Kenilworth Chess Club celebrates 50 years with grand master playing 30 games at once
Kenilworth Chess Club is celebrating 50 years in 2025.
The modern Kenilworth Chess Club was founded in 1975, 14 years after the town's first club, the Kenilworth Chess and Draughts Club (established in 1945) had folded.
To celebrate this milestone, the club recently organised a simultaneous display at the Holiday Inn by eight times British champion, Grand Master Michael Adams.
At his absolute peak (2000-02) Adams ranked fourth in the world and even at the age of 53 is still ranked world number 77, while in 2023 he became World 50+ champion.
This formidable player, England's number one for the best part of three decades, came to Kenilworth to take on 30 players at once – 23 Kenilworth Chess Club members and seven juniors (including three five-year-olds) from the outstanding Coventry Chess Academy (CCA), which is run by long time KCC member, Paul Lam.
Kenilworth has become the dominant force in local league chess, winning Division 1 of the Leamington League, and the League's Knock-Out Cup for the last five seasons.
A strong team had been assembled to take on the Grand Master, headed by two of the club's three Candidate Masters, Javier Valdepenas and England junior international, 15 year old Jude Shearsby, backed up by most of the club's strongest players, including another three juniors.
Also participating were two of the earliest members of the club, Bernard Rogers and Chris Aldridge, who both joined during the formation year of 1975 and have each notched up 50 years of membership.
Despite the best efforts of all the assembled Kenilworth opposition, though, Adams was in imperious form and showed everyone present just how good a Super-Grand Master is.
In around 3 hours 45 minutes he very nearly completed a clean sweep, and when the dust settled his final score was 29 wins, one draw and no losses.
The star performer for Kenilworth was former Warwick School teacher Andy Ward (Assistant Director of the CCA), who matched the GM all the way and kept his cool through some hair raising complications to secure a draw in the endgame.
Naturally this won him the prize for the best game by a Kenilworth player, while 11 year old Ilyas Rashid was judged by GM Adams to have played the best game by a Coventry Chess Academy member.
Despite the score, Kenilworth Chess Club was honoured to have hosted such an event, against one of the world's best known Grand Masters. It was a great way to celebrate both the club's first 50 years and kick start the second 50 years.
Anyone interested in playing social or competitive chess with the club is welcome to come along to the Holiday Inn on any Thursday during the summer (from 19.30) to play some games.
There won't normally be any Grand Masters in attendance, but with the 2025 English Chess Championships being held at the Holiday Inn between July 18-21 and 6 GMs currently due to play (including Michael Adams) you never know who you might bump into!
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