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Becoming a member

Thank you for your interest in our club!

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Please fill in this form to apply for membership for the 2022–23 season (whether you are a new, rejoining or renewing member). Our membership year now runs from September 1st to August 31st.

If you’re not yet ready to become a member, but are interested in receiving information about our events by email, please also fill in the form.

Please read our privacy notice for details of how we store and use your personal information when you do so.

Benefits

The benefits of membership are:

  • Eligibility for selection for our league teams (e.g. Middlesex League)
  • Eligibility for the summer Club Championship
  • Discounted entry to our FIDE Blitz tournaments: worth £7 per tournament
  • Free, discounted or priority entry to other events throughout the season (e.g. simultaneous displays with titled players)
  • Social chess on home club nights where there is space
  • Discounted entry to the Golders Green and Muswell Hill rapid tournaments (provided you are an ECF member at Silver level or above, and that you register in advance): worth £5 per tournament

If you play in a lot of blitz and rapid tournaments, you could easily make savings adding up to more than your membership fee!

See our activities for further details.

ECF membership requirements

Many Hendon events involve playing games under tournament conditions, whose results are sent to the ECF and/or FIDE for rating. In order to be eligible for rated events at standard or rapid time limits, you must be a member of the ECF. ECF membership is separate from club membership: neither one includes the other.

ECF membership gives you various other benefits (depending on the level you choose), including discounted entry to chess tournaments and events around the country. For more background information, see this guide.

See the following table for details of what types of ECF membership are required for club events (OTB refers to “over-the-board” chess, as opposed to online chess):

Event Entry fee Club membership required Minimum ECF membership
Middlesex League (OTB) No Yes Bronze
Club Championship (OTB) No Yes Bronze
Blitz tournaments (OTB) Yes No (discount) None
Open rapid tournaments (OTB) Yes No (discount) Silver
Online events No Yes None

If you have any questions about this, please contact us.

Membership fees for 2022–23

Since all memberships run to the end of the season (31st August), the fees depend on when you join (your membership begins on the date of payment):

Payment date Full fee Concessions
August 2022 or before (“early bird” discount) £60 £48
September or October 2022 £70 £56
November or December 2022 £60 £48
January or February 2023 £50 £40
March or April 2023 £40 £32
May or June 2023 £30 £24
July or August 2023 £20 £16

The concessionary rate is available to:

  • Juniors (people who are under 18 on the date of registration)
  • Students in full-time education (18+, not retired)
  • Unemployed people (18+, not retired)

Additional concessions are available in the following cases (please contact our Treasurer for further details):

  • People holding the FIDE GM, WGM, IM or WIM titles
  • Cases of genuine hardship

In line with the ECF’s recommendation in March 2022, we are offering free membership for the 2022/23 season to any Ukrainian refugees who have been granted refugee or asylum status by the UK Government since the beginning of 2022. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this offer should contact our Membership Secretary with details of their FIDE UKR registration or ECF membership.

We strongly prefer payment by bank transfer; the application form contains payment instructions.