ChessFest returns to Trafalgar Square on July 12

ChessFest, organised by the charity Chess in Schools and Communities, will take place at Trafalgar Square on 12 July from 12pm to 7pm. The event is free, unticketed and open to players of all levels, and organisers expect about 25,000 visitors.

The Trafalgar Square programme will include a staged re‑enactment of the 1851 Immortal Game on a giant chessboard to mark the match’s 175th anniversary. Actors will play out the sequence of moves that made the game notable for bold material sacrifices.

Competitive displays will feature Britain’s leading grandmasters playing multiple opponents simultaneously. The day will offer free lessons for beginners, speed chess challenges against masters with prizes for anyone who wins or draws, a blindfold exhibition, and ten oversized chess sets available for public play.

Two of Britain’s highly ranked junior players are scheduled to attend: 11‑year‑old Woman International Master Bodhana Sivanandan from Harrow, and 12‑year‑old FIDE Master Supratit Banerjee, currently the highest‑rated player born in 2014.

Chess in Schools and Communities describes ChessFest as Britain’s largest free chess festival and says the event provides informal access to coaching and competitive play. The charity cites figures from an online chess platform indicating about nine million people in the UK now play chess regularly online; for comparison, current estimates place the number of people who play video games in the UK at roughly 37 million.

ChessFest events are scheduled at other locations in July and August. A Portishead, Somerset event runs on 11 July from 10am to 4pm, Hull on 12 July from 10am to 4pm, Liverpool on 19 July from 11am to 4pm, Broadgate in Coventry on 25 July from 10am to 4pm, and Market Square in Lancaster on 17 August from 10am to 5pm.