Welcome to 3Cs Chess Club ...
Founded 1978
Website sponsored by ...
Miners Arts and Music Community Centre, Moston, Manchester.
Details via "Sponsors" section of drop-down box on "Welcome" page
2022-23 MANCHESTER CHESS FEDERATION CHAMPIONS (8TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON)
The next 3Cs' club night is this Thursday, 8th June (7pm)
3Cs Chess Club
St.Edward's RC Parish Hall
Spring Lane
Lees,
Oldham, OL4 5AJ
Thursdays 7pm - 9pm
Updated 12.20am Sun 4 June 2023
Thank you all for your support of the club
Recent updates:
Who We Are (Main Page)
Who We Are (Where Are YOU now ?)
News (Main Page)
News (3Cs On Tour)
News (SE Lancs Summer League)
News (UK Chess Challenge)
Fixtures (Main Page)
Fixtures (Teams)
Future Events (Main Page)
Manchester League (3Cs' Records)
Coaching (Main Page)
Puzzle Board (Daily Puzzle 1 - 7)
Edward Jackson (left) is pictured receiving his award from 3Cs' head coach Phil Adams as the first winner of the David Monaghan Memorial Trophy after his success in the club blitz competition.
The blitz event is now to become an annual tournament at 3Cs in memory of one of the club's long-serving players and officials who was involved with 3Cs since its early days.
BREAKING NEWS ....
Declan Johnston has won the Manchester League's Bramley-Harker award as the "Player of the Season" in the MCF rapidplay division. The annual awards go to the players in each division who scored the most points during the season, with Declan having scored a total of 10.5 while playing for 3Cs 5. Declan will receive £25 plus a certificate as his prize and is the 26th 3Cs' player to win a Bramley-Harker award - more than any other club.
3Cs began the South-East Lancashire Summer League in good style with a 4.5 - 1.5 home win for our second team in B Division against Chorlton 2. The visitors arrived two players short therefore providing 3Cs with the game points while wins by Ben Newton and James Marshall together with a draw by Hunain Malik completed the team's total.
The "Future Events" page of this website is now shown on the main menu. Click on the heading to see details of various competitions and congresses in the near future.
Selected details from Phil Adams's most recent 3Cs' Newsletter (30 May) can be seen on our main "Coaching" page. The full content of the fortnightly newsletter (available only to 3Cs' members) includes several tactic problems as well as up-to-date news of events both local and afar. If any current or former 3Cs' members do not receive the Newsletter but would wish to do so, please e-mail Phil at "phil1948a@hotmail.com"
Some of our young players took part in the Megafinals of the Delancey UK Chess Challenge for which more information can be seen in our "UK Chess Challenge" section, via the drop-down box of the main "News" page.
Adam Ashton, Edward Jackson and Sarah Longson played in this weekend's English Championships. Details are in our "3Cs On Tour" section" via the drop-down box of the main "News" page.
Our 3rd team finished their season with a 4-2 home win in C Division against Bury. The points for 3Cs came via four wins from Marlon Espiritu, Mo Rohman, Ben Newton and John Walton. 3Cs 3 therefore ended the season as they began with a 4-2 success and with their first match of 2022-23 being just 3 days short of 8 months ago on September 27.
3Cs6 travelled to play Eccles 5 in their last match of their Rapidplay Division season but despite losing 7.5-0.5 on the night against strong opposition, Eccles unfortunately for them, put some of their players in the wrong board order. As a result, 3.5 points were transferred to 3Cs, making the final result 4-4. The scorer of the 0.5 point for 3Cs was Ibrahim Riaz.
A new page, "Where are YOU now" has been added to our "Who We Are" section, on which we hope to report on former 3Cs' players who are still involved with chess but in various other parts of the country - and beyond ! We hope many former 3Csers will contribute so we can gain some idea as to how far the 3Cs' influence has spread.
3Cs 1 have become the first team in the 132 year history of the Manchester League to win the A Division Championship in 8 consecutive seasons. A 3.5-2.5 home win against Swinton & Worsley 1 sealed the title thanks to individual wins by Dale James and Robert McLean as well as draws by Alan Walton, Sarah Longson and John Bentley, the last of whom being the person whose game was the final one to finish to clinch the historic event.
Needing a victory by 6-2 or more in their final league match of the season to win the Rapidplay Championship, our 5th team were victorious by a slightly better margin in defeating Swinton & Worsley 7 by 6.5 - 1.5 to make it a third consecutive title for the club after previous successes by our 6th and 7th teams. Rebecca Correa, James Marshall and Declan Johnston each won both of their individual games while Edward Correa added a draw. 3Cs 5 have therefore finished unbeaten in the Rapidplay Division, which itself has been contested for three seasons - all of which have ended with a 3Cs' team lifting the trophy.
