EVENTS
Annual Events
Every year, we put on a variety of events both for Dons players and for chess players in the wider area; some are competitive, some are casual, and some are an excuse to show off our taste in Christmas jumpers!
John Swan Trophy
Our season-opening rapidplay event, usually played one evening in early September.
Bob Royall Trophy
Something of a wildcard event, the Bob Royall takes place on a single evening - usually later in the year - and in previous editions has taken the form of anything from Fischer Random chess to giving bonus points for achieving specific game conditions!
Christmas Allegro
A well-known event throughout Norwich and Norfolk more widely, the Dons' Christmas Allegro takes place just before the Christmas holidays; a full-day rapidplay event with catering available for a small extra cost. Below are some pictures featuring some of our fashion choices for it!
Les Bell Cup
The Les Bell Cup is a year-long event open to individual Dons players rated below 1700 only, giving everyone a chance to get plenty of games in a championship format without having to worry about playing against the best of the best!
Club Championship + Challengers
Split into two sections (Championship and Challengers) this is the Dons' premier year-long individual club tournament, operating with a promotion and relegation system where the top two players in the Challengers replace the bottom two players in the Championship the following year. The winner of the Championship is crowned the Dons' club champion for that year.
Rapidplay/Standard KOs
Open to Dons members only, the standard and rapidplay knockout tournaments each run over the course of about 6 months - with the standard KO starting in August, and the rapidplay KO in January - and follow a single-elimination bracket format. These both tend to throw up some exciting surprises, and the rapidplay KO has had a different champion every year since its inception!
June Swiss
Another well-attended event both by Dons players and those from other Norfolk clubs, the June Swiss is the Dons' season-ending tournament - a four-round classical Swiss taking place on the four Tuesdays in June each year.