ChessFest School Events

ChessFest is CSC’s annual celebration of the game of chess, held across several days and venues in July each year. In 2024, we held large-scale public events in Liverpool, Hull, and London’s Trafalgar Square. In between these events, we also welcomed over 300 children from 30 of our schools to two days of chess activities in the delightful setting of Manchester Square, London.

The children who visited received chess lessons from CSC tutors, got the chance to test their skills in simultaneous games against former British Champion Grandmaster Chris Ward or the new sensation of British chess, 9-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan, and competed in a tournament against their peers from across the country. We were very fortunate to have some special guests this year: our partners from ChessKid had made the trip from across the pond to run some puzzle competitions for our visiting pupils.

Some of the schools had travelled long distances to see us - from Manchester, Leeds, Hull, etc - and finished the day with a sightseeing tour of London before heading home on the train, clutching various chess goodies. CSC provided travel bursaries for schools outside London to help with their transport costs.

The days were a lot of fun and a fitting reward to the children for their hard work throughout the school year.