An excellent finale to the season for the 3Cs' second team with a 3.5 - 2.5 win against Eccles 1 who had already won the B Division title as well as a 100% record from their previous seven league games. Rob McLean, Joao Rita and Kyle Pelling all won for 3Cs with Mo Rohman gaining a draw.
3Cs 4 ended their season with a 5-1 home defeat by Blue Club 3 in D Division of the Manchester League, with an individual win by captain Jonathan Miller providing 3Cs' only game point
Our "Puzzle Board" section includes
7 new positional problems every day
3 "You versus Computer" games
Welcome to the 3Cs' website
To access any of the pages just click on the appropriate heading at the top or alternatively place your cursor over the heading to see a drop-down box giving further options.
3Cs, or to use its official name "The Childrens' Chess Club of Oldham", is dedicated to providing the opportunity for local youngsters to learn and play the game of chess.
The club is recognised as one of the most successful production lines of young talent throughout the country, with both the club itself and many of its individual members having gained major honours at both national and international level.
9 year old James Kaliski, another of the current group of up-and-coming 3Cs' young players. recently displayed his skills on the open-air chess set in Manchester city centre, receiving many praiseworthy comments from people who stopped to watch as he took on adult opponents.
Yes, James won and was even rewarded with free ice cream courtesy of a vendor who was delighted that James has attracted a large crowd near to her van on such a hot afternoon.
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3Cs' founder Steve Rigby alongside one of the club's coaches, Crystal Ashton.
Although now living near the Welsh border, Steve regularly attends the club and is still actively involved in much of the behind the scenes organisation for 3Cs.
As well as her coaching duties, Crystal also organises the 3Cs' Junior 4NCL team and has also recently passed an arbiters' exam.
3Cs' very own Grandmaster STEPHEN GORDON who joined the club while still at primary school and has since progressed to become one of the World's elite group of players.
The photographs above show Stephen in action (left) during the 2019 British Championships and also in conversation with Victor Korchnoi, one of the greatest players of all time.
Despite his talent often being sought by various teams both home and abroad, including regular appearances in the lucrative German national chess Bundersliga, Stephen continues to play for 3Cs.
He has twice won the English Championship, in 2007 and 2012, as well as the 2019 British Rapidplay title while in 2005 he triumphed over more than 1,500 other competitors to win the UK Chess Challenge title.
Away from the board Stephen has also excelled with his ability in promoting the game of chess and for several years hosted "The Full English Breakfast", a chess podcast often highlighting the lighter side of the game. He is also regularly in demand to provide expert analysis of games played at the very top level.
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3Cs' coach Dale James has been presented with his trophy after being honoured by the English Chess Federation as winner of their 2022 "Contribution to Junior Chess" award.
Further details of the award as well as Dale's chess career can be seen in our "ECF Awards" section (via the drop down box of the main "Club Honours" page).
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Much of 3Cs' success over several years is due to many of its juniors continuing to play with the club in their later years ... with the photo (left) providing such examples.
From left to right, Dale James, Andy Lewis and Adam Ashton, all began playing chess for 3Cs while at junior school and are all still play an active part within the club.
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Just a typical night at a local chess club ???
However, the photograph below is from a 3Cs' weekly club night and the "typical kind of members" include Grandmaster Stephen Gordon (seated) as well as International Master Andy Horton (second left) and Women's International Master and six times French women's champion Sophie Milliet (third left).
Also in the picture are Helal Ahmed (extreme left); Michael Tebelev (third right) and 3Cs' head coach Phil Adams (extreme right).
Images from a recent 3Cs' club night showing some junior members (above) and those with more experience (below).
Founded in 1978 to promote and develop chess in Oldham Primary Schools and the surrounding districts, 3Cs has grown since then into one of the largest and strongest junior chess club in the country. Any child is given a welcome, although most are recruited from the Oldham Primary Schools and join by invitation, while they are then encouraged to continue attending once they reach secondary-school age.
The club also has adult members of course who usually fall into one of three categories: ex-juniors who have since grown up; parents of juniors; player-coaches. However, any adults are also made welcome on condition that they actively support the aims and ethos of the club, whose main focus is the development and welfare of the children.
The overall achievements of the club have twice resulted in it receiving the English Chess Federation's "Club of the Year" award - the only club throughout the country to achieve the honour on two occasions - whilst in 2017 the club gained a place among the very best by qualifying to play in the European Club Cup, a feat they repeated in 2018.
However, despite these successes locally, nationally and Internationally, both as a club and for many of its members individually, 3Cs' greatest satisfaction - and forever the main focus of the club - is still seeing local youngsters coming through the door on their weekly club nights (Thursdays 7pm - 9pm) to just enjoy learning and playing the game.