As the British Chess Championships heads to Liverpool this summer, Merseysportlive sat down with president of the Liverpool Chess Club Jim Gallagher to find out more about the club and their involvement in the event.
Founded in 1837, the Liverpool Chess Club (LCC) is the oldest existing chess club in England.
In 1892 it was even seen as the largest club in the world, with its 150 members including the likes of Liverpool’s lawyers, businessmen, and politicians.
Now more than 150 years later, its members continue to congregate and keep the tradition of chess in Liverpool alive and well with weekly meetings at The Cornmarket Pub.
The club has teams in all four of the Merseyside Chess Association leagues, competing in home and away games against fellow Merseyside clubs.
LCC President Jim Gallagher said: “It’s always been known as a world centre of chess and loads of the grandmasters have come to Liverpool like Steinitz, Karpov, and Spassky.
“They’ve all visited because of the massive reputation.
“The club has had ups and downs along the way but it’s thriving today. We’ve won the league the last few years which we hadn’t done for 52 years.
“The club is back in a big way.”
Merseyside clubs looking to get involved
The city has only hosted the Championships once before back in 2008, making the decision that much more impactful for the local chess community.
Alongside the LCC, 12 other clubs on Merseyside are eager to be involved in the championships.
“Everyone’s excited, I’ve had loads of messages from people from all the other clubs on Merseyside,” Gallagher added.
“We haven’t worked out how we will get all of the clubs involved yet, but there’s an awful lot of interest right up to Southport and down to Agbeth.
“Obviously it hasn’t been in the city for nearly 20 years, so it has been a long time ambition to try and get it back.
“There was a lot of work involved in putting the bid in for it, but the result is fantastic.”
Liverpool Chess Club members aiming for glory
St George’s Hall will host a number of competitive tournaments, including the coveted British Championship trophy.
This will feature the best of British chess, with only the highest ranked players qualifying for the tournament.
The nearby Holiday Inn Liverpool will also host a number of amateur events, giving the chance for all skill levels to participate during the tournaments.
“I expect possibly up to half of the members in the club will try and take part in the tournament across all the levels available,” said Gallagher.
“But some of the top players in the club like Gary Cullen who’s an international master, will be trying to win it.
“We have top players well over the 2,000 grade who would all have a chance to win or get more than one of the top spots in the tournament.
“I think we’ll definitely have a strong presence.”
Liverpool and Everton players involved in festival of chess
During the tournament the city will host a ‘festival of chess’ providing social programmes and chess themed events.
Liverpool City Council are working alongside the LCC to set up these events in an aim to promote and grow the game.
Gallagher said: “There will be chess boards set up across the city for people to have a go on, and even a film festival in a local theatre showing films about chess.
“We’re also hoping to do some football themed events based around Everton vs Liverpool, and we’re working on trying to get some players involved.
“Whether they are past or present is something we’re still trying to sort out.
“We’ll also see a lot of art based stuff, with people dressed up a chess pieces around the city centre.
“It sounds like it’s really going to try and catch the eye visually.”
Growing the game in Merseyside
The competition this summer is expected to be one of the biggest and strongest British tournaments ever.
There are a growing number of active British grandmasters, international masters, and top-level juniors.
Chess has also seen a resurgence in participation in the UK, with lockdown massively boosting online players.
This also coincided with the release of Netflix’s “The Queens Gambit”, which also sparked the growing interest towards chess.
Merseyside chess bodies have also been working with schools to boost participation among younger players.
“Rob Steele, who’s the Merseyside Junior Organiser now, he is teaching chess and taking on chess instructors all over Merseyside,” Gallagher said.
“Now there’s four times as many schools participating in teaching chess as part of their school curriculum, compared to what it was five years ago.
“These kids are all getting older and they’re turning into chess players for all the clubs on Merseyside.”
The Liverpool Chess Club welcomes players of all abilities, anyone interested is welcome to turn up to one of the club nights held at The Cornmarket Pub on Tuesdays at 19:30.
(All images provided by Jim Gallagher)
