About

This is the official chess site of the Galway Chess Club.

Galway is a city on the west coast of Ireland with a population of ~75,000. It is known for its  attraction to tourists and bohemians alike. Its a gateway to some of Irelands most magnificent wilderness areas such as Connemara, the Burren and Lough Corrib. The city itself has several narrow pedestrian streets with bustling pubs and restaurants. Artists of all descriptions often line these streets during the summer months.

All of the above of course is bad news for chess! Too many distractions. Those of us who are involved however are determined to keep chess alive and kicking in the west. Explore this section for further general information.

Click here to find out more about The Club

We can be contacted by e-mailing the following address  (put this back together): galwaychess at gmail dot com.

14 Comments

  1. Jurijs says:

    My son is 12 years old, and he wanted to learn to play chess. Can you tell me, please: where, when and how my son could start learning this wonderful game?
    Thank you.

    • Pete Morriss says:

      Hi Jurijs (and others),

      The best way of making these enquiries is by emailing us at [email protected], rather than using this web-site: we can then discuss your requests in private rather than in public. We don’t have a beginners’ club at present, but we can recommend teachers, depending where you live. So drop us a line and we’ll get back to you.

      All the best,

      Pete Morriss (Galway Club Chairperson)

  2. Conl says:

    I am a new player to chess and I wonder would the club be suitable for a beginner adult.

  3. Hello to everyone,

    My name is John Devereaux and I am developing a customer base in Ireland for chess equipment.

    Please do visit http://www.polishchess.com to view to selection

    Discounts are available to chess clubs.

    Incremental discounts will be offered for incremental purchase quantities.

    Regards,

    John.

  4. Côme Durand says:

    Hello.

    I am in Galway for 3 months and i am looking for some chess players. I used to play long time ago, but i haven’t forgot everything. I am mainly interested in blitz and i am here only for causal and relax games.

    Can i come in on thursday and find players or do i need an inscription first ?

    P.s : I am french so sorry for my mistakes.

  5. Pete says:

    Hello Côme,

    Yes, just come along on Thursday to the Bridge Centre. There is a blitz this coming Thursday (16 May), and all are welcome. This is our last club night of the season at the Bridge Centre, but we will be continuing to meet for casusal games in the Cottage Bar, Salthill.

    Looking forward to playingyou on Thursday.

  6. edel says:

    Hi, I am hoping to find a chess club in Galway, preferably near Oranmore that is wheelchair accessible? I would appreciate any information on wheelchair accessible clubs or gatherings in the next few months?

  7. Pete says:

    Hi Edel,

    Sorry for the delay in replying to you: most of us are away at the moment.

    As far as I know there are only two chess clubs in Galway city: Galway Chess Club and the NUI Galway club. Neither are meeting at the moment; they will return in September. The NUIG club is wheelchair accessible; the Galway club is not – or, to be more accurate, might be accessible with considerable difficulty, via a Stannah stair lift. At present, both clubs are meeting, informally, jointly in the Cottage Bar (Thursday evenings), which is wheelchair accessible. There is also the Galway Congress coming up in early October, which should be wheelchair accessible.

    If you send an email with your phone number to our email address (galwaychess at gmail dot com) I can give you a ring when I get back to Galway next week.

    All the best,

    Pete Morriss

  8. Pete says:

    Hi Edel,

    A follow-up to my previous response. I’ve (visually) checked the Galway Chess Club venue, and it seems not wheelchair accessible, as there are outside steps to get into the building. There might be an alternative entrance; I will check with the owners, but I can’t see where it would be. Even then you would have to cope with the stair lift, which seems designed to take a person but certainly not a wheelchair. So getting access would be difficult at best and impossible at worst. If you get in touch with your phone number to our email address, I can discuss this further with you, should you wish.

    All the best,

    Pete

  9. jason eberhard says:

    Do we need to bring a board to come play chess in salthill pub?

    • Pete says:

      It would help. We usually bring two or three down for people to use, so if you haven’t got a set (or if you forget it) come down anyway and there will probably be enough. But if you bring your own set you are guaranteed to have one to play on.

      Hope to see you in the next week or so.

      Pete

  10. Hi Pete.
    I played chess a number of years ago and still have memories of enjoying every minute of that game. However that was approximately 30 years ago now so I’ve forgotten most of it. If you know anywhere i can commence chess classes I’d appreciate it as it’ll bee just as enjoyable again for me. I am in my 50’s now, living in south galway, if you have a list of classes locally great if not i will gladly attend beginners classes in galway.
    Thanking you.Margaret

    • Fintan says:

      Hi Margaret,

      I have added you to our mailing list, so hopefully you should have just received an email containing our October schedule, including a Beginners’ Evening on October 13th. Hopefully that will suit you. I do not know of anyone giving classes in Galway off the top of my head, but I will ask at the club and see if anyone has any ideas.

      Kind regards,

      Fintan

  11. Stephan says:

    Thank you for playing with you this evening…
    Stephan from Heidelberg

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