Aberdeen Chess Academy is administered by Dod Forrest, Principle Community Learning Officer, and managed by David Leslie, Chess Development Worker.

A team of part-time workers and volunteers assist in running after-school chess clubs, evening training sessions, and weekend tournaments.

13 primary schools and two Secondary Schools currently hold chess clubs run by the Chess Academy. Two evening chess clubs are also run, on a weekly basis during school term, and weekend tournaments take place once a month. Trips are organised to compete in national events run by Scottish Junior Chess and Fair City Chess (Perth). Since 2001, the Chess Academy and its predecessor, Quarryhill Junior Chess Club, has organised four trips to Europe to take part in ‘Twin City’ events. These excursions abroad have been organised through, and supported by, Aberdeen City Council’s International Development Office.

A 12 week introduction to chess is given to P4 pupils in all 13 primary schools. Once pupils have mastered the basics, they are encouraged to join after school clubs. The clubs run immediately after school finishes, lasting for approximately 1hr 20 minutes. Normally, two chess coaches run the sessions, and, in a number of schools, parents or teachers help too. A variety of chess activities take place at the weekly sessions, including school league games, ‘ladder board’ games, 5-minute speed chess, team games, doubles, and one-to-one coaching.

Evening chess activities follow a similar pattern, but the sessions last longer, giving students a better chance to develop their talents. Chess clubs held in the evening are open to all Aberdeen schools pupils, primary or secondary.

Weekend tournaments take place regularly, and again these events are wide-ranging (see Calendar of Events). Most tournaments cater for all standards of play, from beginner onwards.

Aberdeen Lord Provost John Reynolds has taken a keen interest in chess development for young people and communities. In 2004, the Lord Provost led a team of politicians in a community teams’ chess event, and later, gifted two magnificent cups. The cups will be competed for each year by pupils attending Aberdeen City Council primary and secondary schools, in the magnificent setting of Town and County Hall in the city’s Town House.

Aberdeen almost certainly has the widest and best range of local chess tournaments and annual trophies for juniors in the UK. In addition to the Lord Provost’s Cups, there are annual contests for the N.E. Novice Champions Shield, the Ramsay Milne Trophy, the Stakis Cup, the only Doubles Championship in Scotland, the ‘Evening Express’ Primary Teams Trophy, the local Chess Grand Prix, and the latest addition, the Boys and Girls Championships.

The Chess Academy has built a strong local base in schools and in the community. A membership scheme has been devised that will see each member given a diary/record book each year, so that individuals can make notes of events played, achievements, progress made, and memorable moments.

We have recently completed the first of our CPD chess courses for teaching staff. The course, part of our sustainability programme, was extremely well received. Participants commented that the course ‘was very interesting’, ‘well presented’, and that the ‘content was excellent’. Two new school chess clubs have already been set up, and some SEN staff plan to introduce chess to their programme.

This website has been funded through an Aberdeen City Council ‘Enterprise in Education’ grant. The purpose of the site is to connect all city schools chess players, particularly those not directly involved in the ‘chess in schools’ programme, and to enable Chess Academy students – every pupil is welcome to join - to be part of a team that can learn about the technical side of web site development. When the site is fully operational, web designer David Leslie junior will organise sessions for pupils keen to learn about the construction of web pages. This team will be responsible for regularly updating the site.