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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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Children from all parts of Kilkenny caused a rook-us as they flocked to the O’Loughlin Gaels GAA Hall for an incredible chess challenge.
A total of 160 primary school grand masters took part in Kilkenny’s second annual Lá Féile Fichille. -1707399196923.jpg)
The event was organised by Ficheall.ie, a network of primary school teachers promoting chess. An astounding 480 games of chess were played on the day with children from second to sixth classes showing off their skills and knowledge of the 1,500 year old game. These numbers are being replicated nationwide with over 500 schools and 11,000 children taking part in the primary school chess tournaments this year.
Skills
Described as an excellent rainy day hobby for students, chess promotes a variety of social and cognitive skills: respect, forward planning and problem-solving, as well as decision-making and accepting defeat. It helps players understand resilience and develop a growth mindset when exploring a new skill.
Teachers interested in bringing/developing chess to their school can check out the free resources on Ficheall.ie and the Ficheall YouTube channel which are also available as Gaeilge for Gaelscoileanna.
Kilkenny Education Centre will also be running chess courses for any teachers interested in learning and bringing chess to their schools.
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