Chess on the beach is returning to the De La Warr this summer on August 10th. We will be having all the usual fun, free beginner coaching, giant chess and chess variants. Good fun for all ages and all abilities. We will be running from 11am till 5pm. No need to book or register. Just come on down and play some chess! (Advance booking for the bughouse cup and the beach blitz is available HERE)
As part of the day we will be running two tournaments. The first will be a bughouse competition at 11am and the second will see the return of the Bexhill beach Blitz!
New to chess on the beach last year was ‘The Bughouse Cup’. It was a great success and we look forward to doing it all again this year. Last year the bughouse champions were ‘The Dragons’ – Gavin and Tobias. Will they retain the title for a second year or will we have new champions?
The competition will take place at the De La Warr pavilion on Saturday 10th August at 11am. Teams can register online from July 14th, or on the day if there are spaces still available. If you would like to play but don’t have a partner, please get in touch and we can try to find you a suitable partner.
So… what is Bughouse?
This is a game of two teams of two players. When a player captures a piece, they pass it to their teammate. You can place one piece on your turn instead of making a move. If you capture a promoted pawn, it turns back into a pawn. Pawns cannot be placed on the first or last rank. The game ends when one player is defeated. You can place pieces for check but not checkmate.
Depending on numbers, there will be a mini league followed by a knockout phase.
Two players per team, entry £5 per team. Trophies for the winners, medals for second place.
A time of 5 mins plus 3 seconds per move will be given to each board. The first team to checkmate wins.
In the unlikely event of a draw on both boards in the knockout round, the match will have to be replayed.
It just keeps getting bigger and better and once again we will be running the Bexhill Beach Blitz tournament as part of our ‘Chess on the beach’ fun day.
This years event will take place at the De La Warr pavilion on Saturday 10th August at 2pm.
Registration will be available online from July 14th and if there are still places available we will take entries on the day until 1.30, and the tournament will run from 2.00. (We have a maximum of 50 players.) Entry will be £5 cash on the day.
All games will be played arena style, and players will be re-paired as soon as an opponent becomes available, unless they should wish to take a break. The time control will be 5+3 and we will play for 90 minutes.
In response to feedback from last year, we have decided to change the scoring system this year. 4 points will be awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 1 point for a loss. Play as many games as you can, or want to, in the allotted time. When your game finishes, report to the tournament controller with your result and to be re-paired. When the tournament is over, the player with the most points will be crowned the 2024 Beach Blitz Champion!
Trophies will be awarded for first place and runner up, and medals will be awarded for those finishing in the top 10.
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To read the full report on last years ‘chess on the beach’ event please click here.
2023 Bughouse cup winner: The Dragons, Gavin Knott and Tobias Taylor
Runners up: Chu, Luke Freeman and Anh Nguyen.
2023 Puzzle challenge winner: Anh Nguyen
2023 Bexhill beach blitz winner: Luke Chapman
Runner up: Mark Rich.
