Chess tuition needed for 10 yr old Dublin 15

JarJar1

Can anyone recommend a chess tutor for my son. He has been playing chess for a while now but needs tuition to advance further. We live in Castleknock. Many thanks

checknraise

Hi JarJar,

Blanchardstown have a thriving junior chess club. If your son is not yet a member I would recommend that he joins.

http://blanchardstownchess.com/

As far as lessons goes, I would recommend Alex Lopez. He is an International Master who is currently ranked no 4 in Ireland. He is living in Cork so the lessons would take place via skype. Not sure if that suits but you can contact him via email if you are interested. He is a friend of mine and a extremely good chess teacher.

astanehchess@gmail.com

mikhail

checknraise is not kidding about Blanchardstown. It's a fairly new club, but they've been very successful. The club is, as far as I know, entirely youth-focussed, and is run largely by parents.

I believe David Fitzsimons gives lessons. He's a FIDE Master, living in Dublin, and has coached Irish youth teams. I think his dad, Pat, has also coached young players at Elm Mount. They can be reached at mastergame100@hotmail.com

Another active Dublin-based coach is Alexander Baburin, a Russian grandmaster who has a network of coaches in schools. ababurin@iol.ie

JarJar1

Many thanks for your replies, I have looked into Blanchardstown, however they meet in a Saturday and we are already booked up on Saturdays. I will contact the people you have recommended. I think due to my child's age I am not sure Skype will work but might look into that. Kind regards.

cdeb

What evenings suit you?

Round Tower meet in Clondalkin. They're a fairly small club (no harm in that of course), though their junior section is on Saturday afternoons. The main club is on Wednesdays.

Celbridge meet on Tuesdays; not sure if they have a junior section.

Inchicore meet on Thursdays, though I don't think they have a particular junior section.

St Benildus meet on Wednesdays - we generally cater for secondary school ages (because we're linked with the secondary school), but we have had (and currently do have) players in the 9-12 age group. We're just off the M50, so mightn't be too bad a trek.

Rathmines Juniors meet on Mondays and Wednesdays - though maybe a bit more of a trek as you've to go in through town a little bit. They'd have a younger age profile than Benildus.

Naomh Barróg could be another option, in Kilbarrack. Junior night is Mondays.

All look like they'd be about 20/25 minutes away from you. A junior chess club is a great way of learning the game; there'll be people there to help coach, but also just playing against other players of varying strengths is often the easiest way to learn (and make new friends!)

There's a map of most of the clubs on the Irish Chess Union website here, and there's a list of the main junior-orientated clubs here.

Can't add much more to the coaches mentioned above; all good options. Though individual coaching sessions will of course be more expensive than joining a club.

Tim Harding

checknraise wrote: »

Hi JarJar,

Blanchardstown have a thriving junior chess club. If your son is not yet a member I would recommend that he joins.

http://blanchardstownchess.com/

As far as lessons goes, I would recommend Alex Lopez. He is an International Master who is currently ranked no 4 in Ireland. He is living in Cork so the lessons would take place via skype. Not sure if that suits but you can contact him via email if you are interested. He is a friend of mine and a extremely good chess teacher.

astanehchess@gmail.com

Maybe John Delaney is your man, based at the Blanchardstown club. He's a FIDE Master, largely responsible for getting them promoted to the top division of the Leinster leagues.
Skype tuition might suit an adult but surely face-to-face is better for a child?