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19
Jan 2024
Major chess tournament in Harrogate this weekend
The Four Nations Chess League is staging a tournament at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate this weekend.
Three grandmasters will be among the 180 players competing.
The tournament begins with the first matches at 7pm tonight (January 19). Two further games are scheduled tomorrow.
The Old Swan tournament has been running in January for several years. Players from as far as Canada, the United States and Hong Kong will be taking part.
Players compete in three sections determined by their FIDE and ECF ratings, each with a top prize of £500.
The league was established in 1993 by Chris Dunworth to run chess leagues across the four nations. England, Scotland Wales and Ireland. It has £10,000 in cash prizes and the five weekends per year are hosted at various hotel across the UK.
It is a prestigious UK chess event and one of the most prominent chess leagues in Europe with Harrogate locals and chess players from all over the world competing.
Mike Truran, finance director for the league, said:
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Play chess in Harrogate
Harrogate has one of the oldest chess clubs in the country. Harrogate Chess Club was founded in 1884 and meets on Monday evenings at St Robert's Club.
It organises club competitions and also has three teams in the leagues of the Yorkshire Chess Association, with matches played on Saturday afternoons involving clubs as far away as Hull and Sheffield.
Mick Stokes, chairman of the Harrogate & District Primary Schools Chess Association, said:
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