Club nights and open rounds 56

Almost everything on this list is a Verein, a chess club or the chess department of a sports club, with a weekly evening and teams in the Bavarian leagues. In Nürnberg that means SC Noris-Tarrasch in the Loni-Übler-Haus, the Schachklub Nürnberg 1911, SpVgg Zabo Eintracht, SC Anderssen in Langwasser, Schwarz-Weiß Süd in the Südstadtforum and SC JÄKLECHEMIE Talente Franken in the Kulturwerkstatt Auf AEG; Fürth has the Schachgemeinschaft 1882 in the parish centre St. Heinrich, Erlangen the SC Erlangen 48/88 and the BSGW in Eltersdorf.

Out in the counties the rooms are an inn in Artelshofen, the Brander Schloss in Eckental, a school canteen in Eggolsheim, the Haus des Handwerks in Forchheim or a sports home by the pitch. A few entries are not clubs at all: the tournaments, from the opens to the city blitz, the chess group in the cafeteria of the Treff Bleiweiß seniors’ centre, the Tuesday Schachtreff in the Haus der Diakonie in Veitsbronn, the Baiersdorf chess meeting under the Jahnhalle, the beginners’ afternoon of the SIGENA neighbourhood centre, the puzzle hour of the Herzogenaurach town library and the university chess course in Erlangen. Schwabach’s club adds a morning game on the outdoor chess field of the Martin-Luther-Platz. Most clubs send teams into the Bavarian leagues, from the Kreisklasse up to the Regionalliga, and on home match days the same tables carry a league match instead of the club evening. Only some pages say outright that visitors may simply join; those entries are gathered under “Visitors welcome”.