Junior Club

INTRODUCTION

Epsom Junior Chess Club was launched in November 2019 and is run by the club's founder and president, Marcus Gosling. He is ably assisted by club secretary, David Flewellen. It is aimed at intermediate-level juniors aged 7-15.

Three sessions take place on Thursday evenings from 6.45-7.45pm (White Knights), 7.15-8.15pm (Blue Bishops) and 7.45-8.45pm (Black Rooks) in the main hall and learning centre area of Epsom Christian Fellowship. Last term, 77 pupils regularly attended.

Sessions cost £7.50/pupil, paid on a termly basis. Parents of new pupils should get in touch with Marcus beforehand if they would like their children to join, stating their child's full name, age and previous chess experience.

Email is best: marcus94gosling@gmail.com

If your child is a beginner, we would recommend the website 'ChessKid' to help them develop their skills independently before joining our club.

​

​

MORE DETAILED OVERVIEW

Here is an email Marcus sent round to parents ahead of the Autumn Term 2025:

​

​

Dear parents,

Many thanks for your patience while I have been sorting out arrangements for the Autumn Term at Epsom Junior Chess Club. There are some exciting developments to unveil!

I would kindly ask you to read through the information below carefully, and lower down there is an explanation of how to sign up and pay for the term. I need everyone to reply to this email, so that I know exactly who will be in each class this term ahead of our first session on Thursday 11th September. I appreciate this email is quite an essay, but it contains key information.

In this email:

1 - Introduction to Epsom Junior Chess Club

2 - Improvements for this term

3 - Venue and parking

4 - Cost and benefits of joining the club

5 - How to sign up (read carefully)

6 - Upcoming tournaments and matches

7 - Summary

1 - INTRODUCTION TO EPSOM J.C.C.

Hello, I'm Marcus Gosling, a 31-year-old chess and former languages teacher. Chess has always been a passion of mine, and so back in 2018 I refounded Epsom Chess Club and in October 2019, I launched Epsom Junior Chess Club from scratch. Back then there were just a dozen of us meeting in a dark function room of a local pub! Since then we've expanded rapidly, reaching 77 pupils last term in a much brighter and more spacious venue - Epsom Christian Fellowship. I would be delighted if your children could join us on Thursday evenings and continue our magnificent journey.

2 - IMPROVEMENTS FOR THIS TERM

The most exciting news is that from this term onwards, we will be expanding to three classes!

White Knights: 6.45-7.45pm for less experienced pupils

Blue Bishops (new): 7.15-8.15pm for intermediate-level pupils

Black Rooks: 7.45-8.45pm: for more advanced pupils

As before, I will run the White Knights and Black Rooks sessions in the main hall. Numbers in the Black Rooks class will remain the same at an absolute maximum of 40, but I am strictly limiting numbers in the White Knights class to 34. If demand still outstrips availability, we will broach the idea of a fourth class after Christmas.

The new 7.15-8.15pm 'Blue Bishops' class will be strictly limited to 16 pupils and will take place in the back room of the church, known as the Learning Centre. It will be run by David Flewellen, who is the Epsom Chess Club secretary, as well as being vice-president of the Surrey County Chess Association (SCCA) and captain of two Surrey county teams.

David has been assisting me on a voluntary basis for several terms now, and I feel it is only right to give him the opportunity to teach on a formal basis. David is extremely passionate about the development of our junior players and he is unquestionably the right person for the job.

The intention of this class is to bridge the gap between the White Knights and Black Rooks classes, as the step up has proven to be quite a challenge for a lot of pupils. David will be able to give extra attention to quickly-improving pupils in order to ready them to join the Black Rooks class when places become available.

Pupils will need to make their way through the main hall and through the double doors to the other end of the corridor. Parents should follow the same procedure upon collection and wait in the corridor outside the room. Anyone wishing to wait around may use the kitchen area.

3 - VENUE AND PARKING

Epsom Christian Fellowship, 22 West Hill, Epsom, KT19 8JD is the venue address. We usually put a large sign outside to catch the eye.

