English Chess Forum

Christi Krybbe Skoler in Bergen is the oldest elementary school in the Nordic countries. I was pleased to spot a chess board in its playground!

Not every school has such a facility but at least we can dream of the day when every UK junior school has a chess club. Which is why I am asking a few questions here seeking wisdom…

Do you have any experience of setting up/running a junior school chess club (School years 3 to 6)?
What advice would you give please to someone about to do that?

I think it partly depends on whether you work at the school (I was a teacher and ran a club in that capacity) or would be a visitor with / without a connection to the school. Some factors to consider are - what facilities are available (permanent room / corridor ?), equipment (who provides?), the experience of the pupils (do any already know how to play), how will the children be selected (i.e. if there are 20 places available and 40 pupils wanting to join), will you get support from staff (and will they have aims / expectations), payment to you / by pupils / by the school etc etc. There are a number of organisations that already go into schools (e.g. CSC) who you could maybe look to for advice.

I wanted to share a small experience that might be useful for anyone interested in chess in primary schools.

My son is in Year 3 at a local primary school. A few weeks ago, I emailed the school to politely ask whether they had ever considered an after-school chess club or board-gaming club. Our family is involved in the local Taunton board-gaming scene, and I felt it could be a nice balance to the usual activities.

I didn’t receive a direct response — however, shortly afterwards the school announced a weekly after-school board-game club. Whether that was coincidence or whether my email helped nudge the idea along, I honestly don’t know. Either way, it was encouraging to see something non-sporting added.

The school is very sport-focused (which is great — my son does sport five days a week), but it’s good to see room made for activities that develop concentration, problem-solving, patience, and social skills — very much the ethos behind Chess in Schools–style programmes.

Practical thoughts on setting up a primary school chess club - I was helping out teaching kids chess in Germany in the 1990/early 2000:


Start informal: drop-in play works better than heavy structure early on

Keep sessions short (45–60 minutes is plenty)

Expect mixed abilities and focus on learning rather than competition

Emphasise thinking skills, fair play, and resilience over results

Minimal equipment is enough to begin

A small amount of adult supervision makes a big difference

My takeaway is that schools are often open to chess — they’re just busy. Sometimes a polite, low-pressure suggestion is enough to get something started.

Interested to hear how others have approached chess in primary schools and what’s worked well.

Mike and David

Thanks for your insights. I am hoping for more of the same to feed back to contacts in schools.