CHESS CLUB

HOW THE PROGRAM STARTED ?

One day that he was sick and receiving the visit of local youth, the founder of CACAE looked up at the shelf in the living room and thought… “well… if the body is weak, the mind is strong… let´s make some tea and start teaching chess !”

A group of five teenager learned at first… back in 2018 ! and now they are among the strongest players in the club !

THE MANY BENEFITS OF CHESS

We believe in the many virtues of chess, on a personal level, such as :

• Increase concentration capacity
• Abstract thinking and projection
• Gain in self confidence
• Complex thinking and problem solving

And on a social level :

• Spirit of competition and fair play
• Etiquette and respect of other player
• Leadership when teaching to others

CHESS CLUB OPENING HOURS

The chess club is open on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays evening from 6 pm to 8pm.  On Saturdays, it opens from 2:30 pm until 5:30 pm.

New players are very welcome on Saturdays, and we offer cookies for any new member, once he has learned how to play !

CLUB TOURNAMENTS

Every other Saturday, the club organize a small tournament among its members… Our goal is to congratulate each motivated player with a chess set to take home ! and so far, it´s been doing pretty well..

NATIONAL TOURNAMENTS

In order to send our young players to compete with other players, we registered our club with the National Santomean Chess Federation, the FEXA.

As often as possible, we send our player to participate in the local tournaments, thus playing against stroner players, and increasing their skills.

PLAYING WITH STUDENTS FROM PORTUGAL

We had the chance to received the visit of Students and teachers from Oporto English school in Porto, Portugal. While they visited and discovered São Tomé, they took some time to spend with local associations, including our !

Our children could meet these Portuguese high school students, and befriend them during tremendous chess games ! We are ready for the soon to come “2023 rematch” ! Check our blog for more information.

THE FIRST CHESS SESSION IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

It happened in Spring 2020…. In a local shop, providing tables and chairs… and a video was made in response to famous youtuber Agadmator´s challenge…

After the 2 days open training, we left a few chess boards  and some of the older kids started playing at night, just by the shop. The whole excitement started there... young rookies challenging older players.. and some promising talents to be discovered.

MAKING OUR OWN EQUIPMENT

No shop ? no donation yet ? no problem ! We like to think like Huey, Dewey and Louie… Thanks to an old friend and chess referee, we could receive some chess pieces…. Now we only have to make our own boards !

For more pictures and up to date information, just visit our blog page !