London’s ChessFest Expects 15,000 Fans, Top GMs - & Funmaster Mike!

This Sunday, July 16, up to 15,000 Londoners and visitors are expected to crowd on to the British capital’s iconic Trafalgar Square for the world’s biggest outdoor chess carnival: ChessFest 2023!

Entry to ChessFest Is Free for Everyone

The whole of the square, overlooked by Admiral Nelson from his column and guarded by the Four Lions, like rooks on a chessboard, will be taken over by chess fans – and it’s all completely free and open to anyone to take part.

People of all ages, from kids to families and friends to grandparents – will be playing casual games, watching live chess games with actors in costume, learning the game from chess teachers – and challenging the UK’s top GMs to a blitz game.

Puzzle Rush Challenge With FunMaster Mike

One fun activity will be a live Puzzle Rush Challenge with ChessKid’s own Funmaster Mike (FM Mike Klein), where hundreds of participants on Trafalgar Square will seek to rack up the highest score in a 10-minute period.

ChessFest, now in its third year, is organised by UK charity Chess in Schools and Communities, with the support of XTX Markets, a leading London-based algorithmic trading firm.

The action takes place from 11am to 6pm, and all the activities is completely free and open to the public.

Fans Can Challenge GMs Mickey Adams, David Howell & Gawain Jones to a Blitz Game 

At the centre of the carnival are live chess games, played out by 32 professional actors, dressed up in costumes as the pieces. The games will feature top British GMs Mickey Adams and David Howell, who are set to replay their favourite victories on the giant board and explain some of the finer points.

Crowding around will be chess fans – not just experienced competitive players, but also total newcomers, from schoolkids and soccer parents on a day out in central London to curious tourists eager to see the spectacle.

Elsewhere, there’s a Casual Chess Zone for hundreds of games, a Teaching Zone, where you can get a lesson from a professional chess coach, and the Challenge the Chess Master tent, where you can pit your skills against the UK’s top players in a blitz game.

GM Mickey Adams and GM David Howell will be joined on Trafalgar Square by a host of other leading UK players, including GM Gawain Jones, GM Ravi Haria, GM Stuart Conquest and IM Harriet Hunt. 

A key draw for young chess fans will be the Puzzle Rush Challenge with ChessKid.com's Funmaster Mike, (aka FM Mike Klein), and a giant 12 metres by 7 metres screen will broadcast all the action on the square.

How the Puzzle Rush Challenge Will Work

Round 1 will start at 1:00 pm UK time, and Round 2 at 4:00pm. (There is no difference between the two rounds and you are welcome to take part in one or both.)

This is what you need to do to take part:

• Bring your own device with the ChessKid app downloaded. WiFi is not guaranteed, so make sure you have mobile service and data
• Sign out of your own ChessKid account (if you have one)
• FunMasterMike will create one-time ChessFest accounts for the participants and you will all sign in to that one to start at the same rating
• You will have a 10-minute race to see who can achieve the highest puzzle rating! 

Another highlight of ChessFest will be a live match between the UK’s Bodhana Sivanandan, the winner of the World Under 8 Rapid and Blitz Championships, against US prodigy Megan Paragua, aged 11. Bodhana will play from Trafalgar Square, while Megan will play from the US, and the moves will also be broadcast live on a giant screen on Trafalgar Square.

 Giant Chess Sets to Play On

There will also be 10 giant chess sets for players to play blitz on, and a blindfold chess exhibition.

ChessFest is the brainchild of the CEO of Chess in Schools and Communities, IM Malcolm Pein. It first took place in July 2021 after the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, supported the concept and gave CSC the chance to use the whole of Trafalgar Square for a day.

The event came out of the twin goals of popularising the game and organising an event safely during the Covid pandemic. The answer – to hold a chess party on the biggest public square in London – surpassed all expectations, with some 6,000 people taking part in 2021, rising to 11,000 in 2022.

Pein believes this year’s event will be bigger and better again – and could top 15,000.

Pein said: “We hope that ChessFest will raise awareness about chess – and encourage more and more people, children and adults, to take up the game. Thanks to sponsorship from XTX Markets and support from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, we are able to stage the world’s biggest outdoor chess festival in this historic setting.”

“It’s open to everyone, and even if you are a complete beginner, we want to show that chess is for you.”

This year ChessFest could break its previous record and attract more chess fans as UK chess clubs and tournaments report a growing post-pandemic interest in the game, following the online chess boom and the Netflix hit series “The Queen’s Gambit.”

Raising Awareness About Chess

Chess in Schools and Communities has played a key role in bringing chess to the attention of UK lawmakers and advocating for chess to be accepted as a sport. In March, a UK-Ukraine Challenge Match between British Champion Mickey Adams and Ukrainian Champion Andrei Volokitin was organised with the support of the British parliament, with games taking place at the parliament speaker’s official residence. 

https://www.chess.com/news/view/volokitin-wins-2023-uk-ukraine-match

One recent sign of how chess is attracting UK government attention came from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. On a visit to the US last month, where he was at a school that made 3D-printed chess sets, Sunak said he was “doing a little bit of work now on how we can get more people in the United Kingdom to play chess, because it’s so good for you.”

Sunak added: “It’s a great skill and it’s really good for helping you think and it’s a great hobby.”

To attend ChessFest, simply turn up on Trafalgar Square on Sunday 16 July, from 11am to 6pm. Entrance and participation is completely free.

For more information about ChessFest, go to: https://www.chess-fest.com/

Chess in Schools and Communities: https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/

For more info about XTX Markets, go to: https://www.xtxmarkets.com/