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 achievements of the club were probably winning the Essex Knockout Cup in 1989 and the first division of the North Essex League in 2022 and again in 2023. The club has also won the second division of the Essex League two more times in 2000 and 2019. The club joined the North Essex League in 2006 and has had some success winning a number of divisions of the league and the North Essex Knockout Cup Plate competition (twice). 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 and is more like an almamac than a general history.

If you have any information about the history of the club that would be of interest please email it to the Webmaster