Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation

Austin Lockwood  Thursday, February 19, 2026

A reminder that we are still recruiting for the 2026 Welsh Championship.

Please don't feel that you need to be a highly rated player to enter, the event is open to all Welsh players.

If you are interested, please email me at [email protected]

Austin Lockwood  Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Congratulations on achieving the IM title to Mark Adams - well played! - The title is still pending QC approval, the presentation will be made in Neuhardenberg, Germany in October.

Austin Lockwood  Monday, February 2, 2026

The 2026 Welsh Correspondence Chess Championship will start on Tuesday 31st March 2026.

Entry to the Championship will be free for all Welsh flagged players who have had their ICCF accounts validated by WCCF.  Players of all strengths are encouraged to participate.

There will be:

• One championship section, having between seven and eleven competitors (as determined by the organising committee);
• One or more qualification sections, where possible, each having between seven and eleven competitors.

The winner and runner up of the previous championship section and the winner of each of the previous qualification sections will be guaranteed a place in the following championship section (qualifications do not carry and are valid for the following championship only).

All other places will be allocated strictly based on rating valid at the start of the tournament.

Competitors will play one game against each of the other competitors in their section. All games will be rated by ICCF and played on the ICCF webserver. All ICCF rules current at the start of the tournament will apply.

The tournament duration will be exactly two years of playing time. The time control will be the standard ICCF time control of 10 moves in 40 days with duplication after 20 days; 45 days of leave will be available per calendar year, play will be allowed to continue beyond the end date unless there is a need to send particular games for adjudication to resolve promotion or relegation issues.  Standard ICCF procedures will be used for adjudication.

To enter, please send your details, including your ICCF ID number to the WCCF Secretary ([email protected]) before 24th March.  If your account has not yet been validated, please contact the treasurer to arrange this ([email protected]).

Austin Lockwood  Saturday, January 31, 2026

A reminder that we are still looking for players to participate in this event.

Players of any grade are welcome, we will always try to match you against an opponent of similar strength, you will only play two games (unless you want to play more than one board), and premium WCCF membership is not required, we only need you to have been validated.

If you would like to play, please email Paul Scott at [email protected] and let him know how many boards you are willing to play.

Austin Lockwood  Saturday, January 10, 2026

Congratulations to Alex for achieving his first IM norm in Swiss/KO Tournament Round 3/10!

Austin Lockwood  Thursday, January 1, 2026

The Welsh Friendly Match team has been invited to play a match against the United States; this match will start on 15th February and will involve two games on each board against the same opponent.  Players may offer to play more than one board if they wish.

Any Welsh registered and validated player may play in our friendly match team, there are no rating restrictions and we will do our best to make all pairings fair by pairing you with a similarly rated US opponent.

If you wish to play in this event, please contact our friendly match captain, Paul Scott at [email protected] - please let Paul know if you wish to play more than one board (i.e. more than two games).

Please note that we now require all Welsh players to be a premium member of the federation or to have had their identity validated (this is a very simple process which involves making a token payment of £1.00 to the WCCF bank account).  You can check your membership and validation status here.  If you have a coloured "badge" under the Membership column, then you don't need to do anything else.  If you would like to participate in this, or any other ICCF event, and you have not yet been validated, please contact Marc Wakeham our treasurer at [email protected] to make the necessary payment.

Austin Lockwood  Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Our friends from the Polish Chess Federation have invited us to send them three players for their centenary celebrations, these events will start on 15th February 2026 and be in the Silli format.  The time control will be 500 days Triple Block with no Guaranteed Time.  The three slots on offer are:

1. Championship: Probable category 7-8, one Welsh player at 2430+
2. Candidates: Probable category 3-4, one Welsh player at 2330+
3. Championship: Probable minor category E-G, one Welsh player at 2100+

There is no entry fee.

If you are qualified (on the new 2026/1 rating list), a Premium member of WCCF, and wish to enter one of these events, please contact me at [email protected] before 10th January - first come first served!

They are also running a parallel event in Chess960 - we haven't specifically received any invitations for this event, but if anyone is interested I will pass on their details to the organisers.

Austin Lockwood

WCCF Secretary

Austin Lockwood  Monday, December 22, 2025

Congratulations Marc for achieving a third and final Senior International Master norm and the SIM title (still to be confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner).  And also for achieving a Grand Master norm in the same event.

https://www.iccf.com/event?id=109799