“Chess for everyone!”

Monday nights at 918 Bathurst Street, Toronto

The Annex Chess Club is open on Monday nights, from 6:30 to 11:00 pm. We offer chess for everyone – social or serious chess players of any age or ability – in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Here is some of what’s going on at the club every week:

Children’s classes

The ACC children’s chess programme is an exciting way for children to learn the game of chess. Designed to take children from beginner to tournament level, our instruction is organized into graduated seven-week sessions.

Classes run on Monday evenings. A new session of children’s chess classes is starting June 18.

Check the new schedule and find the class that is right for your child.

More information:

Children's chess instruction at ACC

Adult classes

Offering intensive chess training for everyone from teenagers to senior citizens, our general instructional chess programme is designed for players of all ages and all levels of chess ability.

In our Winter session, we brought back Adie Todd’s popular beginner class, and we also organized a special advanced course for tournament players, taught by the master chess teacher, Liam Henry.

A new Summer session is starting in June! We are running an Intermediate class on Thursdays (starting June 7) for graduates of the beginner class, and a new Beginner class on Mondays (starting June 4) for new players.

More information:

Regular tournaments

Regular tournaments run for five or six weeks, with one round each Monday night, 7:30 to 10:30 pm.

The tournament schedule is posted on the events page.

Latest tournament results posts are available by selecting results on the menu bar.

  • Time control: The premier section (FIDE-rated) uses an incremental time control – G/90′+30″ (each player has 90 minutes for the game, plus an extra 30 seconds each each move from move 1). This time control has also been introduced in the Reserve A (U1900) section. The Reserve B section is currently still playing at the sudden-death time control, SD/90 (each player has 90 minutes to complete all their moves in the game).
  • Swiss pairing system: Each round, players face an opponent who has the same score as they do in the tournament
  • CFC-rated games: All players receive a national rating by Canada’s chess governing body, the Chess Federation of Canada. The premier section is also FIDE-rated.
  • Tie-break: In the case of ties, we will use the following tie-break systems in order:
    1. Modifided Median-Buchholz (the sum of opponents’ total scores, with bottom score, top score, or both, discarded, depending on whether the tied players’ final scores are plus, minus, or equal)
    2. Solkoff (simply the sum of opponents’ total scores)
    3. Cumulative Score (the sum of the player’s own cumulative scores from each round)
    4. Performance of Opposition (the average performance rating of the player’s opposition)
  • Byes: Players can request a half-point bye for the round (except the last round of a tournament) if they are unable to attend (email info@annexchessclub.com). Members can join an ongoing tournament at any time, with byes

Regular CFC-rated tournaments at ACC

Casual chess

Members are welcome to play friendly games before and after—or instead of—the regular tournament game. We also have some chess 960 players.

Kids’ Club

Kids who have already graduated from the instructional program, or who just enjoy playing games against other kids, will love our Annex Kids’ Chess Club – featuring casual games, blitz tournaments, double chess, and more. Every Monday 6:15 to 7:15 in the Great Hall and moving into the side rooms when the regular tournament starts at 7:30.

Chess lectures

Lectures have fallen off lately, but for a while we had an experienced player give a half-hour chess talk pretty regularly at 6:50 pm, before the tournament round started. Lecture topics have include various elements of chess history and culture, as well as tactical and positional themes.

The lecture schedule is posted on the events page.

What else?

Speed-chess tournaments, simultaneous chess exhibitions, inter-club play, and other chess events will be scheduled throughout the year. Let us know if there’s anything you would be particularly interested in.

Private lessons can also be arranged.

Our mission

Annex Chess Club is a community organization, founded in October 2010. Our club is affiliated with the Chess Federation of Canada (CFC).

“Chess for everyone!” – Our mission is to welcome new players of all ages to be part of a world-class chess club in the heart of downtown Toronto.