English Federation for Correspondence Chess

       The third season of the Correspondence Chess British Webserver Team Tournament will start on Monday 15th June 2015.

The first two seasons were successfully organised by the EFCC; the third season will be organised by the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation. Previous winners are “Pawn Stars” (season one) and “ICCF Warriors” (season two). This event has turned out to be a very challenging team event, with several players at SIM and GM level playing in the first division, giving UK players a chance which they might not otherwise have to play against highly rated players.
        Groups of friends, chess clubs and other associations across the UK are warmly invited to participate; the organisers are looking for teams of four players, two members of each team must be UK players, but the other two can be from anywhere in the world. Players of all standards are welcome; there will be enough divisions set up to accommodate all teams entered.
        Please don’t hesitate to contact the organisers if you have any questions (Russell Sherwood, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Austin Lockwood, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
Registration
To enter, please send the following details by email:
* The name of your team
* The ICCF ID and name of the Team Captain
* The ICCF IDs, names, and board numbers of each of the four players
The Team Captain is not obliged to be included as a player.
Please also send the entry fee of £20 by PayPal to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (or please contact the WCCF treasurer at this address for details of cheque or direct bank payment).
The deadline for entry is Monday 1st June 2015, no entries will be accepted after this date.

There were Team entries last season from BCCA, Natcor, SCCA, SchemingMind, White Rose, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Sussex, Civil Service & others. We encourage all players to take part; if you cannot raise a team of 4 friends, contact your own Association (such as one of the above) & see if you can play for them.

ICCF have announced a new structure for Champions League, including different time controls, renaming of sections and an ongoing entry system into the old C division, which is now called 'Promotional league 2017' This is where all new teams and existing teams that did not qualify for promotion last season can enter. Entry is available through ICCF Direct entry or through the International Secretary for £30. Cheques payable to 'EFCC' or pay online using reference 'CL & your TEAM NAME'  Any entries via the International secretary will need a TEAM NAME, 4 players, their ICCF numbers and a team captain and their ICCF number. Please email these or send by post.

The 3 different league announcements can be seen on ICCF.com but this is the main one concerning most English teams https://www.iccf.com/message?message=766

To qualify for the next league, teams have to win their group. Please note each player will have 8 games in a double round robin and there is NO LEAVE. Radical changes which are explained in the announcement!

Further to my previous article any player with their photograph on their ICCF Profile will be entered into a series of Bi-Monthly draws for a NEW IN CHESS 50 Euros prize to spend in their chess shop. Please upload your photograph (size at least 200x200 pixels) and after it is approved, you are automatically entered into the draw.

It is now possible to have your photograph on your ICCF profile page after the last server update. Any member Federation player can now upload their own JPEG picture (must be at least 200 x 200 megapixels) This is a nice new feature and I encourage players to consider personalising their profile in this way. It will then be pending approval subject to the photograph being suitable.

Bill Lumley has become British Champion for the 3rd time by winning the 2013-15 Final. The crosstable can be seen here:- https://www.iccf.com/event?id=39917

Bill was undefeated with 5 wins. Congratulations to Bill!

World Championship Preliminary entries are now being accepted by ICCF. If you have a qualification or wish to know if you qualify please read the following notice

https://www.iccf.com/message?message=738

Players wishing to enter via the federation can pay online on this site using 'WCCC Prelim' as the reference or by sending a cheque for £26 payable to EFCC to the international secretary, Andrew Dearnley, 17 Smithy Hill, Upper Denby, Huddersfield, HD8 8UH. Entries need to arrive before 14th February 2015 If you are still unsure about qualification please contact Andrew. Direct Entry is also available on ICCF.com, but again please check you are qualified.

The Russian Federation have announced their '20 years' tournament semi final which will commence on 20th December 2014. Players who have qualified from the preliminary stage may enter free of charge. Players holding the ICCF Grandmaster or Senior International Master titles or any player rated over 2400 may enter at this  semi final stage for a fee of £8. This can be paid at this website using the 'online fee payment' button. Please use RCCA 20SF as the reference. The deadline for entries is 19th November 2014, so if you are interested in playing and have the rating, ICCF title or qualification PLEASE ACT FAST. Any player who wishes to pay by cheque instead should send it to; Andrew Dearnley, 17 Smithy Hill, Upper Denby, Huddersfield, HD8 8UH; payable to BFCC. The full announcement is https://www.iccf.com/message?message=723 Please note the ONLY way to enter is via BFCC as outlined above.