Newark Chess Club is for people who wish to learn or play chess either competitively or socially.
We meet on Thursday evenings at 7.15pm in the function room of the Rutland Arms Hotel on Barnbygate, Newark, NG24 1PX. Our season runs from September until June each year, and we take the summer months off. Annual subscription to the club for the 2026-27 season is £40 for adults, and £15 for under 18s.
There has been a chess club in Newark since at least 1981, when the club entered a team into Division 2 of the Nottinghamshire League. However, shortly after this, it appears the club folded, and players from Newark joined the Grantham club for a few seasons.
The Newark club appears to have reformed and managed to win promotion to Division 1 of the league for the 1985/86 season.
For the 1986/87 season, the Newark club merged with the Southwell club to form “East Notts Chess Club” and met at the Palace Theatre. Eventually, the name changed to Newark and Southwell Chess Club, and after a few years, Southwell was dropped from the name.
The club has been at several venues over the years. Between 1991 and 1997, the club moved to The Vine on Barnbygate. After that the club had a nomadic spell until it found a new home at Balderton Working Mens Club until its closure in 2012. After a short spell at Chesters, and a few more years back at Barnbygate, Newark Chess Club moved to Newark Railway Club until 2026, when the club moved back to Barnbygate, but this time at the Rutland Arms Hotel.