Chess club
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Chess clubs are clubs with the intent of getting together and playing chess with others. There are chess clubs associated with schools and sometimes these clubs compete with other clubs in Leagues.
In the United Kingdom chess club scene for example, many chess clubs are often playing in one or more leagues. One of the most important leagues is the 4NCL league which attracts clubs which field teams of GMs. However, often chess leagues are based on geographical location such as the "London Chess League" for clubs in London, or the "North Circular league" for clubs on the North Circular road route.
Clubs are also affiliated often to Chess "Associations", which are in turn associated with their national federation, which in turn is often affiliated with FIDE - the World governing body of chess.
Joining a chess club is a way of obtaining a local national chess rating. In the UK for example, if you joined a serious chess club and played against other chess clubs in a league, then often those games would be sent to the English Chess Federation for rating. You would after a season of playing for the club achieve an ECF rating. Fide has plans to extend the Fide rating system to players rated below 2000 thus possibly in the future taking control of more rated games, which are currently rated by local national federations. However, this move may meet some resistance from national country federations who value their rating service as one of their most important contributes to the chess club scenes of their countries.
Very often the chess clubs are run by a more knowledgeable chess player who can teach less experienced players. Often chess clubs have a book library of chess books which players can learn from. Many clubs also have a yearly "club championship" which the members of the club can compete against each other to establish a "club champion". Additionally trophies are often awarded to club members for achievements during the year, such as "Club champion", or "Most improved player", or "Player of the year", etc. Some of the more social chess clubs even plan visits to clubs in other countries, and often play in tournaments together to offer support to each other.
Often clubs have an annual club championship, special blitz-chess evenings, and coaching evenings, where the stronger members of the club can give lectures using a Chess demonstration board. Sometimes clubs even hire top level International masters or Grandmasters to come and give lectures or simultaneouses to the club. The events internally of a club serve to make the club more attractive and addictive and retain existing members. Additionally it helps if the club has a good social ethos, for example going to the pub together after matches with other clubs, discussing games in post-mortem analysis, etc. The social side of the chess club is not to be underestimated as a way of retaining and recruiting new members. Chess is after all meant to be fun, and the good clubs are fun to be part of! Indeed, some chess clubs are even pub-based, so you can enjoy a social atmosphere, and drinks whilst playing chess!. An example is Kings Head Chess club in London - because it is pub based, it is able to be open seven days a week.
