About our Club

We aim to provide an opportunity for players to enjoy playing chess. That can be through opportunities to play competitive chess or more relaxed social chess. For those that wish to develop their skills we provide opportunities for learning and sharing skills.

Club Nights

The club meets on Tuesday nights, from September through to May. The sessions are 7:30pm to about 10pm. Very occasionally a club night may be cancelled, due to other Derbyshire chess events or public holidays. It’s always worth checking if it is your first visit to the club.

Our Venue

The Mickleover Methodist Church Centre is a community hub. It is a modern, warm and pleasant environment for playing chess. We have two rooms available for club nights. The separate side room is used for matches and other competitive games. The mezzanine area is for friendly social chess. Refreshment facilities are available to the club.

Junior Chess

Derby Junior Chess Club is a separate but affiliated club, which meets on a Monday evening. Several juniors “graduate” to play competitive chess for the adult club. Please see the separate page for details of the junior club.

Competitive Chess

The club has four teams playing in the Derbyshire Chess League. We cater for a spectrum of strengths with representation in all three divisions. We have a club championship running through the season played at competition time controls and the results are submitted for grading.

Social Chess

Chess is enjoyed by many as a social pastime. The club offers a friendly environment to play less serious games. There is a relaxed social tournament (the “Friendly Cup). We have regular fun competitions on the first club night of each month. There are also tuition and analysis sessions, by some of the stronger players, to share the joy of chess.

Brief History

Derby Chess club dates back to at least 1886 (when we have our first recorded club champion). In the 1980s it merged with the Mickleover Chess Club and was for a period of time known as Derby & Mickleover CC. The club changed back to Derby Chess Club in 2015.