance Leslie-Smith - lancelesliesmith2002@gmail.com

FIDE International Arbiter & Organiser

Chess England - https://sites.google.com/view/chessengland/home

If you win a prize, email adam@chessengland.com with your bank details to claim it!

Calendar of my events - https://bit.ly/chessenglandcalendar

Golders Green FIDE Rapidplay 11th April 2026 - at St Luke’s Church in Kidderpore Avenue, London NW3 7SU

Thanks to my wonderful team of arbiters - Lance Leslie-Smith (live Boards and Open), Rob Hammond (Open and Major Pairings), Jo Wildman (Minor and Amateur and crowd control) and Alex Horwood who did pretty much everything else!

Open Prizes

Tie 1st. (£100 + 2nd. £50 = £75ea) [5.0/6]

- GM Praveen Balakrishnan, CM Max Turner

Rating. £50 Ganesh Viswanath [3.5/6]

Under 1900 Prizes

Tie 1st. £100 + 2nd. £50 = £50ea) [5.0/6]

- Joel Abramovich, Dominic Gibbs, Orest Stus

Rating. £50 Grace Wilde [4.5/6]

Under 1600 Prizes

1st Equal = Joseph Zubiada, Philip Ongcachuy, Peter Mant = £60+30/3 = £30 each

Rating = Sam Cohen and Michael Celaya = £15 each

Under 1100 Prizes

1st = Kligan Bragance = £60

2nd = Leo Feng = £30

Rating = Patrick Ho and Yaksh Trpurai = £15 each

Hendon FIDE Blitz - 9 April 2026 @Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club, 25 Alvanley Gardens, London NW6 1JD

PRIZES

1st. [£40] GM Petro Golubka {5.5/6}

2nd = [£21/3 = £7 each] CM Luke Lau, Remy Rushbrooke, & GM Praveen Balakrishnan {5/6}

Best Hendon Member [£20/4 = £5 each] Mohammad Mozaffari, Saniru Atulugamage, David Amior, & Salvatore Pepe {4/6}

Army & Navy Congress 13-15 MARCH 2026

https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1343427.aspx?lan=1

OPEN

1st £500 IM Makkar, Rajat 5/5

2nd Alfie Onslow and Manmay Chopra 3.5 £200 each

MAJOR

= 1st Olteanu, Daniel-Luca, Pasqualetto, Lorenzo and Tony Wells 4/5 £175 each

MINOR

1st £300 Mahapatra, Ravi 4.5/5

2nd £150 Yeoh, Michael 4/5

3rd £75 Glover, Mark and Michael Radcliffe £37.50 each

🗓️ TUE, APR 14 x2
⏰ 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM — Muswell Hill FIDE Chess - Standard 📍 The Clissold Arms @ The Clissold Arms, 105 Fortis Green, London, N2 9HR [Weekend Chess] https://bit.ly/muswellhillfidechess
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🗓️ FRI, APR 24 x5
⏰ Friday 24 Apr 6:30 PM to Sunday 26 Apr — LCL FIDE Congress - https://form.jotform.com/223566285096970 x 4 sections 📍 London Mindsports Centre, 21 Dalling Rd, London W6 0JD, UK [International Chess]
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🗓️ SAT, MAY 2 - 3 
⏰ Saturday 2 May 10:30 AM to Sunday 3 May — Northampton FIDE Congress - 5 games
https://form.jotform.com/231114495377963 📍 University of Northampton Waterside Campus, University Drive, Northampton, NN1 5PH [Weekend Chess]
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🗓️ TUE, MAY 5 x2 games
⏰ 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM — Muswell Hill FIDE Chess - Standard 📍 The Clissold Arms @ The Clissold Arms, 105 Fortis Green, London, N2 9HR [Weekend Chess] https://bit.ly/muswellhillfidechess
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🗓️ FRI, MAY 8 - 10 and 5 games
⏰ Friday 8 May to Sunday 10 May — Army & Navy Club FIDE Congress - https://pci.jotform.com/form/260264564399972 📍 Army & Navy Club, 36-39 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JN, UK [Weekend Chess]
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🗓️ TUE, MAY 12 x 2 games
⏰ 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM — Muswell Hill FIDE Chess - Standard 📍 The Clissold Arms @ The Clissold Arms, 105 Fortis Green, London, N2 9HR [Weekend Chess] https://bit.ly/muswellhillfidechess
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🗓️ FRI, MAY 22 - 24
⏰ Friday 22 May 5:30 PM to Sunday 24 May — Birmingham FIDE Congress - https://form.jotform.com/242906528359062 📍 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School, Shirley Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 7XY [Weekend Chess]
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⏰ Friday 22 May 6:30 PM to Sunday 24 May — LCL FIDE Congress - https://form.jotform.com/223566285096970 x 4 sections 📍 London Mindsports Centre, 21 Dalling Rd, London W6 0JD, UK [International Chess]
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🗓️ TUE, MAY 26 - 27
⏰ Tuesday 26 May 10:30 AM to Wednesday 27 May — Muswell Hill Congress - 4 games!  https://bit.ly/muswellhillfidechess 📍 Clissold Arms, 105 Fortis Green, Muswell Hill, London N2 9HR, UK [Weekend Chess]
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🗓️ FRI, MAY 29
⏰ Friday 29 May to Sunday 31 May — Ghent FIDE Weekender - (see pic for hall)
https://form.jotform.com/243073289486972 📍 Schaakhuis Caïssa, Abrahamstraat 46, 9000 Gent, Belgium [Weekend Chess]
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