The Canterbury Chess Club

History

The Christchurch Chess Club

The Christchurch Chess Club was founded in 1866 for a telegraph match against the Nelson Chess Club. The club then became nearly inactive until 1877, when it was revived to prepare to host the 1879 NZ Chess Championships. Following the Championships, some disgruntled members left the club, and the Canterbury Chess Club was born, on the 18th of October, 1879. As for the Christchurch Chess Club, nearly the whole membership had gone to the Canterbury Chess Club by the end of 1879, leaving the old Christchurch Chess Club defunct.

The Canterbury Chess Club

The Christchurch and Canterbury Chess Clubs between them have provided chess equipment and a place to play for over 150 years. Throughout that time, many tournaments have been run by the club, including the New Zealand championships, or Congress as it is known - as noted above, we hosted the first Congress. The Canterbury Chess Club was also instrumental in founding what was then called the NZ Chess Association (now called the NZ Chess Federation) in the 1960s - the NZCA (now NZCF) was originally based in Christchurch. The South Island Championships have been run by the Canterbury Chess Club, whether at our clubrooms or at other venues, on many occasions as well.

June 2009 saw a new chapter for the Canterbury Chess Club, as the club sold its clubrooms at 227 Bealey Avenue and set up the Canterbury Chess Trust as a charitable trust to foster chess and look after the clubrooms and finances. The Canterbury Chess Trust bought an office in a small block at 27 Tyne Street, and the club's first night at the new premises was July 1, 2009.

The Bealey Avenue property was significantly damaged in the major earthquake of September 4, 2010, and further damaged in the subsequent earthquake of February 22, 2011, which saw the old clubrooms receive a red sticker. It has since been repaired and refurbished, however.

The Club Today

The club is still situated at Unit 9, 27 Tyne Street, Riccarton.

The Canterbury Chess Club is currently open on Wednesday evenings from 7pm until late for tournament games.

It is also open every Thursday evening from 6:15pm until 9pm for beginners, social or casual games and visitors.

Please see the club’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CanterburyChessClub or website www.chess.org.nz for more info.

CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS BREAK UNTIL MID JANUARY 2021

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