Welcome to 3Cs Chess Club ...
Founded 1978
As seen on BBC1's "The One Show"
Website sponsored by ...
Miners Arts and Music Community Centre, Moston, Manchester.
Details via "Sponsors" section of drop-down box on "Welcome" page
The 3Cs Christmas party including the Dave Monaghan Memorial Trophy competition will take place on Thursday 19 December. (7pm)
The next 3Cs weekly club night takes place tomorrow, Thursday 21 November (7pm - 9pm)
ALANNAH ASHTON - WOMEN'S CANDIDATE MASTER
3Cs' Alannah Ashton scored 3.5 / 7 while playing for the "She Plays To Win Lionesses" team at the women's European Club Championships in Serbia and has therefore gained the title of Women's Candidate Master.
3Cs Chess Club
St.Edward's RC Parish Hall
Spring Lane
Lees,
Oldham, OL4 5AJ
Thursdays 7pm - 9pm
3Cs - 2024 English Chess Federation "Club of the Year"
The award comes at the end of 12 months during which the club highlighted chess to a national audience by its appearance on BBC 1's "The One Show"; became National Club Champions; won the National Educational Trust award for promoting and educating youngsters in chess; had its young players winning a British Championship and representing England as well as another player gaining the title of Candidate Master and the club's founder Steve Rigby presented with a National award personally selected by the Prime Minister for his voluntary work on behalf of chess for over 45 years - and being the first time the honour had been granted for services to chess.
3Cs have now won the "ECF Club of the Year" award on three occasions (also in 2006 and 2014) while no other club throughout the country has been honoured with the title more than once since it was first awarded in 1984.
Further details of all the 3Cs' "Club of the Year" awards are on our "ECF Awards" page (via the drop-down box of the main "Club Honours" section shown in the menu at the top of this page.
Last Update 2.15pm Wed 20 Nov 2024
Thank you all for your support of the club.
Recent updates:
Who We Are (ECF Memberships)
Who We Are (ECF Ratings)
Who We Are (All Our Chessterdays)
News (3Cs On Tour)
News (World Championship)
Fixtures (Main page)
Future Events (Main page)
Club Honours (Main page)
Coaching (Main Page)
Coaching (Quotes 1)
Puzzle Board (Daily Puzzle 1-7)
Welcome to 3Cs' website
Click on the relevant heading at the top of this website to view the main page of your required section. Alternatively just place your cursor over the heading to reveal a drop-down box giving further options and then click on the one you want.
3Cs, or to use its official name "The Children's Chess Club of Oldham", is dedicated to providing the opportunity for local youngsters to learn and play the game of chess.
The club is recognised as one of the most successful production lines of young talent throughout the country, with both the club itself and many of its individual members having gained major honours at local, regional, national and international level.
3Cs' Forthcoming Matches
Manchester Chess Federation
Tonight
Wednesday 20 November (7.30pm)
D Division
3Cs 4 v Blue Club 3
Thursday 21 November (7.30pm)
A Division
Bolton 1 v 3Cs 1
2023 ECF NATIONAL CLUB CHAMPIONS
3Cs have officially become the top chess club in the country after winning the ECF National Club Championship.
Further details are in our "2023 National Champions" section (via the drop-down box of our main "Club Honours" page).
Photograph courtesy of Brendan O'Gorman
BREAKING NEWS :
Selected details from Phil Adams's latest 3Cs' Newsletter (20 November) can be seen on our main "Coaching" page. The full content of the fortnightly newsletter (available only to 3Cs' members) includes several tactic problems as well as up-to-date news of events both local and afar. If any current or former 3Cs' members do not receive the Newsletter but would wish to do so, please e-mail Phil at "phil1948a@hotmail.com"
The team spirit of 3Cs proved its worth as 3Cs 1 defeated Eccles 1 away in the first round of the Reyner Shield despite the home team outrating 3Cs on every board. Indeed, 3Cs 1 did not lose any of the six boards, with wins by Alan Walton and Micha Tebelev, together with draws from Robert McLean, Joao Rita, Kyle Pelling and Andy Lewis securing them a place in the semi-finals where they will face Stockport 1. 3Cs just need to lift the Reyner Shield one more time to equal the Manchester League record of 20 wins by one club.
