Edinburgh Chess Academy

16/06/2026

Wonderful to see former ECA pupil Freddy Waldhausen Gordon featured by the BBC.

Freddy was an outstanding young player when we worked with him, and it has been fantastic to watch his chess journey continue over the years.

Huge congratulations Freddy. Everyone at Edinburgh Chess Academy is delighted to see your hard work and talent being recognised.

Frederick Waldhausen Gordon won the British Rapidplay Championship last month at the age of 15.

02/06/2026

Lovely to see chess being enjoyed so enthusiastically at Loretto Junior School.

It was a pleasure working with the pupils last term, and it is great to see so many children taking part in the Junior School Chess Competition.

A big well done to everyone involved, and congratulations to the winners, Theo and Finlay D. ♟️

19/05/2026

Scottish Girls’ Championships 2026

I highly recommend this event for girls who enjoy chess and would like to try a tournament.

It is especially good for girls who have never entered a tournament before, as it is friendly, well organised, and a great chance to meet other girls who play chess.

Saturday 30 May
St George’s School, Edinburgh
Open to girls of school age living in Scotland

Full details and entry here:
https://congress.org.uk/congress/767/home

Good luck to everyone taking part!

05/05/2026

A fantastic afternoon of junior chess at Loretto on Sunday. ♟️

Edinburgh Chess Academy was delighted to arbitrate and help run the tournament, with players from the different schools competing in a really positive spirit. It was especially nice to see the younger players gaining valuable tournament experience too.

Congratulations to Cargilfield’s U13 team on winning their section, and to Louis, Faris and Neo for topping their boards. Well done to everyone who took part, and thank you to Loretto for hosting such an enjoyable event.

28/04/2026

Huge congratulations to Jude Henderson, one of our brilliant young ECA students, who won the Lothian Junior Championship, P5 & Under section.

Jude was also recently featured in the East Lothian Courier for his fantastic chess achievements. He has made amazing progress, and it is lovely to see his hard work, enthusiasm and talent being recognised.

Everyone at Edinburgh Chess Academy is very proud of you, Jude. Keep going!

You can read the article here: https://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/25930862.youtube-inspires-chess-champion-jude-henderson-succcess/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZnRzaARDDwNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEej_2x83lLdkbR6CrpzcVsM6M7zrw5_W8NnPJI66oZCZMH-79Rtvm57Voneus_aem_MlkNBw4uo_BNFdF3PwqwgQ =1774024310

A TALENTED young chess champion has swept the board at a competition after picking up the game on YouTube!

02/03/2026

Loved running today’s Edinburgh Schools’ Chess Tournament. Fantastic attitude and sportsmanship from all the schools and pupils, and a big thank you to Fettes for hosting.

08/12/2025

It was a pleasure to support such a brilliant afternoon of chess at Cargilfield. Well done to the Under 11s on a great result and to Louis for winning all three matches. Thank you to the schools for taking part and to everyone at Cargilfield for the warm welcome. The future of Scottish school chess is bright! ♟️✨

13/10/2025

♟️ Edinburgh Junior Congress 2025 ♟️

The next junior chess tournament is on Saturday 25th October at Broughton High School. A great opportunity for young players to gain experience and have fun!

If your child has been in classes for a term or more, they’re likely ready to play. Bring a packed lunch and wear casual clothes (no uniform needed).

Full details and entry here: https://congress.org.uk/congress/498/home

Good luck to everyone taking part!

Sections may be merged or split, or the grade boundaries changed, depending on the number of entries. Grade boundaries are based on Chess Scotland Live Allegro Grades

21/01/2025

Well done Daniel! 🥇 What an achievement. We can't wait to see what you do next!

We love running the chess program in East Lothian in partnership with the Preston Lodge Learning Foundation. It is great to see so many students playing chess and thriving. 👏♟

14/01/2025

Lothian Junior Chess are running the Lothian Junior Championships 2025 on the 1st of February. Highly recommended. For the full information and to enter please use the link below:

A six round individual swiss tournament The last day to enter to guarantee a place is midnight on Thursday 30th January, as long as there are spaces remaining. Entry may be left open on Friday until we download the details for processing but please do not rely on this. The Lothian Junior Championshi...