There is a huge choice of websites for playing and learning about chess online. Listed below are some of our favourites.
Please also see our How to Improve page.
Junior Chess – Play & Learn Online
ChessKid is a very child friendly and safe platform offering:
- training videos tailored to younger juniors, with cartoon characters led by Funmaster Mike
- puzzles
- online play.
The basic level of access is free but there is a membership fee for greater levels of access. Options are available to play against other Chesskids or against friends who are also logged into Chesskid or against a Bot.
This is our favourite site for… instruction for younger juniors.
lichess is a completely free (and advert free) website that offers:
- online play
- online puzzles
- a limited amount of study materials.
This our favourite site for… playing and puzzling for free.
Chess.com is the bigger brother / sister of ChessKid and is aimed at older juniors and adults.
It offers:
- chess news
- online play
- online puzzles
- video training
- some live commentary on online grandmaster tournaments which can be very instructive.
Basic membership is free. Beyond that there are three more levels of membership that unlock progressively more features.
Be prepared for a few adverts with the free membership level.
This is our favourite site for… being a great all-rounder.
Chessable is a specialist learning site based upon learning by repetition. It contains:
- a huge amount of training material suitable for beginners to experts
- specialist software that tests how well you have remembered lessons and gets you to repeat the moves until you have got them right
- optional videos to support the interactive lessons.
It has a limited amount of free material, with the majority of the material being paid for.
It is our favourite site for… learning by repetition.
All Enquiries
Contact our Junior Chess Co-ordinator
Nikki Forster at [email protected]
Looking for a junior chess club?
There are several junior chess clubs across Dorset
| Club | Adress | Day | Time | Cost | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth Junior Chess Club | Bournemouth Library | Saturday Morning | Two Sessions 10:00 - 11:00 11:30 - 12:30 | £8.50 Per hour | [email protected] Website |
| Bournemouth Chess Club – junior section | Richmond Park Bowls Club | Sunday afternoon | 13:00 - 14:00 | Free (Limited numbers) | [email protected] |
| Ferndown Junior Chess Club | Ferndown Library | Saturday morning | 10:00 – 12:00 | Free | [email protected] Website |
| Southbourne Junior Chess Club | Tuckton Social Club, Tuckton | Friday evening (all year) | 18:00 - 19:20 | Free | [email protected] |
| Tuckton Library Junior Chess club | Tuckton Library | Monday afternoon (term time) | 15:30 - 16:15 | Free | [email protected] |
| West Howe Library Junior Chess Club | West Howe Library | Saturday morning | 10:30 - 12:30 | Free | [email protected] |
| Winton Library Junior Chess Club | Winton Library | Saturday morning | 11:30 - 12:30 | Free | [email protected] |