The new season has arrived! Praise be!
With many events to look forward to this year, it is always great fun to start with some allegro chess. This is where each player has 30 minutes for the entire game – a hybrid of the standard long format and the terrifying blitz format!
Edinburgh Chess Club runs two teams in the allegro league, ably captained by our hard-working membership director Paul Robertson.
The 2026-7 season of the Edinburgh Allegro League kicked off on Thursday 8 October, at its usual venue of Slateford Bowling Club. See the main picture for a view of the teams in action at the venue just before the disco started.
Both Edinburgh teams made a solid start to their campaign, with Team 1 winning its first match 3-1 against Civil Service 2, then drawing 2-2 with Corstorphine. Meanwhile Team 2 chalked up wins of 3½-½ against Pentland Hills 1, and 3-1 against Badgers Brook. League positions are determined by game points, so 11½ out of a possible 16 on the night was a very positive outcome.
Team 1’s Mark Gyalus (front left, and newly crowned captain of Team 3 in the standard league) and Calum McGillivray (rear right) battling their opponents, not to mention that relentless 30-minute clock.
Sound like fun? Why not get in touch and join in? Edinburgh Chess Club run teams in the standard local league, the allegro league and the Scottish National League. We also enter various cup competitions so there is ample opportunity to play some competitive chess and represent the club. We’d love to hear from you.
Not feeling quite ready for competitive chess yet? We have our regular casual Tuesday night social games and run junior, beginner and intermediate classes so there is something for you, whatever your level!