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Are you searching for your little one’s next hobby? Why not explore chess? A game that was first developed over 1,500 years ago, chess was once the go-to extracurricular activity that many parents hoped to get their children into, not only due to its intellectual benefits, but also because of its proven effects on students’ emotional control, as well as prompting their socialisation skills—which is why chess needs to make a comeback in this era of “iPad kids.” Read on to find out where you can learn to play chess in Hong Kong!
Established in 2012, Caissa is the leading chess organiser in Hong Kong with more than a decade’s experience in teaching lessons and holding tournaments. It focuses on child-friendly chess instruction by using the Steps method from the Royal Dutch Chess Federation, a long-standing chess teaching technique that has been around since 1987. Steps helps players go from complete beginners to advanced tournament players.
Caissa offers various types of training, such as regular online and offline classes, where students will be divided into different levels and taught accordingly. Summer camps are also on offer, and your child can participate both online or offline. For kids aiming to go pro (and make it on the International Chess Federation, also known as FIDE, ranking lists), they can join Caissa’s international delegation and travel to tournaments held the world over.
Caissa, locations across Hong Kong | (+852) 6938 7603
Scholastic Chess Hong Kong offers personalised chess training. While the club does collaborate with various schools to provide on-campus after-school chess programmes, it also provides private and group lessons, as well as tournament coaching. For both private lessons and tournament coaching, its instructors will personalise teaching methods to each specific student, eliminating the risk of students being unable to catch up in regular group lessons.
As well as lessons, Scholastic Chess allows for students to put what they have learnt to good use with monthly over-the-board tournaments aimed towards different levels. If you’re not sure whether your young one would be interested in chess at all, Scholastic Chess offers free online lessons for complete beginners, so children can try their hand at playing chess before committing to more advanced paid courses.
Scholastic Chess Hong Kong, Room 901, 9/F, Yat Fat Building, 44–46 Des Voeux Road Central, Central | (+852) 6629 5092
If you are a trial-and-error kind of learner, consider joining The Chess Academy Hong Kong. Aside from the regular courses at its centre, on-campus after-school courses, and holiday camps, this organisation places a particular focus on tournaments and more casual competitions amongst its students. There are weekly mini-quad contests for students to practise their tournament skills by competing against similar-level learners, eight grand prix tournaments per year, plus plenty of tournaments aimed towards different levels.
Another unique feature are its mixed-level classes, where students of different levels meet once a week to learn about the various aspects of chess. While it also holds open tournaments that everybody can join, The Chess Academy subscribers can participate for free. And that’s not the only perk its students receive! Students of the academy can experience simulated play against a Grandmaster (the highest chess title), ensuring students learn from the best.
The Chess Academy Hong Kong, Unit A, 1/F, ActiveKids Learning Center, Nan Sang Building, 86 Belcher’s Street, Kennedy Town | (+852) 3480 4199
Rather than being a private academy, Hong Kong Juniors Chess Club is a non-profit organisation that promotes the healthy development of chess as an extracurricular activity amongst young children. Instead of providing chess lessons, it focuses more on holding public tournaments, a field it has undeniable authority in, considering its 20 years of experience. Since it was founded in 1997, the HKJCC has held three chess events yearly, namely the Hong Kong Junior Chess Championship, the Hong Kong Inter-Schools Chess Championship, and the Hong Kong Junior Rapid Chess Championship. With its focus on the junior class of chess players in Hong Kong, its yearly championships are the best place for your young chess enthusiast to challenge themselves against other young chess players.
Like the HKJCC, the Hong Kong Chess Federation is not a chess lesson provider, but rather the governing body for chess in Hong Kong. As a member of FIDE, the HKCF selects players to represent Hong Kong at international chess events such as the Chess Olympiad. It does this via various open tournaments, such as the Asian Rapid Chess Team Championship, or the Hong Kong Chess Federation Limited Spring Open, making it the perfect gateway for chess lovers to test if their skills are good enough to compete internationally. Aside from hosting competitions, the HKCF is also affiliated with other notable chess academies in Hong Kong, and keeps track of chess events open to the public here.
As its name suggests, Kidult Chess Academy offers chess lessons to both children and adults, a rare, inclusive move since most chess academies in Hong Kong are youth-based. The different classes on offer are conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, making sure that chess enthusiasts will not be held back by the language barrier either.
While it does host FIDE-rated tournaments, joint school competitions, and championships that are open for all to participate, Kidult Chess also entertains a variety of less stressful chess events. Every Saturday, chess lovers of any level are invited to join a free chess gathering to make friends and learn from each other, emphasising the social aspect of chess rather than the skill regard that most academies focus on. Additionally, it hosts fun challenges such as the Duck Chess Challenge and the Bughouse Challenge, which places less pressure on young players by showing them how chess can also be played simply for fun, rather than solely for competition.
Kidult Chess Academy, Room 1A, Kiu Hong Mansion, 3–5 Tin Lok Lane, Wan Chai | (+852) 6554 2014
With so many Hong Kong academies focusing on international chess, C for Chess is one of the few academies that has expanded its curriculum beyond the regular game. Apart from courses on standard chess, the club also teaches Chinese chess and go. If you’re considering getting your kid into chess due to the game’s brain development benefits, you should look into go as well, given how it has more scope for play, longer games, and many more alternatives to consider per move compared to chess.
If you want to enrol your child in an international chess course, but don’t know what level they’re at, C for Chess also offers free testing for students’ skill levels, so that they can be enrolled in the appropriate course. Another unique perk it provides is both online and offline summer camp lessons, with online courses in three different time zones (Hong Kong, the US and Canada, and the UK) so that overseas students are not affected by geographical limits.
C for Chess, locations across Hong Kong | (+852) 6701 4979
A chess academy that offers Chinese chess and go courses alongside international chess classes, EC Chess is specifically catered towards younger children. Every hour-long lesson is separated into four sections, as per recommendations from youth experts. Beginning with a chess game and game review, teachers can accurately evaluate students’ improvement over time. Then, tutors will teach the main topic of the lesson, and students can integrate this new knowledge with the in-class exercise that follows. Finally, students can unwind with chess games at the end of the lesson. If you’re unsure whether this teaching method suits your child, EC Chess offers free trials that new students can take advantage of. However, it’s worth pointing out that the lessons are all taught in Cantonese.
EC Chess, Room 3B, 3/F, 348–352 Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon City | (+852) 2838 6698
Punita is currently an English major at Durham University. As a longtime bookworm, she is passionate about all forms of storytelling. When she’s not stuck in a bookstore or cheering for a celebrity, you can always find her wandering the streets of Hong Kong on the lookout for stray cats.
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