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Lisbon Chess

Where to play, learn and meet for chess around Lisbon

Lisbon Chess is a working list of where people play, learn and meet over a chessboard in Lisbon and the municipalities around it: clubs, cafés and bars with boards, outdoor tables, recurring tournaments, academies and coaches, and groups that meet without a venue of their own. It is here for local players and for visitors looking for a game.

We hold 127 entries, and 122 of them are active or waiting for a fresh trace of chess. Every source was read between and , and we aim to read each one again within about 6 months. On each card a fact names its source and the date we saw it; nothing is scored or ranked. Closed and moved places stay listed at the end, so an old link still explains what happened. If something has changed, tell us through the form.

Marks: ✓ chess confirmed on that date · ? not confirmed, newest trace from that date · → with a date: announced for that date · → moved: chess moved elsewhere · × ended: the venue closed.

Sources read from to .

How we check

We start from what places and organisers publish themselves, then add federation lists, council pages, event listings, the press and maps. A fact goes on a card only when a source states it, and the card shows that source, its flag and the day we read it. Where no source says anything, the card says “not stated by sources” rather than guessing.

Each card has two status lines, one for the venue and one for the chess played there, with the date of the newest trace we found. The full method, including what we do not measure, is on the how we check page.

Within each block, places with the most recent dated trace of chess come first. This is a date order, not a ranking.

Where to play

Places where, by their sources, someone who is not a member can sit down for a game. Session times change, so open the card before you go.

See all 64

Clubs

Chess clubs across the area, from open club nights to members-only societies. Each card says what its sources state about guests and fees.

See all 45

Recurring tournaments

Events held again and again, each shown with the newest edition we could date. The organiser's own page carries the next date.

See all 36

Lessons and coaching

Academies, clubs that teach and coaches with a public offer. A price appears only where the provider publishes one.

See all 23

Groups and meetups

Associations, meetups and circles that gather around chess, some with a room of their own and some that move from place to place.

See all 48

Chess shops

Shops where a source says chess sets, clocks or books are on sale.

Members-only and school programmes

Chess you cannot simply walk into: clubs for members and programmes run inside schools for their pupils. Listed so the picture is complete.

See all 9

Closed or moved

Places where the chess has ended or gone elsewhere, kept with the reason and the date so that old links still make sense.

See all 5

Chess960 over the board

Chess960, also called Fischer random chess, starts from a shuffled back rank: the pieces behind the pawns swap places before each game, with the king between the rooks and the bishops on squares of opposite colours, so memorised openings matter far less. We track it over the board: when a club, café or tournament in the area runs a Chess960 game or event and a source records it, it is listed here with its date.

If you want to try the format before you find an opponent across a real board, you can play Chess960 online.

Chess960 on record in our sources:

Missing a place, or has a fact changed?

Send us a chess place we have not listed, or a correction to an existing card. Reports are collected and checked against their sources at the next update.

Add a place Fix a card