Brentwood Chess Club History

The first known mention of a Brentwood Chess Club is in the Wilson & Whitworth's 1906 Brentwood and Warley Almanack Directory. This club, known as the "Brentwood and Warley Draughts and Chess Club", was founded in 1905 and continued to exist until the beginning of the First World War. The club reformed in 1921 as the "Brentwood Chess Club" and won the second division of the Essex League (known then as the Mid-Essex Chess League) in 1933. This club continued until the beginning of the Second World War. After the Second World War the club reformed in 1947 as the "Brentwood and District Chess Club". This club lasted until 1951 when it folded. In 1955 the "Doddinghurst Chess Club" was formed which became the "Brentwood & Doddinghurst Chess Club" in 1957 and finally the "Brentwood Chess Club" in 1960. This club has continued to exist without any breaks until the present day. For more detailed information on the early history of Brentwood Chess Club see the document Chess in Brentwood which appears to have been written sometime in the 1980s, probably by Dick Elliot.

The best competitive achievement of the club in the Essex League was winning the first division in 2025 and the Essex Knockout Cup in 1989. The club has also won the second division of the Essex League three times in 1933, 2000 and 2019.

The club joined the North Essex Chess League in 2006 and has won the first division of the North Essex Chess League twice in 2022 and again in 2023. It has also won the North Essex Knockout Cup competition twice in 2024 and again in 2025.

For more detailed information on the more recent history of Brentwood Chess Club see the document IHBCC (Incomplete History of Brentwood Chess Club) which contains extracts from the previous document (Chess in Brentwood) and is more like an almamac than a general history.

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