3Cs 6 lost their semi-final match in the Harry Lamb Rapidplay Trophy competition by going down 3.5-4.5 against Blue Club 4. Teams consist of four players each facing the same opponent twice with alternate colours. Noah Hicks won both his games for 3Cs while Aaron Lewis gained a win and Ved Boganhadam drew one of his games.
3Cs 3 have maintained their 100% start to the league season in C Division of the Manchester League by virtue of a 3.5 - 1.5 away win against Bury 1. Individual success from Andy Lewis, Mohammed Rohman, Claire Kerton and John Walton together with a draw by Marlon Espiritu provided the win for 3Cs.
3Cs 2 opened their B Division season with a 3-3 draw away to Bolton 2. Wins by Andy Lewis and Mohammed Rohman together with draws from Kyle Pelling and Tim Hilton provided the 3Cs' points.
Robert McLean finished on 3.5 / 5 and in equal 6th position (out of 62) in the open section of the Scarborough congress while all three of the 3Cs players in the Foundation section, namely Sophia Dyash, Noah Hicks and Sean Hicks, scored two points each.
3Cs 5 were defeated away against Marple in E Division of the Manchester League by 5.5 - 0.5, with Sean Hicks providing the score for 3Cs.
3Cs 4 opened their D Division season with a 3-3 draw at home to Chorlton 4. The points for 3Cs came via wins by Ben Newton, Claire Kerton and nine-year old Ved Boganadham who was playing his first match for the club.
Despite being outrated on 5 of the 6 boards, 3Cs 5 progressed through to the next round of the Hartley Trophy by virtue of a superior board count in their 3-3 home draw against Northenden 1. Ben Newton, Suleiman Nisar and Mo Rohman provided the wins for 3Cs 5 who will now face either Stockport 3 or Bolton 4 in round two.
Wins by Joao Rita, Kyle Pelling, Tim Hilton and Mischa Tebelev together with an Andy Lewis draw saw 3Cs 2 gain a fine 4.5 - 1.5 away win against Chorlton 3 in the first round of the Wahltuch trophy and now have a home tie in round two against Bolton 3 - victors over 3Cs 3 in the opening round.
The 2024 World Championship match begins on 25 November. Further information can be seen on our "World Championships" page via the drop-down box of the main "News" section in the menu at the top of this page.
Click arrow to listen
Although 3Cs are not entering the main 2024-25 4NCL, players from the club can still compete in the event by registering for the "Manchester Woodpushers". Further information can be seen by clicking the main "4NCL" section shown in the menu at the top of this page.
November 2024
12 year old Ved Bogandadham is certainly becoming well known around the country as another from the list of young talent which has been produced by 3Cs.
Having been runner-up in the u-1600 section of the Cambridge FIDE congress, Ved finished third with a score of 4 out of 5 in the Intermediate section of the Birmingham congress.
What was more impressive is that Ved began the competition as the 32nd ranked player out of 34.
For more details of Ved's performances go to our "3Cs On Tour" section (via the drop-down box of the "News" page in the menu at the top of this page.
3Cs Chess Club featured on the BBC1 primetime television programme "The One Show" on Friday 13 October 2023.
The section of the programme involving 3Cs can be seen by clicking on the box (below) while photographs taken when filming at the club are in our "BBC at 3Cs" section (via the drop-down box of the main "Who We Are" page).
The BBC have kindly given permission for 3Cs to reproduce the broadcast on this website.
NATIONAL AWARD FOR 3Cs' FOUNDER
3Cs' founder Steve Rigby has been personally honoured by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who recommended him to receive a "Points of Light" award which is a National Honour bestowed upon individual volunteers whose efforts have made a difference to their community.
The Prime Minister's personal award is in recognition of the 45 years Steve has spent encouraging youngsters to play chess since forming the 3Cs chess club in 1978.
Steve becomes the first person to receive the award for services to chess while further information is in our "External Awards" section, via the drop-down box of the main "Club Honours" page.
3Cs were very prominent in the December 2023 issue of the English Chess Federation's monthly newsletter "Chess Moves".
A five-page article (pages 39-43), including several photographs, tells the story of 3Cs' formation and history while also detailing how the club has maintained an ongoing conveyor belt of young talent for many years.
Pages 47-48 report on Steve Rigby's recent "Points of Light" National Honour while pages 4-5 feature the recent British Blitz Championship where 3Cs' International Master Andy Horton became the 2023 English Blitz Champion.
The December 2023 newsletter can be seen by clicking on the following link...
