ECF 24 Hour Online Marathon in Aid of MacMillan Cancer Support - 18/19 April

The English Chess Federation is proud to be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support through a special 24-hour online chess marathon on 18th and 19th April.  This event is held in memory of IM Adam Hunt and GM Jonathan Hawkins, two much-loved members of our chess community who we lost to cancer last year and who gave so much as players, coaches, and mentors. The marathon brings players, friends, and supporters together to honour their legacy and help others affected by cancer.

The event will be hosted on Chess.com and will run from 5:00pm on Saturday the 18th of April to 5:00pm on Sunday the 19th of April. Games will be streamed live with a fantastic lineup of titled commentators, and coverage across the ECF's social media channels including Youtube.

Please show your support by joining in even if it’s just by playing a few games! Every level of chess player is welcome from beginners to Magnus Carlsen.

To play:

Make sure you are a member of the ECF open club - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation - which is free to join and you do not need to be an ECF member or even UK registered.

The tournament starts at 5pm UK time on Saturday 18th April. From 4pm UK time you can join at: https://www.chess.com/play/arena/31114229?clubId=84356  provided you are a member of the ECF Open club as above.

Anyone can join free through the tournament link, but if you wish to be eligible for a place prize please register first and donate £5 or more via the registration form found on the event web page at

https://www.englishchess.org.uk/24-hour-chess-marathon-in-support-of-macmillan-cancer-support/ 

https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/w1ufzrhz0z2b59p/  

As with all Chess.com Arena tournaments you can play as much or as little as you like. You can even join late, or play for one or more sessions rejoining after a break. The games are 5 minutes a side.

Prizes

Place prizes will be awarded for top finishers in various categories. Prizes will be awarded online (for digital prizes) or dispatched anywhere in the UK (for physical/book prizes).

To donate or fundraise:

You can donate via the registration form here: https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/w1ufzrhz0z2b59p/   or at the justgiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/chess 

To watch:

We will have live coverage of the tournament on the ECF’s Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/EnglishChessFederation 

We are expecting an exciting lineup for the event, with a fantastic group of titled players  taking part and/ or streaming over the course of the 24 hours including:

GM Simon Williams, FM Frankie Badacsonyi, FM Stanley Badacsonyi, IM Richard Pert, GM Nick Pert, FM Kenneth Hobson, IM Yichen Han, FM Supratit Banerjee, GM Ameet Ghasi, WFM Sarah Longson, FM Alex Longson,  FM Jude Shearsby, FM Jonathan Blackburn, IM Lawrence Cooper, FM Tim Wall , FM Ben Purton, IM Peter Roberson, WGM/ IM Jovanka Houska, WIM Natasha Regan and GM Matthew Sadler.

Many thanks in advance to all of you who show your support.

And best of luck with your games!

English Chess Federation