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Galway Chess Club Schedule
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Start time 7:30 unless otherwise specified.
30th March - Blitz
6th April - Rapidplay
13th April - Winter League Round 8
20th April - Blitz
27th April - Winter League Round 9
4th May - Rapidplay
11th May - Blitz and WL Prizegiving -
Saturday 17 June - Galway Rapidplay (11 a.m. start)
The home of chess in Galway
The Club
Contact Email for all queries: galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com . If you want to be added to our mailing list to receive weekly updates on our goings-on, please send an email to that address.
Here’s some summary information on when and where we meet:
- Venue: Galway Bridge Centre (upstairs)
- Address: St. Marys Road, Galway
- When: Thursdays from 7.30 p.m. (occasionally we have a different start-time: see detailed info on Home Page)
- Season: From September to April
- (Also, regular informal meetings in the Mechanics Institute from 8pm on Tuesdays, but best to shoot us an email in advance just to confirm.)
Click here for map!
Anyone can call in on the night to find out what happens or maybe have a couple of games of blitz. Members vary from the young to the old and from beginners to masters. Here is a list of activities we engage in:
- Club Winter League (7 long rated games in a season at the club)
- Rapid play competition (hour-long games; one a month)
- Monthly blitz tournaments
- Connaught League
- Galway club usually enters a team in the Irish National Club competition, which takes place in April. When we have done well, that has qualified us to play in the European Club Cup, alongside all the greats of the chess world.
- Lectures
- Casual games
Some nights have more formal activities going on than others but anyone can call in and spectate.
Summer Chess in Galway
Some club members (and some players on holidays in the city) have often met informally in a Galway pub during the Summer. For more up-to-date information on this, feel free to shoot us an email.
Is it possible to speak with somebody from the club on the phone as I cannot find any contact details?
Yes, but we don’t want to give phone numbers here. Send an email to our email address, and we will phone you back.
Dear Club organizing team,
We are new to galway. I have a boy of aged 11. He was part of a chess club for 3 years now and i would like to continue in Galway too. Please let me know what are the options you have for my kid.
Thanks in advance and looking forward for your response.
Radhakrishna
I am a beginner at chess. Can I join the club, play with other beginners?
Thanks.
Maureen
Hi Maureen,
Yes, certainly. We have a couple of players at the moment who come fairly regularly and describe themselves as beginners. This coming Thursday (7 November) would be a good time to come along; there might be some kids there as well in the first half of the evening – you can come early to meet them, or later to avoid them! It’s your choice.
The following week would be less good, but the week after that (21 November) would be another good slot for beginners.
Hope to see you soon.
Pete Morriss (Club Chairperson)
Hi
Would love to join in on some beginner classes, are there any classes which teach…I am total beginner and feel that I am not ready to join a beginners night, much prefer to get some lessons first..any advise?
Hi Sandra,
I’ve already replied to you individually; but for the benefit of any readers of these comments who thinks they are also a beginner: we are now (trying to) provide lessons. If you would be interested in joining in, contact us here or on our email address.
Hi there Pete, I’ve just discovered your club and am interested in joining. Would 28th Nov be too late and how much is it to join?
Hi Adrian,
No, 28 November would certainly not be too late to join (it’s never too late …!).
The annual membereship fee is €50 if you are waged (with reduced rates for the usual categories), but we always allow new people to try out the club for a week or two before asking them for any money.
So, hope to see you on the 28th, or one of the subsequent Thursdays.
All the best,
Pete
Just dropping in to say a big hello to all of the Galway Chess Club and to wish you all well in the 2014 Chess Season.
Keep in mind that we have to eat well and drink fluids to keep our minds energised and to prevent lethargy when sitting for any length of time where we have to focus on a game of chess. That can never be stressed enough.
Hello, I would like to play rapid chess tournament this Saturday in Galway. My name: Stejskal Drahoslav ( player of Adare club/ Czech rep.). Thank you very much, I am looking forward to take place in your excellent tournament rapid Galway 2014. Cheers Draza
Hi Draza,
That’s great, we shall look forward to seeing you on Saturday!
best,
Fintan
Hello,
I am on holidays in Galway. I’d like to play chess with you. When are you meeting next time in the cottage bar?
thanks
jon
Hi Jon,
We meet on Thursday evenings, from 8 – so come down this evening and look for people playing chess! (We won’t be there the following Thursday – 31 July – as it is Galway race week and playing chess in Galway pubs is not usually possible in race week.)
