Following the success of the Remote Summer Cups, our Chairman has had the great idea of offering a winter equivalent to the members. It will be essentially the same as the Summer Cup, except for the season! Philip Doyle and Eamonn Casey have kindly agreed to start their Spring Email Tournament in April instead of March next year, so it doesn’t overlap with the New Year Cup. There will be five rounds in which games are played on any mutually agreed internet-based platform such as Zoom, Lichess, Jitsi, WhatsApp, or by telephone. The default platform will be Zoom as most members find this accessible and people without internet access can dial into meetings. Players for whom Zoom is genuinely inaccessible should mention this when entering and if possible special arrangements will be made to accommodate their participation.
The event will run for twelve weeks with four weeks allowed for Round 2 because many players will be at the Chess Theme Break during that time, and two weeks allowed for Rounds 1, 3, 4 and 5. Games are played at a mutually convenient time agreed by the two players. Ideally, there should be a third-party timekeeper for each game unless it is played on a dedicated chess server such as Lichess. Players may take a half point bye in any one of the first four rounds and will be able to request this when entering or arrange it at fairly short notice. The control team is likely to include James Connors, with Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard being available to assist as required.
The New Year Cup will be open to all members and associate members of the BCA. Entry is free. Depending on the entries, we may be able to incorporate a Ladies’ section and a Challengers’ section for those whose ECF online standard play rating or estimated rating is below the cutoff point, which is likely to be around 1750. Trophies will be awarded to section winners, provided they are based in the UK or can arrange to collect the trophy at one of our over the board events within twelve months. Trophies will not be posted to overseas winners.
The tournament will be a friendly and fairly informal event. We urge members and associate members to “have a go” regardless of their playing strength. Results will be sent for rating in the ECF Online Rating system.
We hope the New Year Cup will attract the Summer Cup regulars as well as some newcomers! To enter please complete the relevant online form here by Thursday 25th December 2025. The form is the preferred method of entering. Please try it as it will guide you through the information you need to provide. If you cannot use the form, you may send your entry to the organiser, Julie Leonard on organiser.newyearcup@braillechess.org.uk giving your full contact details, your location or time zone if you’re not in the UK and stating which playing platforms you can use. You must also give consent for your contact details to be shared with all 2026 New Year Cup players and arbiters and for rating information to be sent to the ECF.