ChessFest 2024 in Trafalgar Square
ChessFest returned to Trafalgar Square, London on Sunday 7th July 2024, bigger and better than ever before! A record 23,300 people visited the festival and enjoyed a wide range of fun, family-friendly, and free chess activities.
Even a thunderstorm couldn’t dampen our visitors’ enthusiasm for chess. Our volunteers quickly stepped in with their squeegee mops and their window wipers and the games resumed as the clouds blew away.
Many of the UK’s top chess players joined us for the day, including England’s top player, Grandmaster Nikita Vitiugov, British Champions, Grandmasters Gawain Jones, Matthew Sadler, Stuart Conquest, and Chris Ward, as well as British Women's’ Champions, International Master Harriet Hunt and FIDE Master Akshaya Kalaiyalahan. In addition, three of the UK’s new generation of chess stars, Supratit Banerjee, Ethan Pang, and Bodhana Sivanandan, took on members of the public in simultaneous displays and in our Challenge the Chess Master tent.
Meanwhile, on our living chess board, 32 actors dressed as characters from Alice Through the Looking Glass recreated famous games of chess with commentary from MC Owen and GM Chris Ward. In the battle between the eight flamingoes of the white pieces and the eight hedgehogs of the red pieces, honours were even at one win a team!
Events at Chessfest 2024
Free chess lessons for children and adults from professional chess teachers and top UK players
10 giant chess sets for people to play on
100s of chess tables for children and chess fans to play with each other
Challenge a Chess Master at speed chess
Blindfold Chess exhibition
Giant speed chess display. Watch two masters battle it out in a test of speed and strength.
A truly giant screen (12 x 7m) broadcasting all the action from the square!
Live link-ups and challenge matches with ChessFest Hull
ChessFest 2024 attracted considerable media interest and was covered by both BBC London News and the BBC website. For more information about ChessFest 2024, please contact CSC here.
For the full gallery of photos from ChessFest 2024, please click here.
