A Busman’s Holiday

Aga and the team from the London Women’s Chess Club

What do CSC staff do to wind down after a long day in the office organising chess activities in schools, prisons, libraries, and many other places? They play chess themselves, of course! Most of our employees and tutors caught the chess bug many years ago and like nothing more than a few games of chess in the evenings.

Over three nights in September our intrepid team took part in the City Chess Rapid League, kindly hosted by Evelyn Partners at their offices in the heart of the City of London. CSC took its place alongside teams from Barclays, JP Morgan, Bloomberg and other prestigious financial institutions, playing a total of 15 4-board matches. It really was a team effort, with a squad of 11 players being rotated to ensure everyone had the chance to play and to rest and enjoy the refreshments laid on by our hosts.

We’re pleased to report that the CSC team didn’t waste their youths for nothing, beating off strong opposition from the Bank of England to retain the trophy, with a match score of 14.5 out of a possible 15 points. Our huge thanks to everyone who helped make this such an enjoyable event and especially to Alfie Heath for all his hard work organising the league.