Serious Chess, Great Food, Free Coaching

Our next Muswell Hill Congress takes place on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 April at the Clissold Arms, 105 Fortis Green, N2 9HR, and you are very warmly invited to take part. This is a compact, two‑day, four‑round FIDE‑rated standard play event, designed to give you serious, meaningful games in a friendly venue with good food and easy transport.

Play one day or both

You can choose the schedule that suits you best:

• Play one day only (either Tuesday 7 or Wednesday 8 April) for £30

• Or play both days for £50 and be in the running for prizes

Rounds are played at sensible times with two games each day, so you get proper thinking time without late nights. Whether you are a busy club player wanting a single testing day, or you’d like a full two‑day congress experience, we’ve tried to keep things as flexible as possible.

Prizes - 1st £200, 2nd £100, 3rd £50 plus a rating prize based on 20 players

Rounds at 10.30am and 2pm. Scoresheets and pens supplied by Chesspick!

Sign up at this website - https://bit.ly/muswellhillfidechess

20% food discount at the Clissold Arms

One of the nicest things about Muswell Hill events is the partnership with our hosts at the Clissold Arms. During the congress you will be able to enjoy a 20% discount on food from the main menu, so you can refuel properly between rounds without leaving the venue. Good quality food, plenty of space, and a relaxed atmosphere all help make this feel more like a chess day out than just another tournament.

Free coaching and analysis with NM Arya Cont (ChessPick)

For this congress we have something special lined up: free coaching and game analysis from NM Arya Cont, founder of the live coaching platform ChessPick. Arya will be based in a separate room at the venue and will be available throughout the day to go through games with both juniors and adults, answer questions, and share practical improvement ideas.

Simply bring your score sheet after your game and sit down with Arya for a review. Whether you want help converting an attack, defending a bad position, or understanding a critical opening idea, this is a chance to get titled‑level feedback at no extra cost.

Parents very welcome

If you are bringing juniors, you need to stay on site. While your children are playing or working with Arya, you can relax. We are always happy to explain how the event works, discuss future tournaments, or talk about ways to support your child’s chess in a friendly environment.

The Clissold Arms is comfortable and welcoming, with plenty of space to sit in the restaurant, have a coffee, and you can visit The Kinks Room if you love music from the 1960s without disturbing the players. It’s a good way to spend the day even if you are not playing yourself.

Free ChessPick trial lessons for this event

To make the most of Arya’s visit, I’ll also be giving out free trial lessons on ChessPick for players who sign up using my event link during the congress. If you’ve been thinking about trying online coaching but haven’t quite taken the plunge, this is a low‑risk way to see how structured one‑to‑one sessions can help.

ChessPick is built to connect students with verified, titled coaches in a simple, organised way, and a trial lesson after the congress is a natural follow‑up to the on‑site analysis you’ll receive at the Clissold Arms.

How to enter

You can find full details and register online via the usual Muswell Hill FIDE chess entry form; places are limited. If you are free on 7–8 April and would like a couple of high‑quality FIDE‑rated games each day, with good food, coaching, and a friendly atmosphere, I’d love to see you there.

Adam Raoof (FIDE International Organiser and Arbiter)

We are pleased to announce that organisers Adam Raoof & Rob Hammond will be continuing the excellent work of Joshua Morris in continuing to grow this series of weekend chess tournaments. GUARANTEED PRIZES!

Join us at the Northampton FIDE Congress (formerly East Midlands) - now in 4 sections, Under 2400, Under 1900, Under 1600 and ECF Under 1400. Players in the top three sections also have to be Under XXXX in the most recent ECF list.

University of Northampton, Waterside Campus, University Drive, Northampton NN1 5PH. The what3words address for the entrance to the Learning Hub at the University of Northampton Waterside Campus is ///rinse.bigger.advice. Coming by car? Use the satnav directions for The Sunley Hotel to get you to the car parks.

If you have played here before, you already know that the venue is really excellent and the facilities some of the best for any chess tournament.

DATES for 2026 (all Saturday and Sunday)

28-29 March (this event will be in the Town Hall at the Creative Hub)
2-3 May (Bank Holiday Weekend) (in LH013 & LH014)

Sign up and some more details are here -

https://form.jotform.com/231114495377963

FIDE-Rated and ECF rated Tournaments:

The Northampton University Chess Tournament is a FIDE and ECF-rated event, meaning that your performance will be officially recognized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE - top three sections) and the English Chess Federation (all sections). This presents an excellent chance to improve your FIDE and ECF ratings.

