Welcome to 3Cs Chess Club ...
Founded 1978
As seen on BBC1's "The One Show"
3Cs Chess Club
St.Edward's RC Parish Hall
Spring Lane, Lees, Oldham, OL4 5AJ
Thursdays 7pm - 9pm
Click these links for 3Cs contact details ....
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The next 3Cs club night is tonight, Thursday 24 April 2025 (7pm)
2025 King's New Year's Honours - Stephen Rigby - British Empire Medal
Steve Rigby, the founder of 3Cs in 1978, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2025 King's New Year's Honours for services to young people in the community, especially for his involvement with chess and Rugby League. Steve is only the thirteenth person in the country to receive one of the monarch's national honours in recognition of their chess activities while he was also coach of the Oldham junior schools' Rugby League team when they played at Wembley Stadium in the curtain-raiser prior to the 1984 Challenge Cup final.
Click on the following link for further information and various media reports of Steve's honour ...
Last update 9.55am Thr 24 Apr 2025
Thank you all for your support of the club.
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Welcome (Sponsors)
Welcome (Privacy Policy)
News (3Cs On Tour)
News (Club Competitions)
Fixtures (Main page)
Future Events (Main page)
Coaching (Main Page)
Coaching (Quotes 1)
Puzzle Board (Main Page)
Puzzle Board (Daily Puzzle 1-6)
Welcome to 3Cs' website
Click on the relevant heading at the top of this website to view the main page of your required section. Alternatively just place your cursor over the heading to reveal a drop-down box giving further options and then click on the one you want.
3Cs, or to use its official name "The Children's 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 local, regional, national and international level.
3Cs WEBSITE SPONSORSHIP
This 3Cs website has a new sponsor, namely "Annie's Tearoom", Lodge Mill, Townley Street, Middleton, which we hope all our members will support in the same way they are providing their help towards our efforts in promoting chess to young boys and girls. A new initiative is that we are also looking for sponsors for each page of the website and which can now be seen by clicking on the link below. Anyone wishing to sponsor a page (£30 for the rest of 2025) should tell a club official at one of our weekly club nights.
3Cs' Forthcoming Matches
Manchester Chess Federation
Monday 28 April (7.30pm)
Rapidplay Division
Bolton 5 v 3Cs 6
Thursday 1 May (7.30pm)
Reyner Shield - Final
Bolton 1 v 3Cs
C Division
Swinton & Worsley 3 v 3Cs 3
2024 ECF "Club of the Year"
2024 saw 3Cs win the English Chess Federation's "Club of the Year" award for the third time - having also received the honour in 2006 and 2014 - while no other club throughout the country has won it more than once since it was first presented in 1984.
Click this link for details of all the 3Cs awards ...
Photograph courtesy of Brendan O'Gorman
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3Cs Grandmaster Stephen Gordon recently took part in the Bangkok Championships in Thailand. Details of his progress in the event can be found on our "3Cs On Tour" section (via the drop-down box of the main "News" page).
BREAKING NEWS :
3Cs 2 defeated Ashton 1 at home 3.5 - 1.5 in their Manchester League B Division match. Although scoring 2.5, Ashton had a point deducted when one of their players failed to appear while, as well as the point gained for the defaulted game, wins from Andy Lewis and Tim Hilton together with a Mo Rohman draw provided the 3Cs success.
In E Division of the Manchester League 3Cs 5 lost 3.5 - 2.5 away to Stockport 3. Claire Kerton and Sean Hicks won for 3Cs while Ved Boganadham drew.
Ju Wenjun has won the women's World Championship for a fifth time with a 6.5 - 2.5 success against fellow Chinese player Tan Zhongyi.
Our fourth team won 4-2 at home to Swinton & Worsley 4 in the Manchester League's D Division. Our visitors defaulted two boards while individual success from Claire Kerton and Ved Boganadham ensured victory for 3Cs.
3Cs 1 gained an emphatic 5-1 away win against Chorlton 1 in A Division of the Manchester League with all our players contributing to the score. Rob McLean, Joao Rita, Andy Lewis and Tim Hilton all won their individual games while Kyl;e Pelling and Dale James both drew theirs.