7 chess puzzles - updated every day - plus 3 "Play the Computer" options are available via the drop-down box of our main "Puzzle Board" page.
The main "Future Events" section of this website includes details of several forthcoming chess tournaments at various levels and which may be of interest for any 3Cs' members wishing to enter.
Just click on the "Future Events" heading at the top of the page.
Chess.com have issued a list of chess-related phone apps available to download. A link to the apps can be seen by clicking on our "Chess Links" section at the top of this page
3Cs have won the 2023 British Chess Educational Trust award for outstanding achievement and encouragement of chess at junior level and is the most prestigious national honour specifically for the promotion of junior chess.
The club have received an engraved chess board, boxed pieces and clock (shown below). More details are in our "ECF Awards" section (via the drop-down box of the main "Club Honours" page).
Go to our "Who Else ?" section (via the drop-down box of the main "Q&A" page) to see which celebrities also play chess.
3Cs' founder Steve Rigby alongside one of the club's coaches, Crystal Ashton.
Although now living near the Welsh border, Steve regularly attends the club and is still actively involved in much of the behind the scenes organisation for 3Cs.
As well as her coaching duties, Crystal also organises the 3Cs' Junior 4NCL team and has also recently passed an arbiters' exam.
_JPG.jpg)
3Cs' very own Grandmaster STEPHEN GORDON who joined the club while still at primary school and has since progressed to become one of the World's elite group of players.
The photographs above show Stephen in action (left) during the 2019 British Championships and also in conversation with Victor Korchnoi, one of the greatest players of all time.
Despite his talent often being sought by various teams both home and abroad, including regular appearances in the lucrative German national chess Bundersliga, Stephen continues to play for 3Cs.
He has twice won the English Championship, in 2007 and 2012, as well as the 2019 British Rapidplay title while in 2005 he triumphed over more than 1,500 other competitors to win the UK Chess Challenge title.
Away from the board Stephen has also excelled with his ability in promoting the game of chess and for several years hosted "The Full English Breakfast", a chess podcast often highlighting the lighter side of the game. He is also regularly in demand to provide expert analysis of games played at the very top level.
Much of the 3Cs' success for several years is due to many of its juniors continuing to play with the club in their later years ... with the photo (below) providing such examples.
From left to right, Dale James, Andy Lewis and Adam Ashton, all began playing chess for 3Cs while at junior school and are all still involved with the club.
_JPG.jpg)
9 year old James Kaliski, one of the current group of up-and-coming 3Cs' young players. displayed his skills on the open-air chess set in Manchester city centre, receiving plenty of praiseworthy comments from people who stopped to watch as he took on adult opponents.
Yes, James won and was even rewarded with free ice cream courtesy of a vendor who was delighted that James has attracted a large crowd near to her van on such a hot afternoon.
.jpg)
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Images from 3Cs' club nights showing some of our junior members (above) and those with more experience (below).
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |
Just a typical night at a local chess club ???
However, the photograph (left) is from a 3Cs' weekly club night and the "typical kind of members" include Grandmaster Stephen Gordon (seated) as well as International Master Andy Horton (second left) and Women's International Master and six times French women's champion Sophie Milliet (third left).
Also in the picture are Helal Ahmed (extreme left); Michael Tebelev (third right) and head coach Phil Adams (extreme right).
Founded in 1978 to promote and develop chess in Oldham Primary Schools and the surrounding districts, 3Cs has grown since then into one of the largest and strongest junior chess club in the country. Any child is given a welcome, although most are recruited from the Oldham Primary Schools and join by invitation, while they are then encouraged to continue attending once they reach secondary-school age.
The club also has adult members of course who usually fall into one of three categories: ex-juniors who have since grown up; parents of juniors; player-coaches. However, any adults are also made welcome on condition that they actively support the aims and ethos of the club, whose main focus is the development and welfare of the children.
The overall achievements of the club have resulted in it receiving the English Chess Federation's "Club of the Year" award on three occasions - and being the only club throughout the country to gain the honour more than once - whilst in 2017 the club gained a place among the very best by qualifying to play in the European Club Cup, a feat they repeated twelve months later.
However, despite these successes locally, nationally and Internationally, both as a club and for many of its members individually, 3Cs' greatest satisfaction - and forever the main focus of the club - is still seeing local youngsters coming through the door on their weekly club nights (Thursdays 7pm - 9pm) to just enjoy learning and playing the game.