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Where to play chess near you

Checkmate IRL maps 3,100+ places to play chess over the board in 670+ cities across 100+ countries: chess clubs, cafés with boards, pubs that run chess nights, and public tables in parks. Every venue listing shows what is actually there, so you know before you go.

Finding a chess club near you

Open the map and it centres on where you are. Filter by what you want: a club night with rated games, a café where you can sit for three hours, an outdoor board you can walk up to. Listings are kept current by the people who play there, and anyone can suggest a venue that is missing.

What counts as a chess venue

• Chess clubs: regular meetups, from casual to league play.
• Chess cafés and coffee shops: boards on site, no membership.
• Chess bars and pubs: weekly chess nights, usually free to join.
• Parks and public tables: outdoor boards, open whenever you are.
• Board game cafés: chess sets alongside everything else.

Chess cities with the most venues

New York (99) · Berlin (84) · Warsaw (81) · London (74) · Munich (69) · Hamburg (62) · Budapest (57) · Kraków (48) · Łódź (45) · Paris (41) · Gdańsk (39) · Vienna (38) · Poznań (38) · Buenos Aires (37) · Toronto (36) · Wrocław (35) · Moscow (34) · Belgrade (34) · Amsterdam (32) · Helsinki (31) · Stuttgart (31) · Cape Town (31) · Katowice (29) · Zurich (29)

Nothing listed near you?

Suggest a venue and it goes on the map for everyone else. If you would rather start something, a weekly chess night in a café needs a board and a time. Running a chess night covers the rest.

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