Hosted by the University of Northampton

• Parking on site for just ~£1 or via the RingGo app, and it’s easy to get to by rail too

• Warm, spacious lobby area for parents! See below for a pic.

• Many power points, free wifi and seating available whilst waiting to work

• Morrisons within throwing distance or town centre 10 minute walk

• Hotel on site with reduced rates for participants (https://www.sunleyhotel.com/) (Mention the chess tournament). So £70.00 a night for a room (single or double occupancy) excluding breakfast, for instance. Ring 01604 892269 and mention the chess for best rates.

• Virtual Tour Available - https://tour.northampton.ac.uk/just-explore/nene-square-2

• Canalside location, beautiful campus with lots of space

TIME CONTROL

The time control is all moves in 60 minutes per player PLUS 30 seconds added per move throughout. This means that we have to restrict the top section to players with FIDE ratings Under 2400, but apart from that…

However, whether you're just starting or have years of experience, this tournament provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for you to enjoy the game of chess.

ROUND TIMES (you can take a bye on the entry form)

Saturday

(1) 10.30am to 1.30pm / (2) 2.00pm to 5.00pm / (3) 5.30pm to 8.30pm

Sunday

(4) 11.00am to 2pm / (5) 2.30pm to 5.30pm

GUARANTEED PRIZES

In the U2400 and Under 1900 - 1st - £200 / 2nd £100 / 3rd £50

Under 1600 - 1st - £160 / 2nd - £80 / 3rd - £40

Under 1400 ECF (if you have a FIDE standard 1400 or above please enter the Under 1600) - 1st - £160 / 2nd - £80 / 3rd - £40

Prizes will be shared in the results of a tie on points.

Sign up and more details are here - https://form.jotform.com/231114495377963

COMMENTS

“Thank you so much for the weekend of chess. It is a great venue.”

“It’s a fantastic venue, ideally located and, as always, your tournaments are run extremely well.”

“Thanks Adam for organising another gem of a tournament.”

“I just wanted to say thank you for hosting a great tournament. It was very well organised and enjoyable to take part in.”

RESULTS AND PRIZES

RESULTS from the event of 28 February - 1 March 2026

Under 2400 - 1st (£200) CM Miguel Arnulfo Zaragoza Alanis [4.5/5]

2nd (£100) Matthew Helsby [4.0/5]

3rd Tied (£50 = £16.67ea) [3.0/5] - Devan Patel, Okwose Marc Obi and Timothy Watson

Under 1900 - 1st (£200) Sameera Kodukula [4.5/5], 2nd (£100) William Lin [4.0/5]

Tie 3rd (£50 = £16.67ea) [3.5/5] - Jonadab Oki, Liam Powell-Jones and Sharvari Saharkar

Under 1600 - 1st - £160, Poluru Mohanaditya 4.5/5
2nd - £40 each to Oliver Saull, Vassily Sagyaman and Luca Feng 3.5/5

ECF Under 1400 - 1st - £160 Ethan Hu 4.5/5 , 2nd - £80 Edward Graveston 4/5 and 3rd - £40 James Graveston 3/5

Register here for 28-29 March: https://form.jotform.com/231114495377963

Use the code BARGAIN for £10.00 off!

Chess England calendar: https://bit.ly/chessenglandcalendar

Thanks to all for playing! Thanks to Rob and Sheryll Hammond for looking after us all weekend, and for the bananas.

If you win something send me your bank details.

Use the coupon code THANKS to get £5.00 off any event until May - get your friends to play in the U1400 category!!

Register here - https://form.jotform.com/231114495377963 for 28th Feb / 1st March 2026

RESULTS from the 24-25 January 2026

Under 1400 - 1st - £160 Machireddy, Sai Saathvik Reddy 2.5/3 / 2nd - £80 Amirthanathan, Adam 2/3 / 3rd - £40 Singh, Amandip 1.5/3

Under 1600 - 1st - £120 each Rene Butler and Lachlan Harding Cornish 4/5. 3rd - £20 each to Ron Cooper and Prakhar Saxena 3/5

Under 1900 - =1st - £150 each to Djan Sennaroglu and Marc Obi Okwose 4.5/5. =3rd £25.00 each David Helsby and Sajan Ganger 3.5/5

Under 2400 - 1st Junhao Xian 4.5/5 £200, £75.00 each Devan Patel and Oleg Verbytski 4/5