On International Chess Day, 20 July 2024, FIDE launched a Guinness World Record attempt for the most games played online and over the board in 24 hours. Over 109 national federations and major online chess platforms participated, with nearly 350 events taking place worldwide.

Norwich proudly joined this historic event by organising the Norwich World Record Challenge Blitz. Held at The Coachmakers Arms in the heart of the city, the tournament brought together chess enthusiasts of all levels from across Norfolk.

And the record was broken. In just one day, 5.4 million games of chess were played around the world. We contributed to this record by playing 192 Blitz games in the tournament.

Dan Joal was the overwhelming winner of the tournament, topping the list of winners:

🥇Allwin Christopher, Dan Joal

🥈Walker, Martin

🥉 Ross, Joe

However, the most important thing about this tournament was not winning, but the fact that we all contributed to this historic event and got our names into the Guinness Book of Records. 

Here’s how it was:

you can download photos here