Thank you very much from Córdoba, Spain for such a good time. I was with you last thursday and all of you were very friendly with me.
Hi Juan Carlos. Glad you got back safely, and it was very good to see you; we all enjoyed the games with you. Do call in again when you are next visiting Galway!
Hey there,
I am into playing chess and was wondering if I called in of a Thursday would I get to play or is it more formal than that?? sign up etc
Regards,
Jethro
Hi Jethro,.
Good to hear from you. We’re fairly informal, so if you turn up today or next Thursday you’ll certainly get some games. The following week (12 March) is our most formal week, as it’s the club championship, when pairings are arranged in advance; there might also be people for you to play, but it’s not the best week to turn up unannounced. All others are fine, though. Looking forward to seeing you.
I am interested in becoming a member of Galway chess club, I am an American working and living here. I am a novice. Thank you.
Hi Patrick,
Welcome! All you have to do to become a member is turn up one Thursday, and pay a membership fee. However, as our season is now almost over, we won’t ask you for any money until the new season starts in September. This Thursday (2 April) is no good as the club will be closed, and the following Thursday is not very good, as it is the final round of our club championship – you are welcome to come along and watch, but we will probably be too engrossed in our games to give you much of our time. But the following week (16 April) would be ideal. You’re also most welcome to play in our rapid tournament on 6 June, which is open to all, whether club members or not.
Hi, I know you are on summer break now, but I would like to know more about the club, if it is ok. I used to play chess a lot when I was a kid, but I haven’t played since – probably 20 years just watching my chessboard gets dusty. But I would like to start over, beginner’s level, of course, and I wonder if would that be possible. I would be happy to join classes if you offer them, or just learn while playing. How much are your fees? When in September will the activities be restarted? Thanks!
Hi Luciana,
Then dust off your chess set and get down to the club! We will restart on 17 September, with a club blitz tournament (fairly fast chess with a clock). You are welcome to come to that (we try to make it both fairly serious and also friendly and light-hearted). Alternatively, you could come along the following week (24 September) when there will be a less structured evening, with people just showing up and playing whoever they want to. We don’t run classes as such, but could put something on if you are interested – particularly if there is also interest from anyone else out there. (To anyone else: if you are interested in classes, please get in touch and let us know.) The membership fee is €50 per year for waged people, and less for unwaged, but we always allow new or potential members to have a week or two to try it out before we ask them for any money. We hope to see you on 17 and/or 24 September – and of course the same applies to anybody else who is also thinking of maybe getting into (or back into) chess.
I am a beginner and want to know how to join your club.
Signed
Eamon Lynch
Hi Eamon,
The way to join the club is to come along to one of our Thursday evening club nights at the Bridge Centre, and we’ll take it from there. This coming Thursday (24 September) would be a particularly good one to come for the first time, particularly for a beginner, as we don’t have a tournament arranged and so can take the time to get you started.
Hope to see you on Thursday – and also any other beginners out there who would be interested.
do you do any classes for adults a completer beginner
i have never played chess before
regards
tina diksin
Hi Tina,
I have forwarded you this week’s email containing the clubs October schedule. This includes a Beginners’ Evening on October 13th. Perhaps that might be suitable for you?
Best,
Hello!
I would like to join to Winter Chess League. I am not member of Irish Chess Union, so far I played only correspondence chess in International Correspondence Chess Federation so can I join without OTB rating? Can You describe little more Winter League? How long games are?
Regards
Szymon
hi Szymon
just checking are you still interested in joining the winter league?
Paul
hi Szymon, yes you can still join, can you email me directly with your date of birth, my email address is [email protected]
Games are on clock, usually 1:30min each, the games are rated and if you join the ICU they will go towards getting an official rating.
There are 7 games, each game is around 3 weeks apart with a break over Christmas.
Come down to the club any thursday night and we can go trhough it
all the best
Paul
Hi,
Can I still join Winter Chess leauge? I’m not advanced played a bit in a past.
Hope it’s not too late to join?
Kind regards
Natalie
Hi Natale,
Sure – just email Paul at [email protected] to let him know you’re interested.
The first round is next Thursday (November 3rd) – see you then!
hi Natalie
hopefully you can make the winter league this thursday 7:30pm to take names and start round 1 before 8pm. Can you send me you email address to [email protected]
thanks
Paul
I´ll be in Galway on Sept. 28 and am considering to drop by at the club. Have been with you twice before some 3 or 4 years ago. Will there be a club evening to get some games?
