Where we play

Chess in Central London

You don’t have to live in the Streatham or Brixton areas to play for us – many of our members live north of the river or outside London. Playing in central London is convenient and offers high-quality competitive chess. In fact, we play more league chess in central London than at local venues.

In the London Chess League, we have teams in several divisions (the main ones are 8-boards). Matches generally start at 6.30pm though this can vary a little depending on the match venue. Games last a maximum of three hours and are always finished on the same night. The league has two principal venues: St Margaret’s Hall near Bethnal Green tube (our designated ‘home’ venue), and the Mind Sports Centre at Hammersmith (very close to Ravenscourt Park tube). We also play away matches at a few clubs which use their own venue. All venues are in Zones 1 or 2.

We also play in the Central London Chess League which has smaller teams of 4 or 5 boards. All matches in this league are played at one venue: Churchill Gardens Tenants Association Hall, near Pimlico tube. Matches start at 6:30 and last a maximum of three hours.

At the height of the season we have one match a week (sometimes more!) in one or other of these two London leagues. League seasons run from sometime in September through to May or June.

Competitive Chess in South London

If you live in or around Streatham, there are also opportunities to play chess more locally. Our main participation is in the Croydon and District Chess League (4 board matches) where we have teams in several divisions covering all strengths of play. All usually start at 7.40 and all finish in one evening. Our home matches are currently played at the Café at St. Thomas Church, corner of Telford Avenue and Salford Road. Map here. It is a short 10-minute walk from Streatham Hill Station, and slightly more from Balham tube. It is also near several bus routes running north and south along Streatham High Road/Hill (including from Brixton tube a 15-minute ride). There is free on-street parking adjacent. Away matches are at various clubs to which our regulars are usually able to offer lifts.

The club is also affiliated to the Surrey County Chess Association which offers members opportunites to play in inter-county matches.

The club usually holds a small number of internal competitions over the course of the year. They are typically in rapid or blitz formats and open to members and friends of the club.

Online Chess

If you like to play from the comfort of your own screen we also offer places in our teams in the online 4 Nations Chess League (4NCL). Games are played on the Lichess platform, and matches take place on Tuesday evenings, starting at 7:30pm. The time control is 45 minutes with a 15 second increment after each move, so games typically last a couple of hours or less.

Social Chess at Streatham Library

You can play casual chess at Streatham Library every Tuesday throughout the year. Streatham Library is here at 63 Streatham High Road, SW16 1PN. We meet in the Mark Bennett Community Centre from 4.30 to 7.30 pm and players of all ages and abilities are welcome. We ask that children under 10 are accompanied by an adult. There is nothing to pay and you don’t have to be a member of Streatham & Brixton Chess Club to participate.

Strong players often drop by for a few games of blitz chess and several of our Tuesday afternoon regulars also play for our league teams. Members of the informal library chess group also have the opportunity to take part in more organized events, such as club rapidplays.

For more information about Chess at Streatham Library visit the library group’s website.