Marseille-Échecs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Formation | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Type | Chess club |
| Headquarters | 7 Papety Street, Marseille, France |
| Website | www |
Marseille-Échecs is a French chess club based in Marseille, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, since 2005. It won the French Club Chess Championship in 2011. The club focuses on youth training and is recognized as a training club by the French Chess Federation. It is the first club to be voted France's best youth club for three consecutive years, in 2021, 2022 and 2023. For the 2024–2025 season, it's the chess club with the most chess players in France, with over 1300 members.
The club was born of a merger between the École Française d'Échecs and Réciproque-Échecs in 2005.[1][2]
The club wins the French Club Chess Championship in 2011 with Étienne Bacrot.[3]
In 2022, David Lacan Rus became world champion in the under-10 age group.[4][5]
In 2025, Luca Protopopescu became the youngest player in the history of chess to surpass the 2,200 Elo point threshold, at the age of 9 years and 5 days.[6]
French Club Championship
First team
The first team played in the elite league (“Top 16”, the championship comprising the sixteen best French chess clubs, which was then transformed into the “Top 12” from 2011 to 2020) from 2006 to 2013. Demoted to Nationale 1 in 2013 due to the departure of several of its top players following the loss of municipal subsidies,[7] the team returned to the Top 16 in 2022.[8]
In 2024–2025, the team is still playing in the Top 16.[9]
Honours
In April 2012, the club was voted best French club[10] after winning the 2010-2011 French Club Chess Championship with the following players: Étienne Bacrot, Arkadij Naiditsch, Kamil Mitoń, Andrei Istrățescu, Yannick Gozzoli, Didier Collas, Laurie Delorme, Aleksander Delchev, Vincent Chauvet et Romain Lambert.
The club also won the Chess French Cup in June 2012.[11]
Youth teams
Between 2014 and 2017, the club played in "Top Jeunes" before being relegated to "Nationale 1 Jeunes".
Winner of the Nationale 1 Jeunes in the 2017–2018 season.
It is the first club to be voted France's best youth club for three consecutive years, in 2021, 2022 and 2023.[12]
In 2024–2025, the team is playing in the Top Jeunes league.[13]
Top Jeunes Honours
The club was runner-up in France in 2014.[14]