Double success for 3Cs with wins for their third and sixth teams. 3Cs 3 gained a 3.5 - 2.5 home win against Bolton 3 in C Division of the Manchester League thanks to wins from Andy Lewis, Marlon Espiritu and Claire Kerton together with a draw on his debut for the club from Nan Frimpong. 3Cs 6 gained some revenge against Blue Club 4 in the Rapidplay Division, having lost at home to them earlier in the season in the semi-final of the Harry lamb Trophy. This time our team gained an emphatic 6.5 - 1.5 win with the team's points coming from Aaron Lewis (2), Sean Hicks (2), Noah Hicks (1.5) and Ved Boganadham (1).
Selected details from Phil Adams's latest 3Cs' Newsletter (8 April) 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"
Mitchell Burke finished 6th in the Open section of the Huddersfield congress with a score of 3/5 while Mo Rohman finished on 2/5 in the Major competition. 3Cs players in the Minor section were Claire Kerton (3), Noah Hicks (2.5) and Sean Hicks (2). See photograph further down this page.
Despite facing a Grandmaster and two International Masters, 3Cs 1 maintained their hopes of winning the Manchester League's A Division title with a 3.5 - 2.5 home win against Bolton 1. Rob McLean and Mitchell Burke both drew against titled players while the team's other points came from wins by Phil Adams and Kyle Pelling, along with a Tim Hilton draw.
Many 3Cs players often attend weekend events all across the country. The Bolton tournament took place as usual over the Easter weekend at which 3Cs were well represented, including (as shown in the photograph from left to right), Mohammed Rohman, Sean Hicks, Noah Hicks and Claire Kerton.
Click this link to see where 3Cs players have travelled to take part in various tournaments both home and abroad ...
ENGLISH CHESS FEDERATION MEMBERSHIPS
A relevant level of membership of the national governing body for chess in this country (ECF) is often required before being able to compete in events both locally and nationally, with such memberships covering a 12 month period.
Click this link for more details and also for when current memberships of 3Cs players expire ...
NATIONAL AWARD FOR 3Cs' FOUNDER
In 2023 3Cs' founder Steve Rigby was personally honoured by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who recommended him to receive a "Points of Light" award which is a National Honour bestowed upon individual volunteers whose efforts have made a difference to their community.
The Prime Minister's personal award is in recognition of the 45 years Steve has spent encouraging youngsters to play chess since forming the 3Cs chess club in 1978 and with Steve becoming the first person to receive the award for services to chess.
For more information, click on this link ...
3Cs Chess Club featured on the BBC1 primetime television programme "The One Show" on Friday 13 October 2023.
Photographs of the BBC filming at 3Cs HQ can be seen by clicking on this link ...
The BBC have kindly given permission for 3Cs to reproduce the broadcast on this website - the section involving 3Cs is therefore available for viewing by clicking the box below.
3Cs were very prominent in the December 2023 issue of the English Chess Federation's monthly newsletter "Chess Moves", including articles about the formation and history of the club; Steve Rigby's "Points of Light" award and our International Master Andy Horton becoming the British blitz champion.
Click this link for further information ...
3Cs won the 2023 British Chess Educational Trust award for their outstanding achievement and encouragement of chess at junior level and is the most prestigious national honour specifically for the promotion of junior chess.
The club received an engraved chess board, boxed pieces and clock (shown below) while more details of the award can be seen by clicking this link ...
6 chess puzzles - updated every day - plus 3 "Play the Computer" options are available via the drop-down box of our main "Puzzles" page.
A photograph of new World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju has now been added to those of his predecessors in the 3Cs' Match Room which also features all the women's World Champions.
Therefore, while youngsters at 3Cs are coached how to play chess, the photographs assist in also teaching them its history.
The room also houses the club library as well as a projection screen, trophy cabinet and the 3Cs' Honours Boards.
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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.
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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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Images from 3Cs' club nights showing some of our junior members (above) and those with more experience (below).
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Just a typical night at a local chess club ???
However, the photograph (left) 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 head coach Phil Adams (extreme right).
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Much of the 3Cs' success for several years is due to many of its juniors continuing to play with the club in their later years ... with this photo providing such an example.
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 involved with the club.
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 resulted in it receiving the English Chess Federation's "Club of the Year" award on three occasions - and being the only club throughout the country to gain the honour more than once - 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 twelve months later.
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.