The Glorney Cup was originally sponsored by a Dublin businessman, Mr Cecil Parker Glorney, in 1948 and was conceived as a Boys' tournament between the four home nations. However, twenty years later, in 1968, it was joined by the Faber Cup (sponsored by Faber Books), a similar-styled event for Girls. However, these two Cups are now entirely financed by the hosting National Chess Federations and both competitions have since expanded over the years to include other European nations to make it a much stronger and truly international affair. The competitions, played over four days, are played in a different country each year. Each country fields teams of five boys and three girls who are supervised by a Team Manager. The tournament venue rotates around each participating country.

Selection for the Glorney or Faber teams is regarded as a high point in the career of a junior chess player. It confirms their status as one of the top junior chess players in the country and gives them valuable experience against their counterparts in other European countries which will stand them in good stead when they graduate to the senior ranks. The events are particularly popular among British chess players although some continental Europe nations are involved as well. Notably no Welsh team managed to win neither Glorney nor Faber Cup although they came second no less than eight times.

The 1948-2007 winner list:

Glorney Cup: 44x England, 12x Netherlands, 3x Scotland, 2x Ireland, 2x France.

Faber Cup: 19x England, 11x Netherlands, 5x France, 3x Scotland, 2x Ireland, 1x Czech Republic, 1x England "B".