Nord Anglia Education
WRITTEN BY
St Andrews Bangkok
29 January, 2024

St Andrews Bangkok hosts first-ever international school open chess tournament in 2024

St Andrews Bangkok hosts first-ever international school open chess tournament in 2024 - Flames Open Chess Tournament Jan 2024
On 14 January 2024, St Andrews International School Bangkok hosted our first-ever Flames Open Chess Tournament at the Primary Campus. Nearly 100 children competed from St Andrews Bangkok, other schools, and Chess Academies. It was an absolute success, with young chess talents performing brilliantly across numerous age divisions. We extend a special thank you to our coaches Airene and Leo for organising such a brilliant event for our St Andrews community. 


St Andrews Bangkok hosts first-ever international school open chess tournament in 2024 - Flames Open Chess Tournament Jan 2024

 

International school chess at St Andrews Bangkok


Our tournament saw a grand total of 94 participants, hailing from 20 different international schools in Bangkok, Thailand. By age group, we had:

 

  • 14 players in Under 7 

     

  • 25 players in Under 9

     

  • 29 players in Under 11

     

  • 26 players Under 13


It was a full house and nothing short of chess wizardry from our young geniuses.

 

Event winners and recognition


Participants across the board played beautifully. We congratulate all competitors, and are happy that our students made the Top 3 in overall points, with such a minimal difference between each team.

 

St Andrews Bangkok hosts first-ever international school open chess tournament in 2024 - Flames Open Chess Tournament Jan 2024

 

Wonderful competition and a great atmosphere!

 

How St Andrews promotes chess in our school


We are one of a select few schools in Bangkok running a chess programme internally. St Andrews doesn't rely on external providers, because chess is one of our most popular programmes amongst the
Extra-Curricular Activities (ECAs) we have on offer.


At our international school, chess is a flexible programme that caters to all, whether you are a beginner or an advanced player. Our coaches are very passionate and inspired to make this programme even bigger and better in the future.


Should you be interested, have a look at our current training schedule below.


Flames Chess at St Andrews Primary

 

  • Monday (Year 1-2)

     

  • Tuesday (Year 3-4)

     

  • Thursday (Year 5-6)


Saturday Programme

 

  • Primary School 9:00-10:30 AM

     

  • High School 1:00-2:30 PM


Sunday Programme

 

  • High School 1:00-2:30 PM


If you’re keen to join in the fun, please email Coach Leo (leo.da@standrews.ac.th) or Coach Airene (airene.robillos08@gmail.com) to join the programme.

 

Plans for future events


Despite chess being relatively new to our sports programmes, we’ve already created a highly competitive team and participated in different open tournaments. 


St Andrews Flames run Chess Tournaments the whole year-round:

 

  • Term 1 – we had an internal event, exclusively for St Andrews students.

     

  • Term 2 we organised an Open Chess Tournament with numerous international school participants

     

  • And, for Term 3, we are planning to organise an International Open Chess Tournament.


Between these larger events, our chess players stay active by either taking part in internal mini-tournaments or joining outside school competitions.