A. The subscription for the 1998-9 season is £60 or £25 per term, plus a Parental Membership fee of £5 . Children who join towards the end of a term pay £3 a week. You are welcome to come for a week or two without paying to see whether you like the Club or not. We can always offer reductions in cases of financial hardship: it is our policy that no one should be disqualified from joining the Club for financial reasons.

A. In the past we have operated largely on a voluntary basis, which enabled us to keep our subscription rates much lower than those of many rival Junior Clubs. But we are now so large and so successful, and have so much happening, that we are having to change the way we run things. The first step in this direction is to appoint for the first time a paid Director of Chess. We are also in the process of applying to become a Charity. Any offers of sponsorship or other financial assistance are always most welcome. We are also always looking for parents who can undertake administrative tasks on our behalf.

A. I'm afraid not. But we believe our facilities are unique and far better than anything else currently available anywhere in the country. If we sound like the sort of club your child will like it's well worth putting yourself out.

A. Not as many as we would like. But we have in the past run occasional sessions for girls led by WGM/IM Susan Lalic, England's top woman player, and will do so in future if there is a demand within the local schools.

A. If you're in the Intermediate Group, there's no problem as long as you get there by about 11.45. If you're later than 12.00 you may miss the instructional part of the session. Some of our Advanced Group sessions do need to start at 2.00 so if you are going to be late a phone call in advance would be appreciated.

A. No, but we do advise that you should be playing chess, whether at the Club or in a tournament, at least three weekends out of four. Without that sort of continuity you will find it difficult to make as much progress as those who are playing regularly.

A. We are closed during August and on any Saturdays between 24 December and 1 January. We are also closed on the Saturdays of our two weekend junior tournaments: currently the first weekends in July and November.

A. It's entirely up to you. Most parents don't stay but, from our point of view the more parents we have around the better, especially if they know enough about chess to help in any way.

A. Our chief coaches on Saturdays are Gavin Wall, who has been with us, as member and coach, for over twenty years, and Ray Cannon, a chess teacher whose experience dates back to the very strong London Central YMCA Club in the 1970s. Our panel of coaches also includes GM Daniel King, GM Bogdan Lalic, GM Aaron Summerscale, WGM/IM Susan Lalic, IM Richard Bates, IM Graeme Buckley, IM Colin Crouch, IM Danny Kopec, IM Andrew Ledger and other leading players.

A. The session consists of a short lesson followed by games within divisions, grouped according to our internal rating system. The higher divisions are taught specific openings which they have to play in their divisional games, and chess clocks and notation are gradually introduced. On achieving secondary school age, or a specific internal rating, players are invited to join the Advanced Group.

A. We run monthly 30-minute and 10-minute tournaments, in each of which your scores accumulate towards an annual Grand Prix. In half these events you have to play a specific opening, which changes every half term. We also run regular coaching sessions for players graded 100+, puzzle competitions, simultaneous displays and much else .

A. Certainly, although you may not be able to attend our squad coaching sessions. We will honour your commitments to the area in which you go to school. We believe that children should play for the team they feel most comfortable with and will not put pressure on anyone to play for us rather than another area.

A. Competitive, yes, because chess is competitive. We need the competition to provide the structure around which the Club revolves but take pains not to overemphasise that aspect. Elitist, certainly not. Our members come from a very wide variety of backgrounds. Several of them, including some who regularly win prizes in tournaments, have learning difficulties. We are just as proud of their achievements as we are of those of the likes of Luke McShane and Murugan Thiruchelvam. Most of our strongest players joined us as young beginners and worked their way through the system.