ChessFest School Events

CSC has just finished running three days of outdoor school events in the fantastic setting of Manchester Square Gardens, Westminster. Over 400 children from 45 schools attended, with some travelling down to the capital from Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, and Salford to take part. All were part of our Schools’ Programme, receiving regular chess lessons delivered by CSC tutors over the course of the academic year. Schools outside London received bursaries to cover their cost of travel.

While there, the children received extra lessons from our tutors before taking on a chess master in a simultaneous display. This year, our experts were Grandmasters Chris Ward, Stuart Conquest, and Shreyas Royal, and England’s youngest ever full international in any sport, Bodhana Sivanandan. Later, the children enjoyed some additional coaching during a consultation game on a giant set before heading off to the tournament tent to test their developing chess skills.

We were delighted to welcome Michael Wheeler, MP for Worsley and Eccles, and Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East, who came to watch schools from their constituencies take part in the activities. 

Before they left Manchester Square, all the children received some chess themed goodies to round off the day. The events were a fitting end to the school year but only marked the start of ChessFest 2025, with further activities in Portishead, Hull, Liverpool, Darlington, and London’s Trafalgar Square over the coming weeks.