Reviews of some Chess Club Websites


Many chess clubs have their own websites, some of which contain extremely interesting and useful material which is available to anyone. There are of course many club sites which contain only details of how to get to the club and local match and tournament results. There is nothing wrong with such sites but they tend to be of interest only to local players.


The 3Cs


The Children's Chess Club (3Cs) is probably the best club for juniors in the UK. The site is pretty good too, the best bits being Phil Adams's book reviews and his junior chess coaching ideas page (which you will find under > 3Cs > Coaching).
Definitely worth a visit.
7/10


Exeter Chess club website

This site comes up again and again on all sorts of chess related web searches. There is a lot of material on this site and some of it is quite good. The coaching 'handouts' while not terribly advanced are nevertheless useful and informative. The collection of games which can be downloaded in various formats is also quite instructive.
Probably worth a visit.
7/10


Oxford University Chess Club

This site used to be very good, but it went off line for a while and when it came back much of the best material was lost. The Articles section of the site might still be worth a visit. It includes an article on how to checkmate with bishop and knight, advice on the best way to play in a simultaneous display, and a short but informative introduction to the French Defence. The rest of the site is now rather parochial.
Not bad.
6/10


Cambridge University Chess Club

Not much there really except reports on university matches and local league games. Except for the grade converter the site is really only of interest to people at Cambridge Uni.
Local interest only.
5/10


Hull Chess Club

There are a few interesting bits and bobs on this site which you can find if you poke around a bit. The stuff on the Winawer variation of the French Defence is good, as are the tactical and endgame puzzles.
Not bad.
6/10


Manchester University Chess Club

Mostly team results. The odd annotated game. Some interesting links. The site is really only of interest to people at Manchester Uni.
Local interest only.
5/10


Kings Head Chess Club

There is plenty of good stuff on this site. Lots of interesting and sometimes very funny articles (I especially liked the one on chess player stereotypes), instructive annotated games, and tactical puzzles. Worth exploring.
Recommended.
8/10


Southampton University Chess Club

The best bit of this site is the tactics section. Though the material is not original it is well organised and the java interface it is presented in is friendly and accessible. The site also hosts a java chess playing program designed by Lokasoft.
Probably worth a visit.
7/10


Rose Forgrove Chess Club

This site gets the balance about right between information for club members on the one hand and articles of interest to a wider audience on the other. We particularly enjoyed reading the article on playing out equal positions, and the interactive annotated games sections on José Raúl Capablanca and Nigel Short. The 'test yourself' sections are good. There is also a selection of video clips from the superb 'Master Game' television series. If you skip over the parochial stuff this site reads like an issue of a reasonably high quality multimedia magazine. Once you're into it you may well end up reading it all the way through, but there's no guarantee you'll ever read it again.
Worth visiting at least once.
7/10


More reviews to come...


Superfluous guide to marks:

Mark out of ten	Interpretation	Expected audience.
10	Simply fantastic.	Universal appeal.
9	Almost fantastic.	Almost universal appeal.
8	Very good and worth exploring.	Will be of interest to most players.
7	Worth visiting at least once.	A good chance you'll find something of interest.
6	Not bad.	A chance you will find something of interest.
5	Local interest only.	Unlikely that you will find anything of interest.
less than 5	Dross.	Hmm...