The church is on a main road, so take care when dropping off your children. As per the information on our website - www.epsomchessclub.com - I would recommend parking on Court Lane or Wheelers Lane if you are intending to stay for longer than a few minutes. There are other good options in side roads a little further away, but please be respectful to local residents and do not block driveways or residents' parking spaces. We have been asked by the church staff not to use Marshalls Close, which is the road adjacent to the venue, as the volume of traffic has caused issues before.

If instead you are arriving by public transport, it is an easy 5-minute walk from Epsom town centre or from the train station.

4 - COST AND BENEFITS OF JOINING THE CLUB

The cost of attending Epsom Junior Chess Club will be £7.50/session per pupil going forward, payable termly ahead of the first class. This is a slight increase on the previous three or so years, mainly because the cost of hiring our venue has doubled since last term and I must also take into account the expansion to three classes and the current rate of inflation.

Going forward I am committed to ensuring that classes don't get too overcrowded, making for a better learning environment for your children. As well as the classes themselves, in a couple of weeks' time I will be distributing a free copy of my latest coursebook to every pupil, as well as a free 'Epsom Chess Club' branded pen. In addition to this, I am hoping to produce a YouTube video for parents, explaining the basics of chess with a view to encouraging family members to play regularly and learn alongside their children. This is proven to accelerate learning by allowing children further opportunities to try out ideas they have learnt at the club. In a similar vein, I will be setting the children occasional pieces of 'homework', with exercises, puzzles and videos on Lichess.org, plus the occasional online tournament, with all information sent round by email.

Classes will follow a similar pattern to last term, with our termly tournaments taking centre stage, but we will also run puzzle competitions, training and more lighthearted sessions. The first session will be a relaxed re-introduction to the club so that pupils can meet as many of their classmates as possible and face one another over the board.

The fee for this term is therefore £97.50 for 13 weeks in the Autumn Term (excluding a week off for half-term), plus all the other aforementioned benefits. My details are as follows:

Marcus Gosling (HSBC account)
Account Number: 21847090
Sort Code: 40-20-24

Reference: child's full name

5 - HOW TO SIGN UP (please follow steps carefully)

1. First of all, kindly complete the payment as above. If you need extra time to do so, please let me know.

2. Each child attending Epsom Junior Chess Club must have an account on Lichess.org, in order to make use of resources either of their own accord or by my direction. The website is free to use, easy to navigate and straightforward to set up.

Once payment is complete, please notify me by email of your child's full name and Lichess account name. Creative names are of course acceptable - chess-related handles are even better!

3. If your child attended last term, please indicate in your reply whether:

a) they would like to remain in the same class as last term

b) they would like to move up to a higher class if a space is available

c) they do not wish to continue attending

Please acknowledge this email no later than Monday evening (8th Sept) so that I know which children are planning to attend this term. I will respond as soon as I can.

4. If your child is new to the club, you are most welcome to proceed with Steps 1 and 2 straight away, but kindly indicate which class your child would prefer to attend if possible.

5. Provided I receive all the information I require, I hope to confirm which pupils are allocated to which class no later than Wednesday afternoon. Only pupils who are fully signed up may attend.

Sorry for this rather draconian procedure - just that it is important for both safety and administrative reasons that I know exactly who is attending. I value clarity!

6 - UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS AND MATCHES

The second edition of the Epsom SRCA Rapidplay took place on Saturday 20th September 2025 with an improved format of six rounds of 15|5, starting at 10am. There are prizes galore and this tournament format provides regular opportunities for kids to take on titled players and adults. I would recommend this particularly to our Black Rooks pupils and anyone of intermediate level and above.

There will be plenty more opportunities to play.

Moreover, the most consistent performers in the Black Rooks group will be invited to play county chess for Surrey and league chess for Epsom. David and I will be discussing pupils' progress regularly to ascertain which children would benefit most from these additional challenges.

7 - SUMMARY

I would like to thank you all for supporting Epsom Junior Chess Club and I hope this newly-improved version of the club works effectively and proves beneficial to your children. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Kind Regards,

Marcus