Find chess classes near me in Leicester

Improve your Chess Skills with a Tutor in Leicester

There's so much to chess that a novice just doesn't know, so chess lessons are pretty much a necessity if you want to improve at chess and be in with a chance of beating your opponent. Lessons will cover openings, endgames, full board strategy, and much more.

Chess classes are available in the city for children and adults across the board, even those with a rating of less than 1200 (which means they are novices). You can find out how the rating system works in our How To Play Chess section below.

Private chess tutors in Leicester

Pick a professional coach to help you learn chess the correct way, and the best way.

Superprof will help you to find the most relevant tutor: we put together all the chess teachers in Leicester and the surrounding areas. You can sort them easily using the website's filter features, then when you've narrowed down your criteria you can read each tutor's biography to find out a bit more about them and their teaching methods to see if they're the right match for you. Your private chess tutor will have had significant experience in the game and will be able to offer you their wisdom on the subject.

Even if you can't find many tutors near you, there will be lots of experts prepared to teach you with interactive online study guides.

Is Chess a Board Game or Sport?

Chess is, by definition, a board game as it is played on a board with two opponents. However, chess has also been recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a sport, and thus the game is technically an international competitive sport, with players from many countries participating in major chess tournaments and events.

That said, chess has just fallen shy of being regarded as an Olympic sport, so you won't see any medals being given out for this discipline at the next summer or winter Olympics. You might, however, be able to take part in a competition near where you are in Leicester, with the chance of being top of your game in your city and find even more successes if you really put the effort and time in!

How to Play Chess: The Basics

Chess is played on a square board comprising of 64 squares in an 8x8 grid formation. One player controls the 16 white pieces and the other the 16 black pieces, of which there are one king, one queen, two knights, two rooks, two bishops and eight pawns, and the objective is to checkmate the opponent's king. The game can end in several different ways, including in a draw.

On average, each game of chess lasts between 10 and 60 minutes. A rating system is used in chess to estimate the strength of each player based on their previous performance, which goes from below 1200 (novice) to over 2700 (super grandmaster).

The History of Chess in Leicester

As with many cities in the UK, Leicester proudly presents a number of chess clubs and academies for keen chess enthusiasts to join. What's more, Leicester was the home of one very important figure in chess: Henry Ernest Atkins.

Born in 1872, Atkins was a British chess master with 8 (out of 11 entered) wins of the British Chess Champions under his belt. He was hailed as a chess master because of his natural talent in the sport, spending very little time practising and treating it as merely a hobby. Some professional chess players would die for those kinds of gifted skills!

In 1950, he was recognised for his achievements and contribution to the game and awarded the title International Master by the World Chess Federation.

The Benefits of Learning to Play Chess

Whether you choose to play chess as a hobby or more seriously, there are many benefits to taking part in sports, and to devoting time to activities that you enjoy and which give you pleasure.

When it comes to chess in particular, experts have said that you might be able to improve your memory, protect yourself from dementia, increase your intelligence, deepen your focus, boost your planning skills, develop better perspective, increase self-awareness and enhance your creativity.

These seem some very positive and beneficial, long-term rewards in exchange for playing a game, don't you think?

How and Where can you Find Chess Tutors in Leicester?

You can find out what classes and groups are available in your local area of Leicester by visiting your local library, checking out noticeboards in shops and advertisements in magazines or newspapers. What's more, you can use the Internet and social media sites to look for suitable classes near you and to find yourself a private tutor, if you prefer a one to one experience. With Superprof, you can learn about chess and how to play the game with the help of a professional chess player or someone with vast knowledge of the sport.

Private chess lessons in Leicester are an effective way to learn to play chess fast. There may not be lots of them covering the area, those who do teach chess are extremely well qualified to teach it and can teach beginners through to highly rated players. The tutors can come to your house or they might have a suitable room set up at their place. Failing that, you can also learn online by using the advanced tools and apps at your disposal thanks to the modern Internet. There are currently a couple of chess teachers in Leicester with prices starting at £15 an hour.

There are plenty of different types of tutors: students looking to earn some extra cash, hobbyists, qualified teachers, competition winners etc. Private tutorials are the best way to learn how to play chess.