CSC Teesside

Saturday, 28 March 2026

Open Thoughts: Session Four

Today we enjoyed the fourth Open Thoughts session at Yarm's Costa Coffee.

I invited several new people for this session, including David Berry, who will soon be opening up Grind & Gambit, Teesside's first-ever chess cafe.

We had games of three-way chess, four-way chess, Maharajah chess, three-check chess and even some normal games of chess too.

The relaxed atmosphere promoted good fun and fine conversations. Chess should never be just about rating points and bragging rights!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the morning such a great success, including Costa's Jolita, shown (above) making the first move.

It was also the chess gathering with the finest selection of colours for both chess pieces and drinks ever seen in the history of chess itself.

Open Thoughts will return towards the end of Summer.

Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Grind & Gambit

Coming soon: A brand new chess cafe, in Seaton Carew!

Here is what to expect:

'Grind & Gambit was born from a simple idea: coffee should fuel both the daily grind and the game plan.

As a proudly independent coffee shop and board game café in Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, we created a space where strategy meets speciality coffee.

Whether you're mapping out your next big move, attending our chess club in Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, catching up with friends, or finding a quiet corner to recharge, we’ve created a safe space that blends warmth, creativity and playful strategy.'

Follow this link for further details, including forthcoming news on the launch date.

Saturday, 10 January 2026

Open Thoughts: Session Three

We enjoyed a very good Open Thoughts session at Yarm's Costa this morning.

The snow and other matters unfortunately meant that some of the invited people could not make it, but everyone who was present still had a very good time playing a variety of chess variants, including intriguing battles with both the Three Way and Four Way chess sets.

The next session is this series of invitational events will probably take place some time near Easter.

Thank you to everyone who made the morning such a great success, including Costa's wonderful Jolita, who makes everything possible.

Friday, 12 December 2025

CSC Teesside Christmas Meal

Tonight brought the annual CSC Teesside Tutor Christmas meal, featuring an all-star full house.

This is easily the best tutor team to be found anywhere.

The evening also brought an unlikely - yet successful - debut for someone’s silver snakeskin boots.

Christmas Finale

A fitting finale to my school visits of 2025: Christmas Chess at Park End with Christmas music playing and a guest appearance by the one and only Catherine Lloyd, who called in after finishing her own school sessions for the day.

Happy times!

Sunday, 23 November 2025

16th Mike Closs Memorial Tournament

Today brought the 16th edition of the Mike Closs Memorial Tournament, played in honour of my late friend and teammate.

Five participants played in a double-round robin event, using a randomly selected series of Mike's favourite chess openings, namely: The Milner-Barry Gambit, The Sicilian Najdorf, The Modern Benoni, The French Tarrasch and The Accelerated Sicilian Dragon.

Dave Baillie, the defending champion and three-time winner of the event, was the pre-tournament favourite. Dave is also the only person to have played in all of the events in this series.

He was joined by Peter Harker, Richard Harris, Jo Hutchinson and Kevin Winter for a full day of sharp chess action.

After a whole series of very tough games, Kevin Winter emerged as the new champion (only the sixth champion across the 16 years).

Jo Hutchinson was on terrific form too, drawing 1-1 with Kevin in the first round and ending Dave's hopes of a successful title defence with a 2-0 victory, even though the games in that particular round featured the French Defence, in which Dave is a noted expert.

Final Standings

Kevin Winter, 8.5/10

Jo Hutchinson, 7.5/10

Dave Baillie, 5.5/10

Richard Harris, 4.5/10

Peter Harker, 4/10

The tournament was immediately followed by an expedition into town for a late lunch at Cena, which was enjoyed by all.

Here is a gallery from our very busy and enjoyable day.

The 17th edition of this long-running event will take place in 2026.

Sunday, 5 October 2025

30th Yarm Chess Championships

The 30th event in this very long running series took place at Yarm Preparatory School yesterday, as the recent storm kindly stepped aside for one day to allow everything to proceed very smoothly indeed.

The Under-11 section saw Yarm A in dominant form. They won every game - 20/20 - to secure first place.

As always, the bare scores never reveal the full story and there were at least a couple of games which could have gone the other way, but champions know how to show resilience and how to dig in deep and keep going through troubled times, instead of giving up.

Yarm B finished in second place and Holy Trinity played very well indeed to secure a very meritorious third place.

The Under-9 section brought a stern challenge for the defending champions, as Yarm A found themselves chasing the leaders, Thornaby Library, all day long.

Ultimately, Thornaby Library proved to be the best team on the day and they deservedly took the title.

Yarm A held second position, with Yarm B taking third place.

Full Scores

Under-11s

1st: Yarm A, 20

2nd: Yarm B, 13.5

3rd: Holy Trinity, 10.5

9: Billingham South

4.5: Yarm C and Yarm D

Under-9s

1st: Thornaby Library, 17

2nd: Yarm A, 15

3rd: Yarm B, 13

10: Yarm F

9: Yarm C

7.5: Yarm E

4.5: Yarm G

4: Yarm D

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the day such a great success, including Johannes Grundmann and the Yarm Preparatory School staff, Catherine Lloyd and Chris Swales.

Our special guest of honour was Jessica Lloyd, who not only helped with the running of the tournament, but also presented the prizes to the teams.

We awarded trophies, medals, certificates and a special chess keyring, courtesy of Chess in Schools and Communities.

Here is a gallery from our busy day.