A chess club is staging a 24-hour marathon to raise money for club funds and also for a community centre in Cowlersley.
Meltham and Denby Dale Chess Club is holding the marathon at the centre this Saturday, July 20 – World Chess Day – for Storth House non-profit community interest company.
Storth House has been based in a former care home on Cowlersley Lane for the last five years and provides low cost childcare, community activities, a food bank, a Bread and Butter project providing low cost food, a youth club and free community yoga.
Co-director Emily Edgar said: “We are now fundraising to renovate our playground and it looks like the cost will be upwards of £16,000 so the money raised by the chess club will go towards that.”
Storth House has organised a computerised race night to raise money towards the playground at Broad Oak Bowling Club at Hazel Grove in Linthwaite this Friday, July 19, from 7pm.
The chess marathon starts at 10am on Saturday and goes right through to 10am on Sunday and will be livestreamed on the club’s YouTube channel. Grandmaster Daniel King will be joining online at 10am on Sunday to play some casual games.
The club plays its tournaments at Storth House and decided to help fundraise towards the playground. Some of the money raised will also be used to buy more chess boards as the club recently expanded to Denby Dale where it meets every Thursday between 6.45pm and 10pm at the Foresters Arms in Lower Cumberworth.
Volunteers from Storth House in Cowlersley
The 24-hour marathon will be open to the public from 10am to 9pm on Saturday and again from 7am on Sunday, July 21. There will be a barbecue at 5pm on Saturday and prize draws during the event.
One of the club captains, Robert Oldfield, who devised the event, said seven players will be taking it in turns to play chess throughout the night.
“Some of the money we raise will also be needed for a new website for members which we hope will include a training section,” he said.
The original Meltham Chess Club originally started in April 2023 and now has 32 juniors and 60 adults since branching out to Denby Dale and Slaithwaite, with players coming from as far away as Dewsbury.
The club was set up by Robert Mitchell and Brendan Briggs at the Travellers Rest pub on Slaithwaite Road in Meltham and meets there every Monday evening with the juniors at 6.45pm and the adults at 7.45pm.
The club also meets at the Vanilla Bean café in Slaithwaite between 5.30pm and 9pm every Friday.
Meltham and Denby Dale Chess Club has its own Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/974926743605266
To donate to the 24-hour chess marathon fundraising go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/MelthamandDenbyDaleChessClub?utm_term=9NPxzja4v
To watch the 24-hour chess marathon livestream which starts at 9.30am on Saturday go to https://www.youtube.com/@MelthamandDenbyDaleChessClub
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
