knightleft Welcome to

Mutual Chess Circle

2015/16

knightright
The club
Venue and times
League games
Membership info
Club members and their grades.

Contact us

Mutual's winning ways back in the 2008/9 season

Reproduced - A Mutual Magazine from 1950

A Mutual Membership Card from the 1923/4 season

21 Mutual Magazines from 1946 - 1951. See them here

April 2010 - Another dicovery of three old Mutual Magazines (1946 - 1948). Click here to view

November 2010 - Four more old Mutual Magazines found (1948 - 1949). Click here to see them

The rules of chess you should know

All About Chess: A Game of Sheer Intelligence

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The club

'Mutual' was founded in 1920 by T.W. (Tom) Bladon and, at that time, the club had no room in which to hold its meetings. For this reason, the founding members decided to organise a rota whereby chess was played alternately at their various homes, and this is how Mutual Chess Circle got its name.

Venue and times

The Club meets in the Kings Heath area of South Birmingham:
Tuesday evenings starting at 7.15pm from September to May at:
The Stadium (Sports and Social Club), Wheelers Lane, Kings Heath,Birmingham, B13 0ST. Telephone: 0121 687 2465.

The Stadium is on the A4040 in Wheelers Lane, Kings Heath, on the edge of Billesley Common. Car parking is available.

Buses: No 11 goes to the New Billesley, Wheelers Lane and is 5 minutes walk from The Stadium. Buses 2, 3, 3A go along Yardley Wood Road to the fire station at Swanshurst Park and is 10 minutes walk from The Stadium. Bus 76 goes from the QE through Selly Oak to the roundabout at Wheelers Lane by The Stadium and is 3 minutes walk from The Stadium. Also Bus 27 runs from Yardley Wood Garage to The Stadium (3 minutes walk) or from Vicarage Road (Kings Heath) to The Stadium (3 minutes walk). Detailed maps available from Mutual on request.

By car: from the city centre take the A435 (Alcester Road) to the traffic lights junction with A4040 (Howard Road). Turn left into Howard Road and turn left again at the next roundabout and The Stadium is imediately on your right. There is a long drive; so aim for the end of the main building where there is plenty of parking space. There is a bar and light refreshments. Our clubroom is located on the first floor.

League games

We have about 20 players and in 2015/16 will be running teams in divisions 3, 4 and 5 of the Birmingham & District Chess League.

Mutual Circle has been an active member of the Birmingham & District Chess League since 1923.
When league matches are played, they start at 7.30pm.

Who is the greatest chess player of all time?

In the history of chess, these five players are considered the best:

  1. Magnus Carlsen: Reigning World Chess Champion since 2013. The chess career of Magnus Carlsen is filled with great accomplishments. He earned his grandmaster title at age 13 in 2004. Magnus Carlsen achieved an Elo rating of over 2800 in 2009, and the year after, he ranked No. 1 in the world according to FIDE. After three years, Carlsen defeated defending World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand in a match of twelve games (Carlsen even won it after 10 games) and was crowned the new World Chess Champion. Magnus seems to have no weaknesses, which is what makes him the best in the world. This top chess player is a master of positional and strategic play and rarely misses a tactical opportunity. As soon as he gains an advantage, he generally knows how to turn it into victory.
  2. Garry Kasparov: World Champion between 1985 and 2000. Garry began training at Mikhail Botvinnik's chess school at the age of 10. Then in 1979, he accidentally entered a professional tournament, and he won. In 1984, he competed for the World Title but lost to Anatoly Karpov in 48 games. However, he won the title the following year.
  3. Bobby Fischer: 1972 World Champion. Bobby Fischer is considered to be the greatest chess player ever by many fans. At the 1970 Interzonal tournament, he won 20 matches in a row. He won the 1972 World Chess Championship after beating Boris Spassky in Reykjavik.
  4. Anatoly Karpov: World Champion from 1975 to 1985. Karpov's career began in 1969 as a junior champ. He went on to defeat Korchnoi and Spassky in 1974, and he challenged Fischer's world title in 1975. Fisher, however, refused to agree to the terms of the games, so it was Karpov who became champion. He ruled from 1975 to 1985 and was defeated in 1985 by Gary Kasparov after successfully defending his title the year prior.
  5. Vishy Anand: World Champion between 2007 and 2013. Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov are often referred to as three of the greatest chess players of all time when comparing their strengths and weaknesses. There should also be a consideration for Vishy Anand, who was an undisputed World Champion from 2007 to 2013. 2007 was his year of undisputed world supremacy. During his tenure as champion, he was able to beat Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010, and Boris Gelfand in 2012. Due to his high Elo rating, Anand is still currently ranked among the top 10 chess players in the world at the age of 48.

