English Chess Forum

Yes there are the canals and St. Mark's Square and whatnot, but is there anything chess related that I should look out for?

Hello Jonathan,
are you sure that you really want to play chess rather than enjoying Venice? :-; Indeed, it's one of the most beautiful and particular italian cities.

If you really are, here is the search form for the italian chess clubs

http://www.federscacchi.it/str_soc.php

In order to find Venice's clubs, you have only to select "VE" from the dropdown list "Provincia" and then click on the button "Esegui". In this way you get the addresses and contacts of 11 chess clubs: some are inside Venice (the italian name is "Venezia"), some are located in cities around Venice. I have never played chess in Venice, but I think the most famous clubs are the "E. Canal" and the "Carlo Salvioli".

I have looked also for tournaments, but I have find only one weekend congress in mid-October.

Should you need help with the Italian language, feel free to ask.

Enjoy your vacation!!

Thanks v. much for your response.

Not sure I'm going to get away with the suggestion that my holiday partner and I visit a chess club(!), but I was wondering if there was any chess themed architecture or anything in any of the museums. I assume given Venice's place in the trading world at one time it would have seen a chess set or two go through it?

Probably safer to stick to more traditional tourist destinations

http://www.veneziascacchi.com/

May be out of date:

"All the chess players (both professionals and amateurs) are warmly welcomed to come to our chess clubs. You may find us in almost every day between 5 and 8 p.m. There are often lectures on chess finals and openings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Canal chess club.

All the latest chess news on the events in Venice are regulary updated and presented at this web site, stay with us and you'll be timely informed."

A human-scale chess game known as Partita a Scacchi is acted out by players in medieval costume on the second weekend in September in even-number years.http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/ital ... 54311.html

Chess in the park: http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pa ... gina/39028

There's a street called Arsenal which may or may not seem to be a good photo opportunity

It's a bit of a loose connection and it may not really be your bag, but I think there's a couple of works by Duchamp in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. In any case, a visit there might be a pleasant way of passing a couple of hours...

Just back from several days in Venice. One afternoon, having caught the sun using the waterbus pass for lunch in Murano, I suggested we explore the less touristy, perhaps shadier, parts of Venice. Heading into the Castello district late afternoon, zigzagging to the East, at just after 5 pm we found ourselves looking at traffic heading up and down a wide canal by Fondamenta S. Giorgio dei Schiavoni, but I was looking the other way at an inauspicious looking door numbered 5065/H pictured below.

My wife saw “Orario di Apetura sede dell’asd “Circolo Scacchistico Veneziano Carlo Salvioli” and realised what I was up to. The doorway to the right, next to the bridge, leads to a quad with the library to the right. Soon a gentleman (Fabio) appeared who opened up the room to the left. I introduced myself and help set up some tables & sets outside under the columns of the quad.

My wife headed off to Saint Mark’s square to explore some touristy shops, as well as Zara and H&M in St. Luke’s Square near our hotel.

Hoping to join in, I popped next door to a local shop and gathered a few local beers and returned to find I had already been entered into their 5 min blitz planned for that evening. I chipped in the €2.50 entry fee, handed out some beers and by 6pm we were 10 players and an all play all started. I came 5th/10, not by playing particularly good chess but by the less pretty means such as winning on time a piece down, having opponents move into check or remaining in check – a habit I also got into. The players ranged from around 1500 to 2100 and play blitz well.

By 8pm my wife had found a restaurant and summoned me. I thanked everyone for their hospitality. They mentioned other such touristy pop ins would be welcome. We had a brief discussion on; individual experiences of Covid, the current rise of food and power prices which are felt more acutely in Venice (as all supplies are double lugged), the population decline in Venice and the current state of the city’s finances.

It was nice to find such a convivial group who put up with my gate crashing behaviour and hope their chess club and Venice can continue to prosper.

Fantastic, Chris! Any photos of the chess tournament?

Hi Adam,

Not really a tournament - more of club night

Here's a pic of the canal nearby, playing conditions and an action pic of Fabio opening up.

Chris

The club to which Chris went seems excellent, but it may not be the only one worth visiting.

I know a leading Italian arbiter who lives in Venice. I would be happy to ask his advice if anyone else is going there.

If what you want is a few quiet games and view some architecture you should play the Guicco Pianissimo and study the the Canal variation!

I saw this thread and thought “I’ve been to Venice. That will be interesting.”

I was most surprised to discover it was me who started the thread.

I enjoyed reading your post, Chris... How about a new forum section: Where to find chess? (I'm afraid my image of Venice is coloured by the film Don't Look Now.)