Dear Chess Friends,

We are very pleased to invite you to take part in the 2023 Northumbria Masters Chess Congress!

This year’s congress takes place at Forest Hall Social Club, Newcastle upon Tyne, and has tournaments for everyone – from the newcomer to competitive chess all the way up to Grandmasters.

There are four FIDE-rated Swiss tournaments of 9 rounds:

The Masters – for players with FIDE ratings of 2000+ (with opportunities for title norms)

The Challengers – for players with FIDE ratings under 2000 

The Major – for players with FIDE ratings under 1800

The Minor – for players with FIDE ratings under 1600

Then, particularly aimed at newcomers to tournament chess, there is:

The Foundation – a 5-round Swiss tournament for players rated Under 1400 ECF.

In this event, participants play two games against the same opponent, one with Black and one with White, per round.

And last but by no means least, there are two International Team Tournaments:

GM Teams Challenge

WGM Teams Challenge

In these events, four teams of three players each compete with title norms as the main goal.

Junior Coaching

In addition to the tournaments, we are arranging junior coaching for players aged Under 21 with experienced FIDE and ECF Trainers.  

Once junior players sign up for coaching, they take their Northumbria Masters Congress games to a coach who will analyse the game with the player, helping them improve for the next round!

Please have a look at the new features of this year’s congress on our redesigned website.

We have a 5% EARLY BIRD discount for anyone entering their tournament by 24 June.

Further Announcements

We hope to announce details of our bursary scheme for juniors by the end of May 2023, when we will receive an answer to our application for funding for this.

We will also announce details of accommodation deals with local hotels in the coming weeks. 

And finally, we will have details of a programme of leisure activities during the Congress, including live music, tourist excursions and blitz chess, coming soon. 

So please watch this space.

I hope to see you all at this year’s Congress, and wish you a pleasant experience at the 2023 Northumbria Masters!

Tim Wall

Congress Director