Regards,
Gernot Isola, Austria
Yes, that evening we will be having our monthly blitz (5+5) competition, starting at 7:45pm. Hope to see you there!
Best,
Fintan
Can I get clarification on what’s happening over the summer this year? I was thinking of attending an evening to try it out, but I’m guessing no meetings are happening until September?
Thanks
Hi,
The meetings over the summer are a little less organised – we meet most weeks in a cafe for a few friendly games, and there will be a monthly blitz in the Bridge Club. If you’d like to shoot an email to galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com, I can add you to the mailing list so you can get weeklyish updates. This week, we should be in the Secret Garden cafe from 7-9pm. Thereafter, who knows….
Best,
Hi, are there beginners lessons for adults?
Thanks,
Dave.
Hi Dave,
There are no beginners lessons organised at the moment, but you’re welcome to drop down and join us any time, and I’m sure we’ll be able to teach you the basics. Have a look at the “Upcoming Events” list on the right-hand side of the website. I’d recommend dropping by on any of the Tuesday evening events (in Monroe’s pub in town) or to one of the “free evenings” in the club. Those would be your best bet for finding someone who’s free to go through some stuff with you.
Best,
Fintan
Hi I’m also a total beginner and I’m highly interested to learn how to play chess. Any tips how to sort it out?
Hi Agnieszka,
For the summer, we have weekly casual meetings (currently in Monroe’s Tavern on Tuesday evenings from 8pm), which you are very welcome to attend, and someone will be happy to teach you and offer advice. There are usually mostly beginners there. We are also in the process of organising a second weekly meeting (something earlier in the day, in a cafe or something), in case Monroe’s on Tuesday does not suit you, but we have not finalised any details yet. I will add you to our mailing list, so you will receive our weekly email with our schedule etc.
Best,
Fintan
Hi my son is 11. He want to attend the club. He’s a beginner. What is the cost, how many times a week etc? Regards
Hi Anna,
The club is finishing up our weekly meetings for the summer, but there will be a small blitz competition every month. We have meetings every week on Tuesday evenings in Monroe’s Tavern from 8pm, though this is probably not suitable for your son. We are planning to organise a second casual weekly meeting earlier in the day in a cafe or something, but we have not finalised any details yet – I will add you to our mailing list, and that way you will be kept informed of our schedule and events.
Best,
Fintan
Hi,
I am a beginner and interested in learning how to play. I have seen that you recommend coming along to Monroes on Tuesday, should I do this next Tuesday? Can you add me to you mailing list please.
Many thanks,
Carol
Hi Carol,
Apologies for the delay. The club is due to start up in October, probably on the 10th – but I’ve added you to the mailing list so you will get an email to confirm closer to the date. You can also usually find us in Monroe’s Tavern of a Tuesday evening, yes. Do send us an email if you have any further questions (and I will probably manage a more timely response).
Best,
Fintan
Best,
Fintan
Hi there,
We have recently moved to Loughrea near Galway. I believe this is the nearest place to us where i can bring my daughter for Chess practise/tournaments. She has been learning chess and is at intermediate level. Can we come along ? Are there any formalities we need to complete before hand ?
Kind Regards
Seema Dhamne
Hi Seema,
Apologies for the delay. No formalities needed – just pop down. There is a blitz competition next Thursday (Nov 28th) – it’s a fun evening to come and try the club out. Registration is at 7:45pm, entrants will play 7 games with 5 minutes each per game, and there will be a very wide range of abilities. Hope to see you then.
If that does not suit, you can see the calendar of our events on the right-hand side of our website. I would advise skipping any Winter League evenings (a year-long competition that is half-way through), but you are very welcome to come along to any of our other events.
If you have any further questions, emailing galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com will probably get a swifter response!
Best,
Fintan
Hi there, I’m an early intermediate level player and I’m interested in joining the club. Would I be able to have a quick chat on the phone with you sometime to find out more info and if possible organize me popping down at some stage next week?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Cian,
Apologies for the delay. If you’d like to email us (galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com) with any questions you have, I will be better able to provide a complete answer. You’re very welcome to pop down any Thursday evening for one of the following events: Nov 28th – Blitz competition (registration 7:45pm), Dec 5th – Coaching (8pm), Dec 19th – Christmas Blitz & close for the holidays (registration 7:45pm).
Best,
Fintan