National award joy for popular Oldham-based chess club

ECF Director of Finance, Alex Longson (right) presents the 2024 Club of the Year award to 3Cs' founder, Steve Rigby

The English Chess Federation's Director of Finance, Alex Longson, represented the national governing body in presenting the 2024 Club of the Year award to the Oldham-based 3Cs club.

The local club therefore received the honour for the third time (also in 2006 and 2014) - no other club throughout the country has won it more than once since its inception in 1984.

Alex is himself a product of the very successful 3Cs' conveyor of young talent over many years and was pleased to hand over the award to club founder Steve Rigby in front of almost 70 people at one of 3Cs' weekly club nights.

During the previous 12 months 3Cs not only had success over the board, but possibly even more away from it, with their efforts benefitting not just themselves but the game of chess in general.

3Cs won the National Cup (the chess equivalent of the FA Cup) as well as their 90th trophy playing in the Manchester Chess League, while individual honours were gained by two of their young players via International recognition and by two other members becoming Candidate Masters.

The club also attained publicity for themselves as well as the game of chess when they featured on the primetime BBC 1 television programme "The One Show".

However, the highlight of the past 12 months was when Steve Rigby, who formed 3Cs in 1978 and is still its main organiser, was personally chosen by then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to receive the national "Points of Light" award for voluntary work within the community and therefore became the first person ever to be so honoured for services to chess.

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