For anyone aged under 18 who is interested in chess, the junior section of this site is intended to help promote the game, and help you understand what's available.

Novices will find introductions to club, tournament and team chess.  The introduction to club chess includes a guide to local clubs that coach and help young players.

There are also complete guides to several popular tournaments, and what you need to do if you think you might be good enough to join the junior squad, and play chess for England.

The junior news and calendar pages are updated regularly, and should help keep you informed about what's going on.

Finding a club
The right hand column of the guide to club chess gives information on local clubs that help and encourage young players.  Recent club news also appears on the Junior News page.

Junior Congress
Staffordshire runs a one day congress in the Autumn, for all players aged under 18.  There is a full guide of what to expect, and if you contact us, we'll send details and an entry form once they become available.

UK Chess Challenge
Over 70,000 children took part during 2007.

• If you are thinking of taking part in 2008, here is a quick guide to the whole competition, and what to expect in your school or club tournament.

Whatever your age, whether you are 8 or 108, if you are interested in chess, this site is here to help you find out what's available, and who you can contact if you want to get involved.

If you are looking for somewhere to play and improve your skills, there is a guide to local clubs, and the facilities they provide:

The general news page will help keep you up to date with what's going on.

Inter-County
There is a guide to Inter-County chess (played on Saturday afternoons about once a month).  If you are interested, the captains would love to hear from you.