Chess Club

Douglas Community School Chess Club has had its share of success over the years. A major highlight for the Club was in 2017 when a particularly talented senior team was crowned Checkmate All Ireland winners, with team captain Patryk Hajdul also claiming the prestigious singles title.

In 2023, DCS enjoyed a very successful day at the 2023 CheckMate All Ireland Finals in Nenagh. Honours went to the team compiling of Jack Gleeson, Adam O'Brien, Alex Jacewicz and Ciarán Canty who finished 2nd overall. Jack Gleeson came 4th in the individual competition out of 103 players.

In 2024 13 DCS students (3 teams + 1 individual) returned to Nenagh to participate in the All Ireland ChessZ finals. Here, Madj Hamam, 3A, was the only student out of the 100 cohort to win all 6 of his matches with an incredibly tense & exciting final game to seal the singles title. What a competitor. A special mention to Messi Camal, 2C, and Ciarán Canty, 3B, who finished 13th & 18th respectively. The teams finished 8th, 9th & 13th of 25 participating.

Regular Internal Chess Competitions are a highlight of the DCS calendar. Ciarán Canty won the last of the Internal Chess Championships. The event, Swiss format, was hotly contested with defending champion Mark Fekete finishing second. 

This success is an indication of the growing popularity of chess in DCS where the Chess Club meet in R16 every Monday from 3.30 to 4.15. There is a plentiful supply of chess sets and clocks so anyone interested just bring your enthusiasm. It’s not all about winning though! All abilities are welcome. Who knows, maybe one of you is the next Magnus Carlsen (World Chess Champion 2020)!