Different players from different eras play very differently, so it is very challenging to compare their play. This article features some of the greatest and top chess players in the history of chess. There is no question that they are among the best.

The 6 most incredible chess records

We are all inspired by records to strive for greatness. Chess has a long history of producing records that have lasted for decades, and some that may last for centuries. The following seven amazing chess records are held by people from all over the world:

  1. Longest Winning Streak. Bobby Fischer won a remarkable 20 games against the elite competition during his championship run that ultimately culminated in his match with Boris Spassky. Throughout 1970, his first go-round was the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal where he won seven straight games. Some chess historians discount this game because Oscar Panno forfeited his game. After winning this match, Fischer will face both Taimanov and Larsen in a Candidates' match in 1971. In-game two against Tigran Petrosian, the streak ended after an initial win.
  2. The longest streak of undefeated: Magnus Carlsen. Until he lost in Norway Chess to Jan-Krzysztof Duda on October 9, 2020, Magnus Carlsen had gone 125 games undefeated from July 31st, 2018 to October 9th, 2020. The record Carlsen achieved surpassed previous records and spanned two years.
  3. World Champion for the longest period of time: Emanuel Lasker - 27 years. When he defeated Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894, he listed himself as the second world champion. In 1921, Jose Raul Capablanaca defeated him to regain his title. Throughout the 1930s, he performed at elite tournaments and played in elite matches. The intervention of World War I delayed matches between Rubinstein and Capablanca, which so often makes reference to Lasker's reign being extended. Although Lasker's reign was uncontested for those years, it would still remain longer than any other champions.
  4. Elo record: 2882 - Magnus Carlsen, World Champion. The mark was made by Magnus Carlsen on the FIDE lists in May of 2014. He even reached the mark of 2889 unofficially on the live rating list. According to Chess.com's analysis, chess skill has actually been improving over time, even as rating inflation has rendered these records meaningless. Currently, only 12 players hold ratings exceeding 2800. There has only been one player who has reached 2900 so far: Carlsen.
  5. The youngest Grandmaster: GM Abhimanyu Mishra, (who is 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days old). A 12-year-old American junior named Abhimanyu Mishra became the youngest grandmaster of all time on June 30th, 2021. Mishra broke the 19-year-old record of Sergey Karjakin, who was born in 1926. During the COVID pandemic, Mishra managed to achieve these results despite the lack of norm events available to him.
  6. Most Regular Games: GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami. The simultaneous exhibition refers to a series of games against more than one opponent at a time. A master usually circles each opponent, making moves against every player before moving on to the next, usually seating them in a row or circle. During his 9-time reign as Iranian champion, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami faced 604 simultaneous opponents, a world chess record. A simultaneous exhibition in Tehran, Iran, saw him win 580 games, draw only 16 games, and lose only eight. On February 8–9 of 2011, the event took place at Shahid Beheshti University's sports stadium.

Membership Information

New members are very welcome - just drop in or contact Chris or John (see below).

We welcome new players of all strengths (although we are not equipped to provide tuition to complete beginners or young children).

The Club's normal membership subscription is currently £28 per year, but under18's, students, and people receiving state benefits or the state retirement pension can pay a discounted rate of £14. (Pro rata payment arrangements can be made for those who join mid-season). In addition, it is a club requirement that all our members become associate members of our venue, The Stadium Club, at a fixed cost of £12 per annum. (This fee entitles members to use the Stadium's bar and other facilities on non-chess nights, too). Players who regularly take part in League matches must also join the English Chess Federation (basic membership fee: £14 per year for adults, £10 for juniors). Prospective members are encouraged to come along free to a couple of club-nights before deciding whether to join.

Contact details

More information can be obtained from , Club Secretary, 28 Birchwood Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 8BP Tel: 0121 247 9236. Messages regarding this website should be sent to me: , or just come along to a club night. Please note that we normally close down for the summer from the end of May to the end of August.

Visit the Birmingham & District Chess League site,  Sutton Coldfield Chess Club Olton Chess Club,  Tamworth & District Chess Club, or the English Chess Federation.