Welcome
NEW: Social Chess on Thursday, 7.30pm
St Albans Chess Club is suitable for chess players of all levels.
We meet on Monday and Thursday evenings from 7.30 pm at The County Club, 29 Ridgmont Road. Our club house is close to St Albans City Thameslink (platform 4).
Monday nights are devoted to League Chess in which games are ECF rated, whereas Thursdays are intended for Social Chess, training and special events.
The Christmas Handicap Rapid-play, a fun tournament in which the whole club is invited to participate, will take place on Thursday, 17th December 2026.
Parking
Although there is a small car park behind The County Club, it is often full. Otherwise, off-peak parking is available at St Albans City rail station from 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Download the APCOA parking app to make payment.
There is limited street parking nearby, but beware residential parking zones which may remain restricted until 8.00 pm.
League & Cup Matches
St Albans club competes in League and Cup competitions organised by Hertfordshire Chess Association (HCA) and Hertford & District League (H&D). The season runs from October to May and play starts at 7.45pm.
County Teams
Club players may also be interested in playing County Chess on Saturday or Sunday when Hertfordshire teams compete in the Southern (SCCU) and East Anglian (EACU) Chess Union Championships.
SCCU matches (u1650 16 boards, u1450 12 boards) are played on Saturday and may require travel to away matches in Essex, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey. EACU matches (u1850 16 boards) are played on Sunday at a central venue in Suffolk.
The top two (and sometimes three) counties in each rating category qualify to play in the ECF national knock-out finals.
St Albans Congress
The club organises St Albans Chess Congress, an annual ECF-rated weekend Swiss tournament. It next takes place at St Columba's College on Saturday & Sunday, 10th to 11th April 2027.
The Amsters
Since 2001, a small group of chess fanatics has been organising weekend trips during February half term to visit cities in Europe and play friendly matches against the local clubs.
The list of destinations continues grow and includes: Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, Cologne, Copenhagen, Delft, Dublin, Malta, Mechelen (Belgium), Prague, Rome, The Hague, Vienna.