Previous Congresses

Congress History

The Southend Easter Chess Congress was established by Southend-on-Sea Chess Club in 1957, for many years under the discering eye of the inimitable Jack Speigel. The Club ran the Congress for 58 years, ending with 2014.

Details of those 58 Congresses can be found via the link below.

Congresses 1957-2014

For many years, the Congress was held at the excellent venue of the Southend Civic Centre, which the Club were fortunate in having without charge. Eventually, that venue was no longer available and the Congress moved to its current venue at the Southend Adult Community College in Ambleside Drive.

When the Club took the decision not to proceed with the 2015 Congress, perhaps the series would have ended there, were it not for the altruistic decision of Gavin Hughes, of Brentwood Chess Club to step in and ensure that the Southend Congress kept running.

The College is a splendid venue, spacious, including a large car park, quiet; a splendid place to play chess. The Congress has the free use of the whole building, including the kitchen facilities, where yElen Went holds court with her famed refreshments. The one drawback, however, is that – unlike the Civic Centre – the college is not free. While the “replacement” 2015 event enjoyed the extended generosity of the previous sponsor, that … was not continued beyond. Fortunately, through the connections of our Chief Arbiter, Adam Raoof, we have recently been able to cultivate new sponsorship from people such as Chessable, the chess education website, and Forward Chess, the US ebook outlet.

This website details the 2015 and subsequent Southend Congresses, though the series has currently had to bow to force majeur in the shape of the Covid-19 pandemic, but will continue whent that emergency has passed.

Select a Congress year from the Congress menu above.