Forward from Chairman John White

Your committee have agreed to the idea of a welcome pack for new members, which will serve to provide important information on a whos who in the club and what they do to maintain the essential administration.

Part of this, as well as a personal welcome to yourself as a new member, is to provide you with information from an article, as it appeared, in the local press concerning the history of the club and how it started. We hope this will be of some interest to you all.

A PAWN IN THE WEB

HAMMERSMITH Chess Club feels the internet will be the ruin of the game.

Hammersmith Chess Club was established in 1962 with just 12 members now, with a membership of 30 ever-present Chairman John White believes the club deserves more recognition. He said "We started with 12, and 30 may not seem a lot, but most clubs across the country do well to get 15"

The clubs inception dates back to 1961 when council official Mr. Honeyball invited local chess players to take part in a competition. The event was repeated the following year, and Hammersmith Chess Club was duly created. Despite the promising state of chess in West London Chairman John White fears for the future of the sport at club level. He said before people say differently, it is a sport- its a sport of the mind. People think dusty old folks sit there hour after hour, but the thrill is definitely there, as well as a lot of bruised egos at every level of the game. But the traditional player feels a tournament game is being ruined by the click of a mouse, according to John. "Im convinced the internet will prove to be significantly detrimental to chess"; he said. It has changed the game altogether. People want to play quick games instead of playing regulated chess in a club environment.

However the clubs most famous son is doing all he can to stem this tide away from the game. Julian Hodgson, chess grandmaster and four-time British Champion, was born in Kensington and begun his career at Hammersmith at the age of seven. Forty-four year-old Julian, Britains 13th ever chess grandmaster, packed away his competitive chess pieces in 2001, but has far from stepped away from the game altogether. He currently teaches the game in nine schools across West London and is a fervent believer in the powers of chess. He said Research shows that playing the game at a young age can improve academic studies by up to 20 percent. Chess is really popular with all the children I teach. I think an exciting future lies ahead.

John White recalls that Julian Hodgson always was that little bit special. He said: He was on a different planet. He just had a way with him that I had never seen before, and havent seen since. He came back a few years ago to play a simultaneous when he played 22 of our members concurrently. He wiped the floor with all of us!; Julian is full of praise for the club. He said: I was considered the first child prodigy in England, but it was the people at the Hammersmith Chess Club that really encouraged me to continue with the game. They were always extremely friendly, patient and nothing but welcoming.